Do Mycotoxins/Stachybotrys complicate surgery?

[FluffyDiscoLayce]

I am new to this forum and mainly because i have a pretty big concern. 

 

I just turned 26 and have been on hormone therapy for almost five years now. But I never really had much a chance to succeed in life so I live in a mold infested slum with my trashy bf and his beyond gross trailer trash mom. 

 

I got a good job though and make plans to leave. Colorado allows for srs and breast augmentation on medicaid which is all I've ever really dreamt of. I know I can not recover in a black mold breeding ground we cannot fix.. But I'm worried that lasting effects could still damage possible recovery. I've searched online and found nothing about how mycotoxins affect srs. I'm worried it'll be even longer before I can be entirely elligeble for surgery. I was hoping there were other trans women who were faced with stachybotrys/blackmold exposure who know what the possibilities and drawbacks are to this situation..

[MarcieMarie12]

I would hold off on surgery until you have a place that you can stay at that is free of mold (and who knows what else). When you are recovering for a month you will need a clean living space to prevent infection (not just from the mold, but other things as well). I did not completely stop bleeding until the 3rd week, so infection was still a possibility by that point. Also, if you move to your own place, make sure the bf doesn't mess up the place.

[Jani]

Hi.  I can't make any comment on the effects of mold except that I know its not healthy and to agree wholeheartedly with Marcie that you should ensure you are in a clean environment prior to obtaining surgery.   As for immediate concerns I would worry about how it affects your lungs and breathing function.  Issues might not show for some time and the damage is cumulative as you are exposed to additional hazards over time.  This I know from personal experience, unfortunately.  Best of luck in getting to a safer place. 

 

Jani

[FluffyDiscoLayce]

6 hours ago, MaryMary said:

a clean environnement is important. I remember my doctor was making it a point to make sure I knew that I had to clean the bath each time (4 times a day) in the beginning. I also had to add soap to the water of the bath. I was also cleaning my instruments before and after I used them. I was changing towel for every bath. I can guess that if I had to do all of that for the bath being in a moldy environnement would have been bad. Also mold grow in a moist environnement usually and one of the very important thing is to make sure your wound is dry. So a very moist and moldy environnement is bad in that sense too.

Ooh yeah there'd be no chance keeping it dry here lol. Like I definitely figured that Id have to move to a better place. I'm just hoping the lasting effects in my body won't harm surgical process and that avoiding exposure is all I have to do.

 

Reading and seeing many accounts from cis people who have dealt with stachybotrys and they have said it can sometimes take years to recover from toxic mold in your body even after you remove yourself from exposure. In other words, i hope moving out is the only big step..

[VickySGV]

Even with the cleanliness that I practiced in my immediately post op days, I developed a yeast infection in my second week after surgery.  My infection was a type of yeast that is very normally on human skin in the more moist areas generally speaking and does not usually cause us problems with normal cleanliness because it is balanced by an equally present bacteria, and they keep each other in check.  I was prescribed an antibiotic gel to use in my early dilation days, and guess what happened to the balance of yeast and bacteria!!  The infection that resulted was quickly cleared up with help of my new Gynecologist who saw that problem about 4 times a day in cis women.

There are tests to see what and if your environmental exposure is affecting your health, and based on that type of test your prospective surgeon can advise you about the potential surgical outcome, but do get yourself out of the Black Mold environment as quickly as you can.  It can be cleaned out, but if the infection is heavy, it requires a professional to do.,