Less Than Two Weeks!

[Wrightful]

After a struggle with insurance of three years and personal doubts as I've gotten closer, I finally got the call to schedule my surgery on Tuesday! They were able to schedule me for the 23rd-- less than two weeks away!

 

I'm over the moon. I was told after my insurance approved it that it would likely be at least a month until I could get surgery, which would likely cause me to have to sit out of some summer engagements. Now, though, I'm scheduled earlier than I even anticipated!

I'm mostly excited, a little nervous, and mostly trying to keep myself focused on the course work I need to get done between now and then. 

[Jackie C.]

Congratulations! May your recovery be swift and painless. May the results be everything you could have ever dreamed!

 

Hugs!

[Susan R]

@Wrightful

 

I wish you the very best on your upcoming procedure. Afterwards, please update us on how it went and how you’re doing when you’re able. I’m sure you’ll continue to be anxious with anticipation and happy all rolled into one.?

 

Good Luck,

Susan R?

[Gabriel]

Congratulations @Wrightful! That's wonderful news. I can only imagine the mix of elation and nerves you are dealing with at the moment. And congrats too on your journey up to this point. Good job man.

Keep us posted on how you're doing

x

[Kasumi63]

Congratulations! Good luck!

[Heather Shay]

You lucky boy - congrats.

[Wrightful]

Thanks so much for all the well wishes everyone! ? I'll be sure to update when I can.

[Wrightful]

Hey all! The operation was yesterday and so far I'm doing great! I'm a bit sore, but have already switched to taking Tylenol for now, and have been on two moderately distanced walks across my college campus. My surgeon even said I could shower with my drains in if I wanted to, so long as I make sure my bolsters don't get soggy. So things are going really well! I'm happy to share this update with you!

[Jackie C.]

2 hours ago, Wrightful said:

So things are going really well! I'm happy to share this update with you!

 

Would you say you got a huge weight off your chest? ?

 

I'm glad you're healing well sweetie. Take care of the wounds, do what the doctor says and you'll be out manning it up in no time!

 

Hugs!

[Jani]

Excellent report dude!!  I can tell that you are happy and that my friend is what life is all about!  

 

Cheers, Jani

[Gabriel]

Glad you're doing so great! Take lots of care of yourself.

Looking forward to hearing how you feel with your new chest  

[Charlize]

Congratulations dear!  Do take it easy for a bit so healing can get a good start.  By the end of the summer, who knows you might be swimming in only a pair of shorts!

 

Hugs,

 

Charlize

[Jackie C.]

That's right! This could be your future!

 

 

Hugs!

[Elizabeth Star]

12 hours ago, Jackie C. said:

That's right! This could be your future!

 

 

Hugs!

I know it's true but LOL

[Wrightful]

On 3/25/2021 at 6:57 AM, Jackie C. said:

That's right! This could be your future!

 

 

Haha, I'm already walking around with just the surgical binder frequently, so I imagine you're right! ?

[Wrightful]

Today I got my bolsters off and my drains out! It's nice to be free of them, though these past two days I have been feeling considerably more fragile than the first five days after surgery. I think my healing process is finally catching up with me. 

I did get to see my chest today-- I didn't have a moment of enlightening euphoria, but it felt right and comfortable, which is such a blessing. Everything looks good even with the (admittedly slight) swelling and bruising, and I'm looking forward to becoming more and more healed. My only disappointment is that my surgeon asks that I keep wearing the surgical binder for another 3 weeks, which feels like a long time. I think the heating pad is going to be my backs best friend in that time frame... 

[Gabriel]

Right and comfortable really sound like a blessing. 

I'm sure the surgical binder sucks, but hang in there - in three weeks you'll be free!!

[Wrightful]

12 hours ago, Gabriel said:

Right and comfortable really sound like a blessing. 

I'm sure the surgical binder sucks, but hang in there - in three weeks you'll be free!!

 

I keep going back and forth about the binder honestly-- some days I'm super annoyed by it and other times I'm super grateful that it's protecting my grafts. I'm in that stage now of being terrified that something is going to happen to them lol! 

[Jackie C.]

1 hour ago, Wrightful said:

I'm in that stage now of being terrified that something is going to happen to them lol! 

 

That's probably a good thing. Be cautious until you get the all-clear from your surgeon. You want everything to be nice and attached before you strain it.

 

Speaking as someone who wore diapers for a month after her surgery, it could be worse. ?

 

Hugs!

[Gabriel]

21 hours ago, Wrightful said:

I'm in that stage now of being terrified that something is going to happen to them lol! 

I get that! Just be mindful of following all the doctor's instructions and you'll be fine.

I'm looking at one more year more binding, obviously not thrilled. You'll be free in no time  

[Wrightful]

I recently passed two weeks post op! I'm healing incredibly fast and have a lot of sensitivity in my chest-- both good and bad things. 

As someone who's very athletic to begin with, it's been hard to listen to my body and the rest it wants. I go between extremely rested to exhausted very quickly, and find myself wondering why I'm so tired... then finally realize it's like I've had a considerably major surgery. ?

The binder is still annoying and a lifesaver, but I'm beginning to feel incredibly tender on my incisions and grafts. Nothing like shooting pains yet, but compress of the binder is becoming uncomfortable at times, but it's so inconsistent (sometimes it helps the pain, sometimes it makes it worse), that it's frustrating. 

I've also had some minor aesthetic/dysphoria inducing issues that I talk about in this post. I'm still hoping things will settle, but I also contacted my surgeon to talk about revision timelines, which at the earliest is 3 months. I'm trying to stay present instead of being anxious about living through the summer with it. 

But all in all, I keep finding myself thinking to the future and being excited about living with my new chest, so I'm very grateful and sincerely happy that I got top surgery. I have no regrets!

[Elizabeth Star]

I'm happy to hear things are going good. Surgery does have a tendency to suck the life out a person, I've had 7 to put me back together. I kinda feel like Humpty Dumpty sometimes. Sorry to hear about the discomfort and hope it gets better soon. Can't say I fully understand it since I'm MTF but BA is on my list. Maybe the pain is remotely similar.

[HollyElizabeth]

OMG I’m so jealous. I want mine but I have to lose the 150lbs in order to be approved before that can happen for me. ?

[Wrightful]

Four weeks is coming up fast! Surprisingly, lately I find myself more nervous about my chest than the first three weeks. 

The particular object of my anxiety are still, of course, my nipple grafts. They've taken fine and are healing great, but I've become super stressed about stretching them into a tall oval instead of a circle. It's at the point where-- almost like a child-- I'll be doing college work, get concerned, go to our hallway mirror and pull up my shirt to check if they're still mostly circles or not, etc. 

Other than that, I'm getting really tired of the dissolvable stitches that haven't fallen out yet, and there's a lymph node on my right side that's still quite swollen that's on my nerves. 

But I'm still finding a lot of joy despite the difficulties. I've tried on several different shirts I used to not wear because they were tight enough to show my binder, keep watching myself in the mirror when I pass, and keep thinking towards future events that I'm excited to experience more fully. 

I think a lot of anxieties will clear up on Wednesday when I go see my surgeon for my next post-op appointment, but until then I'm just trying to keep my head level and enjoy what I've got. 

[Jackie C.]

Yeah, sometimes the "dissolvable stitches" don't get the memo and just stick around. Your surgeon will most likely remove them if they don't fall out on their own.

 

I'm glad you're happy. That's all we can really ask for from our procedures, right?

 

Hugs!