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Has anyone had a FtM top surgery?

Discussion in 'Gender Identity and Expression' started by tgboymom, Aug 23, 2016.

  1. tgboymom

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    Hey folks.

    I've just scheduled my child's top surgery. Now I'm freaking out.

    Has anyone here had it done?

    How bad is the pain.... give it to me straight. I need to be prepared to make J comfortable during recovery.
     
  2. PatrickUK

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    I haven't, but some members who post regularly in the gender identity/expression area might be able to help with your question.
     
  3. Anthemic

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    Hi! First of all, I want to say how amazing you are for accepting and supporting your child's decision. Secondly, I have had a breast reduction. I didn't do it to change my gender, since I'm biologically and mentally a woman (cis-female). I did it because I weighed 137 pounds and was a size DDD; and they were hurting my back and sternum. The pain wasn't that bad for me. I was tender when I woke up from being under anesthesia, like I felt like I had been cut a lot. But it wasn't horrible pain. The only thing I had trouble with was not being able to sleep on my stomach or side for 4 weeks. I hated that because I cannot comfortably fall asleep on my back; not sure why. They will probably have tubes coming out of the side of her chest from where they remove the breasts. But they don't usually hurt coming out. They didn't bother me much, except for being in the way while I was in the out-patient recovery room for one night.

    They removed 11 pounds from my chest and brought me down to a size C. I walked out of the hospital weighing 126 pounds, lol. It was one of the best decisions I've ever made!
     
  4. tgboymom

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    Thank you! I'm sorry.... I'm a parent so I thought I should be in the parent area..

    ---------- Post added 24th Aug 2016 at 03:55 PM ----------

    Thank you for responding. I had a reduction as well as a tummy tuck back in the late 80's. It was pure vanity after having a c-section and nursing J. I still remember the pain. Pain meds don't work well on me, neither does local anesthesia. I've spoken with the liason at the surgeon's office at length... ok, I was the momster from hell with 4000 questions. They said they will rx oxycodone and anti-inflammatories. J had hydrocodone for a very short period of time at 12 years old after we had all his wisdom teeth removed. I know, that sounds young, but they needed to do this in order to put the braces on him. He's completely drug free except for the Testosterone shots. He's very anti-drug... so I'm hoping he doesn't give me a hard time taking the RX's. He's 29...... but he knows he needs to behave to recover properly. OH.. also, he lives 8 hours away and has chosen a surgeon only 2.5 hours from me (which is the kid's way of workin' me to get me to pay for it) lol He knows I'd be more agreeable to lay out that kind of money if I was sure he was getting proper post surgical care, nutrition and rest... and who better than the momster!

    I'm concerned.. as any mother would be. I'm concerned about complications, post surgical pain, infection, proper healing. I'm just.... concerned and I'll do anything and everything I can to take care of him, so if anyone can offer up any words of wisdom, I do appreciate it so much. OH and he KNOWS he has to stay for a month... so yes, he's aware of the 4 week thing. He's gonna be itching to get out of here! LOL He's bringing his pet rats and other "can't live without" items. (I started him on his love of pet rats when he was only like 6.. so I have no problems there). (I'm nervous.. can you tell)?

    Again.. thank you for your response.
     
  5. jaska

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    I havnt had top surgery yet, but may be soon, so I know quite a lot about it from talking to other guys and researching. So, from what I know, it is painful, but not unbearably so. Showering can be a problem for a week or so afterwards because it hurts for the water to spray on your chest. Also raising you arms up will hurt for a while. But just remember that if anyone chooses to have top surgery, then their happiness and relief from having it done is almost always going to outweigh the physical pain and discomfort. Sorry I can't give much help, I hop someone who's had top surgery posts here though. You are an wonderful parent for supporting your child through this and I wish you both the best :slight_smile:
     
  6. tgboymom

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    Thank you, sweetie. I know this is J's choice and he is willing, I'm just sick about offering my child up to experience such pain.

    Well, I can sponge bathe him to avoid the shower for a little bit at least. I just don't want them to underprescribe. My husband had a serious surgery a couple of years ago but because this being one of those states that's terribly against pain killers, he was only prescribed 5 mg of oxycodone and it was a Friday when I took him home. He suffered so much until the surgeon was available on Monday to up his dose. To top it off, I had to drive to another state to get the rx, drove back and they wouldn't fill it because it was out of state, so had to drive back. I'm afraid this will be the same thing since J is having surgery in the next state. I wanted to know so I could INSIST that the doctor write another rx for a higher dose just in case.
     
  7. pinkclare

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    I had top surgery back in 2008. While the pain was definitely present, it wasn't anything to worry about. I managed it with over the counter extra-strength Tylenol and was perfectly fine. Migraine headaches, UTIs, and a sprained ankle are three things that come to mind that were easily more painful than recovering from top surgery.

    It is a major surgery, but the good news is that the chest is not a very sensitive part of the body and it doesn't cause any big damage to muscles or organs. For myself and everyone I've talked to who had a complication-free recovery, working the anesthesia out of the body was worse than the pain.
     
  8. Anthemic

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    You are such a sweet person to be this accepting. So many of us LGBT people don't see a lot of moms like you. If I were trans*, my mom would lose her mind. I can never tell her I'm a lesbian. She's so conservative and close-minded.

    I never responded well to Oxycodone. Hydrocodone is what works for me. They gave me Oxy at first, but it wasn't helping much. So I requested Lortab, and it definitely helped. 12 isn't that young for wisdom teeth removal, in my opinion. It's best to have them removed before braces.

    Good luck to your son on his journey! He will do great! Keep us updated! (*hug*)
     
  9. tgboymom

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