I had contemplated this and in fact my insurance at the time denied the claim despite all my back problems. They said I had too many and that it wouldn't help! Wrong ... but I am glad they didn't at the time because I wouldn't have been happy with just a reduction and couldn't imagine doing surgery twice. I'm gettin older and the healing time and process more lengthy each time.

I ended up getting a car accident settlement that was enough to pay for my surgery and time off work since i had a job without vacation or sick time.

Don't recommend that route but my experience was everything just happened when it needed to happen. It Fell into place at the time that my sanity was wearing out and something needed to be done. Got the money and had surgery two weeks later because it was the slow period of work and if I was going to miss that was the time to be off.

Congrats on the chair ... you're going to love it! I went all out and got leather myself and I've had it 6 years and it has worn really well only thing is the dog hair that gets caught into the crevis's. My ex has one that he's had for 15 years and we got it use ... it was atleast 10 years at that time. His isn't as nice but still holding it's own

FYI.. interesting project: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...ss-transgender

Thanks for the link Linus. The problem is only getting worse. Hopefully with visibility we can make it better.

wolfbittenpoet, one can hope. I knew there were a lot of transkids in NYC when I lived there but didn't realize it was 35% of the homeless teen population! It's so high and so frustrating.

When I was in group, I remember some of those kids coming and most came because parents had kicked them out, disowned them, beat them and so on. I remember hearing from K about the defunding of one of the only trans homeless shelters by the State gov't (I think, don't quote me on that). These kids need that kind of place to survive period. It's more than belong, it's pure survival.

I so want to win a lottery and provide a place or two or more for trans kids at various large cities in Canada and the US.

http://www.transgenderlawcenter.org/..._2009Print.pdf

A report on the State of Transgender Individuals in California (2009). What's interesting is some of the breakdowns. What did surprise me was that the poverty level was listed as about $10K (!! I had to check to see if I was losing it: http://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/11poverty.shtml ). Canada's poverty rate is over $20K.

Anyways, it's interesting to see the breakdown of FTMs vs. MTFs.

I paid all medical and associated fees out of pocket. I went on a spending fast for about a year and socked the money away.

I was very fortunate to have a career at the time that allowed me to accrue sick and personal leave to the extent that my entire recovery time was covered.

So.. I just got a note from Dr. V's office. And apparently Aetna pre-approved everything except for $4500 (likely the deductible). So I end up paying a total of $5K (includes the deposit) for the surgery. :)

Awesome Linus! I am so glad for you. :)

That is cool

Just putting this here in case anyone is interested http://magazine.goodvibes.com/2011/0...nder-language/

Swimming and packing?
 

Hey guys, do any of you pack while you swim? If so how do you manage that, what kind of swim trunks do you use, what type of packer, how do you attach your packer to your trunks? I know a lot of soft packers are porous, so how does that work when they get wet? Anyone who can shed a little light on this, I would appreciate some input. Thanks!

Drew

Some silicone packers are waterproof and are safe to use in chlorine or bleach

i keep one specifically for water activities. i just wear 2 pairs of briefs with my harness. A little bulky but i am the only one that notices and it allows me to be active without worry. i probably go thru 3 packers a year just for water activities.the packers are meant to be cleaned daily sometimes two or three times depending on activity. i use the silicone based Mr. Right and just clean it the way it says and have had no problems. Underworks has a new chest binder suit that i am thinking about trying but i haven't committed fully to that idea. Hope this helps. Good luck!

Could you direct me to some links for these silicone packers? Thx in advance.

I have done the same thing and usually use an older one that is on it's way out ... I have used a jock strap on the outside of a pair of briefs. a tad less bulky then above. I have just used a silicone soft packy.

side issue but it's weird since my chest surgery and my current job I've done less packing. Part of it is I work out in the woods and i have device to pee and stand up and just found the packy to be in the way of trying to pee quickly and indiscretely. There are still occassions I do, just because I'm more insecure that day for some reason or another but it's been interesting to watch the evolution of the process

sure, this particular site has a big selection

Vixen Creations: Premium Silicone Sex Toys-Adult Toys