FTM's and Transitioning

[Thinker]

Originally Posted by atomiczombie

So, tomorrow's the big day! By this time tomorrow I will have my new chest. The surgery will happen at 7:30am in San Francisco and my surgeon is Dr. Michael Brownstein. I would say wish me luck, but I know I won't need it. He is an excellent surgeon and these procedures are the only ones he does. When I can I will come back and let you all know how it went.

Wow! Wow! Wow! I am so happy to hear this!

Here's to you, Dr. B, and his colleagues!!!!

[Camo Eagle]

Originally Posted by atomiczombie

So, tomorrow's the big day! By this time tomorrow I will have my new chest. The surgery will happen at 7:30am in San Francisco and my surgeon is Dr. Michael Brownstein. I would say wish me luck, but I know I won't need it. He is an excellent surgeon and these procedures are the only ones he does. When I can I will come back and let you all know how it went.

Way to go AZ! Im happy to hear that you are finally able to do this. Know its something youve wanted forever. Keep us updated.

[wolfbittenpoet]

Gratz about the surgery. You'll do great. I am very jealous.

[atomiczombie]

Sooo, I got through the surgery just fine, and the doc said it went well. I woke up very tired and sore, but the pain meds they gave me helped a lot. I have 2 drains, one on each side that need to be cleared every 6 hours, and the amount of fluid measured and recorded. It has already gone down a lot since yesterday. They put a big binder on me with lots of gauze underneath, and lemme tell ya it is ITCHY under that gauze. I can't move my arms around very well because of the incision stretches all the way under my arms (to prevent dog ears). I am trying to be really good about not moving my arms much, but there are those moments when you forget and you reach for something and the pain reminds you that you aren't supposed to do it. Haha. Overall, my energy is up since yesterday and the oral pain meds are working fine. It doesn't take all the pain away, but it does make me a lot more comfortable. I am only taking the prescribed dose. I get my drains removed next Tuesday, and then Thursday I get my stitches out.

That's all I have to report today, I will come back soon and fill you guys in on more details. Thats for all the support and well-wishes. It makes a big difference!

[atomiczombie]

It's my 4th day after surgery. Yesterday was the first day I decided to go all day without my pain med. I was uncomfortable, but not so much that I couldn't tough it out. I had to take one when I went to bed, however. My pain gets worse then since I have to lie in one position all night (on my back).

There's a lot less fluid coming out of my drains. The first 2 days it was about 10cc's per side every 6 hours. Now it's down to 5cc's per side every 12 hours, so there's a lot of healing going on. Tomorrow I will go in and get them removed, and I am glad because the place where the drains go in gets sore if I move too much. I have more and more energy each day and feel the need to get up and walk around frequently. It is still very itchy under my dressings, but that sort of comes and goes. The place where I have the most pain is under my arms. I have absolutely no pain in the center or sides of my chest.

That's all for now, I will check in tomorrow and let you all know how it went getting the drains out.

[Linus]

Congrats, AZ! Glad to hear things are going well. It's interesting that Dr. V has said that I won't need drains because of the way he's doing the surgery (this has me puzzled as I've always heard that double incision requires drains.. Theo? Koop?)

Anyways, I do have a question: for those that got a recliner, what kind (manufacturer/make?) did you get? I tend to sleep on my side and a recliner might be a good way to avoid that -- plus I've always wanted one.

[atomiczombie]

Originally Posted by Linus

Congrats, AZ! Glad to hear things are going well. It's interesting that Dr. V has said that I won't need drains because of the way he's doing the surgery (this has me puzzled as I've always heard that double incision requires drains.. Theo? Koop?)

Dr Brownstein told me that drains lessen the possibility of infection and speed up the healing process. If your doc has a better way, then that's cool because they are a pain in the keester.

[EnderD_503]

Congrats again, Atomic!

Originally Posted by Linus

Congrats, AZ! Glad to hear things are going well. It's interesting that Dr. V has said that I won't need drains because of the way he's doing the surgery (this has me puzzled as I've always heard that double incision requires drains.. Theo? Koop?)

I dunno exactly why it is that the way some docs do it don't need drains, but apparently the doc I'm looking at using in Mississauga, if I ever manage to save enough money, (Dr. McLean) doesn't use drains either. Maybe someone who knows more can shed some light on why some docs use them and others don't...?

It's weird that you mention that Atomic, cause I heard the opposite...blah, I dunno lol Edit: I've heard of very few who don't use drains though, so I dunno if no drains is actually something new/better or just unorthodox.

[Liam]

Originally Posted by Linus

Anyways, I do have a question: for those that got a recliner, what kind (manufacturer/make?) did you get? I tend to sleep on my side and a recliner might be a good way to avoid that -- plus I've always wanted one.

I love my Barca Lounger which is a leather recliner, you might want to test drive one, before you purchase that Lazy Boy, Linus. I think you might like the scale of the Barca better, although it is a little more expensive than the Lazy Boy.