Post-revision and post-FFS
So my revision with Dr Shubham Gupta was about 2 months ago, and everything went well! I had about 15cm of depth after the revision and it's been holding steady at 12cm for the last 6 weeks or so. At first I was dilating twice a day, but I had to stop for 3 days while in the hospital for my FFS. I didn't have any loss of depth at that time, so I've gone down to dilating every other day, and it's still holding steady. I'm very happy with the results, though I hope I can get some more width through dilation to accommodate my partner for vaginal sex. I may also seek out a vulvoplasty next year or so for a more natural look; we'll see. The one thing I'm not happy about regarding the experience was paying the bill. The cost was about $120k, of which I've paid half and half is due in a few months. My insurer decided about 10 days before surgery that it wasn't medically necessary, and that they weren't going to reevaluate until after the surgery date, or else I'd have paid I think 20% of that amount -- less, probably, due to out-of-pocket maximums on my plan. I'm still talking with my lawyer and Dr Gupta's office about getting the appeal together so I can be reimbursed.
I also had the rest of my FFS about 2 weeks ago. Procedures included rhinoplasty, removing the Adam's apple, narrowing the chin/jaw, removing some fat from the chin/neck, and adding a small amount of fat to my cheeks. This was mostly covered by insurance but I did have to pay for some procedures that weren't considered medical necessary by my insurer. This was okay, because the amount came up to about 5-6% of what the vaginoplasty cost (sub-$10k). I'm pretty happy with the results, though they won't have their full effect for a few months when the swelling finally goes down. I did have to go on a liquid diet for 2 weeks due to swelling in my mouth and throat, but that's done with now.
Overall, I'm very relieved to have the surgeries over with. The only pressures left are getting a successful appeal through to my insurer, keeping up with dilation, and waiting for the swelling to go down on my face. I think these are all manageable, though.
I don't know what's next for my transition (and this blog) besides staying on HRT and the possible future vulvoplasty I mentioned. I might do voice training or vocal surgery. I still need to get my updated passport with an X marker (been delayed since I need new documentation with my new name and I live out of state from my birth location). My current state doesn't allow X markers on driver's licenses, and my birth state doesn't allow changing the marker on birth certificates, or else I'd do those too. I do plan on moving to a more progressive state within a year or so though, so I should at least be able to correct my new driver's license when I get there. That's all I can think of. The hard/expensive stuff is mostly done now, and that's a big relief.
















