GQAF

Genderqueer, sometimes GQ, always AF. Transmasculine, 27, they/them. 💉 2/26/16 🔪 7/8/16

[gqaf]

Lookin' dudely today. Check out that scruff comin' in!

[a-dinosaur-a-day]

The best T. rex is nonbinary, guys!!!

[greer-art]

I support them

[ofools]

I don’t want anymore nonbinary representation this is it this is the pinnacle, thank you SUE

[little-voe]

A really quick comic I doodled up after a bad few days at work. Sometimes it feels like my entire soul is tired. Sorry it’s not very polished.

[gqaf]

February 26, 2017 was one year on T! I was on vacation at the time and it gave me a chance to reflect on how far I've come. Since top surgery in July, I've become far more comfortable in my own skin. I have a long way to go, but I find new things to love about myself every day, and that's pretty magnificent, y'know? This is about 2 months on 75mg/2 weeks, before that I was at 50mg for about 3 months and before that was 25mg. Working my way up! Starting to see some serious changes now, too. Holy stomach hair, Batman!!! I think I'm about a year away from a decent beard, but who knows? Things are changing fast. I'm definitely getting close to my chest hair really blossoming, which would be 👌🏻.

[corduroyds]

better holding it than facing societal judgment am I right lads

((please do not repost my art without credit!! thank you!!))

[gqaf]

For all my followers (but especially the ones considering transition or big life changes) this Mister Rogers quote is for you. Use it as a sign to move in whatever direction you choose.

[gqaf]

Can't believe it's been this long. I still feel like not much has changed, but it's much nicer to look back now than it was a few months ago. The changes are definitely more visible now than they were in the past. Looking forward to more changes now that my dose was raised!

[gqaf]

50mg/2 weeks

Talked with my doc and he raised my T dose to 50mg/2 weeks. Today was my first shot at that dose! Looking forward to things progressing a little more quickly (twice as fast perhaps???)

[gqaf]

At 6 months on T, I want to talk about this quote from Mr. Rogers (a US kids' TV personality, for the uninitiated). I forgot to take pics this weekend, so we are text-only today. When I came out to my girlfriend in April 2015, I knew what I wanted from a medical perspective. I wanted to start T and have top surgery. I was focused on learning all about how to get there. See a therapist - check Research doctors - check Come out to close friends - check Go to a support group - check Come out to immediate family - check All of this took me from April to November of 2015. Note that I hadn't set up a doctor's appointment yet. What was going on was that I had convinced myself that my current work insurance did not and would not cover transition-related care. I was certain on this (with no actual proof, mind you) and was waiting to get on my girlfriend's insurance at the end of the year. When my girlfriend's insurance had it's open enrollment period, we looked at the numbers and saw that we wouldn't save any money with me being on her plan. It was then, at the beginning of December 2015, that I decided to just ask if my insurance would cover transition-related care. Let me say that again: it took me 7 months to ask my insurance if they would cover my transition even though it was something I knew I wanted. What a doof. Turns out, my insurance does cover transition-related care and they had all along and I could have started T and had top surgery long before I did. But then... "Finding the inner readiness" I wasn't as ready as I thought. I was still struggling for the words to explain what I wanted, who I am. I wasn't ready to start T and have surgery and be fully, authentically me. I needed time to process, time to find the words to tell 45 of my closest friends in an email who I am, time to find certainty in myself outside of medical transition. Once I had that - and the knowledge that getting on my girlfriend's insurance would cost me an extra $1,000 - I was ready to get started. In December 2015 I set up appointments with a new primary care doctor and an endocrinologist. In January 2016 I made an appointment to meet with a top surgeon. And here I am, in August 2016. I am 6 months on T, 7 weeks post-top surgery, and comfortably me. I still worry about other peoples' reactions to me, I still wish T were working faster (oh, the horrors of low-dose T), I still sometimes regret waiting to start transition. But - for me - there was no better way to be ready. I needed that time and a self-imposed restriction to ground myself and prepare for what was to come. I have my whole life ahead of me, the time I took to find my inner readiness didn't need to be rushed. I took exactly as long as I needed.

[gqaf]

6 weeks post top surgery! And 25 weeks on T! Everything's healing nicely and I can finally start wearing the Scar Away strips my friend gave me. They're stretchier than I thought they would be, so I only need one per incision. I still put Aquaphor on my nipples since the strips aren't on them, but I've stopped on the big scars since they're covered all day aside from shower time. I'm back to lifting and push ups and fast walking/jogging, though not entirely at the level I was at before since I've slipped out of shape. I plan to go to the gym at work early on Tuesday and see how that goes before I commit to a regimen. As for T - which I haven't talked about in a while - my acne has gotten really bad in the past two weeks, especially on my jaw and butt. Aside from that I am seeing an increased sex drive and more growth "downstairs." I've not noticed much new hair growth of late, but I have a feeling that the acne may be a harbinger of things to come in that area. In other news, I recently bought the EZP (a stand-to-pee device, for the uninitiated) and I'm getting used to it, so I cannot make any judgements on it at present. I do think that my abundance of hair in my pubic area is causing some trouble with the bulge and the peeing though. I'll talk at length about all of that later. That's about it. I can't believe how lucky I am. I am loving my dad-bod (Amanda and I have determined that this is my body type) and trying to spread the love to everyone else. If anyone has any questions, feel free to shoot me a message!

[bolinhopodre]

[gqaf]

Here’s a pic from Monday at a month post top surgery. The rashes have gone away and the scar massage is starting to help a lot.

Last night, my girlfriend was massaging my scars and I heard a loud POP that sounded like a knuckle cracking. She looked at me, eyes wide. I said “was that you?” She responded “Nope,” and we both looked at my chest. Apparently that happens when you break up adhesions! As she massaged, we continued to hear popping sounds and I couldn’t stop laughing because it made me uncomfortable, even though it didn’t really hurt aside from the pressure. There was no feeling at all that accompanied the popping.

Once I got up, I realized that my range of motion had increased, which was a welcome discovery as you might imagine! I am now able to lift my arms over my head without feeling much tugging in my chest. Hopefully continued massage will only bolster this effect. I’m looking forward to getting rid of the tugging feeling entirely.

Today is week 5 post top surgery, and most of what I’ve read puts 6 weeks at the time where I can resume workouts, so I’m looking forward to that with the new gym at my office. I’ll also start use of the scar away strips then too.

Cheers to another week of recovery!

[gqaf]

Here's a video of my snaps from the 48 hours surrounding top surgery! Give you a little glimpse into what it was like for me, though it does devolve into cat snaps at the end :). This is below my usual editing standard (I do this for a living, believe it or not) but I'm trying this thing where I don't worry too much about things that don't have to be fancy. I hope this is helpful or maybe just amusing to someone out there!

[gqaf]

It’s been just over three weeks since surgery, and my scabs have finally fallen off my nipples and my divot is starting to flatten ever so slightly. The scabs on my incisions are pretty much gone, aside from the sites of my drains.

Scar massage is the most difficult part of the process at this point. It hurts (a stinging kind of hurt) to rub my right scar once I get between the nipple and the armpit, but I’m slowly working it out and I can stretch a bit more now, which really helps. Still not lifting my arms over my head, but my range of motion is getting slightly wider every day.

I have an appointment tomorrow to see my surgeon, so I’ll find out more then about whether I will have to continue to wear the binder for the next few weeks. I’m hoping not, although it does provide some comfort, even if it’s not super comfortable. The compression feels good on my chest, but the binder is a bit itchy/it moves around and requires adjustment over the course of the day.

[gqaf]

Update: Doctor says I'm good to stop putting the ointment and gauze on my nipples and stop wearing the binder! This Friday will be 4 weeks post op and today is Tuesday.

Now I will start with aggressive scar massage and in a couple of weeks I will start wearing the silicone strips. The doctor actually offered to give me silicone strips, though a friend had already gifted a ton to me, so I didn't need them.

[theprinceofallprinces]

I was wondering if you know any good ways to get T with a good insurance. Like I'm about to finish high school and wanna move got get insurance so I'm able to. Sorry if this is confusing I'm not sure how to word this with my anxiety in the way

Are you asking which insurance companies cover transgender related services? If so, I found a list on HRC’s website. This list includes the following:

Aetna:Coverage for “Gender Reassignment Surgery”

Amerigroup: Coverage for “Gender Reassignment Surgery”

Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield:Coverage for “Gender Reassignment Surgery”

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts:Coverage for “Transgender Services”

Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina:Coverage for “Gender Reassignment Surgery”

Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota:Coverage for “Medical and Surgical Treatment of Gender Identity Disorder”

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rhode Island:Coverage for “Gender Reassignment Surgery”

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee:Coverage for “Gender Reassignment” (see General Surgery, Gender Reassignment)

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont:Coverage for “Gender Reassignment Surgery for Gender Identity Disorder”

Blue Shield of California:Coverage for “Gender Reassignment Surgery”

Cigna:Coverage for “Gender Reassignment Surgery”

Emblem Health:Coverage for “Gender Reassignment Surgery”

Excellus Blue Cross Blue Shield (Central New York, Rochester, Utica/Watertown):Coverage for “Sex Reassignment Surgery”

Group Health Cooperative:“Transgender Services Program”

Harvard Pilgrim Health Care:“Transgender Services for Fully-Insured Subscribers and Dependents”

Health Net:Coverage for “Gender Reassignment Surgery”

HealthPartners:Coverage for “Gender Reassignment Surgery”

Highmark:Coverage for “Gender Reassignment Surgery”

Independence Blue Cross:Coverage for “Sex Reassignment Surgery (SRS) for Gender Identity Disorder”

UnitedHealthcare:Coverage for “Gender Identity Disorder/Gender Dysphoria Treatment”

Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield:Coverage for “Gender Reassignment Surgery”

WellPoint - UniCare:Coverage for “Gender Reassignment Surgery”

If this doesn’t help you, message me directly and I will do more extensive research for ya

[gqaf]

I have CareFirst BCBS and it covered my top surgery in its entirety (minus deductible and a $300 co-pay). I'm not sure about T because my endocrinologist is treating me for another condition as well and injectable T is pretty cheap, so we didn't bother with the paperwork.

If anyone has any questions about CareFirst (DC, MD, VA area), I'm happy to answer them as best I can.

[gqaf]

It's been just over three weeks since surgery, and my scabs have finally fallen off my nipples and my divot is starting to flatten ever so slightly. The scabs on my incisions are pretty much gone, aside from the sites of my drains. Scar massage is the most difficult part of the process at this point. It hurts (a stinging kind of hurt) to rub my right scar once I get between the nipple and the armpit, but I'm slowly working it out and I can stretch a bit more now, which really helps. Still not lifting my arms over my head, but my range of motion is getting slightly wider every day. I have an appointment tomorrow to see my surgeon, so I'll find out more then about whether I will have to continue to wear the binder for the next few weeks. I'm hoping not, although it does provide some comfort, even if it's not super comfortable. The compression feels good on my chest, but the binder is a bit itchy/it moves around and requires adjustment over the course of the day.

[gqaf]