Top Surgery Advice and Info

I had DI with Miles Berry on the 22nd Feb. Here I'll share the journey with you, as well as any useful tips. Please send me any questions!

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Don’t date anyone who thinks being trans is weird, folks! 

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About five months post op, double incision with Miles Berry in London

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Here I am four months post op

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Posted on the wrong blog but still

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Just back from the doctors where he drained a whole load of fluid due to probable infection! I’ll write a big post on what’s gone wrong later on!

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Got a few asks lately that I’m not ignoring - I’ve just got exams!

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Scars are still darkening two months post op but as long as they stay round this size I’m happy I know they’ll fade

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Exercising after Top Surgery

It can be tricky to know what’s “safe” to do post surgery and often people leave it months to exercise - personally I don’t think that’s a good idea.

Exercising improves your cardiovascular health, so bloods getting round your body easier - and therefore collagen is getting to your scars easier! It’s also always better to be healthy if you want your body to do anything out of the ordinary- including healing scars!

That being said, you don’t want to do too much too soon - so here’s my exercise timeline:

6 Weeks Post Op - Distance Jogging: This is slow, but I’m covering 5K minimum per jog. It’s getting me back into the habit of exercise and improving cardio fitness ready for when I can do more!

8 Weeks Post Op - Add in some HIIT: At this stage your chest is a little more healed, so I don’t need to worry so much about the movement from fast running. HIIT is great - it helps drop body fat, and really increases cardio fitness. Doing it alongside endurance running/the occasional cycle means the heart and leg muscles should be in top condition!

10 Weeks Post Op - Ab Work: Up until now stay away from strength work - they’ll stretch your scars. At this point though it’s good to start getting in the habit of strength work, and there are a whole load of ab exercises that barely affect your chest muscles!

12 Weeks Post Op - Weight work: I’m going to tentatively get back to weight work at this point - I’ll avoid things that’ll stretch my scars, but I will get back into regular weights. Hopefully I get back to my old fitness level!

I’ll be doing a post on how exactly to keep your scars safe when exercising soon so stay tuned!

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7 weeks post op - To be honest I’ve still got a reasonable amount of swelling and wrinkling but it’s nowhere near how it was right at the start and for that I’m thankful! The bit of nipple I lost has almost all grown back and looks pretty average now My scars are retracting slightly and so giving the impression of saggy skin - I’ve been told massaging will get rid of that! I’m back to running again! I’ve run 5K three times in the past week and it feels great! Will post on scarcare/keeping your chest protected when exercising as soon as I can

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3 weeks 1 day post op - thought it might be useful to see just how changeable scars are from day to day!

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3 week post op update

I'm pretty much back to normal in terms of general functioning - walking around and sleeping on my side is basically not a problem!

Maybe tmi but I was able to have sex with no pain or feeling of "fragility" a few days okay

Swelling is somehow still an issue but it is slowly but surely going down

Unfortunately I did get a nipple infection and have lost some of the middle of my nipple - however Miles Berry assures me it will grow back!

My other nipple is pretty much perfectly healed

The scabs are gone off my incisions (3 weeks earlier than I was told to anticipate!) so I'm starting to massage them.

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19 days post op

My nipples have actually got a slight infection so I'm having to put an antibacterial ointment on them. The swelling is slowly going down which is nice - and my actual function is close to normal now

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A look at my nipples 2 weeks post op. I have been told this is normal and nothing to worry about - but that I should dedicate more time to airing my nipples every day. I'll do that - and keep you updated on how that goes!

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2 weeks post op - the swelling is still going down which is nice and the incisions are nice and thin still. The wrinkling is continuing to go down as well! I'm still pretty worried about my nipples though so I'll post pictures of them later

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Who did you go to and what are your scar treat ideas?

Hey! I went to Miles Berry in London! As it stands I am experimenting with wet healing as opposed to dry - and when it comes to it I will be using kelo-cote scar gel, silicone scar strips, and almond oil. The almond oil is high in vit e and is easier to actually massage with than kelo cote gel, which has a high silicone content and so will help rebuild the collagen and fade the scars. The strips will also aid this but will serve the added purpose of stopping the incisions stretching too much! I'm gonna be wearing the post op binder when I exercise for the near future as well because it keeps everything "in place" on my chest and should help minimise stretching!

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Day 13 - the swelling is going down nicely which comes as a huge relief but my nipple is not looking great! I've emailed my surgeon to ask what's going on there and will update you when she replies

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I had my top surgery tso weeks ago and I am very happy and can't wait for my chest to heal.....but every day when i change my dressing and take off the surgical binder to do so i get dizzy every time i look down at my chest and i've fainted once and i get all white and wanting to throw up. Is it normal? I asked my doctor who dismissed it but it worries me if its going to stop or i'll get dizzy everytime i look at it forever u.u

You may get dizzy or light headed from the blood or the smell. Something in your brain is like ‘no thanks’. Which makes you dizzy. Like me, I get dizzy and light headed when I watch blood being taken from my arm. I don’t think it’ll be like that for forever because your body is still healing. When its healed it won’t look nearly the same as it does now.

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I get this - to be honest we're still adjusting to stuff being different and I think that's also a bit of a trigger for it. It definitely won't be forever - we just need to settle into our chests being like this

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Day 12

I’ve actually been a whole lot better the past few days. I’ve managed to walk into campus and into town, and more or less am back to my normal life. 

Mentally i’m still a bit fuzzy so I’m struggling to work properly but I am easing into it slowly

Having said that, without the binder I feel really fragile because my swelling is still pretty severe

My arm range of movement is still really really limited 

I’m still in considerable amounts of pain but it is manageable!

I hugely regret doing so much movement so early on. If i’m entirely honest it was because I was bored and mentally needed to get out - but it’s caused my swelling to get worse which will set back recovery.