I decided to this post because there are things that have surprised me especially with recovery that I wasn’t expecting to happen. Plus I’m bored. LOL I will be posting de-saturated pictures to lessen their graphic nature.
So again, I am 6 days post op. I got the drains out last Monday (4 days post op) and will be getting the sutures out on Saturday (9 days post op). Generally, I am feeling much much better since getting the drains out. They limit everything you do, from sitting upright to just plain moving around. Big pain, literally and figuratively. I remember going to the hospital last Monday in a taxi because I really won’t be able to handle the roughness of jeepneys. I went home that night riding a jeepney and walking about 2 blocks. All because I felt so much better without the drains.
I am still wearing my compression garment almost 24 hours a day. I take it off every now and then to let my skin breathe and for the blood to circulate. It is still tingly numb in some areas especially within the proximity of the nipple. And let me share something funny. I was changing my shirt yesterday when a cold draft went through the window. I got goosebumps all over and when I looked in the mirror, my nipples were standing up. It was so funny because I couldn’t feel them but when I touched them, they were raised and hard. Haha!
I also want to tell you about the general feeling of walking around at this stage in recovery. I recall reading something about this but cannott recall where. Amputees, when they first get a limb cut off, experience something called phantom feeling. They feel like the limb is still there even when it is not. I actually experience the same thing with my chest. Whenever I walk around without the binder, I feel like gravity is acting on my chest even though it’s not really pulling anything down. It’s such a weird and scary feeling that I sometimes put a hand there to support it.
I still have some localized swelling and brusing especially where the drains were and where the liposuction happened. These were the drain holes (steri stips fell off this morning)..
Bruising has definitely gone down. The incisions look clean enough and I am.not worried about scarring at all. Sorry for the adhesive residue LOL i still do not have my full range of motion but I am not sure if it’s the fear of opening these drain incisions that’s preventing me or because it really isn’t time to stretch that far yet. But I do the mobility exercises everyday.
These are pictures of my nipples. You can obviously tell the signature purse-string closure technique of the peri-areolar approach. And you can definitely tell these are my original nipples and areola. I feel a bit in my nipples but definitely not 100% yet. Areola is still numb.
And the last set is the bruising on my sides where most of the liposuction happened. As a result of having been on T for a little over 3 years and going to the gym, my ches fat just distributed itself on the lower region of my chest. It all just sat there, waiting for redemption. LOL
I’m trying to think of all the things I can put in this blog to help Filipino transgender men with their future surgery plans. I am planning to interview my surgeon and other surgeons so people would have an idea on who would be their best choice.
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