It has now been almost seven months
since I went through my SRS surgery in Thailand. This surgery did not make my life perfect or
solve every life problem. But SRS did
enable me to live much more comfortably and it greatly improved the quality of
my life.
Positive effects of my SRS include:
My body feels much more comfortable
since surgery.
My body appears correct when I look
down there.
Some people who knew me both before and
after surgery have told me that I seem happier lately. My own gender therapist (the one who wrote my
SOC letter for surgery) commented that I seemed 'radiant and glowing'.
I sleep better. I realize I slept more while recovering from
surgery, but I still fall asleep more easily long after I've completely
recovered from my surgery.
I seemed less susceptible to colds or
other airborne infections this winter.
This might be an indirect result of SRS and a direct result of sleeping
better, but I also believe this resulted from my improved mental state.
My post-op work efficiency was greater
than my pre-op efficiency, once I had completely recovered from surgery. My mind somehow seems sharper lately.
I was finally able to correct my birth
certificate and Social Security records to reflect my correct sex.
Only One Complication:
I needed a skin graft taken from my
tummy for adequate SRS results. This
left a horizontal scar line about six inches long and located three inches
below my navel, similar to a cesarean scar. Sometimes this itches.
Because I am in good health and still
in my 30s, I recovered fairly quickly from my surgery. The post-op pain, six days of bed
confinement, and the several months until complete recovery were all temporary.
Many of the things I had feared, such
as a recto-vaginal fistula, never happened.
Afterwards…
I will always need to dilate at least
occasionally, but as of April 2006, I now dilate less than once per day. I dilated twice per day for my first three
months, so I am already dilating less than half as often, and should be able to
continue reducing my dilation frequency over time.
Update: I have been down to twice a
week since late 2006.
For me, the advantages of SRS have been
worth much more than these inconveniences, most of which were temporary. My comfort and feelings of correctness are
permanent.