The phone call

[Cheryl Ann Owens]

Today I got a call from a long-time friend who is a thousand miles away. Before that she was in the next town. She will celebrate her "6th" birthday in June, the anniversary of her SRS and BA. She has never been happier. Not only did we have a lot of laughs but she really made me think. I told her we could have one hell of a party for her new birthday were she around here! Way back we attended together some meetings of a TG/CD/TS club nearby. I told her about this group but she tends to avoid all things internet. She's 57.

The most profound thing she told me is to think for myself and DO what is right for myself. And she told me to follow my own levels of comfort and take things as they come, and a step at a time. I told her about all of the good things happening for me with friends who know Cheryl. And maybe I'm having another "decade crisis" at 60 to do something about it. She told me it's never too late to be happy!

Well, I told her I'd like to take another baby step fully knowing that it could work out with family and friends who know. So I dropped this on my wife who is fully supportive and said she would help me, because she wants me to be happy and a better person. Here it is:

My wife has NO problem taking me to get breast implants. (Gasp!) Today she shared the phone for awhile with my girl friend and had a little chat with her. My friend is now a 38C, and asked me what the big deal was. That is my target. I have a therapist who I'm sure will support my decision and would write a recommendation for me. My wife today said she could get a day off from work for a day proceedure for me. We both agreed that it would be no big deal around family who already know about me and besides, I don't care what others might think.

My life is meant for me to live. It's time for me to start exploring more.

Cheryl Ann

[Beverley Sims]

This seems a bit of crossroads really, maybe hormone therapy after an orchi would have a similar result although more slowly.
Maybe hrt is not a good course for your condition any way.
I was thinking of another thread you posted in.
Interesting decision for you and at least you have support.

[celeste26]

Well HRT does far more than put breasts on your chest. There are many other adjustments that are internal and cant be seen. Just getting implants and not going through the whole process will result in you 'just' being a man with breasts. If that is OK with you, go for it. There is a mayor of a nearby town (Silverton, Oregon) who has done just that, Stu Rasmussen, and yes of course the whole town knows and doesn't care. He is very popular. They of course can be removed in some future if you don't want them any more.

By far most people just could not deal with the dissonance so if your wife is OK with it, who am I to say you shouldn't. As for my choice is to go the whole way and it will still take more years. The typical GG takes 4-6 years to grow a set of breasts and you'll have them in one day. To deny that there will be an adjustment period is to put it mildly both you and your wife. My suggestion is to go 24/7 with some good quality forms for a month before (if you are not already), it will give you an idea of just what it is likely to have breasts and shorten the adjustment after surgery. Getting implants is a real commitment and no sense in having them put in and finding out afterward that you just cant deal with it.

It is great also that your SO is supportive in this it will help.

[Jenniferathome]

So your wife wants you to be happy. You want you to be happy. But do you want your wife to be happy? I know this is a brief excerpt but it's all about you. A marriage is a partnership. Seems like your partner is only along for your ride. I wish you luck, really, but you should address the relationship first. It will NOT be or stay the same.

[Betty_42]

I'm proud of you dear! I can only hope that if and when I ever have a similar incident in my own life, that my wife will support me. However, I'm still in the process of taking it nice and slow right now. So I don't get into a situation that I'm not prepared to handle you understand...

[Lady Catherine]

I've often dreamed of getting implants but I don't think I could ever do it. Good for you, I say. With the support of your loving wife all will be well. I'm very happy for you.

[linda allen]

It's really surprising that your wife would be OK with you having breast implants. I would love to have a set of built in boobs, but I could never face my friends, family, or even strangers. I would have to stay in the house. The embarassment for my wife would be even more and I wouldn't want to put her through that.

But, if you both have thought it through and are willing to go through the hassle, I'm happy for you.

[Cheryl Ann Owens]

Thank you everyone for your support and insight. We are still discussing and thinking about it. I forgot to mention that I have gynocomastia and I'm close to a B cup anyway. With my self-stick Nu Bra enhancers I become a C cup. I've worn them for long periods of time and because I sleep on my back there is no problem of ruining them sleeping without a bra. It's actually nice to get up in the morning realizing I have fuller breasts. So any implant I'd need wouldn't be that big. I just don't want a awful melon shape but a natural teardrop as I mostly have now. I have a lot of tissue to work with. This is something we'd wait to do in the fall so I could get used to them and gain confidence over the winter and being able to keep them under cover for awhile. The family and friends already see me having breast development and have said nothing. I am aging and with low T levels I'm gaining softer features. I don't plan any HRT just yet. The only real problem for me would be to have my picture taken in Walmart and uploaded to peopleofwalmart. LOL! Have you ever seen that?

As far as my wife is concerned, my sister-in-law who knows has told me that my wife has always been very open to anything and that nothing like this would bother her. She has supported me in so many other things. She again said that it doesn't matter to her as long as I'm happy. She has said I'm a better person when I feel better about myself. Plus I'm retired so there are no workplace issues. I make little contact with people throughout the day. I know my children would support a full transition if I did.

Another nice thing she did today --- She came home with a bag of clearance items for me from K-Mart --- a couple nice tops and stockings.

Cheryl Ann