just starting out

[Jeremy]

i see the endocrinologist on tues 12th. i am alone mostly trying to come terms that i am truly male even though i have a woman's body. i am trying to build a support system as most of my family is in denial. it's very hard. i've been told that when i get the surgery for a penis it is non-functioning. is that really true. my research tells me several different things. i don't want to lose the ability to have "fun". i don't want to mutilate my body unless it is worth it. i currently use a prosthetic since it was recommended to me to do so. i am confused. anybody have any experience with this?:sad:

jeremy:newbie:

[7sisters]

Hi Jeremy. I know there are some really great guys on this forum who will be able to answer this. So hold on.

[mistunderstood]

Welcome to the group.
On the lower surgery it is depended on who your Doc is and how experience he has with the procedure.

[AnonyMouse]

Well, dude, first off: if you're still coming to terms with your trans-ness, you've got plenty of time to worry about surgery. In fact, you should probably put that off for a while. You probably don't want to jump the gun on hormones, either. Give yourself some time to get used to everything, build up your male identity a bit, that kind of thing. Of course, if you're ready, you're ready, so that's up to you.

Anyway, surgery is a very complex issue. There are two major types of surgery - metoidioplasty, which rearranges what you already have down there so that the clitoris looks more like an actual penis (albeit a very small one), and phalloplasty, which gives you full-sized junk but is more expensive, more stressful, and at this time does not allow you to get an erection without outside assistance.

Both types of surgery have different sub-types, and I don't know what all options are available, but each one functions differently, looks differently, yadda, and some are better for certain guys than others. It bears a lot of research.

One of the guys on this forum recently had a phalloplasty, and he is very impressed with the result. There's still the no-erection-without-assistance thing - it requires a pump to operate - but he says that it looks good and the sensation is very good as well, so maybe Felix will have some more to say on that subject.

[Areyan]

hi and welcome, Jeremy

i think the other guys have given you some solid advice here, and no matter where you are in your journey, try not to feel too pressured into making tough long term decisions as well... even if you're ready for full transition, this will take some time. i understand your dysphoric feelings all too well. i hope you have some good times with this too, some days it feels rather good for me when i can move my mind past my physical imperfections and into hys space.

[Felix]

Hi there and welcome :) Just wanted to say take a look at my thread I've got my manhood, it may help and like the others have said it does depend on the skill of the surgeons concerned as to what is offered. Also you have to be prepared that lower surgery is a huge massive risk as it is so invasive and that one of the biggest risks is that the phallus may die. In the Uk the latest stats for the surgeons I went to, this only happened in 3% of cases so far and that was due to things such as smoking and being hugely over weight and during the early days of when they first did this type of surgery (radial artery phalloplasty). Hope this has helped, if there is anything ya want to know about my surgery feel free to ask :) xx Felix :)