In the process of transitioning would you suggest FFS be considered before the plumbing below is changed? It seems fairly logical that FFS be done initially since outward appearance is everything and someone's face is the first clue to one's gender.
Also does anyone have experiences with FFS and know if it should be done abroad since it seems to be extremely expensive in the states and not covered under insurance?
I am interested in learning more about FFS.
emmi
First of all I am going to say that most TS girls really NEED FFS wether they agree with me or not. FFS is the best bang for the buck money you will ever spend! It does things that nothing else will do.
So what should come first FFS or SRS? SRS does things to you that you cannot possibly imagine. It is the most important thing you can get if your really a woman. SRS even sets you on a new transition where your really a woman now and all the trans stuff tends to fall at the wayside and you move on.
So it sounds like I am saying both are about the same importance. I intentionally did that to make ya think. I will only say that women dont have penises and some arent that pretty.
Katie
Last edited by Katesback; 04-28-2012 at 09:22 AM.
Emmi,
Think about it this way; In public everyone sees your face, no one see's what's between your legs.
In regards to social transition you would do yourself a huge favor by putting FFS ahead of SRS.
It will make your life prior to SRS so much easier.
Julia
Emmi, I am a proponent of using all available resources to adjust your body to suit your goals. SRS is last on the list for me because I'm lucky and I've never really had a problem with my dangler. However I have had a lot of procedures to date starting with my first lipo back in 2010, all to bring my appearance in line with how I want people to see me. It's extremely important to me that I pass completely 100% with no raised eyebrows (except for mine, which are now permanently raised) and I will continue to get work done until that 100% number is realized.
Obviously, my answer is FFS first, but I do know some gals who choose SRS first and they seem to be happy. It really all depends on what makes you the most UNhappy. Some gals, really key in on their adam's apple and that's the most important for them, some on their body, some on their face, some on their twig and berries. (I had the berries plucked). If looking at my pickle made me depressed, I would definitely want it gone. What do YOU think is most important?
As someone who does pass 100% with no raised eyebrows, I still could benefit from some FFS. I find it improves most people, but I have yet to see jaw work that does not look somewhat odd, even after the healing is completely done. The problem is predicting results. I would like my upper lip to be closer to my nose for instance, but my friend ended up with a "trout pout" that is horrible. Some women do have a big space between the upper lip and the nose anyway.
That kind of surgery cannot be had in Quebec without approuval from a psychologist, and for good reason too. I think it's important to be honest about the motivation for the surgery. Most cite feminization, but a lot of women will do it to be prettier, feel younger or resolve fears about not passing. I understand completely why someone would want to erase to effect of masculinization (I was spared the horror). Wanting to be prettier is a dangerous motivation as surgery becomes a slippery slope. Often too much is done or in the wrong place, and the results are not better than the starting point. Some girls I know looked way better before surgery than after in my opinion, and in the opinion of others. Reversing the clock happens with HRT and while you can look younger, the years have still happened. People tell me all the time that I look 35 or younger, but I still lived 45 years with all the hardships, pains and experiences that come with it.
The most dangerous motivation is resolving issues about not passing in my opinion. I have seen a lot women who thought they did not pass, while they did completely, get massive surgery, and still feared not passing to the point of being afraid of leaving their apartment for milk. The fear of not passing is fixed psychologically, not with a scapel. Not caring either way is the way to get over it. Once a trans woman stops being afraid of being clocked, she often stops being clocked, either because her attitude changed or because she was NOT being clocked anyway.
The preceding was all IN MY OPINION.
Last edited by Frances; 04-28-2012 at 01:27 PM. Reason: Grammar and spelling
It's Frances with an E, like Frances Farmer. Francis is a man's name.
When I met with Dr. Spiegel in P-Town, he told me not to do any FFS until the full effect of hormones had taken effect. He said that it is necessary to ensure that you have come as far as you can on your own and then do what needs to be done. He told me the same thing that Frances said above, that facial surgery for looks is a slope that can lead to never being satisfied with yourself. Don't get me wrong, he wanted the business, but he really impressed me with being up front about the issues surrounding facial surgery.
He told me that he did not think I should do anything right now, except if I wanted to do lift in a few years. I learned from him to look at myself in a different way. I simply pass. People who do not know me accept that I am one of the multitude of versions of female faces they see. I am just really, really tall. I understand the desire to have FFS but a stringent skin care regiment, exfoliating and removal of facial hair together with estrogen will take you a long way. The other thing that amazes me is how little attention is paid to hair style. If you are ever fifty having long stringy, dry hair that has never seen the hand of a good hairdresser will unquestionably give you away, because it is not what a woman that age would wear. For me, my hairdresser is the most effective contribution to passing.
I have a browridge, not prominent but it is there and I do have a bit of a square jaw. But with strategic highlighting my chin looks much more delicate and my browridge vanishes into oblivion. Spend a little money on good makeup lessons not from Mack or Sephora but from someone who is in the business of making people look natural and appropriate.
And if all of that is done and you still have a real sore point, then get that one thing done. I am not at all against FFS, I just think, don't rush into it but take your time to make sure what is done is really necessary. At this point, I am not in need of anything.
Again, this is my view of things.
"Never forget the many ways there are to be human" (The Transsexual Taboo)
Thank you for all the wonderful advice. I then agree that HRT is essential and I will let the hormones take its course once I start that process. I very much appreciate all your honest and caring advice.
emmi
Spiegel told me no such thing. Nor did he ask me how long I'd been on hormones. He did tell me what I already knew which was that I would greatly benefit from doing my brow and nose. He said jaw work was optional but that I wouldn't be disappointed with it he also wanted to do cheeks implants which i was totally skeptical of, i now love them! I had a lot done and I wasn't to shabby before FFS. It was the best 30K I've spent to date! People who don't know I had surgery can't tell I had surgery I just look natural. Hormones do nothing to your bone structure so you can pop E until you sprout DDs that squirt milk like a fountain and your face is still going to look male if it looked male before. FFS is all about bone work.
Even though I transitioned before I had a FFS I don't regret it. FFS has changed my life in so many ways that I couldn't have imagined it before. I feel as if I am starting a new life. It has even changed my life at work in some ways.
Even so that my partners insurance on her new job covers it now. After experiencing the results of it in public, I still don't regret spending the 13k for mine.
Posting Permissions
Originally Posted by STACY B
