Hi, I’m Zeke. I’m 32 and last year I finally came to the conclusion that I am transmasc after years of being unhappy with who I was and how I looked. I’ve done so much research into it, but I’m still left with questions. First off, I should say that I have opted not to do HRT. HRT has too many health risks that I can’t take due to heart related issues that run in my family. It’s not worth that risk to me. So I’m trying a different route.

I’ve decided to go the route of surgery w/ changes to how I dress and how I get my hair cut. I’ve lost about 18.6lbs out of 25lbs to get my top surgery and so far it has been really good for me health wise and affirming wise. I’m so close to the first step and I can’t wait for the positive effects especially since my bust size causes physical discomfort and shortness of breath so it’s a two in one benefit. My questions for this one is “Does silicone gel work better than lotion for scars?” and “Are you comfortable being topless for swimming/beach visits?”

Now here’s where I most uncomfortable because I’ve heard of people being negative about it, but I plan to get vocal surgery to deepen my voice. Here’s where my questions come in. Has anyone else gotten this surgery? If so, what’s it like and what were your experiences with recovery? How different has it made your voice?

I just wonder if others have chosen the surgical route. I don’t have anyone or anywhere else to ask these questions so I figured I’d drop them here. Thank you for any answers!

  • cowboycrustation [he/him]M
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    6 months ago

    Hello, Zeke,

    Unfortunately I haven’t had top surgery yet due to monetary reasons so I can’t give you much anecdotal evidence, but there is another post on this community about silicone gel being effective.

    I also recommend trying voice training and figuring out your vocal range. There’s a couple of videos on YouTube that really helped me out. I can get you those resources if you’d like.

    I’m glad you chose to post on this community. Feel free to ask all the questions in the world.

    • Zeke@fedia.ioOP
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      6 months ago

      Here’s my concern about voice training. I’m not going on HRT so I won’t be getting the vocal deepening from that so I don’t know how much of a difference the voice training would be. That’s why I was aiming for the surgery.

      • cowboycrustation [he/him]M
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        6 months ago

        Even if you don’t have a deep voice pre T, vocal training will still be of great help. There are a lot of vocal habits and innotations that people read as male or female. Just having a deep voice will not make you sound like a man or masculine.

        • Zeke@fedia.ioOP
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          6 months ago

          I’ll give it a shot in hopes that it’ll work. I’ve been told by my therapist I don’t have the feminine speech patterns already so we’ll see if it helps. If I remember, I’ll come back to say whether it helped or not. Thank you =)