Transfem

I'm about 6 years post bottom surgery, and it's been good and bad.

I had issues with scarring for the first 12 months that made for a really difficult time dilating, and also meant that I wasn't able to have sexual interactions the way I was hoping to have them. I battled with that for a while, then covid came along, my mental health took a dive, and I stopped dilating.

Now, I'm effectively "zero depth".

And that all sounds bad right? But it's not. My dysphoria is gone. Clothes fit me the way they're meant to. I feel comfortable naked. I am comfortable in my skin in a way I couldn't be before bottom surgery. And sure, I can't have sex the way I want, but that was already true before I had bottom surgery, so even though I didn't get everything I hoped for, I am still way better off than I was before my bottom surgery.

Can you orgasm?

Yep!

Any unique hygiene issues?

Not really. Nothing comes to mind

What are some non-obvious post-surgery things that only become apparent when everything settles back into a routine?

Farts that roll up the front are a whole different experience :P

But more seriously, I don't really remember what "before" was like anymore. It's just normal life these days.

I guess I can come in here with a long-term review at 11.5 years post-op.

Are you happy?

Definitely. Was one of the single greatest improvements in my quality of life.

Have you had any issues since the surgery?

Not really, everything is fine.

My only complaint is lack of depth, which makes finding toys that aren't painful, challenging. I was pretty average size, or maybe slightly below, I think, pre-op, and even after dilating for 2+ years post-op, my "dimensions" aren't what I'd like.

Can you orgasm?

Yes

Any unique hygiene issues?

No

What are some non-obvious post-surgery things that only become apparent when everything settles back into a routine?

My biggest piece of advice is to ease yourself into sexual encounters afterwards; don't rush things. Be kind to yourself and others and take it slow. It's a really big (and fun!) learning experience, with lots of room and time to experiment.

I am extremely happy. I had surgery last April. I never honestly believed that being this happy was possible. I hardly recognize the person I was pre-op and it has affected every possible area of my life. I'm so much more confident in myself, so much more comfortable in my body, and I can fully see the way that I used to passively feel dysphoric literally constantly no matter the circumstances. Having a penis was severely detrimental to my mental health and made it essentially impossible to feel at peace in my skin. I love who I am today, I love my body in spite of it's flaws, and I feel like I can express myself in ways I never could before and like that shines through and my relationships with everyone in my life have become a lot healthier as a result. It's weird sounding to say that, but yeah not being in constant dysphoria has changed everything haha. Yes I'm very very happy and have no regrets whatsoever.

I had hypergranulation on part of my labia in the short term after my surgery date. I had to travel quite a distance in less than ideal circumstances only 10 days post op. In the process of that significant strain was put on my labia and some of my stitches opened. It was a relatively small area on the inside of my vaginal canal and the bottom of one side of my labia. It looked pretty scary at first but healed mostly fine on its own without intervention. Not entirely though, and due to complications I ended up having to get some granulation tissue treated with silver nitrate. Took around 6 months of silver nitrate treatments every 3 weeks for it to fully go away. I don't have any granulation tissue anymore, though, and I was at the point of being fully healed as of around 14 months post-op.

Yes, I am able to orgasm. There's a lot I could say there, but yeah, I can. Sex in general, is infinitely more enjoyable for me now. Learning how sex with a vulva functions has been an experience to say the least but with patience and time I've been figuring myself out haha. My sexuality and relationship I have with sex has changed a lot since surgery. I think my first orgasm was around 4 months post op.

Nothing unique no. Pads are annoying but I only had to deal with them for the first 2 months. Still need liners sometimes but they're not nearly as uncomfortable.

The massive difference that having no T made in my life. I experienced a big jump in breast growth, a shift in my body and facial fat placement, a surge in hair growth especially my hair line. Like my body not producing any T made me hormone levels a lot more stable and a lot higher consistently. The difference has been pretty wild honestly. I'm mostly used to it now but a lot of people have remarked on it.

I also noticed at first the lack of like. Anything there. And I'd also notice just how often I used to feel it being there and just sorta tune it out. The novelty of it is short lived and by this point the thought that I had one at all feels distant, like I know that I did but I'm losing my memory of what it was like having one.