I had my 6 week check up with Dr. McGinn’s office two weeks ago and meant to write a quick summary and do an AMA if anyone has any questions. Overall things are going well and I’m happy with where I’m at. I’ve tried to add relevant details, but let me know if there are any other areas of interest. These types of posts were really helpful for me, so I'm trying to pay it forward.
Aesthetic - The area is still very swollen and will take a long time yet to go down. I’m looking forward to my ‘FUPA’ area and labia to be less swollen. Particularly my left labia seems to be healing slower than my right which makes it look uneven to mel. Both sides are healing, just at a slightly different rate :/. If I go for any revision, it will probably be to even things up a bit if needed… but I’m hoping to avoid it as I really want to limit any additional surgical procedures. Healing is fun and all, but I don’t really want to do it again any time soon! The attached photo is about a week old. You can see the uneven healing on my labia a bit.
Dilating - I just dropped down to 3 times per day for 30 minutes. I’m currently working on ‘green’ and it’s a bit of a struggle. I don’t mind dilating right now because I’m still not back at work and I find it relaxing. However, in two weeks or so when I go back, it will be more challenging. Fortunately we’re still working remotely for now and that will help. For reference I use Surgilube and I find it works well.
Pain - At this point, I don’t really have much pain, per se. Every once in a while things will ache a bit and there’s still some tender spots. However, generally I can go about my day as normal and pain is not much of an issue. The area that is particularly tender is my clitoris area. It’s so sensitive that it’s painful at times. I think Dr. McGinn did a good job on my clitoral hood as it covers the clitoris well and has a good aesthetic. It just feels like things are still settling in there and it doesn’t like to be bothered right now.
Post-op, my whole groin area felt like someone sewed all of my bits into a super-tuck. Finally that tightness is going away and the area feels more like me and less like a surgical site.
Activity - At 6 weeks Dr. McGinn’s office cleared me for full physical activity and that’s been a blessing. So far I’ve gone on 3 bike rides and did a Bikram / Hot Yoga session. The first bike ride I mostly just stood on the pedals and went for about 7 miles. By the 3rd ride, I could sit and pedal comfortably and went for 12 miles. For reference I’m an avid cyclist and could ride 50-100+ miles before surgery. Yoga was fine too. I’ve lost a lot of strength, endurance and flexibility, so I’m taking it slow and building back a base. During my consultation with Dr. McGinn, she said I’d be able to ride my bike and do normal things in 6 weeks, I thought it was a bit optimistic. I’m happy to see that she was right! Getting back to exercising seems to be helping my recovery.
Mental - My mental state has been generally OK. As nerves come back to life I’ve experienced some phantom sensations / itches that have been both physically uncomfortable as well as anxiety inducing. I’ve had some anxiety because I couldn’t make the ‘itch’ go away and it generally happens at night when I’m trying to sleep. Also, it’s made me have a few of those, ‘why did I do this?’ thoughts. I didn’t like having a penis but it didn’t hurt and I could orgasm any time I wanted. There were a few short moments where regret tried to get in, but I was able to shut it out. The phantom sensations are already subsiding substantially. The Dr. said they normally peak around 6-8 weeks. And I know I will be able to climax soon once things heal more. These are temporary issues and certainly don’t outweigh the positives from the surgery. For instance, I went to the beach in a bikini recently and felt confident about myself. I just feel better and more feminine overall and I love it.
Well, I rambled enough. As mentioned please drop me any questions and I’ll try to get back to you!
Thanks for sharing!! It looks like it'll keep healing nicely!
Wow, about the timing of being able to ride a bike. I'm also an avid cyclist with similar miles to yours...and I was told to stay off the bike for 3 months! The impact of that was really drastic. I'd recommend shopping for some new female bike seats if you haven't already. I have a Bontrager Ajna on my Road bike and Specialized Mimic on my Gravel Bike. (There are others, they're just the two I settled on...) Of the two, I like the Mimic a little bit better, but I am sure YMMV!
Just getting off a second 3 months off (I needed a revision) and working on building back up as well. I'm back up to @ 50 or so already, and again lost a ton of fitness....
I don't know all, but I know a lot of trans cyclists around the world. We exist at all levels. Happy to run into another!
Congratulations and good luck!
Awesome! Thanks for the tip, I'll check those out. I use a Specialized Power saddle on my road bikes, which has a cut out and shorter tip. Pairing it with women's bike shorts, I felt pretty comfortable... but that was only for a few miles so will keep that in mind :)
Great to see other trans bikers. I stalked your profile a bit :). Did you have any issues competing against women? I used to race. I don't know that I'd ever do it again just to avoid controversy. I track my power stats closely and my power is down 30-40% from my peak male physique. I can ride for long distances, but not nearly as fast. Transition had a huge effect on my biking and actually was something the caused me to push out transition a few years - I just wasn't ready to give up riding fast and far. Now I ride a bit slower, but still work as hard as I can at it and it's a lot of fun. I shouldn't have used that as an excuse for delaying transition :)
Transition having a huge effect on biking is an understatement! Felt like I lost power and some lung capacity/efficiency in the process. I had no plans on competing post transition, as I had not prior. But some folks I knew talked me out of it...and into competing post transition. I joined the first ever all Transgender sports team - The Trans National Women's Cycling Team (formed in 2016, active 2017, 2018, and 2019). We shut it down after because it was no longer necessary. Those of us who were actively racing got picked up/invited to join local women's teams...and I race for one of them today. My record doesn't show much...in competition I am not that good. I'm on the older side now (54) and racing against 20 year old's most of the time. I experience the gender disparities in cycling (women vs men) and deal with that...but rarely do I have an issue with being trans. Early one (and still get on rare occasion) some occasional stares, was miss-gendered a couple of times by officials, and was hackled once by a spectator at a Crit. They all know me and people told him to shut up or not return and he disappeared. That was the point of forming that team early on...to have safety in numbers...but there really just wasn't enough of us in any one area to really rely on that. We did one race a year as a team...after that we were primarily running solo in our local areas with little overlap. (It didn't help that there were some differing points of view and we split into two groups early on...) Still, the experience was great....and like I said we were all picked up by supportive local women's teams...The team still exists from a social standpoint to some extent...
Don't let being trans ever stop your ambitions. Just follow the rules and be prepared to defend your eligibility if ever challenged. Depending on what CAT you are will depend on how much that will matter. Our early team rule was to follow the rules at all times (like you were a CAT 1/Pro), regardless of your ranking. We never wanted anyone to ever have anything be ever questioned...being in the spotlight. I still follow that general guideline today...even though I am only a 4. (I will likely never get higher than maybe a 3...but it would be helpful if I stop having surgeries to interrupt my training time...)
Felt like I lost power and some lung capacity/efficiency in the process.
Men have a higher red blood count than women. You’ll see if change on hrt if you’re measuring it.
Yes, I'm aware of all the whys, but going through it is a totally different experience all together. Also, timing of it always comes as a bit of surprise. Certain things happens faster than what most physicians realize. This type of information is shared readily amongst trans athletes, but not in the general community as a whole.
Congratulations. Wonderful results.
Incredible results
She looks great I just hit two months post op ♥️
Hi. It looks soo good. What method did you have?
Not OP, but Dr. McGinn does PI.
i am a lil confuzed u had pi?
I have PI with Dr. McGinn tomorrow. OP also had PI with Dr. McGinn.
agree with above. McGinn only does PI
Penile inversion
Wow she did an awesome job it looks great
Guaauuu excellent and very natural result!! Congratulations 🙂🙂
Im a month post op and that tightness feeling is killing me lol! Im releived that it went away for you, was it located at the clitoral level and constant feeling ?
Congrats! I agree, clitoral area and constant pressure. I could feel it more when I stood up or walked. It felt like everything that was outside of my body got sucked in and wouldn't come out! It goes away :)
THANK YOU for posting this! The details are super helpful. (I've got a date with McGinn in just under two months...!) I do a lot of cycling and it's really good to hear you were able to get back to that as quick as you did.
Looks great very good work. Where did you get your surgery?
Dr. McGinn is in New Hope, PA.
Congrats! I have surgery with her tomorrow!
Congrats! I hope everything goes well, I know it will! Good luck tonight with the colon cleanse, hope you get some rest. Tomorrow will be a big day. You're in good hands and I'm excited for you :)
Hi! How are you? I hope very well, could you do an update on your recovery please
Hi! I have a routine checkup with my Dr. on Thursday this week. I can post an update afterwards. Thanks!!
Thank you very much for your very beautiful testimony, very clear, exhaustive, detailed and truly at the service of other girls, women, who would like or will follow the same path as you. I admire your courage and hope I get the same. I wish you the best for the future. kisses
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