*clap*
Hey pals,
How are you doing?
A while ago I asked you to ask me questions about my
hysterectomy,
and I finally get around to answering those.
sorry about the light
in advance,
this is the only kind of place in the house that looks cute at the moment,
For those of you that don't know, I am a 23 year old trans guy living in
the UK,
and I had a hysterectomy about two months ago? Two and a half months ago?
I had it on the 12th of November.
I had a total laparoscopic hysterectomy
so they got rid of my cervix my uterus my ovaries,
and my whole like
reproductive system,
and they did that through using instruments through like
four holes,
including my belly button, and so it's all very like minimally invasive,
and I'm pretty much recovered now
so I feel like I'm at a point where I can
answer most of the questions that you asked.
The first question is from Noah Hector, who says
"what made you decide to get a hysterectomy?"
The main thing was the health side of having my reproductive system whilst being on
testosterone.
I don't think there's currently any proof that being on
testosterone, without having a reproductive system taken out for longer
than five years, is detrimental to your health,
but I figured since I don't
really need it, I don't feel like I have a connection to it or like
I'd necessarily want it?
The sooner it's gone the better.
In the UK if you're going
through lower surgery they tend to do it in stages, and in your second stage they
do the hysterectomy along side other parts of your lower surgery.
For my lower surgery I still need to lose quite a bit of weight and I don't know how long that will take,
so I thought having a hysterectomy beforehand will give me
something to make me feel like I'm progressing in my medical transition,
and not really have to worry too much about having my ovaries and stuff still.
I was also getting cramping in my lower abdomen,
not too often but often enough
that it was uncomfortable,
and if there was a solution for that then I would go for it.
Since surgery I haven't had that cramping sensation so I'm assuming that
that was the cause of them.
They also asked if I felt weird knowing that
something was removed or if it just feels like I'm on the way to having a
body that represents who I really am.
Honestly physically I don't feel any
different.
It doesn't feel like there's a space inside of my abdomen,
or like
things of rearranging...
it might have felt a bit like that
in the first couple of weeks of recovery, but now it just feels basically the same
as it did beforehand.
I don't feel like my uterus or ovaries or cervix or
anything like that kind of changed the way I saw myself,
because I couldn't see it
and it wasn't bothering me on a daily basis,
but knowing that it's gone it's
just a relief.
Samual Smith says what's your biggest tip you have for
preparation now that you look back on it?
If I could do it again I think I
would eat healthier leading up to it and focus a lot more on mindfulness and
meditation, because a lot of the recovery process is doing nothing,
and if I could
do nothing comfortably beforehand it might have been a bit easier.
I also
think it would have been a good idea to have a like watch list,
or a list of
things that I could do if I was feeling really bored or isolated.
A few people
asked about the pain discomfort moving around especially, relating to top surgery.
I'll say that top surgery was very painless for me,
if I could score it
out of 10 for pain it would probably be a 0.5.
I didn't feel much pain at all,
I didn't feel much discomfort,
and the only reason I couldn't really move
around because my chest was tight and I just
knew I shouldn't.
Because the hysterectomy was around my abdominal
muscles you kind of have to take it a lot slower because a lot more is at risk
if that makes sense,
I'd say that the pain was probably about an 8 out of 10,
not necessarily my stomach area,
but the rectal pain that I felt was horrendous
and the worst part about recovery probably.
The discomfort came from the
swelling that was inside of me,
I said it before but I felt like there were two
expanding balloons either side of my abdomen,
and that's kind of the best way
I can describe it.
When I came to moving around I felt like I could do it but I
didn't want to do it too much,
because I didn't want to jeopardize my healing.
It wasn't that I was in constant pain and discomfort it was more like I have to
stay still for this period of time otherwise I will affect the long-term
outcome of this surgery.
TheoDaintyy says How do you feel since you had your
hysterectomy in terms of dysphoria?
I don't think I had that much dysphoria
relating to my hysterectomy?
I had enough obviously to get rid of it but it wasn't
something I thought about daily,
it wasn't something I cared about as much
as top surgery or lower surgery,
it's more of just like thinking it was a nuisance.
It's nice to know that I don't have to worry about getting
pregnant, or getting cervical cancer or needing smear tests and things.
I think because I can't see it physically, and it didn't affect me
everyday,
it didn't have that much of an impact in terms of dysphoria.
Again, a few
people asked What kind of help and support I needed from other people after
surgery and what support they can give to their loved ones after surgery.
So, physically I needed help with basically everything,
I needed help with cleaning
and cooking putting my Surgical stockings on,
sometimes changing,
sometimes showering, it was just difficult to do things on my own
and I don't think I would have been able to do it if I didn't have support.
Theo has a litter tray that needs emptying and I couldn't do that for a good few weeks.
I just couldn't really do anything and I just had to accept that it was not my
fault, and that I couldn't control it because that was something that I really
did battle with emotionally.
I think what helps when you're dealing with that is
being reassured that you're doing great, and that you're doing the best you can,
and you're not being selfish for not doing things,
and it's not because you're
just lazy or because you can't be bothered,
but it's because you're
recovering from something major and it helped to know that other people did it
because they wanted to rather than because they had to.
Other things that
really helped were just getting well wishes from other people, and people
telling me they were proud of me, and getting cards for my friends.
It just made me feel really loved and when you're feeling that vulnerable and
nervous and anxious about things, it helps to have people thinking about you
and just sending you well wishes.
Elijah Ayseah,
I'm really sorry if I've said that wrong,
says What would happen if you ever quit hormones now that you've had a
hysterectomy.
I looked this up because I wasn't entirely sure and there's not
that much information about it,
Basically my body would go through
menopause.
I think it is kind of going through a bit of menopause at the moment
but it wouldn't be as severe as if I wasn't taking testosterone.
So physically
the permanent changes from testosterone would probably stay like my voice,
maybe my hair growth like on my face and my stomach, it might get a bit thinner but I
don't know if it gets thinner because of estrogen or if it's thinner because of a
lack of testosterone.
Also genital growth probably wouldn't change,
I've written
down menopausal symptoms which are; hot flashes, night sweats, difficulty sleeping,
reduced libido, problems with memory, concentration headaches, mood changes
palpitations, joint stiffness, aches and pains, reduced muscle mass, and a
recurring UTI.
If you're not on testosterone but you do want a
hysterectomy I think it's an option to take estrogen
I think that's what a lot of people do anyway, if they're not in testosterone
and have a hysterectomy.
Zane Walker says Does your body feel
different and if so how?
I don't think my body feels that different at all,
I was
kind of like wondering whether or not I would feel an empty space in my stomach
but that hasn't happened,
it doesn't feel like anything's moving around like I said before.
That Guy Branson says Have you noticed any further changes from T
after hysterectomy like hair growth, voice dropping, muscle increase, emotional
changes, confidence changes, weight loss or fat distribution?
The things that I've
noticed most, is my facial hair and body hair increasing.
Before my hysterectomy I
kind of had really thin hair up here like peach fuzz and now it's kind of
getting darker and I feel like that is because of my hysterectomy.
Also Paul has
noticed that my abdomen hair - it was shaved for the hysterectomy - but it seems
to be growing back dark and thick,
and I'm not sure if that's just because I
shaved but it looks like it's coming back
and I'm not complaining.
Kayden Brady says If you had a catheter after was it
really painful or did they numb it before using it,
did it hurt to walk around?
I did ask before I went into surgery because I
needed the toilet, sort of, before, and I was like "should I go now or is it
gonna be fine?"
the nurse said that I'd be catheterized before they do anything
just so my bladder is empty,
when I came out of surgery there was no catheter in,
the only reason I had to have a catheter was because I couldn't pee four hours
after surgery.
When that happened I was told to just lay down on the bed and I
don't think there was any numbing cream, she didn't say anything but I was kind
of out of it at that point, so she might have.
*sneeze*
Having a catheter in didn't hurt
but it felt like I was kind of just shoving a watermelon into my nostril, or
maybe not a watermelon but more like a really thick sausage.
After my bladder
was emptied, she took the catheter out and I didn't
need it again ever, and I could pee four hours after that so it was fine.
Ashton Daniel says Did you have to deal with doctors telling you you're too
young and might change your mind?
I thankfully didn't but i know that it
happens fairly often which is really frustrating.
The surgeon i had was really great,
as soon as i went into the appointment he
was just really nice and said what do you want it for,
this is the kind of
thing we do,
you can choose from this but I recommend this,
most people do this,
If anyone is interested in seeing him in the UK his name is Tony Chalhoub I think..
I'll maybe leave his information in the description,
but he does the majority of
the northern region of UK for hysterectomies and he's worked on quite
a few transmen I think.
He was also really thoughtful when it came to
dysphoria and asked whether or not I'd be okay on a woman's ward, or if I wanted
be alone,
and what kind of things they could do to make me feel more
comfortable which I really appreciated.
The Robonator says How long was the
recovery?
On paper I think I was six to eight weeks,
and originally I got given a
sick note for work for four weeks but they said after four weeks go to your
doctor and if you don't feel ready ask for another sick note, and that's what I did.
Komorebi, sorry again for being terrible at pronouncing things, says How
was it like using the toilet after the first few days and weeks?
The first time I used the toilet I think I said before was four hours afterwards,
and I couldn't
push at all.
I sat there, and I bled a bit.
I stood up after that and nearly fainted and my blood pressure went really low,
I think,
and it was just not very nice.
Four hours after that I wasn't really able to
push but I could pee.
I could just sit there like be really patient and let it
happen.
After about three-four weeks I think I was able to push it like normal
and just do it fine.
Last question is from Liam Rubin, and they say "How is
it with testosterone now, are you more moody before a t-shot?
I have my
testosterone injected by a nurse every 18 weeks so I haven't actually had it
done since my hysterectomy.
I don't think I've noticed being moodier as I'm kind
of leading up to my injection, I think it's due in a few weeks,
but I have
noticed that I have been quite low in terms of my mood,
and I'm not sure
whether or not that's a sign of my regular depression,
or if I've got a bit
of post-op depression,
or if I'm just moody because I'm due my testosterone
shot.
I think it's quite unlikely that it's because I am coping less with my
testosterone.
I think it's more
depression.
There's my questions and I hope I gave you some idea of what it would
be like to have a hysterectomy.
I want to thank Sol, Mark, Bex, and
Oliver, for supporting me on Patreon,
you're great I appreciate you so much.
I hope
everyone's having a great day a great week and a great month, and a great everything
and I will speak to you soon.
Bye.