Lisa

Today is my 3rd HRTversary! I swallowed my first Estradiol tablet three years ago today. 😊

Of course, I've been gettin' my precious E via injection since June 14th of 2024, (literally) stabbing myself in one leg or the other every Friday for almost two years now.

I would love to extoll the virtues of hormones and the massive changes they've made to my body. But at my age, or maybe because of my genetics, it seems... not so much.

Don't get me wrong, I did grow boobs! But they were disappointingly small. At least to me. Hence the breast augmentation last year.

My skin certainly got softer! Unfortunately, it also became easier to bruise. Not the bargain I would have liked.

Other fat in my body reshaped itself. Which means I have actual girlie hips now. My face is also more... oval? It's strange.

And my feet shrunk! No, seriously. They're at least a half size or more smaller. Very weird. That means I can walk into any shoe store now and buy women's footwear in my size. Nice.

Making lunch today I was reminded of another change when trying to open a jar of soup ingredients. I burned a LOT of calories trying to get that fucker open and finally had to use one of those kitchen cheats to finish the job.

Last week's grocery shopping included some heavier items like sparkling water. But even if I had bought only bags of full of fluffy stuff, I still can't make a single trip carrying it all from the car to my apartment anymore. Those days are gone along with my upper body strength.

Did I mention my greater sensitivity to cold and the ability to smell every thing and every person anywhere I go now. Yeah, there's that, too.

So, maybe there have been big changes and some virtues in this deal.

One thing's for sure, I'm so glad I took that tablet of Estradiol. And I know how lucky I was to be able to do so.

So many of my trans siblings are being denied access to HRT because of financial reasons or, frankly, horrible people who want to control our bodies and tell us who we are.

We've known all along who we are. Hormones just make it easier to express that identity. Fuck all those who would try to hold us back!

#transjoy #transrights ✊🏳️‍⚧️

Yet another update since it's now exactly three months after my va-jay-jay surgery. Quite the milestone and I'm almost shocked it's already here.

Overall, I'm healing well. I do have some occasional and minor granulation issues, but my surgeon told me to not worry about that. Along with not worrying about the tiny fluid discharge every day. Which, I'm told, will likely persist during the first year. What fun. Guess I'll keep buying stock in maxi pad manufacturers.

I've been using silicone scar tape and gel for my various surgery "seams" and "punctures" for the last month. They're an absolute nuisance to apply and maintain, but I hope to reap the benefits eventually. We'll see how well they work on this old body in another five or six months.

The good news is that I can now finally wear ordinary-sized panties and my fave skinny jeans again. And there was much rejoicing!

I can also now sit completely upright for extended periods of time. And occasionally without my ever-present waffle cushion. As long as the chair is comfy enough anyway.

Dilation three times a day has been a real drag. Not gonna lie, that's easily the most annoying aspect of this type of surgery. But I keep making steady progress. And now... (drumroll, please...) ...I'M ON THE BIG ORANGE!! (Trans girl aficionados of Soul Source products will know what I mean.)

But I'm not yet flying soloing with the Big Orange (at a 4.7 inch circumference) since I still have to start with Big Green (at 4.3 inches). Hopefully, I'll get my pilot license in another week or so. which means that I won't have to do this shit three times a day anymore!!

So much of post-surgery life has been punctuated by and scheduled around dilation that even having to do it twice a day will be a huge relief. Eventually, of course, I'll be able to reduce that frequency even more. But my surgeon has been cautiously strict about all this. Dammit.

Anyway, I love you all and hope you don't mind me hiding away from social media lately. I'm finding it difficult to curate the news, much less read it, right now. I'm not sure how long this hiatus will last, but I'm valuing my mental and emotional health over being known as the "boosting girl."

Much love, 🤗🥰💖
Lisa

@slothrop@chaos.social Awwww, thank you so much. I'm glad to be here with all of you. 🤗🥰💖

@whakkee@appdot.net Thank you, sweetie! The recovery is going well, just slowly. 🥰💖

@LeoR1010@mastodonsweden.se Duuuuuude! That means you're twice as strong now. 😊

@LeoR1010@mastodonsweden.se Thank you, sir! 🤗🥰💖

@LeoR1010@mastodonsweden.se Awwww, I'm so sorry. But think about all that upper body strength you have now! 😊