That’s how I feel, too. 
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I think the scars will fade significantly, but I also think a couple of tattoos might be cool as well. A friend who had breast cancer got a tattoo to cover her breast instead of a fake nipple, and it looks awesome.
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Yassss. I have a tattoo plan already bubbling around in my head. 
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My friend is so pleased with hers that she is prone to flashing people.
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If insurance does not end up covering it, how much would it cost you? This, to me, is one of those significant expenditures that leads to a higher quality of life, and therefore quite Mustachian.
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nods!
If insurance doesn’t cover it (and frankly, if it does but requires HRT and I decide HRT is not for me) I will pay out of pocket at a surgeon who does “informed consent” practice and therefore believes me at my word that this is a procedure I want.
Estimates for it depend very much on which surgeon it is and if it requires travel (airfare and hotel stay).
Rough guess is $10K, possibly $15K on the high end with travel and extra planning as-needed.
I should also note that right now I don’t know what the wait times are but I’m guessing 6 months or so once I’ve gotten a consult and put down some money.
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I should also say, crowd funding for this type of thing within the trans community is common. I’m unsure if I would do it or not as I “have the money” and would feel duplicitous, but having parties and fundraisers for this is a thing.
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There’s no reason not to explore fundraising. Because of a personal connection (I knew Jennifer Finney Boylan when we were both teenagers), I follow a lot of trans people on Twitter. The ones who are most successful at fundraising have, as you might expect, a large media presence.
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Yeah. I have Feelings about asking for money that I don’t “need”. Because there are plenty of trans folx who want surgery but can’t afford it, unlike myself.
Since I’m not there yet I can keep having these feelings for a little longer and avoid making choices. 
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I am an old, and am sad that I am never invited to surgery parties anymore. Especially because as an old, I would now be able to help way more, and not just sit in a kissing booth or whatever in lieu of cash.
If it fits with your beliefs and community, I think that parties are valuable. You could even do it to raise funds for someone else’s funds or another cause. But I think top/bottom parties are in the category of weddings, funerals, christenings, bris, baby parties. They are a community recognition of a ritual and passage. And the community can also contribute to the celebrated person(s) journey if needed.
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Today’s Question of the Day is trying to figure out what effect low dose Testosterone would have on PMS.
Cursory research on The Internet suggests that low dose T has variable and unpredictable effects on menses overall-- some people a low dose is enough to stop it, some people it’s not. What does seem to be recorded in science stuff I’ve found online, though, is the effect it has on PMS as an experience.
Because, whooooooy, if that was a side effect, that would be rad. Just saying.
Currently posed that question to a group of trans folx, but only a few of them are AFAB so idk if people will know the answer.
Paging @Bracken_Joy because you Know Things. No worries if you don’t have time to play “Answer Oro’s Questions” though.
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Easy answer: I have no idea! Although I do know the BCs that we’re marketed to treat PMDD (extreme PMS) like yaz were very high estrogen doses rather than progesterone only ones, and were recalled for blood clot risks. (Which I remember vividly since I was on yaz for 8 years and got a blood clot in my leg… luckily not a DVT, as that would have excluded me from IVF 
). Anywho. I dunno, but it would depend I think on how your estrogen swings in response to the T. Which seems heavily variable.
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Haha, cool! One more in the “WHEE NO CLUE” bucket. Thanks!
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I suspect that tends to be a fairly individual result, depending on the particular symptoms. At least among my social network it has been. The only specific I remember offhand is in relation to aromatase inhibitors- that in someone with uterus/ovaries they can cause menopause symptoms unless you supplement estrogen, but in people with uterus/ovaries that supplement testosterone they can still cause amenorrhea but without the other symptoms.
It’s been quite a few years since I studied this, though, so this is mostly meant as a potential google search direction
ETA I also totally don’t remember what aromatase inhibitors are even used for, I just remember “AI” as a thing that was affected differently depending on other hormones so that information might be totally meaningless to your body!
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AI’s like arimedex (sp?) and aromasin, keep testosterone from converting to estrogen, and to a lesser extent, DHT. A lot of folks I know run those because they’re afraid of developing gynocomastia from running large amounts of exogenous test. It’s a shame because arimedex is brutal on cardiovascular health. Selective estrogen receptor modulators work better for that purpose in men, blunting the effects of estrogen in the mammary glands that even men have.
But, in women, I’ve never seen a good reason to run an AI outside of cancer or other extreme medical cases. ( Doesn’t mean there aren’t, I just haven’t seen them)
I obviously don’t know this side of the journey, so ignore me if it isn’t helpful.
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Okay. I called my insurance a third time and finally got documentation about their requirements.
It’s… very wishy. I could see several places they could deny me as a non binary person. And apparently my insurance is notoriously difficult to get authorization on for trans health.
Sorry for the awk. snips.
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Long story short, reading through that, I feel strongly that it will be difficult to get approval as a non binary ish person. I think I am best off assuming I will not be getting coverage from them.
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Is partners insurance through a different company?
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Correct. They do not cover gender surgeries at all. 
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Crap. Sorry if you have already said that and I missed it.
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