Body Shopping

I thought, just for shits and giggles, I'd total up my costs of my transition.
It turns out that being handed the wrong body is pretty expensive to correct,especially if you wait till your thirties to start correcting things. If I'd had access to puberty blockers then Voice feminization, tracheal shave, laser hair removal and Breast Augmentation would all be unnecessary.
Oh well, on the plus side I've been incredibly fortunate in how well my body has responded to hormones and the lasers have worked really well so I'm very well aware of just how lucky I have been.
Especially given that I was almost 33 when I started HRT.

So in no particular order, here's the whole shopping list.

Gender Confirmation Surgery - $28,000
This is the big one.  GCS is a major invasive surgical procedure with many months of healing required.  I'm hoping I'll be able to get this done in the next two years as I'm not getting any younger and my healing time and recovery will only become more grueling as time goes on.
I'll be going to Dr. Suporn in Conburi Thailand for this procedure.  The actual cast is around $22K but I'm adding the costs of flights and a two month stay in Thailand for recovery.
Fr the curious, Dr. Suporn uses a different technique from most surgeons in that scrotal tissue is used to form the vaginal canal instead of penile tissue. In my opinion he is the best surgeon performing this operation in the world today.
For those of you interested in further reading, here is a description of his methodology.

Yesson's Voice feminization surgery - $10,000
Yeson Voice Center in Seoul, South Korea have pioneered a method of raising vocal pitch via a safe, reversible and minimally invasive surgical procedure that you can learn about HERE.
The basic idea is that a small incision is made at the top of each vocal fold and then both vocal folds are sewn together at the point of incision with a permanent suture.  The tissues then grow together at the site of incision and effectively shorten the vocal chords.
This is the only voice procedure I would ever consider having as all other procedures are very invasive and carry serious risk of permanently losing ones voice.
For those of you who know me and have heard me speaking you may be wondering why I'd bother with this and it's true, my speaking voice is passably female.
The thing is though, I can't sing anymore.  I really, REALLY miss singing and I consider it the single biggest sacrifice that I've had to make.  The other aspect, and this is equally important, is that n a day to day basis, my voice is the one thing that drags me back into a sort of met awareness of my being trans.
Every time I speak I have to think about how I'm modulating my voices pitch.  I want to be able to forget about it.  I want to be able to never have to think about how my voice sounds again.  Well, unless I'm singing or acting or doing something like that.
I honestly care more about this surgery than any other and if I could only get one more procedure done this would be it.  It killed me to make the decision to spend my savings on getting an apartment and covering my living expenses because I wanted to get this surgery done so bad.
Time to get rich and famous because this one HAS to happen ASAP.
The $10K is the cost of surgery and a week in Seoul plus the plane ticket.
Serious bummer? I'll have ZERO ability to speak for two weeks and very limited use for two months.  It will be totally worth it though as I've heard the results from a very dear friend of mine who underwent the procedure and it is frankly amazing.

Breast Augmentation - $10,000
Not much to say here.  This is one I can live without but dammit, if I'm doing everything else, I want bigger boobs too!

Tracheal Shave - $3000
I got this done at the end of the summer.  The doctor mad a small incision under my chin and then proceeded to shave away the cartilage of my adams apple until it was no longer prominent.  It has worked very well an the scar is healing up nicely.

Laser Hair removal - $2400
I've been getting regular hair removal on my face and neck since last october and it has worked amazingly well.  I've had pretty much perfect results.  I'll probably go for a couple more rounds because I'm fussy but I now have less facial hair than many natal girls I know.
Oh, and it fucking hurts!  Don't let anyone tell you different.

Rhinoplasty - $5000
Like the BA, this one is me wanting to make everything exactly how I want it.  It's unnecessary but if I can I will.

All of that for a grand total  of $58,400!  Yipes!!! that is spendy.  Makes your gym membership look like a bargain don't it!

Oh I almost forgot.  Because healthcare won't cover any of this, I also get to pay out of pocket for my hormones and testosterone blockers

Estrogen - $35/Mo
Spironolactone - $25/Mo

It's not a huge amount, but it adds up.