I don't want to give out too much personal info so I apologize if some things aren't as detailed as you hoped

I had facial feminization surgery in January of this year. Before I reached out to anyone for a consultation, I did a lot of research (r/mtf has a list of plastic surgeons for each state in the sidebar I think) and found one that I wanted to speak to. I set up a consultation with the surgeon and after speaking to her in person I felt comfortable enough to move forward.

The procedures I had done were a sliding genioplasty (cutting the tip of the chin in a triangular shape and sliding it forward to get rid of a recessed chin), chin narrowing, tracheal shaving (reducing the size of the Adam's apple), a rhinoplasty/septoplasty (straightening and reducing the size of the nose), and buccal fat removal (removing/reducing small pads of fat in the cheeks so they're slimmer). I wanted to shave my brow bone and bring my hairline forward a little but I couldn't afford to do those.

The recovery was pretty brutal for the first three days. I had no feeling at all in the bottom half of my face and my teeth were extremely sensitive so I could only eat soft food like mashed potatoes and soups and I made a mess every time. The anaesthesia made me a little kooky so I was falling in and out of sleep all the time and I had some mood swings. My feet were swollen for several days and it hurt to walk on my heels, which really sucked because I had to go to the bathroom to pee a lot because they hooked me up to an IV machine to keep my hydrated while I was under. I also had to sleep sitting up for two weeks and that was pretty uncomfortable. There were times where I actually wondered if it was worth it.

After the three day hump, I started recovering really fast. The swelling and bruising started going down, I had more energy, I could slowly start to eat regular food, I could sleep better and I could actually bathe myself without passing out in the tub. My mental health improved dramatically the more I got back into my usual routine.

Two months later and almost all of the swelling has gone down. I went from people referring to me as ma'am about 70% of the time to all the time (unless they hear me speak first). I think back to when I regretted getting everything done and I laugh at myself for feeling that way. For the first time in my life, I feel kind of content with the way I look. People tried to talk me out of it before I actually got the surgery by telling me I already look feminine but I didn't listen because I wasn't happy and that's all that matters. I would recommend it to anyone who is dysphoric about their face and can afford it

@alexandra_kollontai tagging you because you asked