The Weekly Beacon is your weekly guide to the mechanics of transition. Join our growing community of folks navigating phalloplasty, top surgery, HRT, and social transitioning with confidence.
For the last 7 months, we’ve covered a lot of ground in this newsletter. We’ve talked about everything from the orange rug disaster and one-handed showers to the mental adrenaline drop and the mystery of Stage 2 complications. If you’ve been reading along, you’ve realized one thing: Information isn’t the problem. You can find supply lists and surgery photos all over the internet. The problem is Structure. Most people prepare for phalloplasty like it's a one-day event, but it's actually a...
If we don't laugh during recovery, we’ll cry. So let’s laugh at my expense for a minute. Story 1: The Orange Disaster. I had a shy bladder during voiding trials, so I was prescribed FlowMax to help. FlowMax creates urgency. I also ended up with a UTI as well. So I took AZO for the UTI pain. AZO turns your urine bright neon orange! So because of this urgency from the medication, I didn't make it to the toilet one night. My nice cream-colored area rug in my bedroom? Permanently stained...
We need to talk about the two words every Stage 2 patient fears: Strictures and Fistulas. What if a complication wasn't a "failure," but just a plumbing adjustment? The Stricture: This is a narrowing of the urethra due to scar tissue. If your stream feels weak, starts "spraying," or you feel like your bladder isn't emptying, contact your team. The Fistula: This is a small hole where urine leaks out from somewhere other than the tip of your penis. The Good News: Most fistulas heal on their...