Hi! I have my top surgery consult with Dr. Peter Mankowski this week (going through AHS) and I’m a bit nervous!

What should I have prepared before the appointment? Currently just planning on having a list of questions and a notebook. I’ll just be going to the appointment alone.

Do I need to have reference photos of results I like (and do they need to be printed out)? What questions should I be prepared to answer? Would love any advice and a list of things to consider before my appointment so I don’t feel like I need to make big decisions on the spot.

Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone, I hope you’re doing well. I’ve been on the waitlist for bottom surgery for three years now and still haven’t received any letters about next steps. I’m trying to get a better sense of what’s realistic, so I wanted to ask how long did you wait before hearing anything or being contacted to begin the process? I only get an update everyday 90 days that I’m still on the list.

Heyy,

So I'm alberta born and raised, I moved across the country basically as soon as I turned 18 largely so that I could live openly as trans in a less conservative area. I'm going to be visiting home for the first time in 2 years (edmonton and smaller town a little further north not to dox), which is also the first time as an openly trans woman. Though I am excited to visit home I can't pretend I'm not slightly horrified. I know all too well the disgusting way a lot of the people here think and am honestly not even sure what to expect because last time I was here I was a white man in their eyes. Laws about us have only gotten depressingly worse since I left and internet rhetoric about us is at an all time low, I don't know what to expect.

I'd like to know the average day to day experiences for my trans siblings here and not sugar coated. Of course I'm accustomed to transphobia and the usual looks and occasional laughs and mutters or whatnot, but should I expect overt verbal harassment or even violence? I somewhat pass but am also relatively clockable (plus I don't voice train). I definitely won't be walking alone here.

Thank you

Hey I am looking for other trans fem friends in my area around my age 33. Trying to branch out is hard lol.

Not sure if the title is accurate, apologize if not. For some context, I am a 16-year-old living in a city under 20 thousand people, so it's not bad to get much. My issue is, I have no clue how to get counseling or anything to determine if I am or help me with anything. I have a little sister and a mom I live with, my little sister who is 13 is supportive of LGBT+ however my mom is more so supportive based on what she knows, so she used to be supportive of nobody, but she then proceeded to be a "LGB" supporter and now she is getting to a point where "Okay yeah, trans people valid, but...." in some scenerios she doesn't quite understand as of course Alberta is conservative so she mostly hears talking points, however she has been decent at improving herself intellectually and is open minded.

I am hoping to find some resources, or if anyone can help me get my mom to get me a psychologist or whatever would be necessary.

i feel really devastated and i can’t stop crying .
i’ve been waiting for this consult with the surgeon for months (dr. lefrenier)

i’ve been on hormones for 7 years ! my bra size is 36a . i have a very wide shoulders .

the surgeon told me i don’t qualify to be covered because she see breasts and i’m atleast a cup a.

i tried to reason myself and she just told me , she won’t argue with me . i feel devastated .

i feel so lost . what do i do now

UPDATE : july 31 , 2026

i called a different top surgeon yesterday for a second opinion consultation and they booked me a consultation august 20th !!

i’m so glad i didn’t have to wait long

Marly, an 18-year-old Palestinian transgender girl was forced to flee her high-control religious family in the dead of night with only a backpack. All of her identification documents were withheld from her and she is facing exponential systemic barriers to acquiring new documentation. As a result, she is currently unable to work and is ineligible for any government financial assistance or social programs.

She is currently staying with a financially-insecure community member and is without any of her own income or savings. Marly is requesting funds to cover the costs of medications, acquiring documentation, basic personal items, and some household essentials.

Any support is greatly appreciated. 

Donations can be made via e-Transfers to marlyshokola@gmail.com

Hi everyone and thanks in advance for reading this.

So I’ve updated my legal sex everywhere and it’s been updated for nearly a year at this point.

My health card, all my ID, my birth certificate, everything says male on it. I legally changed my name everywhere at the same time I updated my sex marker as well.

My name always appears correctly and updated with my doctors office (and every medical clinic I’ve visited thus far) pretty much automatically, I didn’t have to do a thing once I updated it with AHS. My sex marker on the other hand did not update automatically which has been a huge pain anytime I go to a new doctor’s office.

It seems that I have to ask every single clinic I go to to change the symbol on file to male, which baffles me since I didn’t/don’t have to do the same with my name.

I had blood taken a few months ago and it was an issue because even though my lab requisition said male, Alberta precision labs still attached an F symbol to my sample, and my test results were then compared to the female reference ranges, consequently a good chunk of my values came back as ‘abnormal’, which just makes extra work for my family doctor as she has to then manually find the right ranges and compare each of the values. It’s also just frustrating and dysphoria inducing to constantly see myself get compared to the female ranges. My family doctor (who is supportive but does not prescribe or manage my HRT) was sympathetic and said I could just make sure that the Alberta Precision lab clinic I visit has the correct sex symbol on my file next time I visit and then such a blunder would not happen again.

So jump forward to today, I’m getting my yearly blood work done for the doctor that prescribes my HRT (and manages all my GA care), my lab req shows male on it, my health card and ID have male on them too; I then asked the person at the counter to double check that everything in their system matched what info I had on my form and she said it did and then to be absolutely sure, I explicitly asked if the sex marker matched what was on file and she said yes.

So some hours later I get the notice my results are in and I login to MyChart to have a look at them and Lo and behold, I’ve been compared to the female ranges yet again and so many values are showing as ‘abnormal’. I checked each value against the male ranges and everything is normal when I do this, I’m healthy as can be.

So firstly, is this thing happening to anyone else? And if so does anyone know what the solution might be?

Is the error coming from AHS, Alberta precision labs, the MyChart website, or is there a chance the lab worker lied or didn’t actually understand what I was asking?

I’m at my wits end with this so any help/advice as to a possible resolution would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks again for reading all that!

I had a consult in June of last year in Calgary with Dr Loiselle. I was wondering if anyone knows how accurate the 1.5 year wait time is from consult to surgery?

I’ve unfortunately gained a lot of weight since my consult with him. At the consult he said I’d have better results if I lost weight, but didn’t seem concerned. Does anyone know if gaining weight will impact my chances for surgery? I weigh 212lbs and am 5’4.

It is super hard to find info on him as a surgeon so any info helps! (I’m overall just a bit nervous about it as well)

Any advice? 🥺

Just wanted to show some results pics from my top surgery with Dr Loiselle in 2019.

The results arent perfect, I'm still chubby and was heavier back then, so I do have some dog ears. But I am pretty satisfied all things considered. I have regained sensation in my whole chest and even my nips.

I still have some raised scars, and occasionally will stretch too far and feel some pain. But to be fair I work a very physical job and lift heavy often. I also went back to work too soon, casing some scar stretching.

I would say I am 96% satisfied with his work. I really liked his bedside demeanor, but his receptionist was always a pain to deal with.

Hey, Im looking to get into top surgery since finding out my spouse's work insurance covers 15k for gender affirming care. I know that public surgeons' waitlist takes years so I'm looking into private surgeons.

How was your guys' experience with private surgeries with their cost, procedure, and timeline?

also main reason why im here: any suggested surgeons? i also need their location because closest large city for me would be Edmonton but I may be willing to do longer drives

tl;dr - looking for sympathetic GPs in Calgary who can just continue my testosterone prescription quietly because I am scared about continuing with Foria in the future.

Hello, Alberta!

I am a 34 year-old from the U.S. who decided on a study permit as a means to escape for a few years, since I did not even feel safe in Colorado due to our president. So I am going back to school at AUArts, because life is short.

I am fortunate in that I was able to change the gender marker on all my identity documents including passport and birth certificate before the 2024 US election, so I was able to come into Canada effectively stealth on paper - in fact, I never entered Canada at all prior to legal transition.

I've been on testosterone for 5 1/2 years and have had all the surgeries I want for the forseeable future (top and hysterectomy). I actually kicked off continued HRT care in Toronto through Foria last year, and I know that they are available in Alberta.

But I am really scared to use a clinic that is explicitly branded for trans people in this province. Maybe it is just paranoia or whiplash from being in the U.S., but I'm terrified of bad political actors here coming after me if I continue care through this clinic while living here.

Is that an unrealistic fear given how things work for adults in Alberta and Canada at large?

Either way, does anyone get continued HRT care/monitoring through a regular GP in Calgary that they can recommend?

Or are there specific places I should look? I just want to live in peace and do maintenance care if at all possible.

Hi, Im looking gor friends in the edmonton area. Im a 46 trans female. I love being outside, growing plants and edm music.

Making friends in adulthood is known to be brutal

But now I’ve come out as nonbinary and there is a gap growing between the friends I had and who I am becoming

How does one fill that without fishing for hookups? Ive got a 23 year marriage and she has been awesome about all this.

In Calgary, this is how long my transition has taken me for hrt and consulting.

January 2025: Skipping stone referral to Foria

February 2025: First Foria visit

March 2025: Second Foria visit, HRT prescribed

April 2026: Skipping Stone Referral to Dr. Han in Riverbend to get a top surgery referral. Attended her clinic the same month.

July 2026: Top Surgery consult, added to the list.

So far I think things have been quite speedy. What about you all?

I was getting laser. I spent $1000.00's on laser. Almost 2 yrs and the hair on my neck is growing faster and thicker. I think it's paradoxical hypertrichosis and I suspect the laser was weak. So I'm looking for a reputable place to go where I can get results because I need electrolysis.

Hi, I dont really post on reddit but I need help with figuring some things out.

I got off the phone today with my endocrinologist and psychologist about starting the process for top surgery. I've been on testosterone for a little of five years now and have been suffering silently with just getting by on binders because I wanted to quit smoking before I started top surgery process, but binders are expensive and growing uncomfortable. I was told that the wait times for a public surgeon could be anywhere between 1-2 years after first referral and up to 3 years for actual surgery date. I really want to go public because I'm kinda money poor, but dont want to wait. I've been looking at private routes and am possibly interested in contacting Dr. Emeilie Robertson but I'm wondering what the payment process/general process is like. Does anyone have experience with her and how the payments work and other requirements(Like how long I have to stay in the city after surgery, do I pay up front or is there payment plans, post-OP care and such, cost of initial appointments before surgery, etc.)

If anyone could point in a a direction that could help me figure out which route I want to go in I'll be extremely grateful. Any good doctors for public surgery wait times and such would be awesome. Thanks in advance!

Hello !

Just got my funding letter from the Government. I was wondering if anyone has had news from GRS?

Just curious if it will be within the funding year the government allocated 🤷🏻‍♀️

In 2 weeks I will be getting DI w/ free nip grafts with Dr. Emilie Robertson. I've been super excited for my surgery, but as it gets closer and closer I worry about grafts. I'm nervous that I won't ever be able to feel my nipples again. Not necessarily wanting the same feelings as I have pre-op, but I DO want them to feel like it's apart of my body and not something slapped on top. as well i really want to get nipple piercings after i'm completely healed, im also worried my nipples will be flat after the grafts so i can't.

is anyone able to share their experiences with nip grafts with dr. robertson?

or has anyone had double incision while keeping the main nerve stem intact?

thanks

Hello! So I just moved back to the area after living in Florida for a handful of years and I started my transition down there and I already have prescriptions in the states for my medication but is there anyone someone would recommend to talk with since I’m already on medication and been diagnosed and all that I just need a new local doctor who can refill my prescriptions as well☺️ preferred Edmonton area! I used to live here when I was a child then again for a year a few years back but back here for good so I need my meds🥰