Well I'm now an eunuch. I did it myself last night: clamped and tied them off from most of the night and next day (with elastics and a soldering clamp) until they were multiple shades of purple and necrotic, then cut them off with a just-out-of-the-package carving knife and just out-of-the-package scissors, then immediately called for an ambulance and rushed to the front door of my apartment building. I lost a LOT of blood, but the wounds were very smooth and clean, and there was a plastic surgeon at the hospital who patched me up perfectly - cut the nerves off up high like you're supposed to, put in a funnel overnight, and sewed it up very well. Everyone at the hospital was very nice and understanding, including the psychiatrists who listened to my explanation and cleared me to going home. They even gave me cab vouchers to get me home and to my appointment with my endocrinologist tomorrow, and all the supplies I'll need to change the dressings.

I don't recommend anyone else do this, there are a lot of other options if you have a job and can save up for the surgery (or if you're a transsexual with medical insurance/actual healthcare). In my case I'd spent eight years pursuing all options only to be thwarted at each step by a willfully-ignorant medical establishment (the bureaucrats, not the good psychiatrists, doctors and nurses on the front lines) and a neo-conservative state. Certainly I could have died, but I made the decision to risk my life in order to assert self-determination over my body, and fortunately it all worked out well for me. I've just gotten home now (the next day) so I'd like to just rest, but I will endeavour to post daily updates on my status here.

Autumn

a newly-born eunuch

So glad that nothing terrible happened to you.. As brave as you have been, this is a cautionary tale...

Very happy you managed to do it successfully and glad you were well treated afterwards with no complications.

You were lucky

Hope healing goes well

Welcome to my fellow eunuch.

I wish you could have achieved it by safer means, but you are with us on the eunuch side now regardless. You have the full support of the real eunuch community, I'm sure. I know this one supports you.

Stick around, and keep in touch with us.

--LT

Will do, and I'm going to try to work with the many establishment contacts I made in pursuing my own castration to see if we can at least make some sort of progress in the short term that might encourage other people who can't afford the surgery to wait until it's covered [or to move to a state/country where gender reassignment surgery for wannabee eunuchs will be covered] once the DSM-V comes into effect in 2012.

So?rry, but what is the DSM-V

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders..... not that wishing to be an eunuch deserves to be called a 'disorder' whatsoever. It's the Bible of Psychiatry, and the new version coming out in 2012 will include a category of 'Gender Identity Disorder' called 'Not Otherwise Identified' - meaning those who don't consider themselves to be male or female in any standard sense. That will mean any government that covers gender reassignment surgery will have to cover it for transgendered would-be eunuchs. My other posts explain further.

cograts an welcome to a new and exciting life

Thanks, if I wasn't so sore and achy I'd probably be literally jumping for joy.

Congratulations on having planned and accomplished your castration in a "relatively" safe manner. It is a shame that such a simple surgery is not available for someone who jumps through enough hoops for the medical/mental establishment. I think it is neat that you took control of the situation and forced them to finish things up neatly for you.