Here we go!!!!

[calico]

Today went a lil better... or maybe a lot better i wrote down some questions to ask, and asked them. I dialted today but with the makeshift "0"  for 15 minutes, and sri took the catheter out ,which was a pain and ended up making me bleed a lil bit. And she said i could go ahead and shower so... Yay for that it definately will make me feel better thats for sure  , so we shall see about peeing now in a bit..

something I have noticed is I have not bled a lot I have heard of almost everyone bleeding, now I am not complaining just was suprised..

Also i dont know how to describe this maybe its just something minorly strange but shortkly after the surgery I noticed this, before when I looked in a mirror all I seen was a what seemed like a stick or straight figure perhaps androgynous(even though I wasnt very androgynous) and well now I see all my curces and my figure seems to appear very much diferent to me.... I dont know if thats strange or not but seeing my self now actually makes me smile and helps....
well off to the shower maybe I can leave the room today..

[calico]

A word of advice ,just because uou are feeling much better and you can get around your room fairly well after surgery,does not mean you should go out and about even if youlimit yourself to the hotel

Learned that today its basically the 7th day after surgery 4 day out of the center, and I had just got my shower and felt decent so I felt like mmm going outand saying hello to theother girls I have met here, and eventually down to the cafe while I waited for my room to be cleaned, well I ate and had finished some tea and was chatting with one of the girls than decided it was time to make it back to my room... a couple steps and very dizzy ... had to get a wheel chair to go back to my room so... lolwont be doing that again for a minute thats for sure

so remember even if you feel up to it-- hold off and wait, its a major surgery and if you should fall from being dizzy yaa could tear your stitchs, and be in a real serious situation.

[Rita]

That has got to be the best journal of events I have read so far, its a real roller coaster from beginning to end.

[calico]

I am glad everyone is enjoying reading this, as it was my intention to give those looking at going to Dr. Chettawut and idea of what to expect, and to hopefully give some advice on what to and not to do  Of course I supose my journey could possibly used as a slightly worse case scenario. 
However a slight update i forgot to mention, was during earlier's dialation the initial 5.5 inchs turned out to be incorrect, I am actually 6  and also for those who are considering Dr. Chettawut he also give a lifetime guaranty on his work, should you ever want revision he will do this at 0 cost, of course you would have to get there.

again thank you everyone for the support and continued reading and I believe I mentioned it before but I will mention again, feel free to ask any question you may have 

[dejan160]

Hi Calico,

I am sorry that I am noticing your post kind of late, but I am Dr Chettawut girl and super happy with the surgery. 6" is a good depth and sensations and cosmetic outcome are persistent with Dr. Chettawut so I don't have to ask about it. I am sorry for the pain you went through. In my case the SRS was a painless precess. I guess it is the epidural thing. Dr Chettawut offers lifetime free corrections but as you can see in his center nobody comes back for corrections which means that most of his patients are happy with the initial results. It will take time to achieve a state of complete healing (about 3 months) but please follow the doctor's instructions as he is very honest and indeed one of the best doctors I have come across.
I really wish you smooth recovery and welcome to the new world where you can be complete.

Anna

[Erin Kay Howell]

Hey Calico!

Your story was inspiring and making me want to dive in to the next phase.

I do have a question though... what were the costs if you dont mind me asking?

[calico]

just an update for today, and an answer for a question.

Today is the day I go to dialating 3x times a day for 30 min each. and alot of swelling has gone done and things are starting to look better as I go
I am staying mostly to my room, and going to try and stay that way till next week in which I hope that I can get out and do a lil sight-seeing/picture taking. and hope one of the girls that I have met will join me if they are able.
At this point i am having little electric-like zaps, and/ot a itchyness, which i believe is just the healing and nerves reconnecting.
Another note for those considering SRS, is this after you are unwwrapped it will look somewhat decennt, but the next 2 days afterward it will look really bad and make you feel concerned, but while it looks horrible and does cause some uncertanty reaslise it will get better swelling will subside and you will be ok.. so dont panic.
I can see at this point my anatomy that everything is in the correct order. For scars I am going to get some cream to help, this is majorly toward the legs.

Yesterday I was told to go back on my hormones, because of having several issues... not this is not the norm and they definatelly dont want you to go back on hormones till you get back to your home. primarily because of dvt possiblities and clotting beeing more possible if you end up sitting for a long period (airplane) and also high altitudes. So just because i am getting hormones doesnt mean you will. It was just determined because of my dizzy episode and other factors I should go back on them.

Erin total cost is about this;

Surgery - close to 12k
Airplane - 1500 if ticket purchased 2 months in advance.
hotel stay,including breakfast-1000 (not including meals)
other stuff- food,site seeing, etc (variable)

I would recommend  to set aside 15k total for this, and this doesnt include your bill back home/etc

I am guesstimating by the time I am home I will be at 17k

Also you should figure what bare your bills are for 2 months, so you could also have that as you WONT be going back to work for at least 6 weeks

[ZoeM]

just an update for today, and an answer for a question.

Today is the day I go to dialating 3x times a day for 30 min each. and alot of swelling has gone done and things are starting to look better as I go
I am staying mostly to my room, and going to try and stay that way till next week in which I hope that I can get out and do a lil sight-seeing/picture taking. and hope one of the girls that I have met will join me if they are able.
At this point i am having little electric-like zaps, and/ot a itchyness, which i believe is just the healing and nerves reconnecting.
Another note for those considering SRS, is this after you are unwwrapped it will look somewhat decennt, but the next 2 days afterward it will look really bad and make you feel concerned, but while it looks horrible and does cause some uncertanty reaslise it will get better swelling will subside and you will be ok.. so dont panic.
I can see at this point my anatomy that everything is in the correct order. For scars I am going to get some cream to help, this is majorly toward the legs.

Yesterday I was told to go back on my hormones, because of having several issues... not this is not the norm and they definatelly dont want you to go back on hormones till you get back to your home. primarily because of dvt possiblities and clotting beeing more possible if you end up sitting for a long period (airplane) and also high altitudes. So just because i am getting hormones doesnt mean you will. It was just determined because of my dizzy episode and other factors I should go back on them.

Erin total cost is about this;

Surgery - close to 12k
Airplane - 1500 if ticket purchased 2 months in advance.
hotel stay,including breakfast-1000 (not including meals)
other stuff- food,site seeing, etc (variable)

I would recommend  to set aside 15k total for this, and this doesnt include your bill back home/etc

I am guesstimating by the time I am home I will be at 17k

Also you should figure what bare your bills are for 2 months, so you could also have that as you WONT be going back to work for at least 6 weeks

What about working from home? Is that a reasonable proposition - say, with a laptop and a huge backpillow so one can work while lying down?

[calico]

What about working from home? Is that a reasonable proposition - say, with a laptop and a huge backpillow so one can work while lying down?

I dont see why not, the main reason for time off is a lot of your time will be devoted to you new parts, and of course continued recovery.
you really wont be bed-bound so its very feesable to work from home.
and there will be sometimes you just need to rest

[tomthom]

I'm very curious as to how you are feeling with it aesthetically... at least once it's done healing. Is it outwardly identical to a GG?

[calico]

I'm very curious as to how you are feeling with it aesthetically... at least once it's done healing. Is it outwardly identical to a GG?

Everything is where it should be compared to a GG, if swelling wasnt there and stitch's, I believe it would be dificult tp distinguish a gg and mine apart from each other, unless there waas a detailed exam, I will ofcourse keep commenting about its aesthitic down the line as I heal more and there is less swelling..
As of right now I am very pleased overall.

[dejan160]

Everything is where it should be compared to a GG, if swelling wasnt there and stitch's, I believe it would be dificult tp distinguish a gg and mine apart from each other, unless there waas a detailed exam, I will ofcourse keep commenting about its aesthitic down the line as I heal more and there is less swelling..
As of right now I am very pleased overall.

It is too early at this stage to comment the cosmetic outcome. There is a lot of swelling at this moment and it will take several months before you can see the final result. Expect the things to improve every day. And for the scars don't worry much, because they will go away. Do you have any flap necrosis, or is Dr. Chettawut the best reconstructive surgeon who always makes the flaps so perfect and nobody gets wound tear or necrosis?

[calico]

. Do you have any flap necrosis, or is Dr. Chettawut the best reconstructive surgeon who always makes the flaps so perfect and nobody gets wound tear or necrosis?

I have not had any necrosis as of this moment.  The Dr. is very good at what he does yes, I look forward to seeing how I heal, and will comment further than, about the aesthetic's 

[Jesslee]

Calico congratulations on crossing this HUGE milestone you definitely deserve it, I am so happy that you are sharing all of this with us it really does help those of us who are trying to decide which surgeon to go with!


I am zeroing in on Dr. Chett and I am kinda certain that he will be my choice when the time comes (I really am impressed with the photos I have seen), there does not seem to be very many people on this site who have been to him and very little info on the web about his results (beyond aesthetics). 


Do you know if Dr. Chett's patients report being able to eventually "self-lubricate"?

I only ask you because he does not discuss this on his site and since his method (non-penile inversion) is different from Dr. Brassard's and other western surgeons I would love to know.

[calico]

there does not seem to be very many people on this site who have been to him and very little info on the web about his results (beyond aesthetics). 

Do you know if Dr. Chett's patients report being able to eventually "self-lubricate"?

I only ask you because he does not discuss this on his site and since his method (non-penile inversion) is different from Dr. Brassard's and other western surgeons I would love to know.

There are  actualy several here on the site that have went to him for surgery actually, there are 2 other girls from here currently for their surgery right now, just not everyone speaks up

I cant really say at this point if I will self lubricate, but I asume I will, but I dont believe it will be sufficent for intercourse. Being self lubricating really depends on a person, the only way one coul guaranty they would be self lubricating is to do sigmoid colon vagiaplasty, but there are downfalls to this procedure, and shouldnt be a first choice.

[rachl]

Yep, my date is tomorrow ^_^

[Nicolette]

That's one worry I have. I wouldn't know what a GG looked like even if it hit me in the face. I've seen a few diagrams, pictures on srs websites and a few porn pictures. A surgeon could convince me that any botched creation of theirs was acceptable.

[Rita]

Thing about SRS, what may look botched may actually be normal.  Vaginas come in all shapes, sizes, colors, and not all look perfect.

[SurgeryCurious]

Hello, Calico,

First, congratulations on your surgery!

Second, I know this probably looks a little weird coming as my first post, but your experience with Dr. Chettawut is actually why I registered on the site (though I've been reading the forums for years for all the helpful advice).  I was curious about your anesthesia experience. I, too, may be at risk for a complication with the standard anesthesia, but I have been unable to get Dr. Chettawut and his staff to respond to my questions about using alternatives (such as total iv anesthesia) despite the fact that I am scheduled for surgery with him next month. Would you mind sharing with me a little more about your experience? I am happy to give you more information if you would like, and I am also happy to chat off forum or e-mail. But, please, any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

*Edit May 6, 2013: I just wanted to add that Dr. Chettawut did contact me and get the situation resolved, the response was delayed due to an extensive multi-doctor consultation. Hopefully this will allay any bad feelings my post might have caused.

[calico]

Hello, Calico,

First, congratulations on your surgery!

Second, I know this probably looks a little weird coming as my first post, but your experience with Dr. Chettawut is actually why I registered on the site (though I've been reading the forums for years for all the helpful advice).  I was curious about your anesthesia experience. I, too, may be at risk for a complication with the standard anesthesia, but I have been unable to get Dr. Chettawut and his staff to respond to my questions about using alternatives (such as total iv anesthesia) despite the fact that I am scheduled for surgery with him next month. Would you mind sharing with me a little more about your experience? I am happy to give you more information if you would like, and I am also happy to chat off forum or e-mail. But, please, any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

I havent an issue one answering questions and I am glad if I can help someone. Dr. Chettawut does not do the anesthesia himself, that is Dr. Veera, I would not worry so much as the aspect of how they do there anesthesia more than likely(I asume)you wont be able to get a specific answer by email.
Email's are handled by Som and she forwards info to the DR team to review and make the best plan. If you have medical issues (like I did) you need to get copies of all reports from your Dr's and treatment locations. and you need to make suure they are aware of alergies and what they do to you. The day of my Surgery I talked with Dr. Veera about my medical conditions, and no BS it was like right before surgery. He wanted to know what happens if I eat this or that, and about medications ,etc being very thorough. After which he tells you his plan.. Mine was simple. I wasnt getting the epidural because of posible complication, and the anesthesia well they started an iv for me and preped for quick intubation, and 2 seconds or less after he started injecting I was out.
Recovery can be very hard for some if there are  heath conditions as well as for me I had oxygen for 2 days, and the iv for 3.5 but everyone will vary. If you wish to go into something specific that you dont want to talk about here feel free to pm me.

That's one worry I have. I wouldn't know what a GG looked like even if it hit me in the face. I've seen a few diagrams, pictures on srs websites and a few porn pictures. A surgeon could convince me that any botched creation of theirs was acceptable.

Rita gave a very good answer, the best thing I could suggest is do a yahoo image search for vagina, and female anatomy. and it can give you an idea, but be aware not every female is exactly alike they comme in all shapes and size's so just like your result it would be unique to you and your anatomy something Dr. Chettawut says he focus's on each outcome is as individualist as the person he he doing the surgery on, but everything is in the proper place and it doesnt look like a chop shop special.

I am more than glad to help anyone who might have questions so feel free and I will do my best to answer. and of course if ya wanna throw me some rep....................    

Like I said when I started this topic my goal was the show other people what the experience was like and hopefully be of help.