I had my orchi in early November by a well respected by the transgender community doctor in Atlanta. During the surgery, done via local which wasn't too painful, but at one point on the left side felt like a jolt of electricity shot up the cord into my abdomen..The first week wasn't really bad, I was only on strong pain meds for a couple of days. I was back at work (a short/light week, I have a desk job) after a week, was still was in some pain and fairly swollen but not too bad. Two weeks out something on the left side didn't seem right and was much more tender than the right but I assumed it was just still healing. Went back to the doc after a month complaining about pain on the left side and could feel a blob of something that wasn't on the right side. -One time- she mentioned "Well one cord is a little longer than the other, that is what you are feeling, nothing to worry about", she would never again admit this. At this one month point she said I was "at the half way point to healing and it would only get better from here". It hasn't.
6 weeks out I took a trip and did a good bit of walking around, -maybe- a total of 4-5 miles over a two day period. Left cord got so lit up I contemplated going to the ER in the middle of the night, lots of swelling and pain was really worse than the day after the surgery. Like I was crying rolling around in bed pain. Ice and lots of advil/bed rest the next day got the pain manageable. When I got home, I went back to the doc. She said I was "overdoing it" and I needed rest (the previous visit she said I could "resume activity"). I took two weeks off from work and laid on the couch. It wasn't any better, I could still feel this tender lump next to my penis on the left side and went back to the doc again.
She then thought maybe it was a low grade infection, gave me a zpac and some prescription aleive. Told me to rest, come back in two weeks and if it wasn't any better she had a plan on what we might need to do. I had closely been monitoring my body temp since the surgery and it had never gone up, so I didn't suspect this was an infection, especially 8 weeks post op. But I followed her instructions, continued to rest, took the antibiotics and the meds for inflammation. It didn't improve. I expected her to tell me it would need some minor revision surgery and I was fine with that, I would even pay for it if that is what was needed.
I went back to the doc and when I told her it still wasn't better, she became hostile. She said this pain was in my head, the surgery was 100% healed, was done 100% right and accused me of trying to use this for pain meds. I was shocked, for one thing I only took prescription pain meds for 2 days, never asked her for a refill and in fact still have 90% of the original bottle of pain meds on my shelf. One time she asked if I needed a refill and I told her no, that I don't like how they make me feel. When I pointed all this out, then she said "Well sometimes when people have a body part removed they have a strong emotional attachment to, they develop this type of 'phantom pain'". Yeah right I elected to have my nuts removed because they are my best buds..
I tried to explain that physical exercise or even simply crossing my legs will make it hurt, I can physically feel something "hanging down" on that side that isn't on the other side so how can this all be in my head?" She got increasingly ugly and told me that as a surgeon, there is nothing else she can do, that I need to see a mental therapist/pain management clinic. I left really pissed off.
Since then I have called 2 urologists in the area and as soon as they hear someone else did surgery they "don't want to get involved, and I should go back to the surgeon". Like seriously? I'm in pain and they refuse to even look at me???
At this point I am coming up on being 6 months post op and this left side cord is still a problem. If I do nothing except lay around for a few days it calms down, but if I walk around, even just around the block on level ground, it get's all lit up and the whole area around the cord becomes obviously swollen. The cord stub on the left side is easily 1 inch and maybe 1.5 inches longer than the right side. If I really probe around I can feel the end of the right cord up inside me. The end of the left cord is about even with the center of where my penis attaches to my body. I think what is happening is when I walk around, the end of the left cord is rubbing on stuff and is getting irritated/inflamed. I don't suspect this is ever going to heal.
So I guess I have a few questions, first does this sound in any way "normal" for this procedure? Second, where do I go from here? It seems other doctors don't want to get involved or even examine me, the bitch doctor won't admit she possibly botched this and I'm starting to get depressed that I'm simply going to be in pain and unable to resume being an active person for the rest of my life. I really thought this was going to be a good thing, less meds, lower T levels etc and all that has been positive. But this constant pain really sucks bad..
