I regret my SRS

Snöfrost · July 25, 2015, 06:13:22 PM

It's something that I cannot get back. I'm not regretting my transition. Just regretting my SRS.

I know that you have to take in consideration that stuff won't go as expected with SRS. But now I cannot do things in my dailty life as I could do before.

I thought that my SRS would make me feel better. But now I feel very depressed that my dailty life is limited.

Beverly · July 25, 2015, 06:40:01 PM

My own SRS is in 10 days so I am interested in knowing what your SRS has stopped you from doing that you could do before

Laura_7 · July 25, 2015, 06:46:09 PM

How long ago was your SRS ?

Please keep in mind that with operations, there can be a phase of post op depression, up to a few months after operation.

Well you could celebrate what you have... enjoying the positive sides...

its like a package, with pos and neg sides... and you can look predominantly at the positive sides...

and concerning womens rights and attitudes, sweden should be quite all right... if being with the right people... open minded maybe...

*hugs*

Laura_7 · July 25, 2015, 06:48:12 PM

Quote from: vcjhyt on July 25, 2015, 06:40:01 PM
My own SRS is in 10 days so I am interested in knowing what your SRS has stopped you from doing that you could do before

This might be for you:
https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,190515.msg1697107.html#msg1697107

hugs

Beth Andrea · July 25, 2015, 06:48:43 PM

I think we need more details about why you feel SRS wasn't right for you, and could you have known before the operation?

Dena · July 25, 2015, 06:52:57 PM

I am don't know what happened or why you regret your surgery, but I had my surgery 33 years ago and there is very little I can't and haven't done that I wanted to do. Please help us understand because I think there might be much more out there than you know about. I know some people have hard times after surgery and my roommate was one of them, but after she got past it, she lived a happy life.

Snöfrost · July 25, 2015, 06:53:24 PM

I simply cannot hold my bladder as I could when I was pre-op. And that my urinary tract keeps to shut itself after the surgery so it can take 5 minutes to just empty my bladder.

I know that you can train your muscles with certain excercises, but I've done that alot every day now, and it doesn't get better. It just get worse.

Also I've been rushed to surgery in a hurry to do uretha dilation...TWICE within a month, cause I could barely pee, but at the same time I had difficulties to hold my bladder. Both times of those surgeries was with different surgeons with experience with transgender patients and at different hospitals. And the word I got is that I will highly likely end up at the hospital again with same problem. Trying to correct that I will be able to hold my bladder longer is too risky.

This has affected me that I cannot hold my bladder at all. Imagine if you're on a train ride that will take 3 hours with no toilet avaiable. It won't be a problem for most of you, but for me it's impossible. I am constantly going to the toilet to pee all the time.

Just imagine that you cannot control your bladder at all.

Beth Andrea · July 25, 2015, 07:00:30 PM

Sounds like two different problems:

First, when the urethra is not blocked, you can't hold the bladder like you used to, and

Second, sometimes the urethra gets blocked and that's when you can't pee.

My wife (who is cis-) has told me repeatedly that she's amazed at how long I can go without peeing...she says that after SRS the urethra is much shorter than in a male, and its much more difficult to hold the pee. (Also, because its much shorter there is an increased chance of a UTI.)

RE: the second symptom...could it be that the urethra gets blocked due to being misrouted somehow? How long ago was SRS?

Laura_7 · July 25, 2015, 07:05:32 PM

Well there are panty liners for that purpose... there are cis people who have that problem, too...

have you considered asking a specialist for urinary tracts, not necessarily for transgender people ?

And you might inquire with other surgeons doing srs procedures... I'd even contact Bowers, or for example
https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,169037.msg1478769.html#msg1478769

and I'd do a lot of research...

some cis people drink a small glass of cranberry juice daily to help with bacteria in the bladder...

hugs

Dena · July 25, 2015, 07:09:43 PM

While it might not be your problem, I also had somewhat different issues with peeing after surgery. In my case I had a good deal of swelling in that area and they held me in the hospital until I could pee without help. That didn't mean I could properly pee. I had to put my body on my legs in order to avoid spraying the wall with pee and it took a while to empty my bladder. It took months before the swelling went down to the point where I didn't have to be careful how placed my body when I went to the bathroom. If you didn't have your surgery all that long ago, it is possible you are like me and swelling may not go down very fast causing you problems. If that is the case time will help your problem.

stephaniec · July 25, 2015, 07:11:58 PM

Sorry your going through his problem . I have a similar problem. I have Rheumatoid Arthritis and it very painful for me to get up to a standing position and the stress on my legs causes my bladder to lose control , it's like not being able to chew gum and walk at the same time so it takes a lot of advanced planning on my part. It's a messed up situation , but doable with a little advanced planning or the other easier option is the back up plan of adult diapers.

Snöfrost · July 25, 2015, 07:12:14 PM

Let me explain what the first surgeon said. He said that the surgery would take 15-30 minutes long. But after I woke up from anesthesia. He said that it took over 2 hours to dilate my urinary tract, cause my urinary tract was so narrow all the way upp to the bladder, that it was less than 1mm all the way up! He had to carefully use a small baloon that the could expand in my urinary tract. I was sent home the same day with a urinary tract catheter that I carried for 5 days so it could dilate my urinary tract.

And two weeks later, my urinary tract had shut itself again.

And the second surgery was done with a different surgeon at another hospital. The surgery also took 2 hours and he also mentioned that my urinary tract was narrower than 1mm.

The first dilation of urinary tract was done just 1 month ago, and the second was done about 1 week ago. The first surgeon have experiences with transgender patients and the second surgeon is specialized at plastic surgery and SRS.

It's been almost 6 months after my SRS.

Dena · July 25, 2015, 07:20:56 PM

Some thoughts come to mind. was your urinary tract always that narrow? If so, how did it work before the surgery. Was there anything that happened with the surgery that could have caused this to happen? Has there been any talk of possibly constructing a new urinary track of a larger dimension? This is all very puzzling because that is something the surgery shouldn't have done. It sounds like there is more to this story that you haven't been told.

Snöfrost · July 25, 2015, 07:34:13 PM

As pre.op, my urinary tract was fully normal. Never had problem at all while I was emptying my bladder.

2 month after my SRS. I met my SRS surgeon again for a checkup. I mentioned that I had difficulties with my urinary tract and I asked if they could do anything. He said that I shouldn't worry at all and that there is no problem.
Months passed and about late May I met a urology. He couldn't insert a catheter and said that I had to dilate it.

It was supposed that my ordinary SRS surgeon would dilate during the second dilation, but he wasn't avaiable and they had to take another SRS surgeon for the task.

Laura_7 · July 25, 2015, 07:41:51 PM

Quote from: Snöfrost on July 25, 2015, 07:34:13 PM
As pre.op, my urinary tract was fully normal. Never had problem at all while I was emptying my bladder.

2 month after my SRS. I met my SRS surgeon again for a checkup. I mentioned that I had difficulties with my urinary tract and I asked if they could do anything. He said that I shouldn't worry at all and that there is no problem.
Months passed and about late May I met a urology. He couldn't insert a catheter and said that I had to dilate it.

It was supposed that my ordinary SRS surgeon would dilate during the second dilation, but he wasn't avaiable and they had to take another SRS surgeon for the task.

You could have a look here:
surftraveler.hubpages.com/hub/Homeopathy-Safe-Natural-Cure-For-Urethral-Strictures

Urethral strictures might be from infections or scars...
dilation is given as one remedy...
and natural remedies have helped quite some people...
especially if the option is a surgery...

hugs

Mado G · July 25, 2015, 07:42:48 PM

I'm a little surprised that your urologist isn't exploring the option of using a stent to more permanently expand your urethra. $:-\$

Is that an alternative that has been considered and dismissed?

Snöfrost · July 25, 2015, 07:51:16 PM

I have no idea what that is in english.

The urologist tried to use what they called "guidewire" what they claimed to be the smallest size they had.

Dena · July 25, 2015, 07:54:42 PM

Sorry for the delay but I am not a medical person. Something is going on here and I am not sure what. Went to Google and a few ideas popped out of it. It appears this can happen and two of the causes I found in my quick search are damage during surgery or STD. Now other infections are a possible cause so there might have been a infection as the result of the surgery.

My roommate had a urinary issue as well and she received dilation as a solution to the problem. It lasted for a while but like you, she would need it again. I think surgery would have been in her future had cancer not taken her first.

I think dilation isn't going to be a long term solution to this so you with what you are learning here, you need to find a doctor, most likely a urologist and ask many questions. The current approach isn't working and we need to understand why the problem happened in the first place and what can be done for a permanent solution.

If the damage was the result of surgery, surgery may be the only fix. If you have/had a STD or other infection, that needs to be looked at as well. We are making many guesses on very little information and the doctors are the only ones who can answer these questions.

Dena · July 25, 2015, 07:58:42 PM

Quote from: Mado G on July 25, 2015, 07:42:48 PM
I'm a little surprised that your urologist isn't exploring the option of using a stent to more permanently expand your urethra. $:-\$

Is that an alternative that has been considered and dismissed?

Doctors have been getting way from stents because the are finding the results are not satisfactory. In some cases they have had to remove implanted stents which is a real mess. We ask about that with my roommate and the doctor really didn't want to go there.

Laura_7 · July 25, 2015, 08:01:18 PM

Quote from: Snöfrost on July 25, 2015, 07:51:16 PM
I have no idea what that is in english.

The urologist tried to use what they called "guidewire" what they claimed to be the smallest size they had.

There seem to be different dilators, with a wire like dilator being the smallest.

Quote from: Dena on July 25, 2015, 07:54:42 PM
Sorry for the delay but I am not a medical person. Something is going on here and I am not sure what. Went to Google and a few ideas popped out of it. It appears this can happen and two of the causes I found in my quick search are damage during surgery or STD. Now other infections are a possible cause so there might have been a infection as the result of the surgery.

My roommate had a urinary issue as well and she received dilation as a solution to the problem. It lasted for a while but like you, she would need it again. I think surgery would have been in her future had cancer not taken her first.

I think dilation isn't going to be a long term solution to this so you with what you are learning here, you need to find a doctor, most likely a urologist and ask many questions. The current approach isn't working and we need to understand why the problem happened in the first place and what can be done for a permanent solution.

If the damage was the result of surgery, surgery may be the only fix. If you have/had a STD or other infection, that needs to be looked at as well. We are making many guesses on very little information and the doctors are the only ones who can answer these questions.

Of course I'd ask docs.
But before another operation I'd definetly consider and try alternative medicine ways.
I know of someone where the docs enthusiastically wanted to open a knee, where 4 sessions of acupuncture helped so far that no operation was necessary and it healed over time.

hugs

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I regret my SRS