I had SRS 4 months ago as of posting this. I originally wrote this information to be put with the information package you get from Andrew in the months before surgery but I will post it here.
First off though, Here are some interviews with Andrew were you can get to know him, his technique, what he does and where he trained. Be sure to watch all three if you have an interest in seeing Andrew.
Background
Technique
Types of surgery and dilation etc
I had a 6 month wait after I booked in and he does about 3 or 4 srs operations a month as far as I know. So you get quite a bit of time with him, and his been happy to answer any questions via the phone or have me come in for check up whenever I was unsure about something. For me it was a great peace of mind having that level of follow up care.
About Andrew Ives
He is very focused in that he only keeps information relevant to his surgery in his mind, any question about hormones or finances etc he has some one else to take care of that. The after surgery care has been great, I've seen him around 5 times since SRS initially to have silver nitrate done and some stitches trimmed and a general clean up. He is very kind and understanding and visits you every day in hospital to check up on you and answer any questions you have directly.
I wished I had more information about the whole process of the surgery before going in, and while the experience is different for everyone a lot of it will be the same. So this is one patients experience and advice.
Day 0
The day before going to Masada private hospital you will have to drink two bottles of fleet and a lot of water. You also need to have a shower. I had to start drinking at fleet at 6pm, I figured I would have a shower after the fleet had cleaned out my bowels and catch a a couple hours sleep before heading to the hospital for my 6 am admission. 1 am I was still running to the toilet. Make sure you have some moist wipes. You will still be sore but they will help.
This is a good time to talk about what to bring with you, you will have underwear supplied as well as salt, mirror, lube, condoms and foam. So I was only able to wear my own clothes on the eighth and ninth day so I advise not worrying about bringing much in the way of clothing, you will mostly be in a hospital gown. I also brought ugg boots instead of slippers. Bad idea in hindsight.
Day 1
So off we went to the Hospital, it's actually locked at 6am so you have to press the buzzer and speak in the intercom to get in. It's the first time without make up in a long time but in a few days you will wish you looked as good as you do right now, so don't worry about not being able to wear make up. At this point I met some of nurses and was asked to shave myself. I hoped I'd done it well enough and had, I also had some blood tests and spoke with Andy and Marianne, The rooms are nice with your own shower and toilet, basin and mirror. (you also have a TV with Foxtel and there is WiFi available though it requires a password which they gave me on a card, I'm not sure if it's free as I just used the data on my phone)
I fell asleep in my clothes and woke to a knock at the door saying it's time to go. (you maybe be offered calming medication and more time to get into the gown but they let me sleep because I looked relaxed). They wheel you down a corridor and into a little room, this is wear you get the stimulator's put on your legs, these are your friends and will keep you company for the days and nights to come. They massage your lower legs to keep the blood flowing. You will also have a very warm and blanket put on you. I got out of bed and walked into the theatre wearing my warm blanket like a cape, it was time. It is very cold in here. I got onto the table and they strap your arms and legs down. Marianne said I would feel warm and fuzzy soon and then I have some vague memories of being in the ICU someone saying I can't understand you and cover her eyes. That is all I remember from the ICU, most people will remember waking up in ICU and Andy will tell you how it went.
Day 2
I woke up to a breakfast being served, at least I think that was day one, I was confused if I was allowed to eat or if I even felt like eating (yes you can eat but make sure to ask if everything's low residue diet, just in case) did the operation go well?, I felt ok, sore but ok. Later that afternoon I was able to talk to my mother and she told me the everything had gone well ( I probably should have asked a nurse). The nurses will be constantly checking on you and giving you medication. Day two goes pretty fast, mostly spent sleeping, I was told I would feel like I'd been impaled by a tree and that seemed a pretty fitting description. Personally the pain was at about a 7 out of 10 for me. It's not intense pain but it's consistency and relentlessness can get to you. If you can wiggle your toes, paddle your feet and move your hands you should. The more you do the easier things will be over the next few days. Worth noting at day two I realised both my hands where numb which made, texting, eating even pressing the nurses buzzer very difficult. A side affect of being under it probably won't happen to you but it might. Everyone always said the surgery doesn't make make you feel any different and they were right aside from never feeling movement down there I felt exactly the same as I did pre-op and I was so well bandaged it may well have been there still.
Day 3
I started to look around a bit today and recognising nurses, the pain had gone down to a 6 out of 10 and my stimulator's had been buzzing all night and day. I ended up calling them my magic legs as I found them quite
comforting.My hands had finally lost the numbness. At this point you will have tried to move your legs and rolled over for inspection and found it very difficult, not because of pain but I swore the machines on my legs were made of lead. They actually are light and made of cloth. Exercises as much as you can even though it's very hard it helps you in the long run. This is a good time to talk about the dressings and bandages, I had an IV tap in my left hand and two tubes coming out of the bandages, one on the left was the catheter and the one on the right drains blood. If you ever feel like you bladders full ask a nurse to check if the catheter is flowing as sometimes they can stop. By the time I left the hospital I was very good at getting it working again by myself, just watch how the nurses do it.
The next few days are just watching TV moving your arms and legs as much as you can you will be standing, which is very difficult. I was afraid I would hurt myself were the tubes go in if I sat, but in hindsight I believe there is some sort of protective cover over the vagina and the blood tube goes in your pubic area not down below. I felt like I weighed eight times more than I did, I got exhausted very quick from standing, it's interesting how difficult this gets after just a few days of bed, maybe you will do better than me because you have been doing all those exercises. Next time you take a few steps, you improve quite a bit each time you try. Soon you'll actually be able to walk into your bathroom and brush your teeth and hair etc Each day the pain gets less but also more isolated.
The nurses are very caring, some of they have been helping people recover from this operation for nearly two decades. They are often from interesting places with interesting accents. Being a country girl I really enjoyed this. Often each nurse does things a little differently and some times your request from an icy pole might get lost between shift changes but just remind the next one. I had lots of nausea I think from the antibiotics in the IV , but they helped me through it. Also there probably will be some student nurses assisting sometimes they were fantastic and brightened my day. I grew kind fond of all the regulars. From here until about day 5 you will be just doing the same things with exception of walking a little further each day.
I think day 4 I started feeling new sensations down there, pulses and contractions. You occasionally feel nerves firing and phantom itches.
Day 5
This is when I had the bandages removes, honestly I just laid back and closed my eyes, they brought in giant spotlight and attached it to the bed, when the packing comes out it feels like it's unravelling, like pulling a giant thread out of you. I don't recall much else about this day other than being a little disappointed I still had the IV and catheter in. I think you get the foam *mould in also. I had my eyes closed.
Day 6
Just when I was getting into the rhythm of things, today the IV was removed and the catheter. It was all painless, felt a bit weird when Andy squirts water into your bladder then pulls the catheter out. By this stage you should have been able to walk to the bathroom and you get to pee for the first time on you own. This was something I thought would be difficult to wrap my head around but I just sat on the toilet and it happened, had my first shower and salt bath (it's not actually a bath but a bowl you sit in) today was very hard for me, I had to start learning to do the moulds (see end of post for info on moulds). I'm a pretty sensitive person, I found looking at the new genitals quite confronting, between the swelling and the stitches. I don't know any advice for this other than you just have to get through it. On the bright side the thing you hated is gone, life only gets better from here.
Day 7
Ideally you have independence today and can go home today, I had some issues with the mould and got set back a day (I or a nurse got blood on the foam and the replacement foam was not the correct size which caused me quite a bit of pain, discomfort and it took a toll on my confidence, one of the more experienced nurses did sort it our for me when she clocked on and I doubt this issue would ever happen again) so I stayed till the 9th day every ones different remember that. I sat in the back seat of the car and was fairly comfy for 45 minute trip home, having a salt both in a real bath is wonderful.
Things get much better at home, worth noting there is still some packing near where the catheter was, and I freaked out when it came out days later after being home and wasn't expecting it and it looked flesh like and even had a stitch in it. So now you know not to freak out.
I'm finishing writing this on around day 16 the mould finally went in a bit easier today. The swelling has gone down a bit but still a ways to go, lots of stitches still but I'm finally feeling a bit more comfortable. Tomorrow I go see Andy and learn about the dilaters.
I wish you the best with your surgery and recovery.
*The moulds are a rectangle piece of foam, he cuts them to a specific size for each person. You roll the foam as tight as you can and put a condom over it. Then twist the end of the condom, so it's air tight. put some lube on and put it in. It's about the size of a finger or something at this point, once it's in you let the condom untwist and the foam expands to and inch or inch and a half. You leave that in 24/7 and change the condom and reinsert after a bowel movements.
I think he started me on dilater's earlier than normal, because the foam mould just didn't want to stay in. I'm not sure what's with the foam to be honest. Not heard of anyone else use it.
I am not an expert on surgeries or techniques but I'm happy to try an answer any questions.
