Recovery

[Tiamet]

Hi,

A couple people sent me PMs but there's no option for me to reply to messages, so I thought I'd try to reply here and keep it anonymous:

> I am curious who you went to and how long ago?

I went to Dr. McGinn in September 2016 almost 6 weeks ago.

> I see you said you had blood clots wow that is pretty scary!

It was really scary!  I had never seen a big (really dark red) blood clot before so I thought something was really wrong, like a graft had split open.  It turned out to be harmless, even though there was bleeding for a few days.  This was a week after I thought all the bleeding had stopped.

> Totally understand if you don't want to but I was curious if you had any pictures from ur SRS recovery of the packing or swelling? Or anything like the drainage bags etc?

I didn't really take any photos but the two drainage bags aren't very big.  For me they were just laying in the hospital bed with me not fixed to anything.  They're like this (there's blood in the picture):

http://penplasticsurgery.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/drains-300x272.jpg

The swelling especially in the labia minora is even now still going down, so it can be slow. It was very dysphoria/stress-inducing for a while because the bulging looks distorted almost like you're tucking (from above in your perspective), and I thought it would stay that way, but it did go away.

I know everyone is different, but the recovery is hard.  5 weeks of pain, laying in bed (no sitting b/c pain), no lifting anything, no driving (because of the pain medication), dilating, bleeding and changing pads, trying to force food down (I had no appetite), sleeping badly and post-op depression.  Of course it's all worth it, I couldn't really be happier with the results, but my main advice would be you have to have someone that will completely take care of you emotionally and physically for 6 weeks.  I was pretty helpless the whole time and I couldn't have done it without my husband.

[krone6]

I keep reading about post surgery depression though am wondering what brings it on. Obviously you wanted this surgery so is it surgery in general that does it or something we're unaware of until we experience the after effects?

[Dena]

I keep reading about post surgery depression though am wondering what brings it on. Obviously you wanted this surgery so is it surgery in general that does it or something we're unaware of until we experience the after effects?

Could be a number of causes. Hormone crash was even more common in my day because T wasn't fully suppressed and the first time we were free of it was after surgery. Exhaustion as the result of the surgery and the recovery requirements. Loss of a goal in life and not knowing what we are going to do with life. Last but most important is realizing that the surgery only resolve one problem in our life and we have many other to attend to. The last reason I why I recommend enough therapy so your life is pretty well in order before surgery.

[AnonyMs]

I keep reading about post surgery depression though am wondering what brings it on. Obviously you wanted this surgery so is it surgery in general that does it or something we're unaware of until we experience the after effects?

To expand on what Dena said, you usually stop HRT before surgery, and that feels like crap. Some people also get depression caused by the general anesthetic.

[Tiamet]

I didn't really get the depression until about 2 weeks after surgery, then it lasted for 3 weeks (when I was able to stop taking pain medication, about 5 weeks total post-op).  If you look online, it seems like post-op depression is common for a lot of surgeries.  I would blame the exhaustion and having to be in bed/resting for so long.  The opiate medication was really rough too.

[jujubes1986]

Hi,

A couple people sent me PMs but there's no option for me to reply to messages, so I thought I'd try to reply here and keep it anonymous:

> I am curious who you went to and how long ago?

I went to Dr. McGinn in September 2016 almost 6 weeks ago.

> I see you said you had blood clots wow that is pretty scary!

It was really scary!  I had never seen a big (really dark red) blood clot before so I thought something was really wrong, like a graft had split open.  It turned out to be harmless, even though there was bleeding for a few days.  This was a week after I thought all the bleeding had stopped.

> Totally understand if you don't want to but I was curious if you had any pictures from ur SRS recovery of the packing or swelling? Or anything like the drainage bags etc?

I didn't really take any photos but the two drainage bags aren't very big.  For me they were just laying in the hospital bed with me not fixed to anything.  They're like this (there's blood in the picture):

http://penplasticsurgery.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/drains-300x272.jpg

The swelling especially in the labia minora is even now still going down, so it can be slow. It was very dysphoria/stress-inducing for a while because the bulging looks distorted almost like you're tucking (from above in your perspective), and I thought it would stay that way, but it did go away.

I know everyone is different, but the recovery is hard.  5 weeks of pain, laying in bed (no sitting b/c pain), no lifting anything, no driving (because of the pain medication), dilating, bleeding and changing pads, trying to force food down (I had no appetite), sleeping badly and post-op depression.  Of course it's all worth it, I couldn't really be happier with the results, but my main advice would be you have to have someone that will completely take care of you emotionally and physically for 6 weeks.  I was pretty helpless the whole time and I couldn't have done it without my husband.

You are blessed to have such a nice husband to take care of you...




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[jujubes1986]

Yea I'm pretty depressed I guess... after surgery... for me it's because I'm impatient with the healing... the aftercare is very demanding... I'm sore constantly... I'm frustrated sexually I can't touch anything and my libido has gone up... worried about complications... I am now 26 days post op with Dr. Brassard in Montreal... the swelling from the other night was my mistake... I was drinking with a couple of friends of mine... and I think I had too much... so at night the swelling and the pain was really strong... I won't drink again until I'm fully healed!


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[KimSails]

I had surgery about the same time.  Tomorrow will be six weeks for me.  I, too, am feeling kinda down post-surgery.  The dilations are slowly getting easier, but seem to take an awful lot of time.  The pain and discomfort varies from time to time, but it is always there at least a little, and sometime quite a bit more. I worry that I am not healing quite right -- I have white stuff (it looks like body fat) on my labia and clitoris, urinating is still a mess, and I have a sore spot in my vaginal canal that seems to be caused by the dilator pushing up against my pelvis.

I try to tell myself to take a deep breath, everything will be fine. It just takes time.  But it is hard to listen when the pain, and the care, and the worry seem to be constantly there.  I'm okay, but it is hard to stay positive.

Kim

[HappyMoni]

Hi!
   I am looking at having GCS surgery in of June 2017. This means two weeks of intensive recovery away from home. I have great support in my wife. She would like to know what time period is the most difficult for the caregiver. We have the possibility of other family helping her help me at some point. Would it be best for that help to be early on when I am at the hospital or when I would leave the hospital for a recovery location or even the second week where complications might become evident? Any opinions? If it matters, the surgeon would be Dr. McGinn.
Monica

[Dena]

I am not sure about how long you remain in the hospital but about the first week and a half require the most care. After that you should be mobile and be able to take care of most of your needs but prepared food and transportation when needed will make life easer. I returned to work a week and a half after surgery (bad idea) though I recommend 6 to 8 weeks recovery before resuming a full schedule. You may recover far faster but that includes a safety zone.

I was in bed for 6 days and that really takes out of you but the 2 days they use today allows you to bounce back faster. Complications will mostly involved failure to pee, excessive bleeding (rare) and issues with dilation. Most recoveries are pretty uneventful and if you have a real problem, you will most likely return to the hospital.

[Tiamet]

I have white stuff (it looks like body fat) on my labia and clitoris, urinating is still a mess, and I have a sore spot in my vaginal canal that seems to be caused by the dilator pushing up against my pelvis.

My gyn said the white discoloration is "exudate" during healing.  It another thing I never saw mentioned before even though apparently it's normal.  It's very slowly turned a normal pink color, and it just now finished fading away for me.

Peeing was messy until the swelling went down and I found out I could tilt my hips by learning forward, then it was more of a stream.

I'm frustrated sexually I can't touch anything and my libido has gone up... worried about complications

It might be okay now, what did Dr. Brassard's team say?  My husband surprised me last weekend by being in the mood, and wanting to try PIV for the first time.  For me at least, it was a big relief that we were able to (although just in the missionary style) and it didn't hurt or cause any problems.  I had already worked up to the orange dilator without pain though.  Dr. McGinn said to wait 6 weeks and this was exactly right (for me).  I haven't had an orgasm yet, although I've only tried maybe 3 times.  That's my biggest worry still.