Hi all, it's been quite a while since I've posted here. I made it my goal to continue my updates on SRS up to the one year mark on each milestone, and possibly other minor incedents as well. So here I am a couple of weeks late but better late than never.
In the beginning the milestones are a dime a dozen. Having the surgery, leaving the hospital, removal of the dressing, the stent, the catheter, the first dilation, getting home and back in the daily routine, and finding the balance between dilation and life. The first month is non-stop. From the time I woke up in the morning to the time I couldn't keep my eyelids open it seemed like dilation was ever-present. That, along with the fact that you're not totally healed yet so simple things are mind-numbingly difficult. After the first month though it gets a bit better. I was able to drop down to 3 times a day, which made life a little less busy...a little.
I was now at the second dilation milestone and had another 2 months to go on that schedule. It seemed so long to go, and it was. The good thing is that there's a smaller milestone in between the dilation schedule change, which is the ending of the icing, sitz bath and soaking of the dilators. This freed up some time as well.
Throughout the first month or two it was all about healing. My mind was consumed with dilation, paying attention to the scars and blood and swelling. As the time went by and I got into the end of the second month things were looking very good and healing well. I could finally relax a bit and start to take time to enjoy the little things that the SRS helped me gain. The confidence of knowing that I had nothing to hide down there. The realization that all the things I couldn't do were now open to me.
Once the 3 month mark hit I was finally able to go down to 2 times a day and it was great. Now my days seem almost as normal as they were before SRS. I do a dilation in the morning and another either on my lunch break when I go home, or after work. It's no longer something that I really have to plan my day around. I can easily fit it into the daily grind.
This is now my routine for another 2 1/2 months when I go down to once a day, at which point it will seem like such a small part of my schedule.
I've become so accustomed to the new parts down there and it's hard to remember what it was like before. I always heard that from people but I never grasped how natural it is. I feel so comfortable wearing things that before I would be constantly worrying about someone noticing a bulge.
Beyond the increased comfort with my body, the ability to wear whatever, I've also experienced the sexual side. I've had sex a few times now and it's an interesting feeling being able to finally be penetrated there. I have plenty of sensation but have not reached a climax yet. However, it's so close now. I was dilating the other day and near the end I was getting very aroused and I got a wave if pleasure that coarsed through my whole body. It was amazing.
After everything I've been through the past few months it feels nice to have the worst behind me, the busy schedule, the pain, etc. Now I just look forward to each day and what it brings.
~Sarah
