3 weeks post-op and still a lot of pain

[Frances]

My SRS was three ago and while I am recovering nicely, I am in a lot of pain still. I bleed very little, which is good, but the swelling is still pretty bad. My biggest problem is a constant burning sensation, as if someone was burning with a cigarette but all over. The dilations are very painful as well. Could this be a reaction to Dexidin 4 antibacterial soap? Is it normal? I know it is a slow process, and I hope my recovery will accelerate from this point on, but the pain is quite surprising. Some of the women that were at the clinic seem to be doing much better than me. Any ideas?

[Kristyn]

Hi Frances, glad to hear you are recovering well or sort of.  Unlike others, I had little to no pain--just discomfort around the clitoris.  This burning you feel does sound unusual, though.  Maybe you should see your GP regarding this.  As for swelling, what I lacked in pain, I made up for in this department--probably due to how active I was immediately after my  surgery and upon my arrival home.  My entire mons area blew up like a balloon a few days after I arrived home.  Now, 6 months later the majority is gone except the outer labia and inner labia are still slightly large.  They are going down little by little day by day.  Everything is healing asymmetrical but, according to Dr Brassard, that is normal and it will even out in time.  I know it will get better, but it just takes such a long time.  Dr Brassard told me that he has seen many cases of prolonged swelling, so I don't think you should worry--just be patient.  It must be something with his technique because I know I'm not the only one who has gone through it.  My surgery partner was young and had a tremendous amount of pain.  They say pain is more common with the younger patients.  Hang in there, it will get better   

HEY!  It's my six month anniversary!!!

[Sandy]

Could this be a reaction to Dexidin 4 antibacterial soap? Is it normal?

How are you using the soap and how often are you using it?  AB soaps, especially the ones recommended for use before surgery are very harsh and not recommended for regular use.

Also Dr Brassard's site says to clean the dilators in a diluted solution of hibiclens or dexidin 4%, not to wash or douche with it.  If you are cleaning yourself or douching with it full strength, you could be inducing irritation.  Check your instructions regarding post-operative care, with the office, or his website:
http://srsmontreal.com/2009/09/25/instruction-for-post-operative-dilations-and-vaginal-douche/

-Sandy

[FairyGirl]

I still had a lot of pain at 3 weeks too, especially when standing or trying to sit for too long. And I also had asymmetrical healing. One thing I know is that everyone heals different, at different rates. My doctor told me it's not unusual to take up to a year for everything to sort itself out down there. Dilating was still making me sore afterwards inside and around my vaginal opening for several months, though it's gotten better, and even enjoyable at 9 months post.  The burning sensation could be from nerve healing, too. I also had random sharp pains for a few weeks after surgery. But you should double check about the soap you're using, it may be causing some of the irritation.

[Frances]

Thank you for your replies. At 44, I am not sure if I am young anymore, but I feel youngish still.

I keep the dilators in a water-based solution with a bit of Dexidin in it, the proportions being dictated by Dr. Brassard's office. The douche's spout also stays in the solution. The sitz bath is when I sit in Dexidin (diluted in water). I was using a high concentration of the soap for a while, but have reduced the amount since. The instructions ask for a drop of the stuff, but how big is a drop? I may be squirting too much of it still.

I get occasional sharp pains from nerves reconnecting, but the pain causing me the greatest discomfort is constant. Irritation or burning are the best ways to describe it. Patients used to sit in dishwashing liquid and not Dexidin in the past for the sitz baths. Maybe, I should try that for a few days. I have sent an email to the clinic, but have not heard from them yet.

[Kristyn]

Thank you for your replies. At 44, I am not sure if I am young anymore, but I feel youngish still.

I keep the dilators in a water-based solution with a bit of Dexidin in it, the proportions being dictated by Dr. Brassard's office. The douche's spout also stays in the solution. The sitz bath is when I sit in Dexidin (diluted in water). I was using a high concentration of the soap for a while, but have reduced the amount since. The instructions ask for a drop of the stuff, but how big is a drop? I may be squirting too much of it still.

I get occasional sharp pains from nerves reconnecting, but the pain causing me the greatest discomfort is constant. Irritation or burning are the best ways to describe it. Patients used to sit in dishwashing liquid and not Dexidin in the past for the sitz baths. Maybe, I should try that for a few days. I have sent an email to the clinic, but have not heard from them yet.

WHOA!  You're 44!  I thought you were like 23!  LOL! I was under the impression that we were to use the anti-bacterial dish soap for the sitz bath once we left the residence, so that's what I used.  I used Palmolive anti-bacterial--it's orange in color.  I used to put in about three to four squirts into the bath tub.  I still have a bath at night using the same soap just to wash away the days fun!   

[FairyGirl]

I used Palmolive anti-bacterial--it's orange in color.  I used to put in about three to four squirts into the bath tub.

lol I still use that very same stuff to wash my dilators! I love taking baths, it's such a nice relaxing way to wash away the day's troubles (and fun lol) 

[Frances]

The burning got even more intense, and I decided to go to Asclépiade for advice. The recovery house was closed, but I got to see Dr. Brassard in his office next door without an appointment; it is fortunate that I live like 15 minutes away. He saw me and noticed some tearing and redness, but nothing major. He recommended that I stopped having sitz baths in Dexidin and that I rinse the stents under cold tap water before using them, but still store them in the diluted water-Dexidin solution. The idea being to not expose myself directly to the harsh soap anymore. I am already a little better. I slept a lot better last night as well.

[Frances]

Update

The pain got a little better for a while, then much worse. I had to go see Dr. Brassard again. It turns out I had an infection and went back on antibiotics. I am doing better now, but the recovery program will be elongated by two weeks, which will complicate things when I retun to work.

[Kristyn]

Update

The pain got a little better for a while, then much worse. I had to go see Dr. Brassard again. It turns out I had an infection and went back on antibiotics. I am doing better now, but the recovery program will be elongated by two weeks, which will complicate things when I retun to work.

Thank God you caught it in time!  Good to hear you are doing well now.  Infection was my biggest fear--I became totally obsessed with cleanliness when I came home.

[Debra]

HEY!  It's my six month anniversary!!!

Funny that when I read this it's your 7th month anniversary too! lol

I'm 1 month post-op today and I don't have a lot of pain at this point but the swelling is still there and healing asymmetrically as well.

[vanna]

post op pain is what we all do the best 

i am glad to hear everyones doing so well though, thankfully

[Kristyn]

Funny that when I read this it's your 7th month anniversary too! lol

I'm 1 month post-op today and I don't have a lot of pain at this point but the swelling is still there and healing asymmetrically as well.

I'm still swollen and asymmetrical too.  The swelling is confined now to the center part of the mons around the erectile tissue and the labia.  there is little to no swelling along the sides, though.  I've got one labia which is bigger than the other and everything seems to be folding inward along the incision lines.  This truly is a one year healing period.  I have no pain either, but sometimes I have some localized throbbing which is short lived.  Today I've got little zaps and throbs around one side of my clitoris.  I also wore a thong for the first time which was kinda cool!  Talk about comfort!  I went and bought two more pair!   

[FairyGirl]

I'm still swollen and asymmetrical too.  The swelling is confined now to the center part of the mons around the erectile tissue and the labia.  there is little to no swelling along the sides, though.  I've got one labia which is bigger than the other and everything seems to be folding inward along the incision lines.  This truly is a one year healing period.

yes, exact same happened to me, though different doctors. All evened up now though.

I also wore a thong for the first time which was kinda cool!  Talk about comfort!  I went and bought two more pair!   

lol yep, thong panties: $5 each at Victoria's Secret.  Your very own vagina to put in them: priceless.

[Kristyn]

lol yep, thong panties: $5 each at Victoria's Secret.  Your very own vagina to put in them: priceless.

 

[Karynm8621]

  I've got one labia which is bigger than the other and everything seems to be folding inward along the incision lines.  This truly is a one year healing period. 

Thanks for posting this, it makes me feel soooo much better. Granted I'm only 3 1/2 weeks post but I can't imagine what it is going to look like compared to right now. I'm kind of curious if anyone knows this. Does the swelling set in after the surgery is finished? Does the Dr see the final result after suturing and then it swells?

[Debra]

yes, exact same happened to me, though different doctors. All evened up now though.

lol yep, thong panties: $5 each at Victoria's Secret.  Your very own vagina to put in them: priceless.

Simply awesome =) hehehe

[Kristyn]

Thanks for posting this, it makes me feel soooo much better. Granted I'm only 3 1/2 weeks post but I can't imagine what it is going to look like compared to right now. I'm kind of curious if anyone knows this. Does the swelling set in after the surgery is finished? Does the Dr see the final result after suturing and then it swells?

No problem--you're very welcome.  I was wondering the same thing as to the swelling and my guess is yes, he does.  I mean it must otherwise there would be a lot of really messed up vagina's out there.  From what I've been reading, the swelling is different for everyone.  I was fine until I got home then I swelled like a balloon for about a week or two--like REALLY bad--but it eventually started to go down albeit slowly.  So don't be alarmed if things still don't look right at six months--it really does take up to a year, and I'm willing to bet that, in some cases, even longer.

[stacyjintheway]

I had surgery on March 15 with a scrotal skin graft and an additional skin graft and the graft died and on March 23rd i had to undergo a colon segment vaginoplasty. Its a month post op now and i still have throbbing down there. All and all my surgery was far from pain free. Everyone told me that srs is a breeze compared to ffs - not true for me. I had breast augmentation and cheek implants at the same time as my srs and neither of those hurt at all. I had been warned that BA can be horribly painful but i think the pain from the vaginoplasty masked any pain i felt from BA. In fact, i don't even remember having drains for my breasts. I was in so much pain in the groin area that i didn't pay the least attention to my breasts. So "yes", i am still in pain today. The pain is manageable but there is pain nonetheless. Also, i still have abnormal swelling in the vulva which looks weird.

[Kristyn]

I had surgery on March 15 with a scrotal skin graft and an additional skin graft and the graft died and on March 23rd i had to undergo a colon segment vaginoplasty. Its a month post op now and i still have throbbing down there. All and all my surgery was far from pain free. Everyone told me that srs is a breeze compared to ffs - not true for me. I had breast augmentation and cheek implants at the same time as my srs and neither of those hurt at all. I had been warned that BA can be horribly painful but i think the pain from the vaginoplasty masked any pain i felt from BA. In fact, i don't even remember having drains for my breasts. I was in so much pain in the groin area that i didn't pay the least attention to my breasts. So "yes", i am still in pain today. The pain is manageable but there is pain nonetheless. Also, i still have abnormal swelling in the vulva which looks weird.

Yikes!  I'm sorry to hear that happen to you.  Where did you have your surgery?