Susan's Place Transgender Resources

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Absolutely. My doctor said it'd take up to a year to see the final result, and four months before there was even a glimmer of what it might look like.

For me, months 0-3 or so it looked so horrifically swollen that it was freakish (I couldn't fit my crotch into pants that had easily fit my, er, other equipment!) and even the nurses said it was among the worst swelling they'd ever seen; even at four months I could only guess at what it would finally look like. I'm almost to the one-year mark and it was just recently that I looked at it with my dilation mirror and realized it looks pretty close to normal. :) I don't know about swelling causing permanent stretching for anyone else, but for me things were swollen to at least 10X the size they are now and it looks fine (plus labia are kinda supposed to be wrinkly, you know?).

Plus, honestly, I had no idea how much variation there can be in vulvas. Someone posted this a while back - REALLY REALLY NOT SFW - and it made me feel a lot better, because there are some in there that look like mine.









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The doctor and the nursing staff saw the potential looks when the first packing was removed, in my case (and doctor) at 24 hours and were very happy, but boy oh boy was I sore, and no matter what they told me the sand paper feeling gave me no hope. 

I am at a little over 3 months, and I am not aware of any remaining swelling except that my urethra still has a tendency to spray all over the inside of the labia about 15% of the time.  Now I can see that I am actually  "unremarkable" as far as female looks go.  I am symetrical within normal female tolerances, I can actually touch and easily clean stuff and the tissue has softened and hard ridges are gone.  I know that my surgery was simpler than some of the super sculpture that can be done, and for that reason there was less chance for something to go askew.  It all looks better when it feels good.

At 3.5 months, (two weeks ago) I had a checkup by a gynecologist who has been trained in post op care, although she is not a surgeon, and all of my stuff is "within the range of normal" as far as it outward appearance, and she also evaluated my healing level which was almost complete.  Her point to me was that "within the range of normal" covers a very wide area and her Cis Gen patients come in all sorts of patterns, with asymetry and with far less than porn queen ideal looks, but as long as the tissue is not showing signs of infection or self mutilation it will be fine to non medical folks.  Have yourself looked at by a gynecologist who will be treating you over the next few years and put them in your team of evaluators.  Time is a marvelous medicine.  For the price you paid, I can guess where you generally had the surgery, and they do more complicated work that does take more time to heal.  Let a Gynecologist evaluate you before you get too stressed out, which will only make your mind turn things worse than they are. 

It's gonna look fine I'm sure. Just be patient.

Exactly 5 months ago today (my time) and the rate of getting better has slowed, but comfort in all ways is certainly better than it was pre-op.  One day at a time and you will look fine after a few more.  I made a deal with myself not to look at things more than three days apart and it helps.

Dear Cherry, my experience with post-op swelling is this: after about three months a lot of the swelling disappeared. I thought something like "ok, the rest is the long-term swelling, let's enjoy the results and just wait" back then. Later, about six months post-op, the whole had already changed, always for better. Still, I did not regarded the whole file on swelling as closed after one year since GRS. Everything was more than fine. But wow, after 18 months I noticed something different. The pubis was eventually "flat", or the flattest ever. The outer labia felt more elastic and kind of thinner, and kind of more manageable. That was my definite point of arrival. And still enjoying it :)

I know that sounds like a long time, but the important and good thing is this: if the initial outcome is good, the godzilla swelling will disappear after about three months for most people, and everything will be getting better and better while you enjoy your right new parts, that is, while the remaining swelling bits go away. I had my first orgasm less than three months post-op, could remain sitting comfortably after about four and shortly thereafter started regular intercourse. The rest twelve months that took for the remaining bits of swelling to disappear did not bother me at all, nor prevented me from having fun. Compared to that, the waiting time for some needed papers is more inconvenient. Enjoy the outcome and thanks a lot for your private message.  ;) Best wishes, Eurydike.