Susan's Place Transgender Resources

Well, yesterday was interesting - apparently, my packing came out (nobody had ever seen this happen before), so they had to repack me whilst I was on gas - an experience akin to being stuffed with a futon.

I'm okay, but very, very sore, and my going-home day has been set back. Thank goodness for morphine.

Oh, PS: here I am, finally post-op since Tuesday. The actual surgery only took 2 hours, and used my scrotum (as I'm Jewish, so lack a certain something). I won't get to meet my neovag until Monday.

Congratulations on the surgery :)  Glad to hear you're doing well.   Sounds like an intersting experience, to say the least.  I guess I should keep my legs crossed! :P

Congratulations Padma,
        "Stuffed with a futon"  :D I love your marvelous sense of humor under the circumstances!

Guess the stitches left loose (ouch)

Can relate to the futon reference but more to the day removed, lol!

Relax, breathe and just keep with your schedule.

Safe and speedy recovery.

Hugs
Isabell

Sounds like you were getting ready for action ahead of schedule!!  :D  I had about 2 yards out of 20 worth of packing come out the night before it was to be removed, but not the whole thing. I did have a rather empty feeling after the stuff came out. :o

This has set my going home back a day. I can deal with that :). Very sore tonight though, after all that shoving around. But no more bleeding, which is great. I just really want the catheter out.

Quote from: Padma on May 10, 2014, 11:27:04 PM
This has set my going home back a day. I can deal with that :). Very sore tonight though, after all that shoving around. But no more bleeding, which is great. I just really want the catheter out.

Oh I was so upset when they took it out after my knee surgery, it was so easy to just pee without having to actually get up and move around.

Ouch. Sounds rather like a very busy shark week I once had. Turns out I had three tampons stuffed in there. I was so overwhelmed and distracted that I just kept putting them in but not taking them out.

Ugh, gives me the shivers just thinking about it.

I am glad you got through the surgery okay, though. You must be terribly relieved.

Quote from: Arch on May 11, 2014, 12:50:14 AM
Ouch. Sounds rather like a very busy shark week I once had. Turns out I had three tampons stuffed in there. I was so overwhelmed and distracted that I just kept putting them in but not taking them out.

Ugh, gives me the shivers just thinking about it.

I am glad you got through the surgery okay, though. You must be terribly relieved.

Oh Arch, the big kahuna must have been watching out for you when I think back on the spate of those who suffered toxic shock syndrome from leaving tampons in too long.

They weren't in there for all that long, actually. I was at the peak of my flow, and these were regulars, not supers.

I still felt pretty stupid when I encountered tampon after tampon . . . sort of like the bartender in "The Trouble with Tribbles" who takes out first one tribble and then another and another and. . . .

It all comes out today! And all being well, my catheter comes out tonight. I've just got to prepare my brain to absorb a lot of info about care and maintenance.

Quote from: Arch on May 11, 2014, 03:38:23 AM
They weren't in there for all that long, actually. I was at the peak of my flow, and these were regulars, not supers.

I still felt pretty stupid when I encountered tampon after tampon . . . sort of like the bartender in "The Trouble with Tribbles" who takes out first one tribble and then another and another and. . . .

LMAO Love your sense of humor, we all do some goofy things in our lives.

Hi Darling;
I am so glad you are OK. When I saw the Post heading I was very worried for you.  I am also so sorry that we missed each other a week last Friday in Exeter. I am now on a High Speed German train (travelling at 340kms an hour) south of Frankfurt on the Internet!!.

Anyway thinking of you lots.

Finally congratulations on your admittance to the full female soiree
Love
Judith

Post op care, no question is a stupid question so ask all you need.

Take notes, sometime you will be second guessing what you think you heard.

Relax is the true key to making dilation easier.

Hugs
Isabell

Quote from: mind is quiet now on May 12, 2014, 12:57:04 PM
Post op care, no question is a stupid question so ask all you need.

Take notes, sometime you will be second guessing what you think you heard.

Relax is the true key to making dilation easier.

Hugs
Isabell

That is a true mantra for post opping!!!  I learn stuff every day, and I am at 15 months

I've been having a horrible time with sitting on the loo (very tight sutures) but had a brainwave last night that's made today way more comfortable - I just pee standing up in the shower :D. This became even more important as I've now got an infection, so there's a lot more peeing happening (while I wait for the antibiotics to kick in).

You are definitely the post who has everything!!         ::)      ;)

Quote from: Padma on May 16, 2014, 12:20:30 PM
I've been having a horrible time with sitting on the loo (very tight sutures) but had a brainwave last night that's made today way more comfortable - I just pee standing up in the shower :D. This became even more important as I've now got an infection, so there's a lot more peeing happening (while I wait for the antibiotics to kick in).

I added a raised toilet seat to help.

I also have back issues so it helped me with that also.

But ya I douched in the shower, was way easier then trying to do in on the loo.

Sorry to hear about the infection. Hope it clears fast.

Hugs
Isabell

Jeez, you ARE having a fun time. Is the infection improving yet?

Infection is fine. Now I have another "drama" - some sutures gave at the top end of one of the diagonal groin-joins, and now I have an unexpected bonus hole in me, over 2cm big, which will need daily dressing for weeks until it heals. Ah well, otherwise I'm feeling better and less sore every day.

Congrats and yikes, that's scary stuff to have to deal with! I hope things get better soon.

Still mending, very slowly, but may have another infection (or it might just be another wave of post-op exhaustion).

How long did it take for the extra hole to heal? I've ripped out some stitches too so I have a nice jelly donut going on :P

It's just got to the point where it's not deep enough to need packing, so it'll now heal on its own. Meanwhile, another little hole has appeared, but not a deep one. I'm assured that this is totally normal for pelvic surgery, because the area is moving all the time. I'm a lot less sore and more mobile now, but sitting down is still a dodgy business.

Yikes. Sounds like it's going to take weeks and weeks for this to heal over then :(  I had one tiny spot that looks like it's healed up, and I'm having to keep the larger one taped over to try to keep it as closed as possible, but that doesn't really work too well.  I'm hoping my doctor will bring a suture kit next time he comes to town on vacation. :)

Another friend of mine had the same problem of separation on the suture line, and as the result had to let the wound "heal from the bottom up".  It can cause a little more scarring in the short run, and does make it harder to keep comfortable.  I am thankful I did not have that problem after my surgery, but I have had it happen with other sutured wounds over the years.  It adds time and attention to the wound that you sure as heck do not enjoy, but you will be having the ouchies for some time to come as it is. What else were you going to do with your time anyway?? 

I'm glad I'm not the only one. I feel bad about tearing up the beautiful job he did, but I really think too much swelling is to blame. It doesn't cause much in the way of discomfort, just a little more blood on the pads. I'll just end up with the "battle damage" model :)

A tip for anyone is to have some steri strips on hand.

I had 2 pop next to each other, Put a strip on and when it fell off everything was together.

Just a idea.

Isabell

Thanks, I will pick some up and see if it does a better job.  Part of the problem is the swelling is still so great that it's hard to get the two areas close together. I think it's just going to have to be done a little at a time.

Depends how deep the wound is. If it's deep, not a good idea to let it heal at the top while leaving a gap underneath, because the gap can migrate, and you can end up with what they call "sinuses" running under the flesh, which can become infected. Mine was almost 2cm deep, so it took 3 weeks of packing it to get it to heal up safely.

TMI warning:
Meanwhile... though my extra hole has healed up, I've got a bizarre protuberance which I'm assured is a fat pad, not a prolapse. As I mentioned, for some mysterious reason, while I was in hospital the packing came out, so they had to repack it. But I still ended up with this bulge, which they're going to have to sort out later. Bit of a drag, as it chafes when I walk. Otherwise, everything's healing well.

Padma, I'm glad to hear you've healed up well.  Mine isn't that deep and I think it looks worse than it is because I use a magnifying makeup mirror to do my cleanup but it sure feels like I have this (unwanted) bonus vagina.  I am a little concerned about the depth of the wound though as i close it up so I'll keep that in mind and keep an eye on it.  I found the wound closure strips are doing a fantastic job keeping it all together and wish I knew about those when it all started coming apart.  The smaller of the holes has healed up nicely using it and I can see progress on the larger one.

Yup, now confirmed I'll need further surgery (3 nights in hospital) to correct my fat pad extrusion. What a drag, I was hoping to be fit and well by the end of the summer. Oh well, at least it's not invasive surgery, compared to the main one - but it'll need packing for a few days, hence the hospital stay. And I'll be so much more comfortable once it's fixed.

Hugs Hon

Thanks - I've been putting a brave face on this, but with my PTSS it's actually really freaking me out that I'll have to go into hospital again (I'm still recovering from the last visit over a month later) and even the 6 hour journey is daunting. It'll be totally worth it, but I'm not as robust as I'd like to be, and this kind of stuff takes a big hit on me. I've been struggling/working on a daily basis with the fact that dilating is an abuse flashback trigger. Basically, I feel pretty vulnerable at the moment, and can't wait to be more fit and well and able to get out and see friends.

Oh, great. The thing they've been telling me for 2 months was a fat pad is actually a prolapse. I'm back in hospital, due for another op this afternoon to correct this - followed by another fairly long recovery. Still, I'll be way more comfortable after I've recovered from this op, and I'll apparently have more depth too (not that I care about that).

Sht! I hope you recover quickly after all of this protracted drama.

Thanks. I'd just like to be able to walk normally again :).

Yikes!! This really is a drama. I hope it's all over soon; you must be sick of the ongoing issues by now. Good thoughts for you...

Sending good thoughts your way, Padma. You don't deserve this. Hang in there.

Thanks, op done, don't know what they found or what they did yet, but it's done, now to get on with healing again. Bloody hell it hurts tonight, but morphine is my friend :). Looks like I'll be in for a week, to give it time to "take" - I'm very, very firmly packed (because packing coming out last time is what caused this), which is why it's sore. Time wounds all heels... Oh, wait :)

Quote from: Padma on July 09, 2014, 06:27:55 PM
Thanks, op done, don't know what they found or what they did yet, but it's done, now to get on with healing again. Bloody hell it hurts tonight, but morphine is my friend :). Looks like I'll be in for a week, to give it time to "take" - I'm very, very firmly packed (because packing coming out last time is what caused this), which is why it's sore. Time wounds all heels... Oh, wait :)

My best to you Padma, you are indeed a real trooper!

Relax, relax and relax.

Sorry you have had go through this again, hope this time things will settle down and you can get on with healing.

Hugs
Isabell

Success! Prolapse fixed, wonky labia unexpectedly "revised" while the surgeon was down there anyway. Got back home last night, sore as hell but already more comfortable walking than I was before the op. I'm very grateful to everyone at the hospital, and to my three friends who between them got me there and back, 250 mile drive each way. And I suddenly have twice the depth - not that this is important to me, but it takes some getting used to when dilating :).

Finally, a  positive side of your troubles and hopefully the last of them.

Thanks - even dilating just a week after surgery is less uncomfortable than it was 2 months after the last one. A win. Now I just have to be very careful for a few weeks while it's bedding in, so it doesn't prolapse anew.