I had my packing removed today and the doctor measured the depth and it was 6" and I felt it inside me and I saw the 6" on the dilator but afterwards he said can't dilate today, it's too swollen, have to wait for the swelling to go down.
I looked and I couldn't find ANY reference of starting dilation 3 DAYS after removing packing.:'( well on the THIRD day but still.
I said it will close but both the doctor and the nurses (after the dr was gone ) said it won't
Is this true? It is pretty swollen and blue black but doesn't look dead or botched (to me) but then how do I know?
I wanted a picture and they asked for my phone but it was hard to reach so a non medical employee took a picture and I didn't ask to see it right away and when I did she said she had to go but would be back but she hasn't yet.
Details: removing the packing was painless.
There was so much that I believe 6"will fit in there but I couldn't feel much.
I did feel the dilator in me, it took the doc 15 sec to insert it completely and Isaw it was up to about 6"iinside. I sawthe 6 bbut I didn't quite see it in the hole but I felt it... it looked to be maybe1" thick but. I'm not sure how good I am at estimating VNPVEF.
Des anything sound off? :/
Ps. I don't care if it's 6 inches or five or 4 point something,I really just don't want it to close!!
I've read that the first day it should be dilated for HOURS but mine isn't going to be dilated at all before 48h after removing the packing?? I don't understand! is this normal?
The packing that came out was a HUGE amount. Afterwards it didn't look prolapsed, pretty much the same which is horrible because it's so swollen.
The Dr said my swelling is because of excess skin, need to wait for it to go down to see if I need a touchup.
The only reference to not starting dilation right I was that I've read was from Prichet when there was no depth and he told the poor patient to only start at home so his deception wouldn't be revealed
But I'm different, I'm a local patient, I don't think there's any deception going on, I just don't understand :'( won't a lot of it contract and close in these 48 hours or so?
I'm trying not to panic and disinfect a shampoo bottle or my fingers and shove them in...
I haven't read anything bad about the dr and he's been doing this for a very long time but then who knows...
Does someone have any answers?
This was probably a bad time to ask, everyone is asleep :(
Hi. I'm not asleep, but you probably should try to be. Please don't shove anything anywhere, especially not after such a short amount of time, you'll pull out stitches if you do that.
It's NOT going to heal over and close up in one day. That's not possible. Right now you need the swelling to come down, and your main concern should be not popping stitches! Do not put ANY more strain on those stitches than you have to. Saving the stitches is why your doctor has not tried to insert anything again - and he's right to wait.
Now try and get some rest. :)
Quote from: Delsorou on October 22, 2014, 12:21:50 AM
Hi. I'm not asleep, but you probably should try to be. Please don't shove anything anywhere, especially not after such a short amount of time, you'll pull out stitches if you do that.
It's NOT going to heal over and close up in one day. That's not possible. Right now you need the swelling to come down, and your main concern should be not popping stitches! Do not put ANY more strain on those stitches than you have to. Saving the stitches is why your doctor has not tried to insert anything again - and that's exactly what needs to happen.
Now try and get some rest. :)
Thank you thank you thank you so much for being a wonderful person, I'm crying so much right now. Thank you :'( so you're sure nothing will close in 2 days? It's 48 hours after all...
I noticed the stitches (outside ones anyway) were kinda stretched to their limit so you're probably right... the doctor said something to that effect but I got so scared after hearing there won't be any dilation today or tomorrow :/ I didn't listen to every word,I just heard there's too much swelling due to excess skin and that's why we should wait 2 more days before dilating.
I'm actually not in America, it's not sleepy time for me yet.
Thank you *hug* for replying. Thank you.
Nope, not going to completely close up after two days any more than a piercing would. Might get a little tighter, but right now the stitches and swelling are your biggest worry. And guess what makes swelling worse? High blood pressure from being too worked up over it!
Watch some TV, read a book... take your mind off it. It will be FINE. Six inches is a great result and it's not going to go away in days.
Also, welcome to the forums. Hope you stick around for more than one question. :)
Quote from: Delsorou on October 22, 2014, 12:31:15 AM
Nope, not going to completely close up after two days any more than a piercing would. Might get a little tighter, but right now the stitches and swelling are your biggest worry. And guess what makes swelling worse ? High blood pressure from being too worked up over it!
Watch some TV, read a book... take your mind off it. It will be FINE. Six inches is a great result and it's not going to go away in days.
Also, welcome to the forums. Hope you stick around for more than one question. :)
Okay...thank you... please answer one more question. What things will make it close faster? Walking? Moving?.my butt is numb but I was even afraid to change my position from knees together and up low, feet apart shoulder width which I figured would be the most"open"position... I should move something to the table over there but should I avoid too much walking? I'm allowed to walk though. I would call the nurse but I don't like this one... But I should tell her I probably won't eat dinner. I don't feel like eating before everything is fine, at least more than snacks...But I can't be weak so I try to nibble...
But I worry because I had a tongue piercing and after I swallowed it it closed completely in either 1 or 2 days and as far as I understand, this is the same kind of tissue, fast to close?
Ps the only thing I have left to watch iszombies... iI don't think there's cable or at least not the channels I watch... I guess after this many days I should check? But I brought my own dvd player!
Really try to relax and sleep. Healing the skin grafts inside is the highest importance!
You won't close in a few days. It might take slightly longer to reach full depth with narrower dilator diameter - but by the sounds of it you are in a clinic and therefore in good hands.
Depth is not the defining factor for a man. Rather diameter - but that can only be addressed by slowly stretching healed skin. And takes many months to slowly work up to.
Closing faster - you can normally go 2-3 days withou issues but it is not recommended. Walking won't effect it. Being scared and not healing probably will.
Do not play with your new body parts. Doing so will cause you problems. Relax and be guided by the doctors.
Quote from: Monkeymel on October 22, 2014, 12:48:51 AM
Really try to relax and sleep. Healing the skin grafts inside is the highest importance!
You won't close in a few days. It might take slightly longer to reach full depth with narrower dilator diameter - but by the sounds of it you are in a clinic and therefore in good hands.
Depth is not the defining factor for a man. Rather diameter - but that can only be addressed by slowly stretching healed skin. And takes many months to slowly work up to.
Do not play with your new body parts. Doing so will cause you problems. Relax and be guided by the doctors.
Okay,I won't,I really don't want to do anything to mess this up. I actually accidentally played with the outside parts the other day but just a bit through the bandage *embarrassed* I won't touch anything anymore.
As long as it doesn't close...But what's stopping the opening Don closing, wouldn't it close really fast?
If anyone feels like pming, would be nice too...
Okay,I just found out I have cable! Like, all the channels. This will help take my mind off my worries! Luckily...
I'm watching Syfy and not even embarrassed!
I'm going from smiling to crying in 15 second intervals
Delsorou I owe you so much, you were there for me right when I needed it, ask for my help any time (maybe when I've been released and not panicking...) I'll try to help.
Sometimes a few calm and supportive words are all you need.
You can't reply to pm until more than 15 posts.
The hole will not slam shut and close. The internal tissues will have been carefully separated. The muscle cut and cauterized. The skin grafts laid inside and given new blood supply. That has to heal safely!
Think of a cut on your arm. Does the skin heal over in 2 days? (Wolverine style?). No. There might be a scab because wound interacts with fresh air - but it is not healed especially if it is deep wound. Paranoia is your worst enemy.
The dilation schedule for Dr Chettawut is online. You dilate for 10 minutes only the first few days. That's out of 1440 minutes (whole day). No one heals over unless they skip that schedule entirely.
Get some sleep. Eat healthy. Move as you need to, and stop worrying!
Watch TV, take a breather, let the nice drugs do their job. Rest easy, you're going to be fine. Glad we could help. :)
Quote from: Delsorou on October 22, 2014, 01:10:10 AM
Watch TV, take a breather, let the nice drugs do their job. Rest easy, you're going to be fine. Glad we could help. :)
I only got morphine and other strong stuff the first couple of days. on the third day they were already ignoring my request for morphine but then I didn't REALLY need it, maybe they knew that. I got 300mg codein with meals, now it's just 100mg and antibiotics and something to help with the swelling. They didn't even use the IR lamp today to help with the swelling, not yet anyway. Maybe I should ask for it? I just took a careful peek, it seems like the stitches on the outside aren't stretched anymore. I take that as a good sign :) I'm still a little scared though because thigh I'm not Wolverine, I can sometimes heal really fast. I hope that won't be the case now. And yeah, though swollen, everything looked pretty separated, so I'll have to trust that...
I didnt dilate till 24 hrs after and it was fine but once you do start trt not miss a session although we all do miss some and make sure you get to depth.
julie x
Quote from: onescaredquestion on October 22, 2014, 01:48:46 AM
I only got morphine and other strong stuff the first couple of days. on the third day they were already ignoring my request for morphine but then I didn't REALLY need it, maybe they knew that. I got 300mg codein with meals, now it's just 100mg and antibiotics and something to help with the swelling. They didn't even use the IR lamp today to help with the swelling, not yet anyway. Maybe I should ask for it? I just took a careful peek, it seems like the stitches on the outside aren't stretched anymore. I take that as a good sign :) I'm still a little scared though because thigh I'm not Wolverine, I can sometimes heal really fast. I hope that won't be the case now. And yeah, though swollen, everything looked pretty separated, so I'll have to trust that...
They'll give limited morphine for a reason.. Morphine addiction sucks and can happen quite quickly..
Quote from: Julieb1 on October 22, 2014, 04:06:21 AM
I didnt dilate till 24 hrs after and it was fine but once you do start trt not miss a session although we all do miss some and make sure you get to depth.
julie x
I won't miss any! I think it's way tooimportant.honestly, I'm sure iI won't miss a single season.actually, is it bad if I do extra sessions? Because I want to? For the first month anyway. I could be dilating absent mindedly all day long...
Quote from: onescaredquestion on October 22, 2014, 05:07:18 AM
I won't miss any! I think it's way tooimportant.honestly, I'm sure iI won't miss a single season.actually, is it bad if I do extra sessions? Because I want to? For the first month anyway. I could be dilating absent mindedly all day long...
<sarcasm>When you're done with all that dilating, can I park my truck in there?</sarcasm>
Follow your surgeons instructions for dilation.. They have the routine they do for a reason...
Quote from: kelly_aus on October 22, 2014, 05:14:37 AM
<sarcasm>When you're done with all that dilating, can I park my truck in there?</sarcasm>
Follow your surgeons instructions for dilation.. They have the routine they do for a reason...
I don't think that's how it works...and even if it did I could just stop dilating.for a week or two and it would get a little smaller...hahaha. I really don't think a little extra is bad. I mean, what if you want to use a dildo to pleasure yourself?.are you going to think "nope, my minutes for today are up, I can't".dildo or medical dilator, same difference... but no I won't do it all day long. But does anyone know if it's good or bad to do a little extra?
I'm the kind of a person who would do that, it would come naturally to me, if itdoesn't bcause any harm.
Follow your surgeons instructions for dilation.. They have the routine they do for a reason...
Seriously, follow your surgeons instructions, they know what they are talking about.. All I can see extra dilation doing is making things looser than they need to be..
Quote from: kelly_aus on October 22, 2014, 05:24:51 AM
Follow your surgeons instructions for dilation.. They have the routine they do for a reason...
Seriously, follow your surgeons instructions, they know what they are talking about.. All I can see extra dilation doing is making things looser than they need to be..
Yeah okay...
Ok, first off, breathe. Relax. As I'm writing this and you appear offline so hopefully you are sleeping or at least relaxing. Being tense and anxious will not help your condition.
Now, let's talk.
Hon, I've been where you are. I'm several years past my surgery and I know what a hard time it is. I very nearly ruined my surgery as I was coming out of anesthesia. I had a panic reaction (which I have no recollection of) and started thrashing around on the bed. They had to tie me down to the bed to keep me from hurting myself. When I finally regained consciousness, I was so bewildered why I couldn't move my legs. My surgeon was right cross with me. Though understood that anesthesia panic is not an unusual reaction.
You've just been through some very major surgery and have been under general anesthesia for several hours. That is brutal to your body. Also while you were under you were given several pints of saline to keep you hydrated. As a consequence, your whole body is swollen. That's really ok, because you have kidneys. They will do their job and will bring your swelling down through urination. But it takes some days for it all to work through your system. But the result is that the surgical site will have more swelling because of the body being given the saline and the surgeon working down there. As a side note, your time under GA is about the same time it takes to do a heart transplant. This was not a simple snip and tuck but some very serious surgery and a rigorous ordeal to your body.
A doctors first job is to keep you well. No matter what else is going on. So if your surgeon is saying you are too swollen to dilate, then give it some time and the swelling will reduce and you can start your dilation regimen. You will soon become a slave to your dilation schedule and your dilators. I named mine Homer, Jethro, Big Guy, and OH MY GOD!!!!!.
Yes, if not attended to, your surgical wounds could heal shut. But this is not like getting your ears pierced and having to keep the first earrings in so that the hole would seal shut if you take them out too soon. It would take weeks for anything like that to happen, so a day or two, after taking the packing out and not dilating is not the end of the world, nor will the surgeons good work be ruined.
Let the surgeon guide you, let your body recover from the truly significant ordeal it's been put through. You will be fine.
-Sandy
Yeah, I would trust the doctor. Most *do* recommend dilation on the first day the packing is removed... but that's based on their personal technique for the surgery, and that can vary. So if a surgeon says their technique doesn't require it, I'd assume they know what they're talking about.
DO NOT stick anything in there. The risks if you start trying to "dilate" using un-approved materials, without knowing what you're doing, start at tearing the vagina apart or causing a fistula, and end with death from infection. Believe me, even if it were going to close up (which it likely isn't), the damage you could do by attempting dilation on your own is far, far worse. Ditto for dilating too long/too much; it's OK to run a little long or whatever, but if you're planning on significantly altering the dilation schedule, check with the surgeon. That schedule is usually set in the very early days to find the balance between "enough dilation to keep everything open and flexible" and "too much risk of destroying the fragile new tissues and undoing the stitched areas." Overdo it and you might cause permanent damage.
(There's a lot more flexibility in dilation once it's no longer a surgical site, and after a couple years you can basically listen to your body and do what you want. But in the very early days you *need* to be careful about the surgeon's instructions.)
Quote from: onescaredquestion on October 22, 2014, 05:20:42 AM
I don't think that's how it works...and even if it did I could just stop dilating.for a week or two and it would get a little smaller...hahaha. I really don't think a little extra is bad. I mean, what if you want to use a dildo to pleasure yourself?.are you going to think "nope, my minutes for today are up, I can't".dildo or medical dilator, same difference... but no I won't do it all day long. But does anyone know if it's good or bad to do a little extra?
I'm the kind of a person who would do that, it would come naturally to me, if itdoesn't bcause any harm.
I don't mean harm but if you think you are right and already have an answer in mind - don't ask.
Of course you can do whatever you want to it - a 'little extra' but if you overdo it and tear the internal stitches, i don't think your doctor will be responsible for it.
Btw, I'm lazy to quote but you said 'I haven't heard anything bad about my dr [dr Pichet]''
Really? Are you sure?
My advice is listen and listen and listen. Oh and be patient. Follow the advice and instructions properly and don't be stubborn.
Have a speedy recovery.
Quote from: blackponyx on October 22, 2014, 09:31:48 AM
I don't mean harm but if you think you are right and already have an answer in mind - don't ask.
Of course you can do whatever you want to it - a 'little extra' but if you overdo it and tear the internal stitches, i don't think your doctor will be responsible for it.
Btw, I'm lazy to quote but you said 'I haven't heard anything bad about my dr [dr Pichet]''
Really? Are you sure?
My advice is listen and listen and listen. Oh and be patient. Follow the advice and instructions properly and don't be stubborn.
Have a speedy recovery.
Please don't feel offended but I feel like you didn't read a single word I said. I never mentioned the name of by surgeon out of respect. I only mentioned the name of a known butcher as something that not dilated right away REMINDED me of. But thank you,I hope I will.
Quote from: Sandy on October 22, 2014, 07:15:59 AM
Ok, first off, breathe. Relax. As I'm writing this and you appear offline so hopefully you are sleeping or at least relaxing. Being tense and anxious will not help your condition.
Now, let's talk.
Hon, I've been where you are. I'm several years past my surgery and I know what a hard time it is. I very nearly ruined my surgery as I was coming out of anesthesia. I had a panic reaction (which I have no recollection of) and started thrashing around on the bed. They had to tie me down to the bed to keep me from hurting myself. When I finally regained consciousness, I was so bewildered why I couldn't move my legs. My surgeon was right cross with me. Though understood that anesthesia panic is not an unusual reaction.
You've just been through some very major surgery and have been under general anesthesia for several hours. That is brutal to your body. Also while you were under you were given several pints of saline to keep you hydrated. As a consequence, your whole body is swollen. That's really ok, because you have kidneys. They will do their job and will bring your swelling down through urination. But it takes some days for it all to work through your system. But the result is that the surgical site will have more swelling because of the body being given the saline and the surgeon working down there. As a side note, your time under GA is about the same time it takes to do a heart transplant. This was not a simple snip and tuck but some very serious surgery and a rigorous ordeal to your body.
A doctors first job is to keep you well. No matter what else is going on. So if your surgeon is saying you are too swollen to dilate, then give it some time and the swelling will reduce and you can start your dilation regimen. You will soon become a slave to your dilation schedule and your dilators. I named mine Homer, Jethro, Big Guy, and OH MY GOD!!!!!.
Yes, if not attended to, your surgical wounds could heal shut. But this is not like getting your ears pierced and having to keep the first earrings in so that the hole would seal shut if you take them out too soon. It would take weeks for anything like that to happen, so a day or two, after taking the packing out and not dilating is not the end of the world, nor will the surgeons good work be ruined.
Let the surgeon guide you, let your body recover from the truly significant ordeal it's been put through. You will be fine.
-Sandy
I actually slept for almost 12 hours I think. or was it 10?.I woke up a couple of times but went right back to sleep. Anyway,I think I've slept enough.
I was just panicking. I'm not actually going to stick something in there,I understand it would probably tear the stitches and I'm not going to do anything to ruin this.
I just feel like the dilation schedules arbitrary. I haven't even seen mine buttl I read one surgeon had something like 10+15 min with size one up to 30+45 min with size 4 every day, and another had like 6x45 min with any size and another one just 10 minutes a few times. I don't know how reliable the internet sites were though some were the sites of the actual surgeons but most weren't. It just seems so random. Would an extra halfan hour or hour really be bad?.I'll ask my surgeon. I know I shouldn't be asking anyone here, it just passes the time and makes me less nervous even if it's just chitchat. Thank you for the support.
Quote from: Jenna Marie on October 22, 2014, 08:53:33 AM
Yeah, I would trust the doctor. Most *do* recommend dilation on the first day the packing is removed... but that's based on their personal technique for the surgery, and that can vary. So if a surgeon says their technique doesn't require it, I'd assume they know what they're talking about.
DO NOT stick anything in there. The risks if you start trying to "dilate" using un-approved materials, without knowing what you're doing, start at tearing the vagina apart or causing a fistula, and end with death from infection. Believe me, even if it were going to close up (which it likely isn't), the damage you could do by attempting dilation on your own is far, far worse. Ditto for dilating too long/too much; it's OK to run a little long or whatever, but if you're planning on significantly altering the dilation schedule, check with the surgeon. That schedule is usually set in the very early days to find the balance between "enough dilation to keep everything open and flexible" and "too much risk of destroying the fragile new tissues and undoing the stitched areas." Overdo it and you might cause permanent damage.
(There's a lot more flexibility in dilation once it's no longer a surgical site, and after a couple years you can basically listen to your body and do what you want. But in the very early days you *need* to be careful about the surgeon's instructions.)
Okay, okay, you convinced me! You didn't have to make me MORE scared you know... now I'm thinking "dilate 10 minutes too long and my vagina will prolapse out of my body and spit Ebola at me and I'll die of ten infections within the hour".I know you didn't mean that but yeah. (I'm not entirely serious haha. But please don't be so scary...)
Lots of members care about you. Vent all you need it's OK. You will have plenty of support. Congradulations on your surgery & I'm sure you will OK in due time. Just try to rest.
I am sorry for scaring you. You scared *me* a bit with the "dilate with a shampoo bottle" thing.
The dilation schedules DO vary a lot by surgeon, and when I say you can overdo it, I'm talking like twice as much or more than they recommend. (So if, say, you had my schedule of 80 minutes a day and did 3 hours, that would probably be bad.) There are people who fall asleep for hours and whatnot and are fine, though.
Honestly, you'll be fine. :) I've been there, and it's easy to panic - I called the nurses in once, hysterical because I thought I had a horrendous infection and it turned out to be perfectly normal healing skin! - but 99% of people who follow the surgeon's instructions and are reasonably clean and careful will do beautifully.
Quote from: Jenna Marie on October 22, 2014, 07:25:08 PM
I am sorry for scaring you. You scared *me* a bit with the "dilate with a shampoo bottle" thing.
The dilation schedules DO vary a lot by surgeon, and when I say you can overdo it, I'm talking like twice as much or more than they recommend. (So if, say, you had my schedule of 80 minutes a day and did 3 hours, that would probably be bad.) There are people who fall asleep for hours and whatnot and are fine, though.
Honestly, you'll be fine. :) I've been there, and it's easy to panic - I called the nurses in once, hysterical because I thought I had a horrendous infection and it turned out to be perfectly normal healing skin! - but 99% of people who follow the surgeon's instructions and are reasonably clean and careful will do beautifully.
Thank you. I just said that in my panic, I'm not really going to do anything like that. I just really hope the swelling will go down. I also really hope I would have done a better job cleaning my place but I had no time. I think it's the first thing I'll have to do, change the sheets and make sure at least the bed is as clean as it can be...
Quote from: FrancisAnn on October 22, 2014, 06:49:03 PM
Lots of members care about you. Vent all you need it's OK. You will have plenty of support. Congradulations on your surgery & I'm sure you will OK in due time. Just try to rest.
Thank you. I really appreciate it and I hope I can help some of you in some way too.
So I just found out the dilation is going to be stayed THE DAYS from removing the packaging, in other words not tomorrow but the next day! :'( today when they douched me it felt like the opening was already tighter! It can't close... and I'm so worried, the swelling still hasn't gone down noticeably which is why it probably wouldn't make sense to dilate tomorrow anyway but what am I going to do if it just won't go down?? I'm trying to drink extra much water now but I've taken all mymeds including the anti swelling ones and iI just don't know what more I can do...
What if in two days the doctor says it's still too swollen and waits until it's closed :'(
Why couldn't I heal normally like everyone else...
I had swelling lingering for TWO YEARS. I had so much swelling at first that even the nurses were shocked. Everything looks perfect now. :) Swelling is normal at this stage post-op, and the doctor knows what he's doing. He won't choose to delay dilation until it's closed; if there's still swelling when that becomes a risk (if that's the reason for the delay), he'll likely just use a slimmer dilator than planned.
Truly, try to relax.
Calm down, breathe and for what the surgeon suggest and what the nurses tell you to do.
It's a very long process in the healing.
So you picked your surgeon now relax and trust there profession knowledge
Quote from: Jenna Marie on October 22, 2014, 09:43:01 PM
I had swelling lingering for TWO YEARS. I had so much swelling at first that even the nurses were shocked. Everything looks perfect now. :) Swelling is normal at this stage post-op, and the doctor knows what he's doing. He won't choose to delay dilation until it's closed; if there's still swelling when that becomes a risk (if that's the reason for the delay), he'll likely just use a slimmer dilator than planned.
Truly, try to relax.
Okay, I'll try.... really, it's just so scary. It's like thinking "now I'm finally done".just to be slapped with "ha, no you're not! You might have just done everything for nothing, ha-ha!"
Quote from: mrs izzy on October 22, 2014, 09:53:32 PM
Calm down, breathe and for what the surgeon suggest and what the nurses tell you to do.
It's a very long process in the healing.
So you picked your surgeon now relax and trust there profession knowledge
I'm trying... I've seen his results and if Ican tell anything based on this crazy swelling, my result is... at least average, maybe even little better? But this whole no dilation crazy swelling thing has me worried. What if I'm in the 1% who get the kind of complications that ruin everything...
Quote from: Jenna Marie on October 22, 2014, 09:43:01 PM
I had swelling lingering for TWO YEARS. I had so much swelling at first that even the nurses were shocked. Everything looks perfect now. :) Swelling is normal at this stage post-op, and the doctor knows what he's doing. He won't choose to delay dilation until it's closed; if there's still swelling when that becomes a risk (if that's the reason for the delay), he'll likely just use a slimmer dilator than planned.
Truly, try to relax.
How much swelling did you have? Mine looks like you could fit a whole tennis ball in there... what did they do about the dilation and swelling in your case? I'm sorry if you already told me, my mind is a little frazzled right now
It wasn't so much swelling of the vagina as the whole area - my vulva alone was like half a basketball sized. Seriously. I took anti-inflammatories and tried to be patient, mostly... They said to not overdo exercise and otherwise just wait, and they were right.
Although, if you can fit a tennis ball in there, you're not closing up. :)
Quote from: Jenna Marie on October 22, 2014, 10:05:30 PM
It wasn't so much swelling of the vagina as the whole area - my vulva alone was like half a basketball sized. Seriously. I took anti-inflammatories and tried to be patient, mostly... They said to not overdo exercise and otherwise just wait, and they were right.
Although, if you can fit a tennis ball in there, you're not closing up. :)
Sometimes I forget to give enough information... yes, my vagina/lips are swollen but what's most swollen is the area ABOVE, around the pubic bone, in other words above my genitals. You could fit a tennis ball there and then it continues down the labia .majora which are so swollen they're like 1-1.5" thick... idk it looks gross. Everything is swollen. :/ what if the swelling goes inwards and pushes everything closed...
I have not had my GRS however I did have a complete face lift & eye lid surgery this summer. Everything swells after surgery. You would not believe how much my face swelled but it does go down in time. I was very scarred to be honest. Now some 3 months later everything looks great. So just try & be cool as best you can GF. Take some pain pills & sleep/rest. Good luck GF.
Quote from: onescaredquestion on October 22, 2014, 10:10:42 PM
Sometimes I forget to give enough information... yes, my vagina/lips are swollen but what's most swollen is the area ABOVE, around the pubic bone, in other words above my genitals. You could fit a tennis ball there and then it continues down the labia .majora which are so swollen they're like 1-1.5" thick... idk it looks gross. Everything is swollen. :/ what if the swelling goes inwards and pushes everything closed...
Remember that the greatest swelling will be at the surgical site. It will recede, but it will take time. Everything down there will look gruesome, the term frankenpu$$y is appropriate (and coined by Dr Bowers, I believe).
The thing to remember is that right now, this is as bad as it's ever going to get. From here it is only going to get better. The swelling will recede, you will not lose all you have gained. The swelling is as bad as it's ever going to get. And to tell the truth the swelling
is inside as well. And that will recede as well. One of the reasons for dilation is to reduce swelling. Once you are told you can begin dilation you should see a reduction in swelling soon after.
And, again, do not too become anxious about your condition. Let the surgeon guide you and let your body recover.
It does get better. Really!
-Sandy
Girl, calm down lol. Jesus! My surgery is this November 1st and I'm leaving to Bangkok Thailand this Monday night. I'm not worried on the surgery but mostly on being there on time and getting situated before surgery. I know my surgery will be fine and I heard my Dr and the nurses will be very caring through others experiences.
First thing I'm gonna do is rest, I am not gonna touch anything because I'm afraid I might mess up or screw up my wound down there. There is NOTHING to worry about. now if you start meddling with your fresh wound down there, you will mess it up and for sure it's gonna ruin any chances of keeping it open or looking nice. You may just rupture a stitch if you touch down there on the first day of packing being removed. It's very delicate so keep off limits unless the nurses or doctor instructs you to do things with it.
And like everyone said here, follow the instructions your doctor gave you. Dilation should not be done unless instructed by the doctor or nurses. Ask the nurses for permission to do any type of activity. You want to avoid strenuous activity. You'll be fine, as long as you get a lot of rest, relaxation, and peace of mind. You don't need your stress level or blood pressure to go any higher than normal because it may slow down the rejuvenation process.
Good Luck! Hope you have a swift recovery. So happy for you! Gives me a more reason to be excited :laugh: :)
I got exactly the same right now. I am in my 8th day and I may dilate next week because of swelling. Besides, my surgeon advises every client to start dilating after one week, at the checkup. Why I don't know. But since he has operated on hundreds of woman, I guess he knows what he talks about and never heard a single bad story about him considering closing.
As many have said, relax and follow the doctor's instructions. My surgery was on the 1st of October, stuffing (stent in my case) was removed on the 6th, and I dilated for the first time on the 19th (the doctors had told me that I should start when I feel ready, but ideally by the 22nd at the latest, so I was a tad early).
Btw: Do not expect the same depth etc. as you had initially when you dilate for the first time. It is not lost, but merely needs nice and calm "training" over time; that's why you get that rather intimidating size assortment after all... :P You should not be feeling any real pain while dilating, a bit of discomfort can happen, but if you hit the pain threshold then that part should wait until things have loosened up a bit more. For first 5 days I used a 2 1/4" x 5/8" dilator (compared to the 4 3/4" x 1 1/2" stent that was in there originally :o ), and am gradually working my way up. Don't overstrain it, as otherwise your next session can end up being quite unpleasant.
Regimes can vary considerably as well. I've heard of people being told to dilate 3x a day for 30 minutes, and others 1x a day for 5 minutes (which happens to be what my doctors handed to me). The main importance seems to be dilating regularly (i.e. at least once a day). Basically listen to your body and enjoy the gradual return of feeling in the area. :)
I had to start dilating at the 11th day post op. After five days initial packing was removed and I received a new packing every day. I am four months post op and I am still stuffed between dilation (2 times a day). I am very happy with the result. So follow your docs instruction. We are all different and healing is different.
Lara
You might find this page helpful. There's a long diary and a series of pictures with scary looking swelling, and the result turned out completely normal.
http://www.annasplace.me.uk/grs.html
The link for the pictures is near the bottom, under Results and Reflections.
Late to the show as usual, but first, congratulations, and welcome to "the other side". As the others have noted, each doctor has their own regimen on the dilation, and there is NO single hard and fast rule on it. Even after a full year of toasty postie, I have a schedule for dilation that says "daily for the rest of my life" as old as I am that will be less than 365*30 dilations to do. I miss an occasional day here and there but that is why I have lube. I agree that doing too much dilation is at its best a waste of time that you can use for writing a horror novel about anything other than your surgery. Once your sutures dissolve, the worst I have experienced was when I had too little lube, or the skin absorbed the lube, and I got a "hot spot" that was tender for a couple more dilations. Early in the game it is more possible to do some damage, but while I can fill you with horror stories, you just really need a hug, so HUUGGGG!