Susan's Place Transgender Resources

So, I don't know. This is a thing people do now, I guess. Since I'm doing this alone and not many others are, maybe it'd help???

Anyway, I arrived in Thailand a couple days ago. Have been mostly sticking to the hotel room on a clear liquids diet. Basically, juices without pulp, soda, and clear broth soup (which the Dusit Princess is very able to deliver to your room - just ask).

Overall, things have been pleasant-ish. Bit irked that Chet wouldn't accept either of my letters. I only had a copy of my letter from my therapist, since she was unwilling to provide me the original (for... reasons???), but Chet needed original ink. I took a copy, digitally removed her signature, brought it back to her, and asked her to resign it in ink - she did. Chet didn't accept that since it didn't 1:1 match the original signature I sent via pdf. Just be aware - if you go with Chet, you'll need your signature on your letter with the ORIGINAL pen ink. Not printer ink.

Ah well. What ended up happening was I had to go to the local hospital and get two random therapist people to write me Thai letters of recommendation. Asked me standard questions - was pretty quick. Very in and out. The second lady barely spoke English, so it was a bit strange, but she was a very, very kind, adorable old like 95 year old woman. I appreciated her effort with the language to help me out - as someone who professionally speaks a second language, I know how hard that is.

During my consultation with Chet, he said that he would 'do what he could' with the vaginal length, which was quite concerning since this was after he commented that my penile length was one of the smallest he's ever seen. But since he doesn't use penile inversion, this wasn't him being pessimistic. It was just him saying that he had no idea what he could accomplish since it depends on inside factors.

I asked him the odds of complications or death and he said he'd 'do his best.' I'm, uhh, hoping that's just not having the best bedside manner (as above). If I don't post that I'm okay later, I guess I died??? Bit concerned about that, but I'm too late now.

Yesterday, I had to take two pills of laxatives and do a bulb enema. Neither really did anything lol. Enema felt WEIRD, but nothing really spectacular happened after it was flushed out.


As we speak, today, I'm doing the Swiff solution. I took my first dose about 50 minutes ago - no real impact so far. Didn't taste nearly as bad as everyone says it does (I mixed it with sprite, as per Chet's recommendation). I'm a little bit concerned neither it, nor the laxatives yesterday, had any impact, but maybe that's because there's nothing in there?

I'll be taking the next dose in like 7 hours or so.

Hi and welcome to Susan's. Sometimes it can take more of the stuff than we think before the job is done, but you shouldn't have anything to worry about. Others should be able to chime in more. Congrats on your upcoming surgery. I look forward to seeing you around the forums. Good luck and Hugs
Mariah

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Thanks for the info, I'll be going to Chett in about a week myself, so good to know.

Hey there,

Chett never commits more than he'll do his best, I was small too after  an orchi and being circumcised so all he told me was the only good skin he would have was the graft. I still got 6 inches. He is very shy with claims about depth because his technique means even with a huge penis you can end up with less than you expect. I wouldn't worry too much about not being promised a certain depth. I also doubt you'll die either. Rather than worry about his lack of grand claims I would focus on the things you can do something about like being relaxed and positive, It will help your recovery :)

I had the same concern about his laxative pills then the enema which did very little, The swiff will certainly clear you out and sprite or coke was a good call because it tastes foul. I didn't think too much for his drink to stop dehydration. I found I'd sooner drink a bottle of swiff than that rubbish. Gatorade tastes much nicer and does the same thing :)

If you have any questions today or tomorrow I'm in Bangkok and will call you if you message me and want a chat :)

Good luck with the surgery, If you need anything answered please message


Hugs

Sorcha  ;D

*
(Bangkok, Thailand - Monday, 25 Jul 16, 1 pm hour)
(Phoenix, Arizona, USA - Sunday, 24 Jul 16, 11pm hour)

To:  IWentwithChet, Carrie Liz, and others:

You'll do well at Dr. Chettawut.  I have been corresponding with him for the past year and corresponding with others who have gone before you.

I recently composed a composite of experiences to my web-site that I hope supplants what you can find here at 'Susan's Place' threads from others who preceded you.

You need not go with depth.  There are lesser procedures that give you four to five inches and do not require extensive dilation schedules.  You have time to discuss this option with Dr. Chettawut.  Follow orders on his chart.  If you received it in your package, it looks daunting now but is easy once you start.  Nurse Sri and Nurse Noi are your friends.  They will teach you what you need to know post-op.

It is not so much Dr. Chettawut but the Royal Thai government that obligates all Thai surgeons to produce documentation.  That explains why he sent you to Pramram 9 Hospital (where he usually sends his patients) and you spoke with the federal counsellors.  It is usually a 'rubber stamp' - if you had no trouble passing your evaluations at home, then you are not likely to have any complication at Thailand.

Yes, you are reasonable to ask about mortality rates.  Bear in mind that Dr. Chettawut is one of Thailand's 'Big 3' and one of the world's best.  You are in his good hands.

Good for you that you are doing your cleanse.  This is critical because any bowel contents could contaminate your operation site.  Be very sure to be very clear as your big day approaches.  Drink plenty of water; that will hasten your cleanse.  Be certain not to exceed your deadline for last water - set an alarm - otherwise you will be thirsty while waiting.

Know also that when you awake on the other side that your simple meals of warm soy milk, warm chocolate, miso soup, chicken soup, and crackers will taste as good as any steak dinner or whatever is your desire.  Certain medicines must be taken on an empty stomach otherwise you might vomit; Dr. Chettawut and his nurses will instruct you.

You'll hear occasional rustling in your first recovery room just behind your left shoulder.  That is your 24-hours nursing team there with you to attend to you.  They will help you when you are awake and command you get sleep when it is time to get rest to heal.

Follow doctor's orders and all will be as best as they can be.

You will not require much to bring to the Clinic.  Maybe a change of clothes (to wear fresh clothes on your drive back to your recovery residence) and your computer (to send e-mails once you advance to the first floor recovery room).

Make arrangements with Dr. Chettawut about visitors or others who might be there while you are there.  Keep in mind that he is obligated to comply with privacy requirements.  He can not tell others you are there without your permission, nor can others know you are there without your permission.  Perhaps you two will want to connect with each other as soon as possible so that you can share permissions with Dr. Chettawut. 

You may also want to arrange adjacent rooms especially if you both will be staying at the same recovery residence (Dusit).  Companionship is important now during surgery and recovery.  If you are at different residences, perhaps agree to change so that you are together.

Keep a good diary. This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that you will cherish many years in the future.

My best wishes to one and all.

Thank you, too, Sorcha.
*

Um at "I asked him the odds of complications or death and he said he'd 'do his best.'" Yes i know every surgery has its risks but has this man caused anybody to hit 6 feet under with grs ? did he say this in a joking manner or what

So the Swiff did end up working, though it took like an hour or two. And the second dose was much more potent than the first. It's not the horrible experience people seem to think it is, at least it wasn't for me. It means, generally speaking, every half hour or hour or so, you'll feel like your bowels are 'loose' and end up in the bathroom for a couple minutes. At least that was my experience. It's an annoyance, but not much more.

Gotta say though - I'm getting REAL sick of apple juice and plain chicken broth.

Quote from: TinaVane on July 25, 2016, 09:11:29 AM
Um at "I asked him the odds of complications or death and he said he'd 'do his best.'" Yes i know every surgery has its risks but has this man caused anybody to hit 6 feet under with grs ? did he say this in a joking manner or what

I have read one report online that he has done so, but there's no verification and it was on one of those suspicious "anti-Chet" blogs (that all seem to be run by a single person?), so I'm a little dubious of it. Other sites I've been on have said that there's no recorded instance of a death from SRS.

As he certainly wasn't joking, my guess is that it was just his having kind of a bad bedside manner. Since he doesn't know what will happen, he says he'll do his best. That sort of thing. I could be wrong, but that's what I suspect, given he said the same thing for depth.

Still, it wasn't really the comfort I needed haha. As I'm quite overweight/obese (above his recommended BMI, but he was willing to help me anyway, partially because I'm young [mid-late 20's] and otherwise healthy), I'm a bit worried. That said, if diabetic patients 40-50 years older than I am can do it, I don't see why I can't...

Hey girls I will be arriving in Bangkok on the 7th of August, staying at the Dussit Princess and having my srs on the 12th.
Hit me up!

Deb

And we're off!

Hope it all went well and you have a speedy recovery, You'll have already met the wonderful nursing staff by the time you read this so here's hoping that all the pre op confusion has cleared and you have a great result

Hugs

Sorcha  ;D

Well THAT sucked.

Went well, but my right hand has been numb for the last 14 hours with no improvement. Kinda concerned. Did this happen to anyone else?

I can think of several reasons you hand is numb but normally that doesn't happen. I would suggest you talk to the nursing staff or doctor so they are aware of it and possible they might explain what happened.

Please keep us updated, hope they figure out what the numbness is and remedy it.
Get well soon.

Quote from: IWentWithChet on July 27, 2016, 09:52:39 AM
Well THAT sucked.

Went well, but my right hand has been numb for the last 14 hours with no improvement. Kinda concerned. Did this happen to anyone else?

i hope they find what is wrong...

One of the more troubling things is that one of the nurses literally doesn't know the word "pain" or "medication" or "hurt" or "painkiller." Whenever I need them, I have to struggle with her for minutes before she goes to get another nurse who speaks English. This has happened several times now. It's... A bit disconcerting. Considering what I've heard of the pain of FFS, I'd genuinely be a bit scared to do that.

The other nurses are better and one speaks English quite well. But it's random who you get.

Numbness is apparently because they were using that arm for blood pressure monitoring. Still not recovered, but I think I'm barely starting to get feeling again?

So that nurse is the only one in staff this morning. I'm trying to ask for pain medication, but again she doesn't understand. She said I can ask the doctor when he arrives. I asked when that was and she said she doesn't know. I don't know if she didn't understand the word "when" or if she didn't know when he was arriving.

Normally you get painkillers after meals - so I asked when lunch was to try to get around this language problem. She said 6pm, not knowing the difference between lunch and dinner. So much for that plan.

I really want to stress that the other nurses are quite good - but it's kind of amazing that they assign a nurse who can't really speak English enough to know the word "pain" to look after English speaking patients... This is getting to be a problem. Hopefully she's just new and will improve with time. I know English is a really difficult language, but I don't really feel confident with her looking after me.

Thankfully SRS pain isn't TOO bad (mostly just very uncomfortable), but... If I was getting FFS...


Edit: NEVERMIND. The really fluent nurse IS here. But the first nurse didn't understand "other nurse please" so she didn't know what to do. Thankfully the other nurse checked up on me on her own so I am getting my pain meds. Oof.

Just had the "drain" removed. The second of three tube things in me. The first was the IV and the catheter is still in me. That'll be removed in a couple days alongside the vaginal packing.

Idk exactly what it was "draining" but that was the first thing that had a piercing, stabbing pain when it was removed. It lasted for a bit too, but it's fine now. Definitely tolerable. Tomorrow morning, I head back to the hotel. And it shall be glorious.

Though i should say - the food here at the clinic has been pretty good. First day or so you got warm soy milk and hot chocolate. Then, after that, it's hot chocolate, some kinda creamy corn soup, and cheese crackers. Even so... To be able to control my own meals (within limits) is the ultimate dream.

Hi,
I was where you are now in late December. Everything seems to be going well for you.  I didn't need pain relief outside of what they gave me so there wasn't much communicating required.

Drain removal wasn't painless but I really didn't like the epidural being removed. Still, no mishaps so all good.

Take it easy when you are back at the hotel tomorrow. You need lots of time to get going again so relax and take it easy. 

Thinking of you up there in the warmth of Bangkok rather than winter in Melbourne!

Hugs
Emma


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are you able to help the nurse out by trying to understand at least some rudimentary words that they can interpret in  their language (no matter how bad you pronounce them) rather than relying on them to understand english?

On my 3rd day post op I'd progressed to Miso soup the soy milk and hot chocolate and all was fine to me but the previous night I hadn't slept so well because I was on my back, I was half way through the miso when I vomited into the bin then again a few minutes later. When I told Noi she banned me from miso soup. I was progressed onto biscuits and chocolate  ;D

Quote from: EmmaD on July 29, 2016, 05:30:55 AM

Take it easy when you are back at the hotel tomorrow. You need lots of time to get going again so relax and take it easy. 

Thinking of you up there in the warmth of Bangkok rather than winter in Melbourne!

Hugs
Emma

Emma is right, Don't overdo things for a few days and you'll get the benefits in how well you recover :)

Emma I've been in Bangkok for the last month, It's way too hot and humid, I was caught in a storm a few days back trying to get a taxi for 30 minutes and the rain was a relief to cool me down  ;D Give me a Sydney winter anytime  :D

Hugs

Sorcha  ;D

Quote from: IWentWithChet on July 29, 2016, 04:28:14 AM
Just had the "drain" removed. The second of three tube things in me. The first was the IV and the catheter is still in me. That'll be removed in a couple days alongside the vaginal packing.

Idk exactly what it was "draining" but that was the first thing that had a piercing, stabbing pain when it was removed. It lasted for a bit too, but it's fine now. Definitely tolerable. Tomorrow morning, I head back to the hotel. And it shall be glorious.

Though i should say - the food here at the clinic has been pretty good. First day or so you got warm soy milk and hot chocolate. Then, after that, it's hot chocolate, some kinda creamy corn soup, and cheese crackers. Even so... To be able to control my own meals (within limits) is the ultimate dream.

hoping for a speedy recovery :) lots of love from canada

Troubling development today. As I was extending my arm, it got flooded by a spasm of pain and I couldn't control it for almost a second. Just kinda flailed and hurt. This was after they battered my nerves again with the blood pressure checker. I want to ask for them to do it on the other arm, but it's always the lady who doesn't speak English, so I can't.

The nurse the other day said that this lack of sensation is common and can last 3-6 months!?! She doesn't know about the spasm yet, so I'll tell her that when I see her next.

Getting dressed was another "English adventure" as I didn't bring underwear for fear of them being too tight on the padding. So I had a conversation that went like this:

"You no bring panties?"

"No. I was afraid of them being tight"

"You no bring panties?"

"No."

"You no bring panties?"

"I no bring panties"

"You no bring panties?"

<takes out iPad>

Well, I'm now in my hotel room and typing on my laptop, rather than my iPad. Bit weird when I have so little feeling in my thumb and pointer fingers, but it works.

First bit of legit advice I have for people going with Chet - choose the hotel that is CLOSEST to the clinic. The drive from the clinic to the hotel was kinda legit the worst. So much pain sitting down.

Bizarrely, I'm super okay walking. Maybe it's because I work out with a personal trainer who works out my calves and legs a lot, but I had no issue walking around. This is not true for most people, apparently. But sitting - oh boy. That HURT.

Good news - you are home!  Get Sri or Noi to look at your arm when they call tomorrow.  It seems something has got squashed and is taking a while to come right.

Everyone is different.  I found walking hard but the ride to the hotel was fine.  That said, I found the plane trip home and then another trip a few days after that (home in Australia to New Zealand - about 4 hours) very painful

People - be prepared for the Chet timetable!  I was booted out at 5:45am so we had breakfast, bed bath, teeth etc dressed and out the door quite early.  Someone must have been upstairs ready to come down.  They even had a sick bag in the car for me!  The driver promptly put it on his head and wished me "Merry Christmas"!!

"You no bring panties?" is hilarious.  I did bring them and it was all made clear when we hooked the urine bag onto them for walking.

I think all the hotels are about the same distance from the clinic.  The Vertical Suite where I stayed is probably the longest distance away and it is not far past the Dusit.

Do nothing until the Grand Unveiling in a few days.

*
I did not see the answer, so allow me to comment.  Two of your hoses were to keep your vagina drained - one tube on each side.  Yes, it can sting when Dr. Chettawut removes it; place a towel in your mouth and grab hold of the bed railing.

Another, future sting will be when Dr. Chettawut removes your leftover stitches; that will be at your 'final exam' day.  If any do not absorb, then Dr. Chettawut snips them and pulls them out one at a time. 

Most computers, or the Internet, have access to language translator apps.  The written translators are better than voice.  Try them with your nurses.

Did Dr. Chettawut provide your meds sheet yet ('Home Medication Instruction')?  Point to which meds you need.  Dr. Chettawut will provide refills if you really need them.  Some people do report intense pains through their recovery days while others ask 'What pain?' the day after surgery.

Some meds can cause you to vomit - usually the antibiotics.  Dr. Chettawut may direct you to take your antibiotic on an empty stomach (at least one hour before any food).  Don't be embarrassed if you vomit, many patients do; use the nearby container provided to vomit.

Gradually wean your food intake.  Your bowels have been inactive for a week or two.  Eat light at first - fruits and vegetables - until you resume your regularity and can begin easing into normal foods.  You do not want to experience constipation down there!

Yes the more you add to GCS / SRS (FFS, BA), the more likely you will encounter pain.

It's clearly a no-no to walk around in public with your bladder bag still attached.

You'll know when you are more than ready for the urinary catheter to be removed - your muscles will want to go on their own.  Park yourself at the toilet and let go; it may hurt your first time, relax as you would without the catheter.  Then begin learning to use the bidet.

It's too late now, but yes, you do need one change of clean clothes for your return ride to your recovery residence; the best attire are loose dresses or jumpers.  Panties will not be too tight.

Yes, Dr. Chettawut orders early wake-up call for your return to your recovery residence - 4 am or 5 am is common.  Someone is coming later that morning to take your place in the ground floor room because someone is set to arrive for the second floor room.

Sit on your donut pillow during your ride home; you do not want to be bouncing in the car without it.  Sit on it in bed.  Keep your feet up so that they do not swell.  Later, take this pillow with you to the Chaengwattana federal complex; you do NOT want to spend a full day sitting on the hard chairs at the Foreign Ministry Office as you wait for the agent to issue your notarised surgery certificate.

Follow Dr. Chettawut's orders about walking; he will limit your ambulatory time.  You require bed rest to heal properly no matter how much you want to get up and walk; do not walk too much otherwise you risk impeding healing and thus requiring correction surgery before you pass your 'final exam'.

Relax until your unveiling.  Be prepared.  Take in the experience for all that it is - once in a lifetime.  Watch with your mirror.

At the airport, be certain to show the ticket agent your travel letter so that you can get special seating inside the airplane - maybe a row of three seats to yourself to spread out.  Get up and walk in the plane during your ride home - it is a long flight, you now need the exercise to prevent blood clots. 

Sahwdee kah!
*

Keep us updated! I'm so excited for you!

Sharon's message is much appreciated, in particular since it's what I'm going through as we speak.

I'm in solo recovery now. It's basically the single worst thing. THIS is where the solo vs non-solo SRS experience is found. Mostly... It's very boring, with lots of pain. And you're not allowed to turn to your sides for any length of time - so it's just you on your back. Can't even prop your legs up by bending them. It's an awful position to keep up for a length of time, ESPECIALLY since you now lack an adjustable bed. Going to sleep is a constant struggle.

I feel like I need to pee CONSTANTLY and there's constant pressure on my bladder/vagina. It's... Yeah. Let's say it's not comfortable and I keep a close eye on the hour for when I can retake pain meds.

Walking is still absurdly easy - I eat my food standing since sitting is much more painful. Scrambled eggs, toast, and juice. It mostly sucks getting dressed before the person arrives to deliver your room service. Then getting undressed in a way where your clothes aren't just gone forever (since bending isn't really an option - if you're solo, the floor is basically a bottomless pit).

I wish the nurses came daily, but since they get Sunday off, I've been alone since I got here. I'll be seeing someone tomorrow.

Also, for those keeping up with my arm problem - the tingling is intense as heck in my thumb now and in part of my palm, but mostly gone elsewhere. I also see some pretty serious bruising on my arm where that blood pressure monitor was. So there's your explanation.


I mostly want this whole experience to be over. I want to pee. I want to take a shower (be prepared to be WELL acquainted with your body odour). I want this pressure to go away. I want to be able to sit without crying. I want to order a big, honkin' hamburger with fries.

I feel for you. The lonely thing is what I remember as being the worst thing. Pain wasn't too bad for me but I was very careful for the first few days.  I was dropped back at my hotel on a Saturday too and it is a bit of a shock after the clinic.  Be sure to let the nurses know what is bugging you when they call tomorrow.  They may be able to connect you with other patients too.

Take care.  This part passes.

Emma




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Do the driver walk you to your rooms or you just walk alone to ones room ? I would be so embarrassed to pass out in the lobby (but I have a high pain tolerance or so I think I do )


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When I was returned to my hotel, I was met at the door by a wheelchair and wheeled up to my room by the nurse and driver. I then piled into bed for a few hours. It was 6:00 am though so not too many people around.


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Quote from: EmmaD on July 31, 2016, 02:27:38 PM
When I was returned to my hotel, I was met at the door by a wheelchair and wheeled up to my room by the nurse and driver. I then piled into bed for a few hours. It was 6:00 am though so not too many people around.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I was walked up. They offered me a wheelchair, but sitting was (and is still) WAY too painful. Even in the car I kinda laid all the way back and propped my body up with my legs in a little squat. And walking was super easy for me, so it was nbd. Like even the day of, I felt like I could have done like jumping jacks or squats or something (not many, mind you). Not that I would have - it could hurt the vagina. But it felt possible.

Like Emma said though, it was 7am or 7:30 or something, so the lobby and everything was pretty clear.

But people WILL see you at your worst when you order food to your room. Nothing really you can do to avoid that.

And remember - breakfast ends at 11:00, but if you order it after 10:30 they'll charge you. So what I do is eat an early lunch so I can order free breakfast twice. On the second breakfast I order it HUUUGE and eat the remainder for dinner. You can get by basically free.

Get breakfast attached to your room TRUST ME.

Welp. Packing is removed and I seem to have gotten 5.5 inches. Chet initially said like 4.5 after the surgery, so I'm quite pleased.

And BOY does getting the packing removed help my quality of life!

There's so much less pain! In everything I do! I can lie down in any crazy position I want and it doesn't hurt! I was literally moaning and tossing and turning all morning trying to not hurt. And now that's completely gone. I can also now sit down, though that still hurts and feels uncomfortable. Basically, besides that everything feels practically normal, except my now-aching-like-crazy arm. That's aching, but feeling has mostly returned to it at this point. It just hurts - but I'm sure that will go away. Also - I no longer feel like I need to pee, do number two, etc. on a constant basis. That's NICE.

Vagina looks good, has a good depth, and I'm going to ORDER A GODDAMN HAMBURGER TONIGHT as celebration. I also GOT TO TAKE MY FIRST SHOWER IN A WEEK. The smell of opening that shampoo and smelling the beautiful scented aroma is something I'm not likely to forget.

Now, I've still got my catheter in, which sucks. But that's manageable compared to that awful packing.

I don't really have any phantom limb anything. Maybe because I'm only in my (mid-late) 20's? Or maybe because my old member was literally like 1-2 inches in length? Or some combination? But it did feel, at first, like something was missing there. Which, I mean, makes sense. I also found myself compensating around those areas when I was scrubbing up - gonna take some learning, methinks. Anyway - now, about an hour later, my body feels pretty natural honestly. Don't feel like something's missing anymore. Just kinda feel like normal. I'm pleased with this.


Now that's the good. Onto the bad. There's not much of it though!


Removing the packing felt... Weird. Hurt a little bit in parts, but mostly - boy was it strange. Makes sense, but should be noted so others know what to expect.

Now the dilation.... I had a demonstration after having the packing removed and it HURT. Like nutso. And it felt crazy weird. Now, the nurse says that if I learn to relax, it won't hurt. So that's my current goal for when she shows up tomorrow.

I'm sure I'll improve, but it'll take time and pain to do so. Nurses don't seem too patient haha. But they clearly care.


Overall, of course everyone's mileage will vary, but Chet's amazing and I cannot recommend him highly enough. You just gotta get through a bit of hell in order to start feeling okay again. For me, that moment was clear as day - removing the packing. Idk if other people have had the same situation or not.

Quote from: IWentWithChet on August 02, 2016, 12:21:16 AM
Welp. Packing is removed and I seem to have gotten 5.5 inches. Chet initially said like 4.5 after the surgery, so I'm quite pleased.

And BOY does getting the packing removed help my quality of life!

There's so much less pain! In everything I do! I can lie down in any crazy position I want and it doesn't hurt! I was literally moaning and tossing and turning all morning trying to not hurt. And now that's completely gone. I can also now sit down, though that still hurts and feels uncomfortable. Basically, besides that everything feels practically normal, except my now-aching-like-crazy arm. That's aching, but feeling has mostly returned to it at this point. It just hurts - but I'm sure that will go away. Also - I no longer feel like I need to pee, do number two, etc. on a constant basis. That's NICE.

Vagina looks good, has a good depth, and I'm going to ORDER A GODDAMN HAMBURGER TONIGHT as celebration. I also GOT TO TAKE MY FIRST SHOWER IN A WEEK. The smell of opening that shampoo and smelling the beautiful scented aroma is something I'm not likely to forget.

Now, I've still got my catheter in, which sucks. But that's manageable compared to that awful packing.

I don't really have any phantom limb anything. Maybe because I'm only in my (mid-late) 20's? Or maybe because my old member was literally like 1-2 inches in length? Or some combination? But it did feel, at first, like something was missing there. Which, I mean, makes sense. I also found myself compensating around those areas when I was scrubbing up - gonna take some learning, methinks. Anyway - now, about an hour later, my body feels pretty natural honestly. Don't feel like something's missing anymore. Just kinda feel like normal. I'm pleased with this.


Now that's the good. Onto the bad. There's not much of it though!


Removing the packing felt... Weird. Hurt a little bit in parts, but mostly - boy was it strange. Makes sense, but should be noted so others know what to expect.

Now the dilation.... I had a demonstration after having the packing removed and it HURT. Like nutso. And it felt crazy weird. Now, the nurse says that if I learn to relax, it won't hurt. So that's my current goal for when she shows up tomorrow.

I'm sure I'll improve, but it'll take time and pain to do so. Nurses don't seem too patient haha. But they clearly care.


Overall, of course everyone's mileage will vary, but Chet's amazing and I cannot recommend him highly enough. You just gotta get through a bit of hell in order to start feeling okay again. For me, that moment was clear as day - removing the packing. Idk if other people have had the same situation or not.

I love reading your updates :)

Yay, a very good day for you.  So pleased.  I had the catheter in for a week after unpacking.  Bit of a nuisance but it didn't stop me much.  Once I was signed off to start going down for breakfast, I had that thing attached to my waistband, dress on and out the door!

I think part of the relaxing part for dilation is understanding what to expect.  I tried it the day of unwrapping and was on my own after that!  The  next day, Sri was late and rang me to tell me to just go ahead without her!  Anxiety moment, that one! 

You will be fine.  You will get sick of hearing this but it is early days and everything needs a lot more time to heal and all that stuff.  Enjoy the burger and showers and better movement and ...just everything!

Hamburger was freaking amazing, by the way.


Anyway, the first (real) dilation was today. 15 minutes with the smallest one.

(By the way - I'm glad to see that the nurse they send to do the dilations is the nice one who speaks English really well. This could explain why I was constantly seeing the less fluent ones when I was at the clinic)

After yesterday's absolute disaster of a dilation demonstration, which involved me crying out in pain after like 3 seconds, I was... Worried.

But, I was able to do a lot more of it myself and that helped a lot. Not that the nurse isn't great - she is! But, this is your internal anatomy and she can't see or feel around inside there, so...

Still, it hurt.

Going in, that is. And coming out later (though much, much less).

But, once you're in and you're "to your depth" - it's mostly just uncomfortable. Not really any pain. I'm a lot less worried about doing 2x20 tomorrow. Seems very doable.

Now I'm in the aftermath and it feels weiiiiiiird. Like, I didn't have phantom limb syndrome at all from the penis, but I have crazy phantom limb syndrome from the dilator haha. It still feels like something's in there.

Speaking of which - things going "in there" is still a weird as heck sensation, but I'm slowly getting used to it. But the nurses swab you daily and it feels straaaaaangeweird.

Absolutely love reading your posts. I was out there earlier in the year for ffs and ba. i am booked in for end of march for my srs. So if anybodys out there then would love to see you. The boredom in the hotel is horrible. keep the posts running please x

OOF. Nurse arrived. Being swabbed still SUCKS. Worst part of my day by far. Not awful, but WEIRD feeling and occasionally painful.

Anyway, first of today's 20-minute dilations done. They remain basically the worst, but I'm starting to 'get' it.

But I had to kind of fight the nurse off when I wasn't making any progress and she wanted to push it in. Since it's YOUR body, only you can really feel your way around without pain, so whenever she offered to help me, I had to be like "NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO LET ME DO IT AHHH.' Not her fault, of course. Maybe most people are okay with it, but my pain tolerance levels have always been reallllllly low, so I've GOTTA do this myself.

Anyway, it's kind of an art. You go in kinda diagonal, then you gotta go almost horizontal at a specific point, then you slowly push in maintaining that horizontal-ness and keeping it in-line to your torso. But you gotta feel around your own body (as the nurse herself kept saying) to not get into massive pain. And it's VERY gradual.

Like, for me, my depth is about 5.3-5.5". Getting in that first 4" is easy peasy. But getting in the rest of the way takes almost double, if not triple (or even quadruple), that of the first 4". This is also where like 95% of the pain comes from.

It really does hurt. Though I think a lot of that is skill related (I'm still low skill - like I said, it's kind of an art). But, once you're to your depth, it's just uncomfortable. The pain is found getting there.

Now, getting out this time was painless, I'm glad to report. The nurse had a lot of good tips for me this time around going in and I used my experience there to 'plot a course' out. Happily, I got out without a single bit of pain.

This makes me hopeful for my second of today's two dilations, which is going to be entirely solo (*GULP*), in 9 hours. I just gotta remember the 'path' to the end of my vagina and traverse it - then I should, very theoretically, be able to do it without pain.

Wish me luck haha. I'll need it.

(For those considering SRS - Dilation is a bit of a 'thing' so please take that into consideration)

I've now done solo dilation twice. It's not fun, and it kinda hurts, but I've got a method now that doesn't feel like I'm dying.

The rest of this is a bit TMI, but again I want to be as clear as possible so others who find this know what to expect. And to help people who might go through something similar.

However, there's an unfortunate other side - since the doctor basically prevents you from doing number two for a long time, those muscles get, uhh, weaker. As a result, since I've been unable to go since before the surgery, I'm quite backed up. I definitely feel there's a lot in there, and I've felt the need to run to the toilet several times, but no matter what I do, it doesn't want to come out. Been flooding my body with yogurt, oatmeal, fruit, pulpy orange juice, etc.

I wouldn't normally share this, but it DOES genuinely matter for dilation, since you press up against your bowels naturally. The more stuff in there, the more it's going to hurt and the more trouble you will have. Right now, after dilating today, my body feels TERRIBLE down there. Sharp, pointed pains. They're gradually going away, but BOY do they hurt. This is the first time it's hurt this much after the fact. Thankfully, my nurse gave me some laxatives, but they're the ones that didn't do anything before.

I'm really hoping this gets resolved because it genuinely is quite important for comfortable dilation.

Talk to the nurse about the constipation. You should have moved by now and if you haven't there are laxative that will bust the dam. They gave me one and within a few hours everything thing came out. Once you take it, don't leave the room because the one I had tied my insides in knots. In my case, I think I received the laxative about day 4 after surgery and then I received a bulk laxative after that. It was worst for me because I wasn't permitted out of bed until day 6 and the lack walking reduces the urge.

Constipation is a common side effect of painkillers like Tramadol/Tramol and I think antibiotics. I understand its important to fix it because otherwise you won't be able to dilate to depth, and that's bad.

Quote from: AnonyMs on August 05, 2016, 01:46:58 AM
Constipation is a common side effect of painkillers like Tramadol/Tramol and I think antibiotics. I understand its important to fix it because otherwise you won't be able to dilate to depth, and that's bad.

Well, you CAN. It just.... Really hurts and kinda sucks. At least, that's been my experience so far.


---TMI Warning Begins---

Anyway, the laxatives did eventually make me want to go (after second dilation) like 7 hours later. I just relieved myself, at least somewhat (I don't feel 'cleaned out' or even 'normal,' but I'm not in constant pain anymore), but it was maybe the most painful experience since waking up after the surgery haha. I haven't screamed that much in a long, long time. Felt like I was passing clay, which I've never experienced before. I think it's because drinking enough is a bit difficult when you're mostly waiting around passing time. It's easy to go your whole day without drinking the requisite amount. I also legit think that the painkillers, which have constipation as a side-effect, were contributing A LOT. One thing I did was stop taking them yesterday - that might have been what did it.

Anyway, on a side note, I found out a bit about Chet's laxative type and I figured I might share it. I can't find the bag that carried it, so I don't know if the name of the laxative was on it. But, the thing is, there's a gazillion types of laxatives. Those that help your stool in various ways, or those that help YOU want to go in various ways. My SUSPICION is that Chet's laxative is of that latter type (a 'stimulant').

Given the TMI info above about the experience, mixed with the sudden enormous urge to go, I can come to the following conclusion: If you're having difficulty relieving yourself (due to lack of water intake or any number of other things) and it feels more like you CAN'T go, rather than you don't WANT to go, I recommend AGAINST requesting the default laxatives Chet gives you. Ask them for a stool softener or something. Make sure you get the right kind - otherwise, it'll just make you feel more pain.

---TMI Warning Ends---


PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR WATER INTAKE - AND STOP TAKING THE PAINKILLERS AS SOON AS YOU CAN. TRUST ME. And, when you can take fluids, and even when you're unrestricted, order fruit and yogurt from room service. Even if it's just an addition to your meal. This stuff REALLY matters when you're dilating.

Stupid water being all necessary and stuff. I've also got yogurt and fruit. I never want this to happen again ;_____;.

(On a side note - order the 'in season fruit' from the Dusit. You get a REALLY neat variety - I only know one or two of these fruits on the platter! And I regularly travel the world! They're all good though, so it's nice to experience delicious, new food!)

Quote from: IWentWithChet on August 05, 2016, 07:14:35 AM
Well, you CAN. It just.... Really hurts and kinda sucks. At least, that's been my experience so far.


---TMI Warning Begins---

Anyway, the laxatives did eventually make me want to go (after second dilation) like 7 hours later. I just relieved myself, at least somewhat (I don't feel 'cleaned out' or even 'normal,' but I'm not in constant pain anymore), but it was maybe the most painful experience since waking up after the surgery haha. I haven't screamed that much in a long, long time. Felt like I was passing clay, which I've never experienced before. I think it's because drinking enough is a bit difficult when you're mostly waiting around passing time. It's easy to go your whole day without drinking the requisite amount. I also legit think that the painkillers, which have constipation as a side-effect, were contributing A LOT. One thing I did was stop taking them yesterday - that might have been what did it.

Anyway, on a side note, I found out a bit about Chet's laxative type and I figured I might share it. I can't find the bag that carried it, so I don't know if the name of the laxative was on it. But, the thing is, there's a gazillion types of laxatives. Those that help your stool in various ways, or those that help YOU want to go in various ways. My SUSPICION is that Chet's laxative is of that latter type (a 'stimulant').

Given the TMI info above about the experience, mixed with the sudden enormous urge to go, I can come to the following conclusion: If you're having difficulty relieving yourself (due to lack of water intake or any number of other things) and it feels more like you CAN'T go, rather than you don't WANT to go, I recommend AGAINST requesting the default laxatives Chet gives you. Ask them for a stool softener or something. Make sure you get the right kind - otherwise, it'll just make you feel more pain.

---TMI Warning Ends---


PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR WATER INTAKE - AND STOP TAKING THE PAINKILLERS AS SOON AS YOU CAN. TRUST ME. And, when you can take fluids, and even when you're unrestricted, order fruit and yogurt from room service. Even if it's just an addition to your meal. This stuff REALLY matters when you're dilating.

Stupid water being all necessary and stuff. I've also got yogurt and fruit. I never want this to happen again ;_____;.

(On a side note - order the 'in season fruit' from the Dusit. You get a REALLY neat variety - I only know one or two of these fruits on the platter! And I regularly travel the world! They're all good though, so it's nice to experience delicious, new food!)

Sounds like you are going thru a roller coaster... I'm not looking forward to being constipated!

TMI 'n all, I still laughed!  Sorry!

I had the reverse issue.  The nurses were minutes out of the room after unwrapping me and I was going!  The reason was I had my gall bladder removed 6 weeks before my wee op with Chet.  My digestive system wasn't used to all the disruption and the constant supply of bile (as opposed to being released as needed through the gall bladder) loosened things up.  I also stopped taking Tramadol after leaving the clinic.  It was a very close thing.  I am 9 months post op for the gall bladder and things still aren't back to the way they were and perhaps never will.

Drink lots regardless.  It is good for you and you want lots flowing through your system. 

Hi, so after eventually overcoming the constipation has dilating become easier. Is it still painful to do? Think when I come over i'll get some laxatives from the pharmacy before the op in preparation. Finding all this really useful information as I will be on my own when I come out xx

Quote from: annquance on August 06, 2016, 04:06:32 AM
Hi, so after eventually overcoming the constipation has dilating become easier. Is it still painful to do? Think when I come over i'll get some laxatives from the pharmacy before the op in preparation. Finding all this really useful information as I will be on my own when I come out xx

Thank you! The reason I'm oversharing to hell is that I want people, exactly like you, to have more knowledge on what to bring and how to prepare. My suggestion is to get a stool softener laxative, rather specifically. But bringing a variety of types couldn't hurt.

The dilation is MUCH less painful after overcoming constipation. I'd go so far as to say you should AVOID dilating until AFTER you do number 2 each day.

Basically, you're told by the doctor to dilate 'morning, afternoon, and night' with no specific times. But when I asked my nurse the 'ideal' times she told me 9am/3pm/9pm. Now if you read between the lines there, the key seems to be maintaining six hours between dilations. So I'd honestly just do your first one 'after doing #2 in the morning' whenever that is, then do That+6hrs and then That+12hrs.



But dilation... It's legitimately making me kind of wonder whether this was worth it. A large part of me just wants to stop dilating, let things close up, and take pleasure in just 'no longer having a penis.' I won't, I don't think, but... This is a commitment and a level of constant pain that I wasn't prepared for.

If you can't tell - I hate dilation. It takes SO much time out of your day (say goodbye to LITERALLY 3-4hrs/day every day for the next year of your life), it drains all of my energy once it's done (I just kind of collapse and stare for like a full half hour to an hour afterwords), it's boring and painful while it's happening, and it makes my hand (sadly I'm needing to use my bad arm) go numb. It also seems to have granted me the power of constant, aching pain in my nether regions throughout the day. As well as occasional sharp, piercing pains that make my cry out. It just.... It feels terrible. It's to the point where I'm legitimately looking forward to my 16 hour plane flight home because, at least, I'll have an excuse not to dilate while I'm on the plane. No one should ever look forward to a 16 hour plane flight.

Please, please, take dilation into consideration when considering SRS. It's genuinely awful. It's genuinely, genuinely awful. It's like a little slot of torture for yourself for LITERALLY 3-4 hours every single day for the next year. You'll be scheduled for 3 (well, 2hrs50mins), but note that it takes time to get to full depth, so the more 'realistic' time commitment is 4hrs/day.



I suppose I should add at least one positive note to this. I suggest anyone and everyone sign up for food panda (http://foodpanda.co.th) before coming to BKK. It's a food delivery service that allows you to get a taste of REAL Thai food (the hotel food is very westernized). Most importantly, you can get it delivered to your room at the Dusit Princess. And, by the way, the food there is literally 1/4 the cost of the hotel food (you may even save more than that).

Now, you can sign up in Thailand, obviously, but for some reason my phone wasn't receiving their text messages, so I had to verify my account via their telephone call (which cost me a couple cents). Just do it before you leave and you'll have no issues.

I don't know how long you lurked this site before joining but it could be worst. Standard treatment for me was 6 days on my back after surgery. The packing came out and then you were permitted to sit up. This was a required step because after that long on your back you could pass out if you stood right a way. It would take weeks to rebuild your strength but 4 days out of the hospital I was back at work. Dilation became really interesting because I was so exhausted that more than once I would start dilating and hours later wake up to find the dilator half out and my hand relaxed on it.

Because I am not sexually active, I am dilating once a week and I always have something to read. Lately I have been catching up on the news with my phone but when I first started it was a book or magazine.

As much of a pain as dilation is, doing it right now will protect your investment and you will find in the future dilation will be very minimal.

Just wondering, would it not be possible to make up a kind of harness thingy to allow you to dilate while doing other things? Obviously I don't know the mechanics of it, but if all you're doing is putting it in and holding pressure on it there has to be an easier way than spending 3-4hrs a day wishing you were somewhere else, doing something else?! Not saying you'd be competing in a triathlon or gymkhana or anything, but wandering about the house or playing video games ought to be on the cards, surely?

I've gotten more used to dilation and it's maybe not AS bad. I found I was doing things in a somewhat non-optimal way. With the optimization (going in a full 4" partially sitting, making SURE the dilator hits the bottom of the vagina going in, and making SURE my legs are ALL the way down for the remainder once you leave semi-sitting), it's a bit more tolerable and hurts a lot less.

THAT SAID. I just had my catheter removed.

OH
MY
GOD

The pain was real. It was like a severe, awful, inhuman burning. The best way to describe it is... Do you know when you hold your pee in WAY too long and it starts to actually hurt in kind of a burning/piercing way? It was like that, but about 10x worse.

And that was WITH me taking the "strong pain reliever" (I figured I'd risk it, despite thinking that, that caused, or heavily contributed to, the awful constipation) beforehand. I.... Never want to do that again.

Once it's OUT the burning subsides a lot. It's still there (this literally JUST happened recently), but yeah. In fact, I'm typing to try to keep my mind off of it, though it's not a killer.

Now I'm peeing on my own... This should be an experience. I haven't peed yet, but once I do, I'll update peeps. Since that's always been one of the 'big questions' pre-op peeps have. "HOW DOES PEEING WORK/FEEL POST-OP," etc.

Quote from: IWentWithChet on August 07, 2016, 10:34:12 PM
THAT SAID. I just had my catheter removed.

Foley catheters.  That damn balloon may deflate, but it is never as small coming out as going in.  I've had them in a couple times now (prostate problems), and the second time the hospital gave me a quick tutorial and a syringe to do it myself at home.  Yeeeeeep!

I get to do this again at the end of the month.  Through ten inches of urethra, not a dainty post-GCS five inches.  A pill beforehand sounds like the way to go.

Glad you're OK, though!

Pee happened. That's really about all I can say... It honestly felt mostly??? like it did before? Which is a bit bizarre. You feel the desire to pee where you normally do, more or less, and then it happens. Except it comes out in a different place/way. The end.

It's not really anywhere near as bizarre as I expected it would be. I didn't feel like.... My body fluids go through different plumbing or anything. Which is actually a bit of a change - whereas, with a penis, you feel the urine course through your penis, post-op you kinda don't. It just kinda happens and then it ends.

Burnt a liiiiiiittle. But barely noticeable. And it didn't fly out everywhere for me like many people say it does. Honestly, it felt pretty 'stream-y.'

Not much else happening. I'm going to Dr. Chet for my final checkup tomorrow suuuper early in the morning. I have to be up at 6am ;-;.

Now, onto second dilation before I delay it any further. Then to play more games on my vita until third dilation <3.

I figured, in addition to my last post about peeing, I'd double-post here to say that, once you 'get' dilation, it genuinely isn't that bad. Since I figured out the corrections I needed to make, it's actually pretty okay. It stopped hurting.

It's even kinda nice, in a way, because it basically forces you to sit around and watch tv or youtube or whatever. It's like a kinda uncomfortable forced relaxation period you need to take 3x/day.

Now, I may take that back once I move up dilators :P. But for dilator 1, it's now definitely nbd to me.

Just came back from my final checkup with Dr. Chet.

I went in, they stripped me down, just like for my surgery, and took me to the operation room. I was... Scared. This is a room you see very briefly before you get knocked out, then very briefly again when you initially wake up (which is horrifying, by the way). So this was not a good feeling room.

Still, the nurse insisted that they wouldn't be putting me under again and there'd be no pain.

Basically, he looked at my vagina, said everything was fine, and removed my stitches. What was most remarkable was that, while it felt a little strange, there was NO pain from removing the stitches. Except when he slipped once and knicked me during an inspection, there was no pain during the whole session. And that was just a kinda minor "OW!" and that was it.

It was mostly - you sit there, in these stirrups, and then weird feelings happen as things are pulled out of you, he takes some pictures, shows you, and tells you what's up. Then you leave. Pretty painless.

Quote from: IWentWithChet on August 08, 2016, 10:44:57 PM
Just came back from my final checkup with Dr. Chet.

I went in, they stripped me down, just like for my surgery, and took me to the operation room. I was... Scared. This is a room you see very briefly before you get knocked out, then very briefly again when you initially wake up (which is horrifying, by the way). So this was not a good feeling room.

Still, the nurse insisted that they wouldn't be putting me under again and there'd be no pain.

Basically, he looked at my vagina, said everything was fine, and removed my stitches. What was most remarkable was that, while it felt a little strange, there was NO pain from removing the stitches. Except when he slipped once and knicked me during an inspection, there was no pain during the whole session. And that was just a kinda minor "OW!" and that was it.

It was mostly - you sit there, in these stirrups, and then weird feelings happen as things are pulled out of you, he takes some pictures, shows you, and tells you what's up. Then you leave. Pretty painless.

I'm so happy everything is healing properly :) when Do you  come back stateside?

IWentWithChet, yes getting positioned in stirrup is a different feeling, but you need to get use to it; for you will need to get examed many times in the future.

Quote from: jujubes1986 on August 09, 2016, 10:36:20 AM
I'm so happy everything is healing properly :) when Do you  come back stateside?

I leave the 14th and arrive... The 14th haha. Timezones. It's much shorter than a typical visit (they normally require like a full month, I'm only doing like 2.5 weeks or so).

My first day with the level 2 dilator will be on the 13th, so I'll prolly post an update on what moving up on dilators is like.

Interesting thing about hormones and stuff by the way. You're not allowed to take hormones again until AFTER you arrive back. The reason being that, apparently, resuming hormones earlier can cause blood bubbles in your legs or something horrifying like that while you're in the airplane due to the altitude. So I'm looking forward to being back. I've been off of hormones for almost a month!

Quote from: mm on August 09, 2016, 12:14:07 PM
IWentWithChet, yes getting positioned in stirrup is a different feeling, but you need to get use to it; for you will need to get examed many times in the future.

I was thinking that, actually. I suddenly 'got' a lot of jokes I've seen based on OB/GYN visits...

Hi, how come your you were allowed a short visit? When i booked he told me how long i would have to stay, as he did when I had ffs and ba. Please keep the updates going on healing ect xx

Hi;
Interesting comment about the stirrups. I had to see my doctor recently as with my HRT, I have been getting some pain in my tiny testicles and I have been getting quite sore  down there. Anyway, my doctor put up on the examining table and had me put my legs in these stirrup things which sort of lifted me up. She said you will need to get used to this from now on as when you have your vagina and lady bits, I will want to check you out each year with your PAP smear. I must admit it felt very strange sort of exposing myself this way, but she said its quite normal for women.
Judith

judithlynn, yes when you are in stirups with yout legs opened up, you are completely exposing everything down there. The dr can see and exam you parts complete, can use a spectrum to opening your vagina to see inside.  You can imagine the first experience for girls and young women when they are ask to do get in this position the first time.  You are told to relax to make the exam much easier on you, but getting in this position makes relaxing very hard to do.

I just did my first dilation with #2. I was unable to reach maximum depth, no matter how hard I pushed or where I pushed. I was about a full inch away! This is troubling. I just emailed Dr. Chett's staff to see if this is okay/common.


Additionally, since I'm flying out, Dr. Chett's nurses told me to do a full hour dilation with #1 3x and then 10 mins with #2 in the afternoon and evening. Then to resume dilation immediately after landing again. Didn't mind the hour with #1, but that #2 has me concerned...

Just a brief update while I wait for my first plane.

Dr Chet basically said that not making it to full depth your first time out using the larger dilator is normal

But also GET YOUR OWN DONUT PILLOW IF YOU'RE DOING SRS. Chet's seems to be made of iron or something. It's DEEPLY uncomfortable to sit on for any length of time. The way it cuts into your butt may actually be described as openly painful. I wish I brought a high quality one. As I'm now learning. Oof. I may try to do as much as I can without this damn thing.

edit: AHHHHHH the pain from this goddamn donut pillow is so freaking real. I HATE THIS THING. The pain isn't in the vagina either - it's just like some circular portion of my butt is stuck sitting on iron. Feels more like bruising than anything else.

 Mmmmm dooooohhnuts

Is it inflatable? Inflatable ones you could just let out some air, but with flying they'd puff up and deflate as you land as the air pressure changes on the plane.

Quote from: Rafaela on August 13, 2016, 05:36:03 PM
Mmmmm dooooohhnuts

Is it inflatable? Inflatable ones you could just let out some air, but with flying they'd puff up and deflate as you land as the air pressure changes on the plane.

Nah it's a plush thing. It's just SUPER hard.

I'm on the final 3 hour leg of my flight. Let me just say - this has been one of the worst experiences of my life and 99% of that is THIS DAMN "PILLOW." My butt is in an INCREDIBLE amount of pain.

BRING YOUR OWN IF YOU DO SRS WITH CHET

Quote from: IWentWithChet on August 14, 2016, 01:40:29 PM
I'm on the final 3 hour leg of my flight. Let me just say - this has been one of the worst experiences of my life and 99% of that is THIS DAMN "PILLOW." My butt is in an INCREDIBLE amount of pain.

BRING YOUR OWN IF YOU DO SRS WITH CHET

i hope you arrive safely... and i hope your butt feels better after :)

  ;D
Hang it up when you get home to remind you how strong you can be  :laugh:

Well I'm back. The flight was one of the worst parts of this whole experience, without any doubt.

My butt and my vagina were in constant pain throughout and I had to adjust my seating and sometimes just get up and stand in the bathroom for like 15-30 minutes at a time just to survive some legs of it. I could barely sleep because of the pain.

And, the worst experience of all, one of my flights got delayed, then the baggage carousel broke (because the USA requires you to re-check bags once you arrive in the country again), and I got stuck on a different flight for the way back home. And I was in a middle seat this time and this ->-bleeped-<- next to me on his laptop wouldn't let me out to use the bathroom or anything. I was crying because of the pain. I took more painkillers and it helped a bit but... Yeah.

On the flights, the bathrooms were SUPER tiny. I have some leg fat. What this means is that, I was unable to spread my legs so that the leg fat didn't cover the vagina, making peeing... A bit of a thing. I honestly had to, ironically, position myself above the toilet and stand. This was the first time I've experienced a "spray" rather than a "stream" which also meant that, TMI warning, I had to sit in pee (the stuff that missed the pad) for large sections of the way home! Joy!

Worst of all, since the flight I've noticed some white discharge coming from my vagina. It looks like a possible yeast infection maybe? I'm not sure. I've emailed Dr. Chet with pictures.

I've dilated twice since coming back home - the first time, it was a bit tricky to get to full depth on #1, but with some work I go there. The second time was fine on #1. On both dilations I was still about an inch off of full depth on #2. Not spectacular, but about where I was before the flights.

But let me tell you - lying down your first time after coming home feels INCREDIBLE. No stupid pillows cutting into your butt. No pressure on your vagina. And you can really relax a bit.

Sadly it's back to work for me in 5 hours though so I've got to get ready!

So, two things about my dilation experience.

Sometimes when I'm about to reach my full depth I feel the dilator "push" through something. Like it pierces some wall and can then do the full depth without problem.

This happened with #1 a couple times in the early days (no longer) and just happened with #2. It's always very scary and weird feeling when it happens. But now I can get to full depth with #2. And I'm discharging blood which is of course lovely. The white discharge appears to have gone away, btw.

Has anyone else had this happen to them? I'm wondering how normal it is. It DID happen with #1 and this was before Chet gave me the all-clear. And I'm not passing any feces or wind through the vagina so I don't think I'm creating a fistula?

That said, also I've noticed after dilating that there's tons of lubricant up my butt. I asked the nurse about this awhile back and she said it's normal - I'm just again curious if others have had that experience as well and how it gets there?

I suppose at this point since I have time, I should do some final thoughts on doing SRS solo with Chet and my advice for others planning to do it. A tldr for the entire thread.

First - let's get the bad out of the way

• Far and away the worst thing was waking up after going under for me. It was terrifying and incredibly painful. When they first wake you up - it's not fun. Though hearing the surgery went well was a relief. Thankfully they put you back under quickly afterwords and when you wake up back in your room, much of the pain is gone.
  
  
• The second worst pain was removing the catheter. It was a nightmare of burning awful pain and I hated it. Thankfully, it was short and once it's out, the burning subsidies pretty quickly. I took a painkiller beforehand - I recommend you do too. Even with that it was awful though.
  
  
• The third worst pain was relieving myself of a serious fit of constipation. This is a possible side effect of the painkiller you're given - probably exacerbated by the fact that I wasn't drinking as much liquid as I should have. It was... REALLY painful.
  
  
• Another major pain source was moving around while the vaginal packing was in. It's basically a dilator that just lives in your body and it's the worst thing. But once this is removed, which feels weird more than painful, almost all of that discomfort and pain goes away instantly. It sucks, but it doesn't linger so it's tolerable.
  
  
• Having to sleep on your back SUCKS! Minimal side laying for you until after your packing is out!
  
  
• Dilation was initially very painful - until I learned to read my body. It took awhile for that to be the case, but once I did, it became more of a chore than anything else. It's an art that you need to learn. Still, moving up dilators takes an adjustment period and it's pretty painful at first. Just keep plugging along at it though and you'll get there! It can actually be relaxing now - it's an excuse to do nothing and watch YouTube!
  
  
• Seeing initial little black goops on your pad can be scary... But they're just the dissolved stitches! They'll go away gradually.
  
  
• The plane flight home was awful. In no small part due to the butt pillow Chett gives you being VERY stiff.
  
  
• Sitting down in general SUCKS. The drive from the clinic to the hotel was AWFUL.
  
  
• My arm still hurts. They were overly aggressive with their heart rate monitor and it cut off blood too long, causing nerve damage. It is recovering gradually (initially it was entirely numb), but will probably take up to 3 months to recover completely. Sucks until then.
  
  
• Many of the nurses at the clinic don't speak English well. This can occasionally be a problem.
  
  
• The Princess had regular power outages, I had a broken chair, the TV was very "SD," there are limited English channels, and the Internet was occasionally pretty spotty or slow. That said, that's more a Thailand thing. And it wasn't too bad - just annoying at times. Overall I had a pretty good experience at the Princess.
  

Now - the good!

• This was VERY doable solo. If you have a rich online life and don't mind waking up early to Skype with friends and family, your loneliness can be mitigated pretty easily. I took the time to play a lot of games I'd been meaning to play on my Vita and my Laptop. I was also able to work from home at my job. That kinda sucked at times, but it was doable - and that's a good thing! Except in the early days when the packing was in and I'd drop something on the floor, I never felt like I NEEDED someone else to be there. If you're worried about doing this alone - don't be. It's VERY doable.
  
  
• The vagina looks nice! Chet is well regarded for a reason. It's indistinguishable from that of a natal female. Chet's also incredibly nice, even if he can be pretty blunt at times.
  
  
• Peeing was easy, I had no spray, I accomplished a natural stream right out of the gate, and beyond some initial pain at the end of the stream for the first couple days or so, it was, and is, natural to me. No problems holding it and no incontinence issues.
  
  
• The nurse who visits you at the Princess is very nice and very fluent. She can be a bit aggressive at times, but it's because she genuinely cares - and she is great at calming you when you're scared.
  
  
• Getting stitches removed at the final check in with Chet was surprisingly painless!
  
  
• I pass well already since I transitioned early (HRT started around age 19/20/21). Now I don't need to worry about random things in gym changing areas, I can go to onsen just fine, etc. This opens up my life a lot - and I'm very satisfied with that thing not being there.
  
  
• Now, it's not an ENORMOUS psychological boon to me or anything, but it feels like a giant weight has been lifted off of my chest. A weight I didn't even know I was dealing with. I'm much more psychologically satisfied with this than I thought I'd be - I went in doing this because "it needed to be done" and my insurance was going to reimburse me 80% up to 10000 usd (though I'm still waiting on that). I came out feeling a lot more free than I expected I would.
  
  
• Chet saw me despite my having a BMI of like 39-40 (since I'm otherwise young, extremely healthy, and work out regularky) and did a superlative, flawless job. Also, since my "source material" was like practically 2.5 inches or something insane, his non-penile inversion method (which Suporn also uses) was practically the only one that would have worked on me. So I'm glad he was willing to work with me (though I had to do extra tests to prove I was otherwise healthy). He's stricter on BMI for FFS, apparently. He also said that, should I lose weight, which I am in the process of doing (lost 20lbs so far!), the vagina will still look just as good and everything will be fine. So it's nice to know that this appearance is quite independent of weight or body mass.
  
  
• I always felt taken care of and safe - except times when I freaked myself out! But then the nurses, particularly the one who sees you in the hotel, would help you out substantially.
  
  
• I feel like I'm kinda part of the "woman" club more than I was before. Now, I know that isn't the case - but it feels that way to me. And it's a nice feeling. Like, I get why vaginas kinda suck now. They're maintenance machines that can get all sorts of wacky problems like yeast infections and stuff. And now that I've been through a vaginal examination, I "get" obgyn jokes in a way I really hadn't before. But this all makes me feel more genuine and "whole" than I did before - even though, obviously, having a vagina or not has no bearing on you being a genuine of "whole" woman.
  

Now some tips

• Bring a range of laxative types. Especially stool softeners. You don't want to go through the side effect of the tramadol painkiller if it happens. TRUST me.
  
  
• Drink LOTS of liquid and eat LOTS of yogurt and fruit. For the same reason as above.
  
  
• Bring your own painkiller. You want to move away slowly from the tramadol if you can, since it's a serious drug with some potentially quite painful side effects. Thankfully, I found OTC drugs like Tylenol worked pretty well!
  
  
• Sign up for foodpanda. Trust me - you want to try some GENUINE Thai food while you're there and it's like 4x cheaper than the hotel food. They'll deliver to your room. It's great. They'll ask you for a subsoi or something like that when you put in your address - that's just a crossroad. Look up your nearest intersection and put one of those roads in. Try the spicy chicken wings at McDonalds delivery - they're glorious (and pick up the Milk tea - it's a joy and something we sadly don't have in the States). Also Thai-styled fried chicken anywhere - it's a bit like karaage in Japan. Very tasty and very light. Also the Clam Nachos at this other nearby place to the Princess. Surprisingly amazing! And it goes without saying that the drunken noodles (which go by a different name there, I forget what) are delicious - try them with cuttlefish! Experiment - you're in Thailand! Go nuts and try the weirdest, coolest stuff on the menu.
  
  
• The Princees delivers breakfast buffet for free to your room if you pay for it. DO. But also, it opens at 5:30 and closes at 10:30. So be smart - order breakfast at 5:30, then order again at 10:30 and it eat it for lunch. It'll save you some serious money over the long term.
  
  
• BUY A COMFORTABLE BUTT DONUT PILLOW. Maybe it was just me, but I found the one Chet provided VERY painful to sit in for a length of time. Shop around, buy a HIGH quality one, and do a stress test - sit in it for 18 hours straight (or however long your flights + layovers will be). Make sure it's comfortable for that sort of length of time.
  
  
• Use a wheelchair in the airport. This not only helps your recovery, but... It also helps you skip SO MANY lines in customs and airport security. It probably saved me multiple hours of standing in lines... Also not having to walk is PRETTY NICE.
  
  
• Sign up for Global Entry. It's 100 dollars for five years and it basically lets you skip the TSA lines (since you also get TSA pre check) AND you basically get to skip US customs entirely. It'll save you literal hours of lines going in and coming back - DO IT. I got this and I don't regret it one bit. Some of the best money I've ever spent.
  
  
• Fly Delta if you can. I had to transfer airlines a couple times for reasons beyond my control (delays changing flights and stuff). The airline that worked the hardest to get my comfortable seating was Delta. They didn't do MUCH mind you - but they worked with me a bit. Most of the other airlines didn't care and did nothing (one even changed my window seat to a middle seat for no reason!).
  
  
• Bring stuff to do you've been meaning to do for a long time. Especially if you're solo. For me, this was a lot of video games I have been meaning to play for a long time. Since several of these were 20-40 hours long, I had plenty to do to keep myself occupied.
  

I'll update this more if I have a different experience moving up to dilator #3 than I did moving up to #2 or if I develop a fistula or something, but right now everything looks happy, healthy, and good!

I hope you found any of this helpful future solo Chet goers! I was impressed and surprised with how doable this was alone, so please don't worry!

*
IWentWithChet:

Congratulations and welcome home.

Allow a few added tidbits to your travelogue.

     -  Dr. Chettawut's travel letter is supposed to get a good airplane seat for you - without bumping elbows on either side.  Likewise, the airlines are supposed to provide that wheelchair assistance service through the airport and all the lines.  That wheelchair is medically necessary to keep your from injuring your surgery site - no long walking.  Insist upon it - you have your letter to show the airline.

     -  You should not experience any discharge.  If you are, then see your home 'team' pronto.  Is it excess lube?  You need only an amount that works for you - not too much, not too little, but just right.  Generally, a four or five ounce tube will last one week for the average user going all the way on all four devices; some people develop their own natural process.

     -  Yes, you will experience all new sensations as you complete your 'duty'.  You may have a set of deep muscle that is prone to stricture.  Here is when you develop relaxing techniques.  Take deep breaths, apply steady pressure.  This must never hurt or be painfull.  Slow and steady if need be.  You might be finding a bonus feeling at the end of depth.

     -  There are ways to not get tired arms and hands during your long session:  use a towel or pillow to retain the position of the appliance or cross your legs to hold it in.

     -  Follow your schedule as precisely as you can.  If you falter, that's okay, your are still early.  Begin each session using your #1 / smallest and work to your largest.  Again, this must never cause pain (and it can be pleasurable if you work at it).

     -  Keep Dr. Chettawut (or whomever else for those who attend another surgeon) apprised of all issues, good, bad indifferent - by your own correspondence as well as by your home physicians (get your home physicians acquainted with your surgeon as soon as you make that determination).  This correspondence will help when it comes time for your 6-months and 12-months post-op exam.  If your community lacks a post-op gyn specialist, then your own gyn should have assistance from your surgeon developed through these correspondences.

     -  Yes, drink plenty of water - whether pre- or post-.  Fluids aid in both urinary and bowel function.  Stay with light fruits and vegetables until you are fully functional post-op; this will allow you to avoid constipation.

     -  One sign of healing is when you have that urinary feeling - your body is telling you it wants to go on its own.  That is when your nurse can remove your catheter.

     -  Some recovery residences offer varying entertainment options - from basic broadcast TV, to cable TV, to high-speed wi-fi.  Bangkok has four primary English language broadcast TV stations, some cable offer additional English language channels, some Internet may be blocked because you are not in American jurisdiction.  It all depends upon where you go.  Rather than spend time watching the tube, visit with others at your recovery residence who are there for the same procedures - you'll make new friends from around the world.

     -  While you can order fast food in, also walk the area where you are residing and enjoy a sit-down meal at a street cafe or snack from a street vendor - 'crispy critters' or that banana and egg tort are common delights.  Be certain to take plenty of pictures and video when you tour the sites - especially the temple district.

Thank you, IWentWithChet, for sharing.

Of course, the frequent refrain is YMMV - every experience will have your own individual circumstances to manage.  Prepare a  positive attitude and expect the best.

*

Quote from: IWentWithChet on July 29, 2016, 05:54:08 PMSo I had a conversation that went like this:

"You no bring panties?"

"No. I was afraid of them being tight"

"You no bring panties?"

"No."

This is what I'm afraid of; a double communication problem (deaf as a doorknob, always have been).  This is like Ms. Swan in Mad TV - I CAN'T UNDERSTAND ANYTHING EXCEPT, "He a look like a man."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4EH0RtVlgE -

The fact that she repeated the question to you means that she is NOT fluent in English at all and has not developed the level of familiarity with English to the level required for fluency.  I'll try to learn some Thai, but I am trying to learn Sanskrit and Hindi already.