Well I just spent the afternoon in the hospital - yuck.
Last week I noticed a swelling at one of the incisions of my SRS site. I didn't hurt to touch and there was no pain but there was some seepage which really worried me. I went to an after-hours clinic and the doctor confirmed that I had an infection. Damn... He wrote me a prescription for antibiotics and off I went.
Well last night my right labia minora was swollen up like a balloon - not good so I called my doctor to see if she could see me and she said she could. I got to her office and after examining me she said that there wasn't anything she could do but she sent me to the hospital to a gynecologist who would be in a better position to treat me.
Got to the hospital and I was taken to an examination room where I was told the usual - "get undressed, put on the gown, and lay on the bed -the Dr. would be along shortly". A senior med student came in to take my history, symptoms, etc. then a Dr came in with a nurse. I was placed in the stirrups and the nurse took blood samples while the Dr did a preliminary exam down there at the same time she was asking me questions. They didn't seem at all surprised with the fact that I had had SRS or that she was looking at the results. Anyway she took swabs of the site for cultures, and in walked the Gynocologists.
The Gynecologist essentially did the same thing as the Dr. They discussed wether to use a speculum and asked me what size dilator I was up too and with that they decided against using one so as not to cause damage and she applied lubrication and explored my vagina with her fingers. She said that everything looked really great and that I was really doing a good job caring for the site, keeping it clean etc. They contacted Dr Brassard to consult to make sure that the treatment they proposed would be OK and he concurred. So the course of action is massive doses of antibiotics with a follow up visit to the OBGYN next week. Should the infection not be cleared the the next step is to drain the site - yuck.
I was so upset that I had caused this, that I had failed to do something, but not they said I could have gotten the infection from anywhere and to keep doing what I'm doing and that it didn't have anything to do with the SRS. I was relieved with that.
I have to say that throughout the whole time at the hospital I was treated just like any other women, nothing more, nothing less. It was comforting and I felt safe and secure, to have a female Dr examining me down there, giving me an internal with out batting an eye lid was an affirmation of sorts, and while my situation was troubling, it was also comforting.
Steph
I hope all goes well - Get well soon hey.
Alice
I am so very sorry to hear of your complication Steph. I have had a few infections and you certainly did the right thing by going in right away. I hope they are aggressive with the antibiotics and all works out well.
beth
sorry to hear this steph .but i do hope you get well and back on the road to good health again
soon keep you in my prayers :icon_flower:
Steph,
It happens. Don't worry about it, just take care of the infection and go on with your life. I had a little infection too. My infection was on my urethra. This is why I went to the Gynocologist. She took a few snips here and a few snips there and gave me a prescription and told me that she will see me in a few weeks. I did and she said good as new and your doctor did a good job. She also told me that if I hadn't opened my big mouth, she would not of known that I was a TS at one time. Now, I just worry about urinary tract infections as I don't get to pee enough as I'm on that bus and can't get off to go when I should, so it is cranberry juice. I use to like it now I'm sick of it. Welcome to our world now, LOL. I just had to make that comment as it is thrown at me all the time.
Sheila
Infections are quite common Steph and treatment with antibiotics will normally clear them up in a short period of time.
Remember to keep the rest up and drink plenty of water as well.
I get thrush (Vaginal yeast) whenever I have antibiotics, another wonderful thing to look forward to.
Buffy
I am very sorry to hear about this, Steph. I know that it can be such a downer especially when you do everything they tell you to do. I also wonder why it happened. Yes, it can happen, they make sure to tell you that, but there is always a reason behind an infection. I am just guessing here, but could it be that you perhaps injured it while dilating it. I was thoroughly lectured about "not doing it the wrong way" for the smallest wounds to the neo vagina can cause "almost invisible" bleeding and of course an infection afterwards. Hopefully everything will be okay after you are on the antibiotics for a few days. Hang in there, you are a brave girl and like you said, this is just "a little bump", nothing more. :)
:icon_hug:
tinkerbell :icon_chick:
Steph,
So sorry to hear about the setback. Here's a little something to cheer you up:
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fmanuchanteur59.free.fr%2Frose_rouge.gif&hash=6ef1993f612731158af4c2e8efb0e053d2f2bf4a)
Hope you're better soon.
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fganjataz.com%2F01smileys%2Fimages%2Fsmileys%2FloopyBlonde-blinking.gif&hash=4545ddf8251cf9c32ae6074d56e48bc34a755857)Kristi
It could be caused by a number of things. You are an inny now, so that can have a breeding ground for all sorts of little things. Not to mention, no matter how clean you are, look where its at. There are all sorts of little bacteria in the vagina area. It just happens.
Sheila
Thanks for the supportive words everyone it sure does help at times like these. Ya there is always the possibility of infections, it could have been me not washing my hands properly after using public washrooms, who knows. I know that the meds they gave me are huge 1000 MG monsters, so hopefully they will do the trick.
Luckily Tink the infection is on the outside in the incision near the top of the right labia minora and thankfully not near the vagina.
Thanks again everyone.
Steph