My orchiectomy with Dr. Reed is scheduled in a little more than three weeks. The only concerns I have are flying (like everyone else in this crazy world), car rental, and hotel accommodations. Everything's already been arranged for two months, so I really shouldn't worry about it, but I guess if those are the worst items concerning me, I'm doing well.
I very much feel the same as I will fly out in a couple of days and May 24 will be the big day (SRS with Suporn). Sometimes I'm almost more stressed over flying on a plane than having the surgery itself. But rationally I know there's no need to worry.
Good luck with your surgery!
Good luck on yours, Sweetie. I wish you great success and quick healing, with as little swelling and discomfort as possible. I really wish I could be having BA and SRS/GRS instead, but this orchiectomy is a MAJOR psychological victory for me. Never again will I be required to take an anti-androgen daily, and the only Testosterone in my body will be from my adrenal glands, no different from any other woman. I'm honestly hoping the Estrogen I take every day will then work even better.
I have to do this for you because I did it for me. ;D
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi397.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fpp59%2FJanet_Lynn_54%2Fimages.jpg&hash=a0335e76f02e7d96830cea0a61c16a3853442738)
Quote from: Janet Lynn on May 16, 2011, 09:03:58 PM
I have to do this for you because I did it for me. ;D
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi397.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fpp59%2FJanet_Lynn_54%2Fimages.jpg&hash=a0335e76f02e7d96830cea0a61c16a3853442738)
Yes Scruffy, I told the doctor to remove my jellybeans.
Just like you, I'll still be a happy pup, with a lot fewer distractions. ;D
Jamie, Dr. Reed won't be doing inguinal surgery with my orchi, instead using a single median incision into my scrotum. I don't know if SRS will *ever* be in my future, but I'm not terribly concerned about scar tissue. I've been very fortunate not to scar too badly in the last several years.
Quote from: jamie nicole on May 18, 2011, 12:59:52 PMKeep Thailand in mind as the cost is 1/3 of what it is here
Not always necessarily true.
Quote from: Valeriedances on May 18, 2011, 10:06:54 AM
Hi Caith,
I'm 2 counties away from there, it is a little far, but if you have something come up where a friendly face can help, let me know.
hugs,
Val
You know Valerie, I'd say counties aren't THAT big, but I've been there before, and know just how big they are outside of Miami. :D There's a few days before I leave where my wife will probably come home before I do. Let me drop you a PM with some information, and THANK YOU!! :)
Quote from: Caith on May 16, 2011, 05:42:23 PM
Good luck on yours, Sweetie. I wish you great success and quick healing, with as little swelling and discomfort as possible. I really wish I could be having BA and SRS/GRS instead, but this orchiectomy is a MAJOR psychological victory for me. Never again will I be required to take an anti-androgen daily, and the only Testosterone in my body will be from my adrenal glands, no different from any other woman. I'm honestly hoping the Estrogen I take every day will then work even better.
Yep. that's what I was thinking as well... that the Estrogen will work even better after orchiectomy or SRS. :) I very much hope so :) Thank you for wishing me good luck as well :)
Two weeks more . . . :)
I had my monthly meeting with my gender therapist this morning. She asked if I was getting excited about my upcoming surgery, and I honestly told her "no". It's not as much exciting as it is fulfilling and satisfying. It's the conclusion of a rather logical process I seriously began last November. It's taken time, money, and a lot of soul-searching. What does excite me is to think of walking and sitting without those two things every annoying me any longer. (The middle bit has never bothered me so much.) Panties will certainly fit a lot better, too. Most of all, I want my estrogen to have the benefit of working unopposed, and I won't have to take anti-androgens (cyproterone, Androcur) any more.
Well, tomorrow (Wednesday) morning we hop on the plane to Miami. We'll arrive there around noon, and my consult with Dr. Reed is at 3 pm. There's wireless internet in the hotel and I'm bringing a netbook, so I'll be online and posting after getting out of surgery. If I've never mentioned, I'm *really* not going to miss those damned things, at all. :D
Dr. Reed is a very good surgeon. I experienced less pain during this orchiectomy than I did having my vasectomy 17 years ago. I'm back at the Baltic Hotel, after getting a quick lunch on the way back. There's no way I'm going all darned day without caffeine and something to eat, and I couldn't take a Vicodin on an empty stomach, anyway. Naptime for now, and I'll post more, later.
Two days later, and the edema in my penis (from the local anesthesia) peaked yesterday. It's purplish-red more than it's pink, but that's been getting lighter / fading since yesterday. Seriously, the lower back pain I experienced from laying flat on my back too many hours has been worse than the recovery. There's only a bit of tenderness in each inguinal cavity, where the severed ends of the spermatic cords have retracted. That's a good sign, as it means they won't be anywhere in my scrotum causing issues. I took the wife to the airport this morning, and I'll head there Sunday morning. Thankfully, it's only about a 90-minute flight. This morning, Dr. Reed said I can remove the compression bandage after returning home Sunday, and then take a good shower. I think I'll be happiest when I can finally get these bandages off, and let some air circulate around the incision site. The steri-strips should remain in place for another week or so, while the dissolvable sutures eventually dissolve. I'm on a course of cephalexin (Keflex) for another week, so I'm really not worried about infection of any kind.
Now you belong to our eunuch unique eunuch club. ;D
Reading your adventure, it sticks me as strange that you went through such a long period. I was done in 45 minutes and rode home. But that it the differences in surgeons.
BTW what type if incision did he use? Mine was through the scrotum.
Janet Lynn, it was a scrotal mid-line incision, very high. What took the longest time was getting the IV started and getting things numbed properly. Similar to my vasectomy 17 years ago, I needed additional local anesthetic while the procedure was ongoing. Dr. Reed originally estimated he'd only need 15 to 20 minutes, and I don't think it took more than that. My blood pressure went up and was still high during recovery, so they kept me there a lot longer.
Valerie, thank you SO much. I am so happy I no longer have to take cyproterone acetate, and now I'm confident I'm living only on estrogen, and what very little T my adrenal glands might produce. I expect it may require another few days for any residual T to work its way out of my system.
Thank you, Jamie! ;D
I see you're nearing your own surgery. Congratulations!!
The last three dissolvable sutures came out Thursday morning, and there's very little healing left to occur, mostly small areas where the sutures had remained. All the edema is gone, and 95% of all the swelling is gone, too. :) The only tender/swollen areas remaining are beneath the incision and one of the two spermatic cords. I imagine everything will be back to 100% normal in another 5 to 7 days.
Quote from: Caith on June 24, 2011, 06:37:27 AM
The last three dissolvable sutures came out Thursday morning, and there's very little healing left to occur, mostly small areas where the sutures had remained. All the edema is gone, and 95% of all the swelling is gone, too. :) The only tender/swollen areas remaining are beneath the incision and one of the two spermatic cords. I imagine everything will be back to 100% normal in another 5 to 7 days.
well, it wont be completely back to normal....isnt something missing? :)
Quote from: sweetie87 on May 16, 2011, 11:58:47 AM
I very much feel the same as I will fly out in a couple of days and May 24 will be the big day (SRS with Suporn). Sometimes I'm almost more stressed over flying on a plane than having the surgery itself. But rationally I know there's no need to worry.
Good luck with your surgery!
I hope to one day have my surgery with Dr Suporn , I am saving up as much money as I can , so that dream can one day be a reality. I hope your surgery went well. :)
Quote from: Jamie Nicole on June 24, 2011, 03:02:57 PM
well, it wont be completely back to normal....isnt something missing? :)
Jamie, I certainly appreciate the humor ;D of your response. However, I don't honestly feel like anything's missing. ;)
It's exactly one month later and the exterior of my incision is 100% healed. ;D The ends of both cords are no longer tender or swollen and behaving well in their new homes. Finally, the muscle beneath the incision is 98% healed and recovered. It's still a bit firm in two spots, but massaging and manipulation of this area is finally helping it become more flexible and less firm again.
Not in the least, thankfully!! I knew cyproterone/Androcur had lowered my T levels significantly, but I never could have imagined it was so low as to be at castrate levels. I also did some, ummmmm . . . other things to lower my T levels, but was skeptical that could have had so significant an effect.
What's slowing me down right now is, I lowered my E dosages a month before surgery, anticipating I would need to lower them following the surgery. I missed taking my E one evening and the next morning this week, and started feeling the onset of a hot flash that afternoon. :( It seems I may need to resume my previous higher levels of daily E to feel more natural/normal.
Quote from: Caith on July 09, 2011, 01:32:53 PM
Not in the least, thankfully!! I knew cyproterone/Androcur had lowered my T levels significantly, but I never could have imagined it was so low as to be at castrate levels. I also did some, ummmmm . . . other things to lower my T levels, but was skeptical that could have had so significant an effect.
What's slowing me down right now is, I lowered my E dosages a month before surgery, anticipating I would need to lower them following the surgery. I missed taking my E one evening and the next morning this week, and started feeling the onset of a hot flash that afternoon. :( It seems I may need to resume my previous higher levels of daily E to feel more natural/normal.
First off congrats and very nice you're healing so well!
Maybe this is an interesting read as well: "post-op hormone levels"
https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,99551.msg751578.html#msg751578 (https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,99551.msg751578.html#msg751578)
I did not reduce my estrogen dose as a post-op, only omitted the anti androgen. My theory is that if one takes a powerful anti androgen as a pre-op (such as cyproterone acetate "Androcur", especially if taken for several years prior to orchiectomy/SRS) the testes are blocked and the Estrogen can just do it's work (just the same as it would in a post-operative state). This would explain why in some individuals there's no need to adjust estrogen doses when post-op.
Thank you, Sweetie! So, have you returned home following your surgery? How is your recovery going?
You're welcome!
My recovery is going extremely well, almost too well :D I went to a disco/club and was just dancing and moving around as if I haven't had any surgery. I went home at 5 AM (so have been dancing all night long, flirting with guys, having fun :P). And all that at just 6.5 weeks post-op. However, I wouldn't advice anyone doing such things early in recovery as it puts stress on the groin area. I just had a very quick recovery (Suporn) and am so happy for everything going so well. :) Also I returned to work at 1 month post-op.