forgive my ranting...i've been dilating for over 90 days now and am so fed up. for those contemplating srs, let me start off by saying that it is really a piece of cake. in fact you won't remember any of it because you will be completely knocked out by the anasthetics. after that it's not so bad either...i barely felt any pain for the first week because everything is so numb down there...it is just eat sleep eat sleep surf web eat sleep...etc.
then you are discharged and you are on your own, with dilators. i suppose those who say dilation is easy must be lucky, because i find it the most horrible torture. the pain is intense for every session, chronic when you are not dilating, and because i've got granulations all over the really sensitive spots (which apparently is very common) even walking hurts. the worst part is you have to keep doing it to yourself for an entire year, without any idea whether the pain will ever subside. and oh yes the other fun part where you are haunted by irritating feelings down there all the time, and being told that it is normal and there is nothing that can be done.
so the point i'm making if i'm making point at all...is that people talk about srs like this big thing, but often fail to see that the real pain comes after. and as the title suggests, this is the longest 90 day i've lived. guess einstein's right.

Sounds like hunting...sure, one can go out and drink beers and chase after Bambi...but once the animal's down...the fun is OVER.

At least for awhile. Gotta clean/gut the animal, drag it back to the truck, etc...but after that bit of work is done, one gets to enjoy the "meat", LOL. (True story: my thought, just before downing my first deer, was "OMG I'm at least a mile away from the road...BAM!" fwiw, I don't hunt anymore. Don't mind being a meat-eater, but I just don't like doing it anymore)

Be patient, the pain will go away, healing is always the longest part of any process...

*hugs*

Lol awesome Beth I chuckled from your analogy...

after a week you were on your own? thats awful. i know my doctor did not allow me to just be on my own. i had check ups every other day and the nurses were checking on me every day and bringing me food and snacks and driving me around. yeah i guess it can hurt to do but a little pain killers from over the counter can work wonders.. gosh now you have me wanting to go back to Thailand haha

Quote from: milktea on April 20, 2013, 09:02:13 AM
forgive my ranting...i've been dilating for over 90 days now and am so fed up. for those contemplating srs, let me start off by saying that it is really a piece of cake. in fact you won't remember any of it because you will be completely knocked out by the anasthetics. after that it's not so bad either...i barely felt any pain for the first week because everything is so numb down there...it is just eat sleep eat sleep surf web eat sleep...etc.
then you are discharged and you are on your own, with dilators. i suppose those who say dilation is easy must be lucky, because i find it the most horrible torture. the pain is intense for every session, chronic when you are not dilating, and because i've got granulations all over the really sensitive spots (which apparently is very common) even walking hurts. the worst part is you have to keep doing it to yourself for an entire year, without any idea whether the pain will ever subside. and oh yes the other fun part where you are haunted by irritating feelings down there all the time, and being told that it is normal and there is nothing that can be done.
so the point i'm making if i'm making point at all...is that people talk about srs like this big thing, but often fail to see that the real pain comes after. and as the title suggests, this is the longest 90 day i've lived. guess einstein's right.

Who was your doctor? And have you spoken to any other if his/her post-op patients to compare experiences?

Quote from: Cherrie on April 20, 2013, 12:53:04 PM
I am 7 weeks po since my first surgery and these have been the longest I lived too. Dilation has become more difficult and painful since week 5. I got some granulation at the end of my labia minora last week which made dilation even more painful. I almost always bleed during/after dilation but this is common I was told.. During the first month I could easily insert the dilator, but those days are gone. This makes dilation time longer   I have so much swelling that looking at 'it' in the mirror groses me out (not just because of the swelling..). Unfortunately I needed revisions, hence the swelling. So much has gone wrong and I still have a lot to worry about. The pain in general when I'm not dilating is awful. I cannot sit, at all. Not with and not without pillow. Even underwear and pad irritates, but being naked does not exactly make me painfree..  I have sutures on the outside that hold my labia minora and majora on both sides tight together and they hurt like hell. They should be dissolvable but the question is when.. It rarely happens that for a minute I don't feel any pain or irritation down there, but when it does I smile and relax. I try to not take more than one tramadol a day. I hope time will make things better. Yes milktea the srs itself (excluding revisions) is a piece of cake..

Sorry you are having such a bad time. I'm 7 weeks post-op right now, and thankfully have not been experiencing any of the issues you & milktea have mentioned. No pain, no bleeding from dilation, no more swelling. I actually have little to no discharge at all. Only plasma and dead-skin cells at this point. All of my swelling was gone at the end of the second week. Are you sure there is no infection? My dissolvable stitches disappeared right at 5 weeks post. I was waiting and impatient as well. Granulation tissue is easy to deal with. Let your doc know about it and they will advise you what to do. It's simple to take care of. I'm also able to sit in a chair for up to about 2 hours without any sort of pillow or pad. After 2 hours, I need to move. Last week was the first time I tried sitting w/o a pillow or cushion.

I'd strongly advise you to discuss the issues you are having with your surgeon, as these are not normal based on my own experience and that of other post-op MTFs I've spoken with.

BTW: If you don't mind, who was your surgeon?

The healing can be rough... I recall mentioning to my partner that I hadn't had a pain-free day in something like four months (since the surgery; it is now 7 months and I'm feeling fine)... I always popped some two / three advil an hour before each dilation for those months, which helped; I used some stronger stuff in month 2. But it DOES go away. At least my doc, suporn, clearly and unambiguously said the healing time is a full year. And wait till the internal dissolving stitches start popping at odd times when you bend over or move funny! Not painful at all, but a fairly loud, muffled POP that makes your skin crawl once you realize what it is. I only felt three or four go like that, but uugh!

Quote from: JennX on April 20, 2013, 01:58:19 PM
Granulation tissue is easy to deal with. Let your doc know about it and they will advise you what to do.

great for you jennx. my doc is suporn and from what I gather recovery is rougher than many other surgeons. may I know how you dealt with granulation? what I got basically was 'hang on keep dilating and pray that it clears by itself'.
gendrkweer: when does the pop start?