My doctor's aftercare instructions include douching once a week. I'm first to use an iodine-medicated douche and then flush with a regular vinegar-based douche.

First time I did this, I followed the instructions to squeeze the bottle so the fluid squirts inside me.

Problem was that when I removed the bottle afterward and looked at it, only one quarter of the fluid had been squeezed out.

The next time I tried it, I really crushed the bottle as completely as my clumsy Suzi-fingers could manage. When I removed the bottle, I still had only managed to get about half the fluid inside me. The rest was left in the bottle.

Am I doing it right? Is that enough fluid? Or is there some secret to getting more of it inside?

I have no experience here, but what if you hold the bottle upside down? Lying on your back.

You are doing it right. These days I just use a shower head.

I always had a bit left over, but I was using a Target generic douche and figured it wasn't the best. Sounds like it's normal!

Chettawut gave me a bottle with long snouted pointed tip. I still haven't used that yet and doesn't really how it works.

Yes suzi what all said. The disposable ones leave much inside.

I bought at wal mart the hanging red douche bag. Ok laugh...... 

I found it worked better in the fact it is a constant flow.

I just used the same amount of the disposable one in the bag.

Izzy

I received and used to use a urinary catheter (non indwelling type) and a 60cc slip tip syringe. Mix iodine in an unused urinalysis cup - in syringe - and out the catheter tip. The biggest pro to this is it's soft and pretty much impossible to mess up unless the catheter comes off the syringe or isn't inserted fully in the vagina.

Dr Saran gave me one of the rubber non disposable douches with a longish tip and I have to insert it and whilst withdrawing it squeeze to empty it.And do this 4-5 times after dilating.Sounds like everyone is different.

IMO douching is not necessary and is actually counterproductive to natural healing.  You want the vagina to develop it's own natural environment and douching upsets that; it flushes out the good bacteria and messes with your ph balance.  If you're showering/bathing daily, douching beyond the first week after surgery isn't necessary.

Quote from: Beyond on July 23, 2014, 01:53:58 AM
IMO douching is not necessary and is actually counterproductive to natural healing.  You want the vagina to develop it's own natural environment and douching upsets that; it flushes out the good bacteria and messes with your ph balance.  If you're showering/bathing daily, douching beyond the first week after surgery isn't necessary.

This is one of those things that I was very curious about Re: Neo-Vaginas, if they are self cleaning like Cis-Vaginas and if there is a need to douche etc in the long run...I have never really been able to find any definitive answer on the subject :S

Are there any pros/cons to this?

Brassard our vaginas are like a cis woman's *once the initial healing is finished.* So he recommends douching as equivalent to washing a surgical site with disinfecting soap - for the first two months. After that, he says it'll interfere with natural flora and cleaning. (And yes, he and his nurses think the vagina will be self-cleaning once healed; that's certainly been my experience as well.)

Samantha : Well, that amount isn't necessarily going in there forever, either. I didn't have a problem after two months, but even if I had, I'm also now only dilating once a week with a very tiny amount of Vagisil lube.

It's only self-cleaning in the sense that any substance up there will eventually work its way out, encouraged by the movement of pelvic muscles in that region. Lubrication not intentionally washed out, probably has what you could term a half-life. To become completely free from foreign debris probably takes a long time, if you let nature take its course.

Quote from: Samantha007 on July 23, 2014, 09:54:35 AM
I am sorry, but I find it hard to believe that neovagina will clean that cumulated amount of ky jelly inside it. Sometimes, when I put the ky jelly on my bedside table after lubricating the dialators, some of the lube leaks on the table surface and within an hour or so, it becomes so thick and difficult to get rid of. Not sure our neovagina will be able to cleanse all of it. I douche after each use as I'm worried about the smell.

I'm almost 7 years out and I've never douched.  I still dilate 2-3 times a week and my vagina seems pretty clean to me.

In my 18+ months, I have never douched either since it was not part of my discharge instructions.  (I used a prescribed antibiotic vaginal gel for 3 weeks after my packing came out.) My Gynecologist, after calling my surgeon did have me do a sitzbath about once a day while I was recovering from a yeast infection that hit at week 3, but since then, a daily shower and things are quite nice down there.  The neo vag still has sweat glands in its skin covering, and the environment is warm enough to sweat a bit, so the skin can cleanse itself, and make washing your under pants necessary. 

Try natural yoghurt (full of friendly probiotics) douche in an empty ketchup bottle..works a treat lol..

Quote from: jade on July 31, 2014, 02:43:55 PM
Try natural yoghurt (full of friendly probiotics) douche in an empty ketchup bottle..works a treat lol..

Douching with yoghurt? Ew! Just, ew!