Quote from: Donna E on August 30, 2014, 12:52:13 AM
Hi Rose,
On your previous thread, I'm the one who queried about your motivations for considering GRS. As many of the answers you have received here seem to demonstrate, for many, if not most of us, the primary motivation for doing GRS is not sexual, it is about feeling that much more complete as a woman. To make myself perfectly clear, this does not mean that sexual pleasure doesn't/shouldn't come into the equation. Of course it does and probably even more so for a younger woman like you than some of us older ladies. However, for most of us,  it is probably not what decided us on going down this path and among the pre-surgery fears, fear of medical complications figured far higher on my list than any fear of not being able to get an orgasm post-surgery.
Now that I am 1.5 weeks post GRS, recovering far better and faster than I expected, I can confirm my own take on this coming into it. Just seeing my body at last looking like the woman's body I have always dreamed of ( I also did BA surgery), is already a huge source of happiness. As it happens, I have enough evidence from what I am already feeling to imagine that my new body parts should also be a source of considerable pleasure.  So much so that so far at least, I have actually positively enjoyed my dilation sessions.
Hope that helps!
Hugs
Donna

Thanks Donna,

I can't say losing the ability to O is my only or biggest fear; my biggest fear would be complications like scarring, messed up urethral openings, fistulas, etc. that would be expensive and dangerous to correct.  But losing the O is just part of a long list of complications.

Quote from: Myarkstir on August 29, 2014, 08:24:27 PM
Here is my suggestion

SRS HAS a chance of ending in no O capability period. So before you decide on having ir, you need to come to terms with the fact it could happen. Choose your surgeon well to dimish the odds of it happening is what i think.

I didn't absolutly need it for 16 years, then from out of nowhere It was a priority and I needed it period whatever the outcome. Then I knew I was ready.

It would be helpful to me if I knew just what those chances are, and also the chances of having some life-threatening tear or fistula.

Quote from: Rose City Rose on August 30, 2014, 06:27:03 AM
It would be helpful to me if I knew just what those chances are, and also the chances of having some life-threatening tear or fistula.

In my consent forms Fistulas were listed as a less than 1%,
Other complication chance 10%, As in 10% you will get one of the below.

"other complications" were a large list some correctable some not. Peeing problems, Infection, Hematoma/internal bleeding, nerve damage, Clitoris Death, Vaginal Stenosis, chronic Pain, Abnormal sensation, Scarring, Inorgasma.

I unfortunately got 2 complications... Infection (Kidney+Blood poisoning) and Internal Bleeding/Hematoma... I'm still healing thus partial numbness around my vagina I've got sensation in my clitoris which is enough for me to orgasm.

Edit:: If you like I can upload my actual consent form if you want to read through it.
Edit2:: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1EugL0mPX-al4ZkAujK1AEiB4qKWtOhQSPvjHyCGObBk/edit?usp=sharing

Quote from: pebbles on August 30, 2014, 06:59:49 AM
In my consent forms Fistulas were listed as a less than 1%,
Other complication chance 10%, As in 10% you will get one of the below.

"other complications" were a large list some correctable some not. Peeing problems, Infection, Hematoma/internal bleeding, nerve damage, Clitoris Death, Vaginal Stenosis, chronic Pain, Abnormal sensation, Scarring, Inorgasma.

I unfortunately got 2 complications... Infection (Kidney+Blood poisoning) and Internal Bleeding/Hematoma... I'm still healing thus partial numbness around my vagina I've got sensation in my clitoris which is enough for me to orgasm.

Edit:: If you like I can upload my actual consent form if you want to read through it.
Edit2:: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1EugL0mPX-al4ZkAujK1AEiB4qKWtOhQSPvjHyCGObBk/edit?usp=sharing

This is all very good info.

Are there any other prognosis indicators for good results that might give me some hope of not being in that 10%?  I think I've read that someone who does not lose their sex drive on hormones usually has a better chance of sexual function post-op but I can't find where I read that.  Also, does being under a certain age or having some specific body trait make success more likely?

Quote from: Rose City Rose on August 30, 2014, 07:24:59 AM
This is all very good info.

Are there any other prognosis indicators for good results that might give me some hope of not being in that 10%?  I think I've read that someone who does not lose their sex drive on hormones usually has a better chance of sexual function post-op but I can't find where I read that.  Also, does being under a certain age or having some specific body trait make success more likely?

I can't really comment on that particular instance, I had a medium/high sex drive (for a female) and could get erections/Orgasms fine even with a T level measured in the 0.x Scale, I'm orgasmic now in my clit 5 weeks post op, still numb in my vagina. I was told that smoking makes the risk of things dying and blood clots higher.
It's just luck even with a seemingly ideal body for the op like mine things can go wrong and your strengths can count against you if luck isn't on your side.

Physically I'm in excellent health Mid 20's, I cycle daily, Ran on the weekends, stamina like an ox, don't smoke or drink haven't been seriously ill in over 10 years, naturally a fast healer, Athletic build, good amounts of material for the op... I still got complications.

The reason I got such severe internal bleeding was because I apparently had big thick arteries I had I bled quite abit in theater. Then when they put the drain in he unintentionally lanced a big artery, taking the drain out caused me to bleed internally.

After I had my second op to fix the bleeding and suck out the worst of the hematoma. They gave me tons of blood transfusions (1.2 Liters! 30% my total blood volume) but this still would weaken my immune system 30%, because they only transfuse Red Bloodcells into you.
I was sent home after 6 days because I astounded everyone hobbling all over the hospital chatting to other patients+nurses all day.

Getting home my recovery stalled/declined ever so slightly for 4days
I didn't know that I actually had a dangerous infection if you checked my temperature it would have clearly shown 41'C (high fever) I didn't recognize the symptoms because I'd never been ill before... It wasn't immediately obvious looking at me because my stamina was so damn high I was still romping around.

It was only on the 4th day everything went wrong. I dilated and I ripped apart basically, pus blood everywhere, couldn't stand up anymore, urinating thick brown/red muck, blood pressure through the floor heart rate through the roof, Rushed to A&E

Brassard's informed consent form looked more or less like that, and his nurses would later say that "most people" had a minor complication or two. (Where "minor" was on the order of slight granulation, difficulty with the catheter pain [I had that one], needing the cath reinserted for a couple days until swelling allowed free urination [another girl with me had that], or a stitch or two pulling out early. So nothing to worry about long-term and nothing more than unpleasant in the short term.) He claimed to have had one fistula early in his career, and no cases of prolapse, and also that 90% of his patients were orgasmic. Since I don't know how many vaginoplasties he's done I can't calculate the actual odds on fistula, but since he averaged 6 a week (it's more now) for at least 7 years, let's guesstimate about 2000, which would make 1 out of 2000 = 0.5%.

The thing I've heard about orgasmic capability is that it is generally a good sign if you can orgasm before surgery, and "most" women who had that ability right up until GRS will retain it after. In my anecdotal experience, including several friends, that has been true.