Hi!

I am a year post op now and I have changed my dilation regime to once a day (dilating fpr about one hour each day) two or so months ago. But now I have a problem, since a week or so, out of the blue, I seem to have lost a little depth and I am very very tight.

I have about 5 inches depth but at 4 inches it gets a lot tighter (is that that muscle my doctor told me about?) which was never a problem before, and with this tightness it is very difficult to pull out the dilator again. I use three different sizes (too small for the fourth) number one and two are no problem to get in but number two already is very difficult to pull out again, number 3 I can get in up to 4 inches but no further.

I use the same amount of lubrication as I always did so unless my skin absorbs more I guess I got a lot more tight, do you think I am just not dilating enough? Should I go back to twice a day?

How often and for how long would you dilate after a year?

Thanks!

I'm 13 months post-op and I've also decided to go back to dilating twice a day. I've got 5 inches of depth and I'm not prepared to lose any of it. I've found that if I dilate only once a day then it starts to get harder to reach all 5 inches after a week or so. So I'm prepared to dilate twice a day for as long as it takes for it to become less problematic dilating once a day.

I only use dilators 3 and 4. Dilator 3 (green) takes a minimum of 20 minutes to get to 5 inches. Dilator 4 (orange), because it's wider, takes another 20 minutes to get back up to near 5 inches. I had very little material for the surgeon (Brassard) to work with, so every little mm is precious.

I don't have much difficulty pulling out the dilators. Twisting a little is enough.

Interesting to know I'm not alone!

Ah thanks it is comforting to hear someone else has a similar problem! I guess I will go back to twice a day then!

Thanks!

I would assume it means you aren't quite ready to taper down yet, yes. I had similar issues at a year post-op; I was supposed to gradually get down to once per week, but when I skipped more than 2 days in between dilations I tightened up and had some discomfort, so I went back to the higher frequency. Every month or so I'd see if maybe extending the time between by a day bothered me... and the day came when it didn't, and that became my routine.

I don't think I got to once a week (with the orange) until more like 20 months after GRS, but I did get there, and I bet you will eventually be able to taper down somewhat too. Brassard said that basically some people just take longer than others to adjust, and to keep doing whatever combination of size and frequency works to maintain maximum depth and comfort, with occasional checks such as I did to see if less was possible yet.

(The PC muscle is typically located about 1-2" into the vagina, so that most likely isn't it, though obviously I don't know your personal anatomy.)

#4 orange only for 30min

19 month almost 20 and max so far is every fifth day.

I dilate two times a day, but my surgeon said I SHOULD dilate only once a day. I am only one month post-op. So yeah, go figure, it seems more isn't better sometimes. At least, my surgeon says so and he never had one of his girls closing up. Dunno, but since my surgery nothing has closed. Maybe he uses a different technique. I know he flies all over the world to learn about new techniques.

Just to clarify, nothing is closing. I don't think I've heard any of my surgeon's patients closing up. The recovery from the surgery was pretty straight forward and was without any complications. I was back to normal within 5 weeks. I had been on HRT for 19 years and was circumcised so the 5 inches the surgeon managed to produce, without skin graft, is nothing short of amazing. I know of many who have lost one half to an inch of depth months after the initial recovery. I can't afford the loss of even 1/8", so I have to keep up dilation more often until the body adapts. It's all right if you have at least 6 inches or more to start with; one can afford to sacrifice a bit of depth for less dilation intensity.

I am five months post OP and dilate once a day with a depth of 7.5 inches with the largest dilator (8 inches with one size smaller). I am not sure if dilating often really helps. My depth did not changed much since grs. Maybe you should ask your surgeon?

Lara

Quote from: Lara1969 on November 25, 2014, 03:06:43 PM
I am five months post OP and dilate once a day with a depth of 7.5 inches with the largest dilator (8 inches with one size smaller). I am not sure if dilating often really helps. My depth did not changed much since grs. Maybe you should ask your surgeon?

Evidentially for me, dilating often really does make the next dilation faster and easier. Dilation twice a day is not a problem. I haven't lost any depth since being post-op. My surgeon is going to say to continue what I'm doing, pretty much.

It's so different with doctors and all over the world.

I'm from Holland and I got my SRS here. I dilate twice a week, sometimes once a week,  with the biggest dilator and I'm 15 months post op, but have done this already since 10 months post op I think