Quote from: OofWillis on July 06, 2018, 01:08:20 AM
Is it possible to make something like this by self ?
I might have an idea? I'm a couple of years ahead of Dena but we both went to the same surgeon and both received the same advice to go to a "sex shop" when it was time to move up to a more rigid and larger dilator. Like her, I was apprehensive about going into a place like this because in the 1970's, they were pretty seedy and kind of underground and I was a young and (mostly) innocent kid on my own and just couldn't talk myself into going to one of these places.
I made my own dilator.
I went to a couple different general hardware stores and lumber yards looking for anything I could fashion into something that would work. At one store, I found a round tapered replacement leg for a coffee table or something? It was maybe 18" to 24" long (45.7 cm to 60.9). I cut the too small end and the too long end off with a saw and kind of rounded the end. I had some thin soft flexible foam and stitched a tight fitting cover for my piece of wood dilator. Then I put a condom on it and tied it at the end. When I used it, I put a second condom on it.
I used that darn thing for years and still have it somewhere?
Another thing Dena and I have in common is long, like years long, after we we were well beyond any healing up that needed to be done is we both slacked off on dilating for a considerable length of time. I never did it during the 12 years I was with my husband as our "marital relations" were sufficient but after I was divorced, I never really got back in the swing of things thinking I was done with men for a while.
But I wasn't. Or at least I couldn't stop thinking about possibilities.
A couple of years ago, I started to wonder how well my body would work if I did meet the right guy? I hadn't been with anyone for 8 or 9 years and I'm not a young woman. It's recently been 41 years since I had my surgery and I'd not really had much more than a couple of fingers "up there" in quite some time so I became curious.
I wasn't quite sure what to do. The GRS dilators from
soulsource.com were really expensive and I wasn't even sure what size I needed or if I needed to start with a smaller one?
I searched around and found something that worked for me perfectly. A graduated set so that I could start small and work my way up if I needed to and at the very reasonable price of about $50 USD. Not sure I can add links but the site I found these on was
vaginismus.com.
The first couple of sizes were to small to do anything but the last three were in the ballpark. I used the 3rd biggest for 45 minutes or so every day for a couple of weeks. Then the next size, for more weeks and by the end of a couple of months, I was up to the largest size which is the same diameter as the orange SoulSource #4 but more tapered and without the bend.
Eventually, I did purchase the largest #4 dilator from SoulSource. It took me a while to get used to the curved shape but I adjusted. Their FAQ page has details on the sizes of their dilators if you wish to try making something yourself. Just use lots of lubrication.
It is best if I dilate for 45 minutes to an hour once a week which I usually do while watching one of my favorite programs on television. I can go three weeks without too much discomfort but of course, once a week makes things a lot easier. I could probably take a little more diameter if a fellow happened to be a little bigger but depth is a finite resource and being "bottomed out" isn't a lot of fun. I am experienced enough to know how to work with what I got and about 5" (12.7 cm) has always worked well for enough me and not been a problem with average guys. I've been seeing an on again, off again gentleman for three months and if our relationship does go that far, sure I'm a little nervous about it, it's been a long time, but not that nervous about it, if you know what I mean?

I am comfortable enough that if things should turn sexual between us to know how my body works without having to explain my whole damn medical history first. (don't judge)
It may seem odd that a 63½ year old cow is even thinking about sex but I make no apologies!

Don't know if any of this helps but good luck. Finding really knowledgeable trans health care is kind of a crapshoot in this country too if it makes any difference, especially for an "old timer" like me that doctors seem to be clueless about?
(sorry to ramble. 5:00 AM drunk posting)