I remember how nervous I was about moving to #2 at first. #3 terrified me, and now I feel totally ready for #4. Now the #1 just looks so small compared to the rest. I start with #1 every time to ensure I reach depth, and then work up the sizes. It may be more work and cleaning, but it seems to make each one easier to insert and now I reach full depth with #3.

As for internal exams with a speculum, Dr McGinn also examined me, she did that on my second follow up appointment. She does it to check on how the skin graft is taking, and was able to confirm that all of the graft had taken. I thought it was a standard thing to do. I just went back for 7 week check up and she did another speculum exam then too. All is healing well. I do have some granulation tissue around the vaginal entrance and on my labia. I'm trying to be patient with that healing and going away. I guess it takes some time.

hmmm...i'm 6 weeks post op now...(pinches herself)

i found the dilator went all the way in and hit hard tissue literally the first time i dilated...i'm up to #3 now and don't feel any less or more depth...
it takes me a deep nose breath, then i blow out the candle and slowly enter and i pretty much get it in about 10 seconds

my depth is about 5 3/4- 6 1/4 " depending on where you measure...but its adequate depth..

i feel like pushed pretty hard and there was just nowhere to go, but based on some of the messages i'm wondering if i missed something and should be searching for that add'l depth..

my surgery was with dr meltzer btw...

btw
i'm pretty sure i'll be able to do #4 soon, and my best post op friend tells me not to worry about depth as much as working up to #4...


any tthoughts??

Quote from: kaitlynm999 on July 14, 2010, 03:16:23 PM
hmmm...i'm 6 weeks post op now...(pinches herself)

i found the dilator went all the way in and hit hard tissue literally the first time i dilated...i'm up to #3 now and don't feel any less or more depth...
it takes me a deep nose breath, then i blow out the candle and slowly enter and i pretty much get it in about 10 seconds

my depth is about 5 3/4- 6 1/4 " depending on where you measure...but its adequate depth..

i feel like pushed pretty hard and there was just nowhere to go, but based on some of the messages i'm wondering if i missed something and should be searching for that add'l depth..

Kaitlyn, it sounds like you are getting it in all the way.  Your description matches my experience pretty much.  I know when it's in all the way because it won't go in any more.  Before I used #4 it was pretty easy, but #4 is still often difficult for me to get started.  Once I get it started it slides snuggly in.  I have to rotate it to get that last quarter inch, though.  I stopped using the smaller ones more than 7 weeks ago.  I'm looking forward to being able to just slide the #4 in the way I did the smaller ones, but I'm beginning to think it just isn't going to happen.

- Kate

um... I think I've fallen in love with my #3. lol It's just the right size to fill me up now, it never lays out drunk all night or runs around with other women, and it always respects me in the morning.

I'm currently getting the most soreness in the deep end where I'm pushing against it. But truthfully it's still pretty sore all over at this point

Hi FairyGirl

So bloody funny:

Quote from: FairyGirl on July 14, 2010, 06:32:20 PM
um... I think I've fallen in love with my #3. lol It's just the right size to fill me up now, it never lays out drunk all night or runs around with other women, and it always respects me in the morning.

Just be careful it does not get the shakes.

Kind regards
Sarah B

Hi all, well the time will come for me to dilate and as far as I understand my surgeon only gives two sizes. Not sure what size they are. My question then is where could I get the other sizes and what sizes are these? I want to get the best depth and width possible with what I have.

Also does the depth increase with dilation or remain the same as at the beginning. I have also heard of some women decreasing in depth.

Many thanks

stardust

all of mine came from http://www.soulsourceenterprises.com (the GRS dilators)

I got the first two from Dr. McGinn and purchased the #3 and #4 directly. They include the carrying pouch free with any order. The ones I have don't look like the ones online, but are solid pastel colors.  The sizes are:

1 1/8" diameter x 9" length (circumference 3.5")
1 1/4" diameter x 9" length (circumference 3.9")
1 3/8" diameter x 9" length (circumference 4.3")
1 1/2" diameter x 9" length (circumference 4.7")

So far no complaints, other than owie

Hi K8

I liked what you wrote so I finished it off.

Quote from: K8 on July 09, 2010, 07:36:28 AM
And the tenderness will moderate and then disappear.  And then...You will be swinging from the chandelier 

- Kate

Kind regards
Sarah B

Thanks, Sarah B.  I can't wait.

Stardust, Bowers gave me only the three larger sizes (blue, green, and orange).  They came from the same place as Chloe's.  I'd be curious to know which sizes you get.  As you work up to being able to accept larger sizes, the girth of your vagina will increase but my understanding is that it will never get longer.  It can decrease in length, especially if you don't dilate regularly.  Bowers claims that once you lose it it's gone - so follow directions and dilate.

- Kate

very very important to keep to the schedule given to you  even after 1 1/2 yr I went back to every other day it just seemed better only using the blue and orange the green is just a bit to big for me  as for the depth it is was the surg got when the srs was done you lose it if you dont dialate and the only way you get it back is more surg. so at min listen to your doctor  have a great day
Bethany

I just begun with dilating two days ago (my surgery was three weeks ago). I did not believe something so painful exists! I followed all recommendations of my doctor, apply lot of Aquagel for lubrication and go inside gradually. It took about 5 minutes to go completely inside (Perspex No.1), then I take it there with a small pressure fr 15 minutes. I am doing the prcedure 3 times per day.  I squize my "vagina" with Betadine solution. Still, there are some traces of blood in my panties (not real bleeding, but just traces), not every time, but often. Is it normal?

Quote from: George on August 07, 2010, 12:01:27 AM
I just begun with dilating two days ago (my surgery was three weeks ago). I did not believe something so painful exists! I followed all recommendations of my doctor, apply lot of Aquagel for lubrication and go inside gradually. It took about 5 minutes to go completely inside (Perspex No.1), then I take it there with a small pressure fr 15 minutes. I am doing the prcedure 3 times per day.  I squize my "vagina" with Betadine solution. Still, there are some traces of blood in my panties (not real bleeding, but just traces), not every time, but often. Is it normal?

The dilating will get easier over time.  Some blood spoting is fairly common.  Nothing to worry about to  much at this stage unless you actually start bleeding.

Quote from: Dee_pntx on August 07, 2010, 12:14:42 AM
Dear goddess, I am soooo not looking forward to a lifetime of this.  I am going to get so tired and so disgusted with dilation soooo fast.

I wish there was a way out of that.  I mean really.  I just don't even like to think about having to do this several times a day, every day for life.  Gawd....  Why can't they come up with a better surgery so you don't have to suffer through this for life??  Ugh......

This will be the one thing I am going to resent and eventually hate about being post op.   

Don't worry Dee. By the time you are a year postop as long as you are having some sort of sex life you can drop the frquency down to once a week or less. It isn't a life sentence.

Hi all,

I didn't have a good start to dilation after about ten days it began to get really tight and I phoned the hospital and they told me that the lube was probably being rubbed off as I pushed the stent into the vagina. They recommended a ortho vaginal applicator so I got one of those the next day and it has been so much better. You use the applicator because this puts some lube well inside the vagina. I only was given two sizes of dilators from the hospital

1. 2.5cm x 22cm
2. 3.0cm x 22cm

They go in fairly easy but the large one takes me about a minute of two to get full depth which I have been told is five inches which seems to be right with what I can see protruding out side of the vagina.

I dilate three times a day and douche after each dilation.

I to don't relish dilation and I am always glad the last one of the day is done but then only leave me a couple of hours. I suppose when I drop down to twice a day that will seem better and less invasive on my life. I think its the afternoon one that gets in the way of things. It seems to take up so much of my life at the moment.

Stardust

Quote from: George on August 07, 2010, 12:01:27 AM
I just begun with dilating two days ago (my surgery was three weeks ago). I did not believe something so painful exists! I followed all recommendations of my doctor, apply lot of Aquagel for lubrication and go inside gradually. It took about 5 minutes to go completely inside (Perspex No.1), then I take it there with a small pressure fr 15 minutes. I am doing the prcedure 3 times per day.  I squize my "vagina" with Betadine solution. Still, there are some traces of blood in my panties (not real bleeding, but just traces), not every time, but often. Is it normal?

yes it's very normal and may occur for a while. I'm 5 1/2 weeks into dilating and I still wear an ultrathin pad all the time. Not for bleeding because its all healed up inside now, but just because I seem to be very wet down there. According to my surgeon this is normal if you have an internal scrotal skin graft, as the outer (inner now) layer of skin sloughs off and it becomes inside skin instead of outside skin.

I don't get 3 times a day for another 2 1/2 weeks! Dr. McGinn's schedule is 5 times/day for the first 8 weeks of dilating (I'm 7 weeks post-op but only 5 1/2 weeks dilating) It will be a relief to cut down to just 3! lol Then it goes to once a day after 6 months, once a week after a year. It is a pain in the... well, you know, but it gets better after a while... and I'm hoping of course to have a nice helpful man to assist me in that regard by then Honestly I've been using the big #4 (1.5", or 3.8 cm) and it gets quite erotic at times being all filled up like that... once you get past the sore stage, dilating is really not nearly as bad as you might think 

Quote from: Dee_pntx on August 07, 2010, 10:39:19 AM

Sex life?  What's that?

I went 15 years without so much as a kiss after my divorce.
No sex, no kiss, no hug, no contact.  I had given up and didn't care anymore.
Then I dated a guy for a few months and we um, yeah.  A few times.
And now it's been almost 18 months since the last time with no relief in sight.

I really don't see the situation improving any.   

Hi Dee.  Seems like you and I are in the same boat, although I never really wanted any human contact as long as I was pre-op.  There were some things that I did early on in my transition 15 years ago that I'm not too proud of that really put me off about relationships as a pre-op.  However now, as my date approaches, I've taken on a new perspective and am willing to chance things once more once I am post.  Please don't give up entirely as things may definitely change after your surgery.   

When I dilate I just add lube to the top of the dilator from a pump bottle and then insert it.  If it seems a little tight then I just apply a little more and try again.

Kind regards
Sarah B

So one thing I'm curious about, what if you don't ever heal up?

What I mean is, I pierced my tongue over 14 years ago, and took it out after less then 5 months. Now once every few years I will put the same size gauge that it was pierced with through and sure enough it always goes through with little to no effort.

Same for my ears, I pierced my own ears when I was 7, my dad would never allow me to wear earrings so for most of my childhood I would have them out for months at a time. After I joined the military I never wore them. I can still put an earring in without issue even if I go without earrings for literally a year or longer.

So I guess my question is, what type of effect will this likely have on dilation?? I'm really hoping that when I get the surgery it's like every other hole in my body and heals as is...

Think it's possible or no?

Stay with it Stardust, it does get easier.  I went through a period where there was no pain at all achieving full depth but using the larger dialtors was quite painful because of the width then all of a sudden I had no pain at all with width but started experiencing pain achieving full depth.  It's all part of the healing process and breaking down scar tissue. 

Yes I also found three times a day became very cumbersome, I couldn't imaging what it would be like 5 times a day.  Cutting back to twice a day seems to give you back some of your life and it becomes a lot easier to juggle your life around dilating.

Hang in there things are getting better every day that passes.

It's amazing how the different surgeons have different dilation requirements. My surgeon requires 2 dilation sessions per day each lasting 10 mins from the time you reach full depth. The stp up in size is also progressive. Dilator #1 (25mm) for the first month, dilator #2 (28mm) for the second month and dilator #3 (34mm) for the rest of your life.

I am only a month post op and I'm just starting on dilator #2 . I still find that I get a flood of light pink ( presumably mixed with a little blood) discharge that has a distinctive  smell when I remove the dilator and a slight seepage for the rest of the day. As for lubrication, I use either KY jelly (as initially provided by my surgeon) or a mineral base vaginal moisturiser. In order to get started I lubricate my index finger and place it into my vagina in order to massage the PC muscle. This has the effect of relaxing it and making the passage of the dilator that much easier. Although twisting it on it's way in is also a big help.