I'm in the UK and Mr Bellringer did my op NHS at Charing Cross London on 2nd September.
From the second day onwards I was up and about, doing a lot of walking.
They gave me two dilators, 2.5cm and 3.0cm and first dilation at the hospital with the larger one was dreadful and I continued to struggle with that one for about a month.
By the time I was sent home 7 days post op, I had no more internal bleeding and blood on my dilators, just some weeping from the vertical stitches at each side of the vulva - this continued for a couple of months.
By then I had decided that the largest size they had given me was insufficient so had contacted the company who supply their dilators and bought the next size up 3.5cm
My instructions were dilation three times a day, 10 mins with the 2.5 then 20 mins with the 3.0. At first those short times were all that I could stand, but after about a month I went for a few minutes longer.
They instructed that after 2 months, I could decrease to twice a day as long as insertion didn't become difficult. By then I had started using the 3.5 and was doing 2 dilations per day using all three sizes for almost an hour total.
They say that dilation needs will probably have fallen to once or twice a week by 6 to 9 months and should continue at that frequency indefinitely.
Now at 4 months, I am doing once a day for an hour with all three. 10 mins or less of 2.5, about 10 mins of 2.5 and then the 3.5 for the rest - I time it by watching an hour long recording of a television series.
Feeling has not yet fully returned and I am still half numb around the lips and clit, but a week before Christmas, I discovered that I CAN orgasm ..... repeatedly.
At present the G-spot seems to be the best but I expect the sensitivity of the clit will continue to grow as healing progresses.
Aesthetically, I think it looks pretty good and my two best pals, one cis and one post-op agree.
So.... hats off to Mr Bellringer!
.....and I do know and give thanks that I have been VERY lucky. Some girls go through hell and their stories scared me a lot as my op date approached.