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Transfem @lemmy.blahaj.zone
dandelion (she/her) @lemmy.blahaj.zone

vaginoplasty challenges & solutions

I'm about three weeks past my penile-inversion, full-depth vaginoplasty, and I wanted to document some of the problems I have run into and how I have managed to cope or solve them.

Dilating with Wound Separation

Douching

Bleeding from Toilet Use

Diet: Protein & Calories

Boredom

::: spoiler Solution:

So my solution was two-fold: get movies and video essays on my laptop so I can watch them during dilation.

Since dilation is around 20 minutes and I go through three a day, it's not hard to knock out an hour long video essay.

My suggestion is just to find something passive, not too cognitively taxing (I can't handle lectures on mathematics as much as I would like to be able to), and something long or there is a lot of. This is a time to binge watch a show with many seasons, for example.

I can share a list of video essays and movies I have watched, but I think my tastes are particular and I'm not sure anyone cares or would find that helpful. My point is that it's important to think through dealing with boredom and to plan a little by having a significant amount of content lined up. I found listening to audiobooks wasn't easy enough to focus on - watching video essays was easier to pay attention to, for me anyway.

:::

As usual, let me know if you have any questions or concerns - I want to learn from you, but also to be a resource for the community.

Thank you for reading. πŸ’•

8 comments

  • Your stoicism is amazing <3

    And thanks again for the detailed writeup!

    • It's funny you say that about stoicism - what I haven't disclosed is all the times I just completely broke down crying in the hospital.

      I certainly feel proud of myself for keeping my shit together in the necessary moments when I needed to work on the challenges in front of me (like when I spent nearly 6 hours straining and working on getting myself to urinate for the first time after my cath was removed), but in the moments when I could, I absolutely did lose it. Being in the hospital was one of the more challenging weeks I've experienced (even if it wasn't the worst).

      Let me know if you ever have questions or are just curious about something, or if something could be better clarified in the writeup.

      • Mmm, I can imagine :/

        To be honest I'm just collecting as much information as I can right now (I haven't even decided where I want to get it done yet), and I probably won't know what to ask until I'm in recovery :P But thank you, it really is helpful!

        (And despite all the difficulties I'm still very jealous <3 )

  • I probably won’t have mine for at least 1-2 years but this is very helpful, thanks! I’ve got my first appointment next week :3

    The β€œbleeding from toilet use” section is bad news for me as an IBS girlie, I should probably work on improving my diet more before the surgery 😬

    • well, my problem with bleeding is pretty specific to my wound separation complications- it's possible you would have the same problems, but it's also possible you wouldn't have this issue at all if the skin graft takes. It seems like the bleeding most came from where the skin had sloughed off and the suture site was just exposed flesh.

      Still, not applying pressure by sitting is the best general advice, and straining on the toilet all the time could get problematic for you. After each bowel movement I have been told to wipe the whole area with Dakin solution (basically like bleach water), to keep the feces from infecting the sutures which are so near the anus. It's tedious and I have found a lot of basic tasks can become a little exhausting. Not sure how to best prepare for that, though.

      In the past I struggled with IBS too, but it seemed to reduce as my mental health improved, esp. once on estrogen. Now it's rare for me, though I got it right before surgery while waiting to be taken to the operating room. So I can somewhat relate to how distressing that can be. For me I can even get nervous about getting IBS, and that can make my IBS more likely.

      I would really suggest doing upper body and core exercises, you need a lot of strength to go from lying down to standing without ever sitting or putting pressure on the sutures. Same with lowering yourself onto a toilet carefully and so on.

      I didn't expect recovery to be so physically demanding this way, so going into it healthy and strong seems like a great way to optimize if at all possible.

8 comments