What Sparrowchild said. Everyone (due to healt, physical condition, what type of SRS, SRS alone or combo BA) reacts different.

Me? Spend 1 week the hosptital (normall procedere for the UZG in Belgium) but had a lot of bleeding due to a stich that got loose. I didn't have mutch energy the first month and need help getting things done (moved back in with my mom for a few months till I got back on my /got enough of the arguing with my mom).

Results? Physical I'm more or less happy due to the current medical limitations (no magic etc like someone wrote in a story). Psychological I'm feeling a lot better then before although I still have the old self esteam issues about not being a 'complete' woman. And me being me doesn't help with that Got a lot of peepz that think I'm pre-op FTM for some reason. Sucks to be almost in the middle of the genderchart on the female side of it. Aka I'm a lesbian butch woman with a transgender past. Just look at my pick lolz and no I have no desire to be male again.

Lynne

My surgery was the 23rd of Nov., in Canada. Went through bowel emptying prep on the 22nd, had lunch, no dinner but clear liquids, then sleep. Went to surgery @9:30 am on the 23rd. They used a spinal block with a light sedation that had me waking periodically and asking to watch, then they would put me back out.LOL. They were surprised to learn I recalled the waking periods and feeling them sorta tugging on me, but no pain. Then it was over. Recovery for about an hour, then the hospital room. Slept most of the day off and on, and the spinal block was gone by 4 pm, and then I could feel the surgery site. Still not painful, aware of the catheter but no sensation to speak of. I had dinner and a hydrocodone, and slept the night. I was taken back to the recovery residence the afternoon evening, so was in the hospital for about 24-30 hours. In the recovery center, I went to dinner the first night after my return. Walking was a bit shaky but OK. It was uncomfortable (very-- about a 8 on the 1-10 scale) to sit down in a chair, even with the donut. After dinner, I went back and lay down and they brought me another hydrocodone before bedtime.

I went to meals each day, and on the second day back could (or more accurately did) tolerate sitting long enough to contact friends by email and tell them all was well, and read email.

About a week after surgery, I was still having some problems sitting in a chair for very long and that had actually gotten a bit worse, but that was due to the dressing and the packing and catheter. It was better after the dressing and packing was removed (and the catheter) was out a day later. Pain while sitting, on a scale of 1 to 10, was about a 9 some days, and a 6 other days. Length of time played a role in that too, but it was more painful for others at the residence. I was one of the few that went out to dinner the night before departure (Dec 1st).

The catheter/packing was removed 7 days after surgery (on the 30th) and that was what was adding some to the sitting pain. With the donut, I could sit longer after the packing and catheter were removed. Still hurt to sit, but not as much - about a 5-7, depending. Dilation was not difficult, but a bit messy. Some bleeding but not much. I had a catheter for the first 7 days after surgery with a plug in the end. You had to remove the plug, do the job, then close it again, at the toilet. That was a bit messy but not painful. The catheter came out 6 hours before they wanted it to (in the middle of the night -- first time in ages I wet the bed!!!), and I began urination without it. A bit messy with spray, but not too bad and the aim was good, and there was plenty of clean up materials. Had my first shower after the catheter was removed and after first dilation.

I stopped the hydrocodone after removal of packing and catheter, except at night. If I hurt through the day (and I did when I tried to sit for very long- I really wanted to play cards) I took Tylenol. That was just me, as I don't like drugs stronger than over the counter things. I could walk and climb stairs easily enough once the packing and catheter were removed, though I could feel stitches kinda pull with long steps. I hoped to be able to play a bit of tourist, but I could only go out on the last evening (Dec 1st) and that was to eat. It was still uncomfortable to sit, but I didn't take the donut for that short a time and I likely should have as I would have been more comfy. We had Italian food.

The flight home was a bit more of an ordeal. Again the problem was sitting. As long as I was able to walk, I was fine. Sitting was still about a 7 on the pain scale, tolerable for awhile (30 minutes or so) then I had to move. Our return flight was in two 2 hour+ segments, with an hour+ wait in between, and of course we had to be at the departure lounge early for the first flight. I could carry my carry on luggage. My friend who went with me as my advocate and power of attorney had a bad case of sciatica, and when our aides to wheel us to customs and the departure gate didn't show, I pushed her in the wheelchair!! That was more comfy than sitting. LOL.

When we got home, I went by the grocery to get some consumables, and that wasn't bad as I needed to walk. I had already bought the supplies I was supposed to need (and I still have a lot left over that I didn't use). The only ones I had to get more of was the lube for dilation. You need a LOT of that stuff. I went to see my mother in the nursing home three days after arriving home, but my friend did the driving. A week later I drove there (100 mile round trip) and I had the bad experience of my donut deflating due to a leak I couldn't find. Painful trip due to the duration more than anything else. Had to buy another donut and it was really too small. A month after surgery the pain while setting was very tolerable, and rarely used the donut but for long duration drives. I began walking 1 mile 3 days a week on the treadmill after the third week, but other exercises I delayed for another few weeks.

Sparrow, urination included some spray while things were still swollen, but the overall aim was good even right after catheter removal. I did have to use pads for awhile after getting home as not only some discharge from the surgery site, but dribbles since the swelling around the uretha was still present. Now, well over a year later, I did experience some loss of control over frequency of urination (something you will see in the list of possible side effects) --about 3.5-4 hours between cammode trips, but if I ever feel like I must go, I really must!!! One thing I did see while there is that you never want to try to force urination while things are swollen. There was one case of ripped stitches from the straining. Believe me, gravity and learning to relaix will do wonders for going when you need to.

I feel that I had relatively little pain overall, that was due to attitude in part, and to my preparation through excerce in the larger part. I was really in pretty good physical shape, and I would recommend that to anyone else going for surgery. Another person in our surgery group did Tai-Kwan-Do for years prior to surgery and she did amazingly well.

Just some flashes rather than hour by hour. I had GRS with Dr. Biber in Trinidad CO in June '92. The year before I was active with the support group, hassled and spent a lot of time with people and stuff at work, moved out of my and ex's house and in with my first TG lover, talked to groups about being TS and lots of other stuff. I didn't take much time exercising, although I did a lot of biking in '90. I heard that ones heals better/easier if one is in good shape so around mid Dec, I started building up my riding.

I did get back in good shape pretty easily. Day of the op, afterwards, I sort of woke up, but was very out of it. I remember moving around a little, I couldn't get a comfortable position to sleep, but no pain. Next day or 2, I remember dreaming waking up, shutting my eyes and the dream was still going! Good drugs! The next day I was on something weaker. I was supposed to stay in bed for 5 days, maybe; I was catheterized. We just drank juice and people told me stories of races to see who could fill their urine bag faster; there were often two to a room, but most of the time the other bed in my room was empty. I got bored in bed and was up on my feet crouching, but moving around.

My greatest experience was peeing correctly for the first time; I cried with joy.

I was strong, the meds were good; I did feel like a truck had hit me between my legs, but most of the pain was dampened by the meds.

I was home in 10 or 11 days, walked more and more the next 2 weeks and was jogging after a month. It was quite a while before I sat on a bike seat; can't remember how long, but I was feeling pretty good after 6 weeks. I was stressed out going back to work; a few wimyn swore at me since I started using regular ladies rooms. It seemed to me that before I left for surgery, everyone was somewhat used to me, but when I came back, most seemed a bit upset. I had to wait a while before things calmed down again, but that's a whole nother story!