Here are some basic facts:
- method was penile inversion
- I opted for full-depth rather than a vulvoplasty
- surgery took 3 hours, though recovery took another hour
- I went under general anaesthesia and had to be intubated and put on a ventilator
- I’m currently admitted in the hospital and bed bound, discharge is scheduled for Friday
- so far pain is between 1 and 3 for me, most of the time it’s between a 0 and 1.
Ask me anything!
Huh. We’ll ask during intake, but haven’t offered our own. Do you think that’s a good practice overall, or making it weird? You and a couple other posters have mentioned -and I agree- that trans patients are first and foremost patients who should be able to expect the same care as anyone else, to include not getting special treatment since that can be awkward for the recipient. I have noticed a couple nurses seem like they’re walking on eggshells - like they’ll get WAY apologetic if they fuck up a pronoun. It’s awkward just to see from the sidelines, lol.
Some surgeons are like that. Reeeaaaaally smart in their area of expertise; but dumb as rocks the second they set foot outside of that bubble, to include basic social skills. Med school really needs a course or two on “how to not be an asshole!” …often the side you see as the patient is the ‘nice’ side, too - once you go under, they crank the asshole up to 11 to the staff in the room.
But… we tolerate it. They’re good at providing healthcare, and if that wasn’t keeping them occupied, they’d probably be serial killers or some shit.
Hope your recovery is going well! Unsolicited advice: you’re only about 30% as good as you feel after surgery. It’s the drugs. When you start feeling good enough to return to your normal daily routine, NO YOU DON’T! Sit down, be lazy, and chill for a couple more days. And follow your post-op instructions to the T - the groin is a high infection rate area, so don’t cut any corners with whatever they told you to do for cleaning, dressing changes, etc.
Also, congrats!