Brighton Revisited - this weekend
Jan. 10th, 2008 02:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
suzyscottdotcomOK, so the 12 weeks are almost upon us, and this weekend is my three-month/12-week follow-up at Sussex Nuffield Hospital Brighton. We’re going down on Saturday, and it looks like we have a few other things possibly planned for the weekend too, but for now I will stick to the plans, and also a round-up of how things have progressed since then. This is to be my third visit, and the fourth as a patient, or the partner of one. (My initial consultation, then Caroline’s initial consultation, then my op, and now this is the fourth), add to that extra for visiting zoeimogen and anyone else in due course.
(For the benefit of those of you fresh off the shuttle from Planet Anubis or wherever, I had gender reassignment surgery there on Tuesday 16th October 2007, and that’s why this is under a cut, not a cut into me… and it also explains the scissors in my icon for this post!)
The surgical site has healed very well, and I am told that it does look good. The scars are now invisible. Pain is slight (but sore when it is, stabbing inside), but less than I may have expected by this point. The hair has grown back, and that may well come off as per my usual preference, but not just yet. The stitching is now gone. Of course, there is also the matter of good sensations around the area, and while it’s all still taking it’s course, I’m happy with the way things are right now. Almost.
The two main issues with it – well, first one is most visible. It comes with a ‘scarf’ which seems to stick out the base, and snakes from side-to-side as I move. It seems to occasionally loose a chunk, but the skin is still connected with a good blood supply (so I am told, based on the colour of it I described over the phone). It’s not quite certain what it is, but it’s basically superfluous tissue. This can hopefully be removed in the near future, as it does bleed from time to time, although the source of the blood (defiantly from there) is not clear. Dilating is possible, but the large one isn’t easy to get in, for both reasons.
The second issue is my left hand side (or your right, if you were looking at it) labia. Now, in order to give the patient a nice interactive experience later, all the nerves get bundled up in this part of the crotch, which is why some mild electro stimulation is rather pleasant. But, when there is too much on one side, it sticks out. Now, I was told it would all heal up, and to be honest, the majority of it has. This side needs a further tidy-up in due course, IMHO at least, because the nerves are so intense (because of the build-up of skin) that it makes doing anything with it (including pulling it back to check things are ok) a little too sensitive. Secondly, there is the look of it. In addition, depending on how ‘loose’ it is, it can sometimes hang over the urethra, which then deflects it when attempting to pee!
So, after this weekend, we’ll see what happens next, but otherwise the work has been done, and now I should be able to (in theory) continue for the rest of time (of course I’ve already explained that one, but never mind, you get the drift). The build quality is excellent, and the healing and pain levels have been much better than my expectation. Having a new vagina hasn’t turned me into a raving cock-crazed monster, but it’s given me new sense of what my body can do. It’s also given me a whole new world of maintenance, caring and related issues, but I can live with that. It’s part of me now, in more ways than one. Now, no matter what happens to me in life, it’s going to be under my terms. Well, not his. There is sometimes the fear of being unable to fend for yourself, and then being treated inappropriately – but it’s now well out the way! The new paperwork only backs up the body, which is almost finished to the point of satisfaction.
And once I get rid of that little ‘scarf’ bit, it’s going to be a bit more comfortable...
zoeimogen and anyone else in due course.(For the benefit of those of you fresh off the shuttle from Planet Anubis or wherever, I had gender reassignment surgery there on Tuesday 16th October 2007, and that’s why this is under a cut, not a cut into me… and it also explains the scissors in my icon for this post!)
The surgical site has healed very well, and I am told that it does look good. The scars are now invisible. Pain is slight (but sore when it is, stabbing inside), but less than I may have expected by this point. The hair has grown back, and that may well come off as per my usual preference, but not just yet. The stitching is now gone. Of course, there is also the matter of good sensations around the area, and while it’s all still taking it’s course, I’m happy with the way things are right now. Almost.
The two main issues with it – well, first one is most visible. It comes with a ‘scarf’ which seems to stick out the base, and snakes from side-to-side as I move. It seems to occasionally loose a chunk, but the skin is still connected with a good blood supply (so I am told, based on the colour of it I described over the phone). It’s not quite certain what it is, but it’s basically superfluous tissue. This can hopefully be removed in the near future, as it does bleed from time to time, although the source of the blood (defiantly from there) is not clear. Dilating is possible, but the large one isn’t easy to get in, for both reasons.
The second issue is my left hand side (or your right, if you were looking at it) labia. Now, in order to give the patient a nice interactive experience later, all the nerves get bundled up in this part of the crotch, which is why some mild electro stimulation is rather pleasant. But, when there is too much on one side, it sticks out. Now, I was told it would all heal up, and to be honest, the majority of it has. This side needs a further tidy-up in due course, IMHO at least, because the nerves are so intense (because of the build-up of skin) that it makes doing anything with it (including pulling it back to check things are ok) a little too sensitive. Secondly, there is the look of it. In addition, depending on how ‘loose’ it is, it can sometimes hang over the urethra, which then deflects it when attempting to pee!
So, after this weekend, we’ll see what happens next, but otherwise the work has been done, and now I should be able to (in theory) continue for the rest of time (of course I’ve already explained that one, but never mind, you get the drift). The build quality is excellent, and the healing and pain levels have been much better than my expectation. Having a new vagina hasn’t turned me into a raving cock-crazed monster, but it’s given me new sense of what my body can do. It’s also given me a whole new world of maintenance, caring and related issues, but I can live with that. It’s part of me now, in more ways than one. Now, no matter what happens to me in life, it’s going to be under my terms. Well, not his. There is sometimes the fear of being unable to fend for yourself, and then being treated inappropriately – but it’s now well out the way! The new paperwork only backs up the body, which is almost finished to the point of satisfaction.
And once I get rid of that little ‘scarf’ bit, it’s going to be a bit more comfortable...
