Discharged from the hospital! And it was uneventful until today which I’m not surprised at, Murphys law and all.
I’ve not taken any narcotics since waking up from PACU (I’m not a fan). So all of the below for pain etc is on acetaminophen (tylenol) only.
STAFF & EXPERIENCE
r DC is awesome and will be open about what is and isn’t possible.
However he doesn’t always say everything up front, I’m learning I just need to write down all my questions so I remember to ask. Him and the staff of nurses and techs were fantastic!
The ward they put you on is all LGBT so I got to see some peeps uno reversing the other direction (mtf) during my sporadic slow walks in the hall. Dr DC was going out of town before my discharge and came to chat with me before his flight to make sure everything was ok and to remind me I can always message him directly via the portal if I’m anxious about anything. Honestly, super sweet.
His resident, Roxy, seems kind and well intentioned but every interaction felt rushed like she was half there just trying to get to the next patient. There were things she mentioned that were just false (like home health having the dressing change supplies needed) and it seemed like she was newer into her residency. She couldn’t answer any of the discharge questions I had (do I need to irrigate, what about bathing rules, etc). She insisted the discharge nurse would know. Spoiler the nurse only knew what was on the paper that was exactly what they provided me before the surgery. So if anything is pressing I will message through the portal.
They automatically set me up for home health visits for the dressing changes, yay! And the coordinator for that was 10/10 amazing.
MY LEGS:For the most part they have both been fine. I have a high pain tolerance so that probably helps, also
my donor leg is numb from the nerve grafting. I’m hoping the numbness will subside after more use since it isn’t just the quad, but my whole knee and the inside of my calf/shin on my right leg. Every walk I can feel some sensations trying to tingle like walking up a limb that fell asleep. I just need to balance how much I’m trying to walk without pushing it too far and causing swelling. They told me 6 10min walks per day is a good start.
Donor leg was HELLA weak when they first cleared me to get vertical. I think this is a combo of the numbness and the graft site being tight. I’m a lifter and distance runner so my muscles were pretty decent before this. My STG leg was a little weak the first time walking but I assume that’s from the anesthesia and being bedridden for 3 days. That leg is basically fine now in terms of strength and mobility. The STG site tingles slightly but no pain. Only thing that was not fun was removal of the bandage the second time on the day of discharge because the xeroform had shifted (it was put on fairly haphazardly) and the gauze had become stuck to the hardened blood/scabs and she ended up ripping it all open when she redid the dressing
Getting the wound vac off day 4 was fine, I didn’t feel a thing. However I did notice that the hip and inner groin area ended up with some minor swelling after the vac was removed.
THE PEEN:Strong blood flow during every Doppler which surprised the surgeon since he said some of my tissue had really small capillaries).
I did a rough measure on day 4 and he was about 6” long and 5.25 girth at tip, 5.75 towards the middle and base. I’m sure he’s shifted around because it’s early days. My goal is between 5.5-6” length and 4.5-5.25 girth as ideal. But honestly he’s a happy healthy new member and I’m just so proud of him for making it through lol. Propping is already a chore, but
at least he has good blood flow.
He’s had moments of very minor erotic sensation towards the tip and some pressure sensation towards the base. I plan to start a chart now that I’m home.
UNDER THE PEEN:Y’all. Fuck me when I say I was cautiously optimistic it would be smooth sailing more/less. After my mid-day walk on day 4, I finally had to poop (I’m bladder shy and bedpans were not happening unfortunately). I over estimated how close I was to the toilet seat before releasing some of my support and I’m pretty sure I popped a stitch in my labia from the nerve hookup. The downstairs swelled 3x the already swollen size. It looks like I had scrotoplasty already (literally confused the resident at first). The surgeon said it should resolve on its own and I’m ok to ice it to help with swelling. It doesn’t hurt but is very awkward and uncomfortable for walking around. I’m trying not to overcompensate when I walk so I don’t fuck up my knee or hip which are already bad due to arthritis (yes an athlete with bad joints
).
I haven’t made the same mistake again and getting in/out of bed is already easier than it was just 2 days ago.
MENTALLY
I am SO happy. Even with the gross natal bits being a mangled mess (they’re leaving eventually anyway). Honestly I don’t do well sitting still so the bed rest was the hardest part so far. I’m sure that’s bound to change since I’m only day 5 post op. But being able to get up, even just to go to the bathroom is good stimulation for me.
My surgeon does glans at 4 weeks for ALT patients so I have that set for Aug 14. And during that he will have to finish my skin graft for my donor leg which is half STG half integra because I asked him not to touch my tattoo. We’ll see how that goes, but I’m not too worried yet.
, is a very good result 
. I would highly recommend him to anyone thinking it over!
but it’s Peterson so that could just be the Covid Xanny coma damage, I don’t know. 
