Hi everyone,

This subreddit was so helpful for me when choosing surgery I dictated some of my thoughts and experience into a note and I hope this is helpful for others I will try to respond to messages as I can.

Day 1 - arrived at the hospital at 5:45 a.m., sat through some paperwork with financial planning. Following that was escorted up onto the second floor in the pack you where my partner was not allowed. This was during the coronavirus pandemic. We said our goodbyes and then I spent about an hour in the PACU as I met various nurses, changed into gowns, and met with the anesthesiology team, a surgical resident, and finally Bella herself. It was around winter and she had a fabulous Christmas sweater on. She was very kind and answered all questions I had. Soon after I met back with the nurses and I got off my cot and walked down to the OR. The OR was somewhat small and I was a little anxious because it looked dank. Also I was walking there. Luckily, the whole team was very friendly and I was ribbing them and making jokes back and forth. The surgical resident was particularly fun to joke with. Soon after they gave me some versed through an IV and I then popped a mask on and within about 20 seconds I was out. I woke back up in the PACU and didn't have any nausea or vomiting. They brought me back up to the 7th floor where I got a private room and had access to all my belongings. The hospital is pretty interesting and that it serves both outpatient and impatient care. The 7th floor is a sort of catch-all medical surgical unit. There was great view of the Empire State building and the Chrysler building and my boyfriend visited soon after around 4:00. According to my boyfriend, Bella called during surgery, when wrapping up, and he was assuaged by this, this was around 2:00 p.m. As of writing this I'm feeling good, maybe 3 out of 10 pain, and Bella informed my partner that the results were very symmetrical and deep. He is only able to visit from 4 - 6. We both had to wear a mask the entire time. I was pretty out of it as the night came. Went to sleep around 12 pm. Great day overall!

Day 2 - Woke up at around 6:40, I was sleeping intermittently throughout the night. I don't know how much I slept because I didn't have my sleep tracker watch on. Was only woken up a couple times for Heparin injections toradol. I still am in shock that I have I have vagina, etc. The nurses and PCAs have all been so nice. I ate breakfast around 7:00 and was able to eat the whole thing. The nurse unhooked my IV and everything was by mouth today. I then tried standing with the nurse's help around 9:00 and they told me I did well but I did get orthostatic and needed to lie back down. I did also experience some sharp pains near my rectum/perineal area. Lots of gas and a good amount of urine and blood draining. overall today was pretty uneventful except for the fact that I was able to get up and do what they called "a diva walk" which was just getting on my feet and staying on my feet. I was woken a couple times during the night to be given meds but overall I slept around 5 hours.

Day 3 - Woke up around 6:00. I slept about 5 hours. Still off my IV, constantly drinking cups of water. still have to wear a mask inside because of cornavirus even though I got in a negative test. The constant injections of toradol and Tylenol really helps to bring down inflammation stay pain free. It's still been difficult being without my boyfriend or any visitors but I've been talking on the phone a lot. I felt very good throughout the day, was able to stand up twice and use the restroom, with healthy bowel movements! I also continued to drink lots of water and binge some Netflix. Overall an easy day and was well prepared to be discharged the following day.

Day 4 - All is still good. Occasionally having some spikes of energy in the morning and been feeling more exhausted in the afternoon and evening. It is so important to pace yourself. So important. The attending give me the go ahead and leave today. The social worker met with me and ensured that there was a visiting nurse service that was in coordination with me. I had to speak with them to confirm. They will visit me tomorrow in my apartment. The nurses have been fabulous and well prepared for discharge and discharge teaching. I was discharged around 1:30 after the nurse taught me and my boyfriend had to empty the catheter and take care of the wound vac (which shouldn't need any maintenance or disposal). I was rolled out of my room and the hospital and was so excited to return back to my apartment. When I got back to the apartment it was pretty difficult to adjust. I would recommend having a grabber to help reach things, also the bed was not as comfortable because it's on a medical bed so I would advise getting something like a wedge or asking a visiting nurse for one. Make sure that you write your med sounds specifically or use a med app, I use Medisafe and that helped me remember meds. Having someone with you is also really helpful. I wasn't able to get to sleep till late and I would recommend having some sleep aides with you, like melatonin. I would also recommend having some chuck pads to put under you in case you accidentally use the restroom in the bed, and some wipes on hand. A thermometer and pulse ox would also be good if you want to be extra cautious.

Day 5 - today's recovery has generally been the same as yesterday. Perhaps a little easier. I bought a little tray to eat food off of in bed. I also spent the entire day on the couch instead of bed to change things up. I continued to drink lots of fluids and set up a visit with the visiting nurses tomorrow. I did watch some comedy, watch out, if you laugh too hard it can hurt near the incisions! Overall generally good day.

Day 6 and 7 - Recovery has generally been good, no real problems. I visited Dr. Avanessian for a weekly follow-up. She said everything was healing nicely and that I had good depth. I was taught to dilate during the appointment and overall it was not a difficult process, I just think a lot of anticipatory anxiety got to me. The worst part of it all was having the tape ripped off my skin, but they were so explanatory in this that I knew what was coming. Overall the pain was very temporary and the excitement and happiness of seeing my new vagina vastly outweighed any pain. I had a little anatomy lesson from Jim the physician assistant and then I was on my way!

Week 2 - Generally pretty nonchalant. I did have some bleeding here and there but overall I felt very good. I found it difficult to keep my steps down because I was so restless. I also like to have a beer every once in awhile so I tried out some non-alcoholic beers which was a fun little celebration. there was a lot of binge watching of Netflix and other movies. Occasionally there was a little bit of pain though that really went down with any pain meds. There is a big misconception out there that dilating can be painful. I was told by Dr Avenessian's staff that about 99% of people do not experience pain with dilation. I was one of those people. I actually found dilation to be a nice time for self care. I put on some music or podcast twice a day during this week and got to just experience my body. I cannot even put into words the normalcy of euphoria that I felt especially when beginning. It still hasn't felt like a chore at all. It just felt like time that I've got the carve out for myself and just be with myself. One thing to note, after dilating make sure you have a couple of towels underneath you and some paper towels or toilet paper near you because the combination of the lube and metronidazole with a little bit of blood can leak a bit. I generally would shower after this in the mornings just to make a routine of it. Damn did it feel good to shower.

Week 3 - Nothing hugely remarkable at week three I did have one small instance of bleeding when dilating but took care of that with some gauze. I eventually got to go home which was really nice.

Week 4 - Generally less pain. Feeling good overall. Dilating three times a day actually it's a great opportunity for some self-care and time alone.