Dr. Arnkoff: My Experience

[DavidB (imported)]

Before I start: Again thanks for all of the support and good wishes.

Tugon suggested people might like to know how my experience with Dr. Arnkoff was so here goes.

I originally spoke with him on the phone and found him to be a bit short but professional.

I had no problem with schedueling the apointment and no advance payment was required. I just had to reconfirm the day before surgery.

I flew in to Detroit the day before and stayed at the Westin. I took cabs its about the same cost as renting a car, dont take the Metro-Cars they are almost twice as much as a regular cab. If you go online it might seem that the Westin is expensive, but if you call the hotel directly you get a much much cheaper rate.

Showed up at the office @ 12:55 for a 1:00. The office is clean and professional. And he was great. Friendly, direct, professional. We went through the forms and I paid the bill in advance. and off we went.

The procedure lasted about 45-50 minutes. excluding a little pinch when he injected the numbing agent I didnt feel a thing. I got a bit light headed half way through. (It was a bit warm in there) he put something on my finger and I was fine in 2 minutes. He played some hard core music during the procedure. And then it was over.

He left in 2 drains which i removed last night. They helped a lot in preventing swelling, but be warned they are drains and you need to have plenty of absorbant material at hand to catch the drainage

I went through a handful of hotel hand towels.

I also followed his and everyone's advice and used lots of ice. I ended up having very little discomfort expect for some constapation, but that comes to me when ever I use pain killers.

So 3 days later, feel fine, but a little tired, and some swelling which I was told to expect, going to lye low for 2 more days and see where to go from there.

Dave

Ps. No letters required.

[tugon (imported)]

I am sure many members looking for a safe way to become eunuchs will appreciate your sharing. One thin I am curious about, and too lazy to go back to the thread about the doctor, is he someone who will be in practice for a number more years? I know this is only an estimation but it would be nice if we had a doctor who is in his prime and new members could count on for a number of years.

Thanks for you post.

[zeebster (imported)]

Dave,

Thanks for the information on your experience, I thought I had this all figured out but you've mentioned a couple of things I've not seen before so a couple of questions if I might?

I think I've been following the experience reports with Dr. Arnkoff pretty closely, but yours is the first mention I've seen of him putting in drains. Seems like an excellent idea to help control the swelling but as you mentioned, you'll need some absorbant material above the dressing on the incision. A couple of hand towels? Beyond creating a biohazard for the hotel that seems like a lot and what did you do the next day while traveling? Seems like I've seen a report from a guy who used abdominal pads and a woman's control brief, said it worked better than the jockstrap, but even an abdominal pad wouldn't absorb what a hand towel would. Do you think disposable undergarments would do the trick?

It also makes me wonder about the next day and traveling. I've got about eight hours of sitting in airports and airplanes between the hotel checkout time and getting home, how did you handle that travel time with the drains?

Sorry if it's being too nosey, but some addtional information on those issues would be appreciated if you feel like answering them.

Thanks again,

Zeebster

[DavidB (imported)]

I am sure many members looking for a safe way to become eunuchs will appreciate your sharing. One thin I am curious about, and too lazy to go back to the thread about the doctor, is he someone who will be in practice for a number more years? I know this is only an estimation but it would be nice if we had a doctor who is in his prime and new members could count on for a number of years.

Thanks for you post.

He was healthy and in his early 60s so he seemed as if he has some time left but his wife is ill so who knows.

[DavidB (imported)]

Dave,

Thanks for the information on your experience, I thought I had this all figured out but you've mentioned a couple of things I've not seen before so a couple of questions if I might?

I think I've been following the experience reports with Dr. Arnkoff pretty closely, but yours is the first mention I've seen of him putting in drains. Seems like an excellent idea to help control the swelling but as you mentioned, you'll need some absorbant material above the dressing on the incision. A couple of hand towels? Beyond creating a biohazard for the hotel that seems like a lot and what did you do the next day while traveling? Seems like I've seen a report from a guy who used abdominal pads and a woman's control brief, said it worked better than the jockstrap, but even an abdominal pad wouldn't absorb what a hand towel would. Do you think disposable undergarments would do the trick?

It also makes me wonder about the next day and traveling. I've got about eight hours of sitting in airports and airplanes between the hotel checkout time and getting home, how did you handle that travel time with the drains?

Sorry if it's being too nosey, but some addtional information on those issues would be appreciated if you feel like answering them.

Thanks again,

Zeebster

Zeebster:

I didnt expect the drainage to be as much as it was, but the amount according to the Doctor was not abnormal, peoples milage varries. And as for the bio hazard i threw the towels out wrapped in a double garabage bag. I did wear an adult diaper from his office instead of the strap and as well since. Its great for absorbing the draingage and the additional seepage once the drains are removed. I was originally going to leave the day after the surgery but extended my stay for 2 days instead of 1. A wise idea if you ask me, I had 6 hours of travel time and wouldnt have been able to do it without a lot of discomfort

And you have to keep the area covered in anti-biotic cream,

Good luck with what ever you decide.

Dave

[zeebster (imported)]

Zeebster:

I didnt expect the drainage to be as much as it was, but the amount according to the Doctor was not abnormal, peoples milage varries. And as for the bio hazard i threw the towels out wrapped in a double garabage bag. I did wear an adult diaper from his office instead of the strap and as well since. Its great for absorbing the draingage and the additional seepage once the drains are removed. I was originally going to leave the day after the surgery but extended my stay for 2 days instead of 1. A wise idea if you ask me, I had 6 hours of travel time and wouldnt have been able to do it without a lot of discomfort

And you have to keep the area covered in anti-biotic cream,

Good luck with what ever you decide.

Dave

Dave,

Thanks for the additional information even though it wasn't what I wanted to hear.....

When I first spoke to him in September (this has been in the planning stages for some time for various reasons), he said I could leave the same afternoon if I wanted. I figured the next day would be better. The last e-mail I got indicated I should plan on three days and bring either a jockstrap or tight fitting underwear as others have mentioned. That was also the first time they'd said I should plan on three days.

Until your post, I'd never heard anything from the Doctor's office or anyone else about drains and the subsequent issues those might cause.

The disposable undergarments aren't an issue but the extra time could be quite expensive as I've got non-refundable airline tickets for Friday and Sunday.....

Guess I'll just have to play it by ear and see if I can pull off the original schedule and deal with it if I can't.

Thanks again for the extra information.

Zeebster

[slowone2 (imported)]

David

Thanks for all the good information and thanks to zeebster for asking the right questions. Sure looks like we may have the right Doctor to do whats needed. Best info I;ve see in a long time. But still like a lot of us on here it's time and money.

Bill

[DavidB (imported)]

Dave,

Thanks for the additional information even though it wasn't what I wanted to hear.....

When I first spoke to him in September (this has been in the planning stages for some time for various reasons), he said I could leave the same afternoon if I wanted. I figured the next day would be better. The last e-mail I got indicated I should plan on three days and bring either a jockstrap or tight fitting underwear as others have mentioned. That was also the first time they'd said I should plan on three days.

Until your post, I'd never heard anything from the Doctor's office or anyone else about drains and the subsequent issues those might cause.

The disposable undergarments aren't an issue but the extra time could be quite expensive as I've got non-refundable airline tickets for Friday and Sunday.....

Guess I'll just have to play it by ear and see if I can pull off the original schedule and deal with it if I can't.

Thanks again for the extra information.

Zeebster

As they say your milage may vary. I am very fortunate that I can work from anywhere as long as I have my laptop. So for me it was an easy choice. If I had to travel I could have, but for me it wasnt worth it. I also wasnt taking the max of the pain killer but if I was to travel I would have taken the full dose. But after traveling all day I would think you would need a day of rest after. I am also not sure if other people have had drains or not, but it sure seemed to make sense to me. After all that junk needs to go someplace. And although I did swell a little after the drains were removed I got nowhere need the grapefruit size that some people say has happened.

Best

Dave

[Losethem (imported)]

I also followed his and everyone's advice and used lots of ice. I ended up having very little discomfort expect for some constapation, but that comes to me when ever I use pain killers.

So 3 days later, feel fine, but a little tired, and some swelling which I was told to expect, going to lye low for 2 more days and see where to go from there.

Dave

Ps. No letters required.

Your experience with constipation is typical of most people who use pain killers, especially if they are using things like morphine, codeine, norco, or vicodin. Those pain killers are great at knocking down pain, but they have the side effect of slowing motility in your gastrointestinal tract. These pain killers depress everything (which is largely how they work) so if you experience and shortness of breath or somnolence you need to get in touch with your doctor.

When taking high powered pain killers you should probably take a stool softener and drink lots of water (unless you're on some sort of fluid restriction). This will help significantly with any constipation issues.

--LT

[playboy (imported)]

has anyone asked about a penectomy?