Seeing Dr Arnkoff next week

[nvrgag44 (imported)]

Thanks for the words of encouragement. Getting a typical case of pre-surgery jitters and "what ifs". I wish it were Friday morning right now and I'm happily posting the surgery went perfectly, I had a good night's sleep, no unusual pain, etc. I imagine many of you had similar thoughts prior to your own castration. (I've grown to love the sound of that word!)

[Losethem (imported)]

I had jitters pre-surgery for both things I did, though admittedly more before having my penis removed than my testicles. You're normal to have jitters, and once done you'll wonder why.

[InkedFutureNullo (imported)]

The pre-surgery jitters are totally normal. From my own experience, and talking with others, there seems to be an emotional pattern around voluntary surgical orchiectomy:

5-3 Days Prior to Surgery: Nervous, questioning, yet knowing beneath it all that it's the right choice.

3-1 Days Prior to Surgery: Suddenly the jitters go away, emotions calm, happy anticipation

Arriving at Hospital: Pleasant anticipation, everything becomes very "matter of fact"

Waking Up in Recovery: Satisfaction, happiness

Leaving the Hospital: "Wow---Look at those people with testicles----I'm finally not like them!"

1-7 Days After Surgery: "Holy Shit! What have I done???" Yet not regretting. Finality dawns.

5-14 Days After Surgery: "Holy Shit! I actually went through with it!" Happy, self-congratulatory, calm

Your mileage may vary, of course! Personally, I had dreams after my surgery that made it very clear that my unconscious was figuring out the "new normal." About a week after surgery, I had a whole night of "ball" themed dreams, and the symbolism was obvious (and humorous) as I woke up in the morning. Within another week, I had two nights of dreams centering on transition---all very positive, but clearly related to my having made a permanent physical change. From what I've seen/heard from others, the latter may really only show up for those who are having an orchiectomy in order to bring their body closer to their gender identity.

Best wishes for a successful surgery and easy healing!

[nvrgag44 (imported)]

LT & IFN: Thanks for reassuring me that the jitters are normal. Not as bad today as they were yesterday but I've been very busy today so I couldn't dwell on them. I know I'll be activity restricted with no heavy lifting for some time afterwards (2 weeks?) so I'm trying to get all that type of work done in my shop today and tomorrow. I plan on following the doctor's instructions closely. I don't want to do anything that will slow the healing process. I wonder if the stitches are self absorbing or do they have to be removed. I wonder how long I'll be all bandaged up. My penis is very short and I also wonder how I'll avoid peeing all over the bandage.

Monkey50, I'll try and post Friday morning. You probably have the same questions and jitters that I do.

[InkedFutureNullo (imported)]

(1) You'll likely be told to avoid lifting heavy items for 3-4 weeks.

(2) One of the best things you can do is spend the first two days resting with lots of ice.

(3) The other best thing you can do is to wear a snug support for several days, which helps minimize swelling and hematoma.

(4) The stitches will dissolve on their own, in 1-2 weeks.

(5) You will likely have very minimal dressing, which you'll remove the next day, when you can begin to shower. You may want to use a gauze pad for a few days though, as you may have minor seepage from the wound like i did.

(6) Buy one of those $10 plastic hand-held urinals, which you can hold up close to your penis when urinating. i have the same issue with penis length, and used it for most of a couple weeks, even after the dressing was gone, as there's swelling, etc. to deal with. It really came in handy.

Hope this helps!

[nvrgag44 (imported)]

(1) You'll likely be told to avoid lifting heavy items for 3-4 weeks.

(2) One of the best things you can do is spend the first two days resting with lots of ice.

(3) The other best thing you can do is to wear a snug support for several days, which helps minimize swelling and hematoma.

(4) The stitches will dissolve on their own, in 1-2 weeks.

(5) You will likely have very minimal dressing, which you'll remove the next day, when you can begin to shower. You may want to use a gauze pad for a few days though, as you may have minor seepage from the wound like i did.

(6) Buy one of those $10 plastic hand-held urinals, which you can hold up close to your penis when urinating. i have the same issue with penis length, and used it for most of a couple weeks, even after the dressing was gone, as there's swelling, etc. to deal with. It really came in handy.

Hope this helps!

IFN: thanks for the detailed response. 3 to 4 weeks with no heavy lifting is going to be tough. Those boxes of finished products, steel coils and bars range from 35 to 80 pounds. I work pretty much by myself and someone has to do it. The orders have strict due dates so it has to be done. I'll have to get some help because my proper healing will be Job 1.

I already plan on spending a lot of time in the Lazy Boy for the first couple days. I'm not even going in to my shop until after Labor Day. I know they'll put me in a jock strap after surgery. I'll probably use that for several days. I don't have any tight underwear. Showering and gauze pads won't be a problem.

I didn't think about the plastic urinals. Good idea. I think I even have one around here someplace. It's leftover from urethral surgery a couple years ago by the same doctor who will do the job tomorrow. Thanks again.

[monkey50 (imported)]

Three days before orchiectomy

Thanks to all for the updates and advice and nvr for your thoughts too. Will definitely appreciate your (positive!) updates on Friday. I'm all set for early Saturday 7 a.m., have confirmed with Dr. A. IFN and LoseThem, wow, thanks a lot! Great observations.

I don't have the same concerns as NVR re: activity, as I have a fairly sedentary office job and plenty of support from the office about taking some sick time to recover. I figure I can do some email but hope to get some rest around the house. I've got a selection of jock straps I'm taking with me to keep things comfortably snug, depending on how much swelling I've got going on.

I think I have all my details taken care of. I have a two hops for short flights into Detroit, a hotel, Dr. A's new address (he's moved into a big modern medical office building), and his recommended supplies which include neosporin and a few pairs of pull-up Depends. I'm going to chill (literally) in the hotel a little more than 24 hours after the procedure and then get on my flights back home. I have packed a few ziplocs so I can fill one with ice and discretely hold a bag of ice on my bag (haha) and keep that icing up.

I'm not TERRIBLY worried about pain but really don't want to know what's going on down there during the procedure (Dr. A does do this with general, if you want, but you have to go to the hospital and have a bigger bill with anesthesiologist). I've had a couple of genital piercings before in a period of time when I was sowing more wild oats, so I think I can manage a couple of small gauge injections. Hopefully Dr A doesn't narrate what he's doing. Happy to quiz him about what everything was like after I'm all sewn up, but I plan to take some sort of digital distraction as well as my Xanax. I may just take a tiny dose so I can still drive after, I did a test run of 0.25mg on Sunday and was sort of chill but completely coordinated. Otherwise, I could medicate myself pretty more heavily and get a ride with medical transport or something. Advice is welcome! Afterwards I gotta drive 12 minutes from the office to the pharmacy and then another 5 minutes back to the hotel. I'm going to bring an instant cold pack with me so I can start before I even leave...

Emotionally, I feel pretty good. Still nervous obviously but kind of settled, as IFN wrote. I remind myself that my close support is on board, including my GP, who understands I'm doing this for peace of mind. I read yesterday about someone who had a terrible orchiectomy experience with lots of scar tissue resulting, but then read he had it done by a cutter, and was relieved but have decided to limit my reading somewhat until after. Don't need those sudden bouts of worry. I plan to continue my even dosing of testosterone for at least a few weeks so I don't introduce new hormonal changes on top of physically healing up a wound, but I'm looking forward to tinkering with low/no dosing, or even experimenting with the other side, though I'm not really sure what the limitations and possibilities are around "trying estrogen for a few weeks." May be more of an all or nothing thing than I realize.

Had a hot bath last night, took a couple of reference pics of maximum hangage for future comparison. Is there a convenient way to include photos here or should I set that up with imgur or something similar?

Thanks for all the support, all!

[Paolo]

Post them to a photo hosting site like you mentioned, and share the link.

Please don't embed them with IMG codes, though.

[nvrgag44 (imported)]

Indeed, I'm all set for next Saturday (6 days). Best of luck with your's on Thursday! Looking forward to your good report, and hope your healing goes smoothly!

Mine went OK and I'm feeling pretty good. Best wishes for an uneventful visit with Dr. Arnkoff tomorrow. It will be interesting to read your post-op report.

[monkey50 (imported)]

Glad to hear your good report. Best wishes for good healing and thanks for taking the time to pop in and let us/me know it went okay. Will post a little update myself tomorrow!