nvrgag44 (imported) wrote: Tue Sep 08, 2015 9:44 am
Hey! Monkey50! How's it going? You must be back home by now. I give you points for grit. I wouldn't want to deal with air travel right now. I'm content in my recliner with my laptop & TV remote. We both had double orchies 2 days apart with some notable differences, doctors, local vs. general anesthesia & our ages, you're about 45, I'm 71. It will be interesting to compare our healing progress as time goes on.
Well, on reflection, if I had to do it over, I wouldn't have come home as quickly. I'm happy to be home but the short flights with one brief layover was very frustrating. I kept a stealth baggie of ice on my groin pretty well but it's just too much moving around and the regular minor frustrations of flying really hit home when you're in this state!
I've stopped taking the hydrocodone. It really does a number on me... seemed to help with pain a bit of course, but nausea, constipation, trouble urinating... not worth it. Extra strength tylenol and ice and rest is the best bet. Already feeling a little more lively when I don't have to deal with the drug issue.
Have a few weird moments where a thought pops up into my head about if this was real or not! I am fairly good about separating doubts that pop up during the depths of not feeling well, and as soon as I got clear of the side effects of my pain medicine my spirits improved. The scrotum itself is sore when touched or prodded, so I'm careful there but we're all used to not knocking it around too much. My soreness is more in the lower ab/pubic region. Feels tight and swollen inside, which I guess is the swelling of the spermatic cords. When I stand up and start walking I'm a little pitched forward, like I've just been kicked in the nuts or if you've ever felt the ULTRA SWOLLEN sensation of holding your pee way longer than you should have, that's pretty much the feeling. Not tragically bad, but laying down or stretching out on the couch is heavenly. As I approach 36 hours post surgery, I feel like I'm approaching a little turn in healing. Tentatively starting to feel a bit better. Scrotum certainly still feels full of stuff, though is shaped differently than before. The swelling overall is odd and lumpy, but I seem to have avoided any massive hematoma or a hugely swollen scrotum, so that's positive!
Emotionally, kind of tired of thinking about it to be honest, but it's still exciting. I look at this change as giving me options. If I want to be manly and sexual, I can take a good regular dose of test. If I don't, I can back off a bit. It also feels like some pressure is off of me: not that I've ever been pressured into sex or felt that directly (I'm not even that sexually active with my spouse -- we're down to a few times a year, though she's a wonderful wife), being castrated sort of removes that sense that I better go have sex or there's something wrong with my relationship if I don't go service my spouse. I'm looking forward to doing some sexual things with her that don't involve me having an erection. All new, good territory.
Roughly 48 hours after orchiectomy:
http://imgur.com/sF8evZf