Now it's My Turn!

[ZeuterMe (imported)]

Cold numbs pain and reduces inflammation. Heat increases circulation and accelerates healing. In sports medicine, you generally alternate the two every half hour (to grossly oversimplify things).

[monkey50 (imported)]

Cold numbs pain and reduces inflammation. Heat increases circulation and accelerates healing. In sports medicine, you generally alternate the two every half hour (to grossly oversimplify things).

Really interesting, thanks. Anyone have advice about when to switch from cold to heat, if at all? I still have swelling (and expect that for a while), but the warm streams of water from the shower running over it are next-level heavenly. I guess slapping a heating pad on it would just increase the swelling and make it worse....

[nvrgag44 (imported)]

I haven't posted in a few days because there wasn't anything unusual happening. I suppose that's a good thing but it would be nice if I healed faster. The swelling continues to slowly go down but I still have a rock hard mass in my reduced scrotum that doesn't appear to be getting any smaller. My first follow up appoinment is Thursday and I considered calling the doc this morning to ask him about it. But then I read Monkey 50's post from yesterday in his "Seeing Dr. Arnkoff" thread where he describes the same situation. I decided it will wait until Thursday. It doesn't hurt or feel warmer and I'm apparently not the first to experience this. The stitches seem to be dissolving too. Some are completely gone. I'm spending time in my shop but careful not to push it. If I stay on my feet too long I swell up pretty good. But if I lie down it's surprising how much the swelling goes down in a short time.

[nvrgag44 (imported)]

I had my two week post-op exam yesterday. The doc was pleased with the healing so far and doesn’t need to see me again until December. I was concerned with the hard lump inside my scrotum and jokingly asked him if he lost count during the surgery and left one in there. He explained that there is also a lot of skin like tissue inside the scrotum and he had to remove it also as part of the scrotal reduction. The hard mass is just scar tissue from the sutures he used to sew up the inside skin. It should begin to get softer and eventually disappear but might take a couple months. He asked if I was satisfied with the reduction. He seemed a little disappointed when I said it was OK but wouldn’t have minded if he took more. He said it should continue to shrink as the scar tissue disappears. The initial swelling is gone and my scrotum is quite smaller than it was. It feels about the size of a ping pong ball now.

The whole area is still somewhat tender and I take occasionally take Tylenol. I also feel well enough to resume normal activities including the lifting I need to do in my shop. I still wear the “granny panties” type of support they gave me at the time of surgery. It’s made from a stretchy fabric that’s comfortable but still provides the desired support. The doc said continuing to wear them would aid the healing.

He told me the lab report showed severe necrosis. I thought, “Thank you Everclear” but, of course said nothing. I still suspect he knows more than he reveals. He’s a young smart urologist who, like all good doctors constantly keeps up on the latest developments in his chosen field. I would think he’s well aware of the fact that there are guys out there who want to be eunuchs and take measures to damage their testicles.

We also talked about T replacement and he said it’s up to me. I told him I felt fine and hoped I wouldn’t need any. All things considered, I’m thrilled with the results so far and have to pinch myself every now and then to be sure that it’s not a dream. I really am a full-fledged eunuch!

[nvrgag44 (imported)]

My surgery was 3 weeks ago today. The incisions are still a bit tender but not bad enough for even Tylenol. The swelling has been gone for several days but the lump of scar tissue inside w

hat's left of my scrotum is still

very present and hard. It's gone down a bit but it's got a lot of catching up to do if it will be gone "in a couple months" as the doc said. I don't feel any external sutures so I assume they're all dissolved. Now the incisions have started to itch so I guess that means they're healing, a good thing.

At the post-op exam last week the doc told me to take two 600mg calcium tablets daily. My eunuch mentor told me he has been taking the same dosage of calcium for several years and his bone density tests always look excellent.

Still thrilled with being a eunuch and haven't experienced any bad side effects except for the occasional hot flash. I was getting them even before castration but I attribute that to very low T, mid 150s down to 60 in the few weeks prior to surgery. They were never very bad and it's interesting that they seem less frequent and milder since castration. Go figure!

Some of the side effects of low/no T were much more extreme while I was on Lupron in '06 as part of my prostate cancer treatment.

[monkey50 (imported)]

Great update, nvr, appreciate you writing that up. Sounds similar to where I am (aside from me still frustrated with slow healing wound that I opened up, I guess) in terms of swelling and comfort. Great point about the calcium, too. I think post-menopausal women are advised to push calcium and vitamin D to slow bone loss, so maybe something to read up on or integrate.

[nvrgag44 (imported)]

Yesterday was 4 weeks since surgery. The healing is slow but steady. The lump inside is a little smaller but it's still going to be a long time before it's completely gone. Swelling and bruising is history but the incisions are still quite tender. I use a little Neosporin a couple times a day as a precaution but I don't think there is any infection. I like the fact that my scrotum is noticeably smaller and is slowly getting even smaller as the lump inside shrinks.

Maybe it's because I had very low T before the surgery but I don't feel any different at all than I did prior to being castrated. My libido grew very weak in the months prior to castration as my T dropped and now it seems to be gone altogether. I tried wanking in the shower a couple times, formerly a favorite pastime, just to find out what would happen. Nothing, I may as well have been rubbing my hands together. I think I've experienced my last orgasm and I'm quite content about it.

I could have used a little "eunuch calm" yesterday. There are 2 large box stores close by. One is about 10 minutes closer than the other but isn't half as good as the other in terms of either selection or knowledgeable help. I needed a couple gallons of paint and figured that would be hard to screw up so went to the closer one. Mistake. After searching several minutes for a sales rep and slowly running out of patience a young girl tried unsuccessfully for a couple more minutes trying to put my selection in to the color computer. I finally left in frustration and did what I should have done in the first place, drive the extra 10 minutes to the other store. I was in and out in no time. Point is, I was a little surprised at how quickly I became frustrated and angry at the first store. I didn't make a scene and kept it inside for the most part but I did ask myself, "Where's the eunuch calm."

[unencumbered (imported)]

Point is, I was a little surprised at how quickly I became frustrated and angry at the first store. I didn't make a scene and kept it inside for the most part but I did ask myself, "Where's the eunuch calm."

Must be Home Depot you're referring to. They don't pay for qualified people and it shows. I've noticed the same attitude with me now. I get more emotional but it doesn't linger. If and when I get poor service from any retailer, I let them know about it then and there.

[monkey50 (imported)]

Thanks for the insights nvr. I think these sort of reflections are very interesting. I'm taking my injections of T, which basically amounts to normal erections/orgasms, with regular mood, and no testicles? (I'll write a healing progress update on my thread soon.) I've got a physical coming up in a few weeks and plan to include my doctor in my experiments with lowering or occasionally eliminating my test injections.

One quick note, maybe not your cup of tea... but after some experimentation and before I went back on testosterone 10 or so days ago, I had a very nice orgasm with anal/prostate stimulation and rubbing my (flaccid) penis. Didn't know I could do that! (Not wild about the anal stuff but nice to have the option.)

[nvrgag44 (imported)]

Must be Home Depot you're referring to. They don't pay for qualified people and it shows. I've noticed the same attitude with me now. I get more emotional but it doesn't linger. If and when I get poor service from any retailer, I let them know about it then and there.

My Mother had a lot of "Momisms", a term my sister and I affectionately use to refer to her words of wisdom. One of them was "If you can't say something nice about someone don't say anything at all." So I didn't identify the store that frustrated me. They're one of the big three box stores in our area and not all stores in a chain are always better or worse than the others. Maybe the HD in your area isn't very good but since you mentioned it, HD is actually the store I ended up buying the paint from. As far as complaining "then and there" I'm better off keeping quiet and avoiding the chance of making an ugly scene.