Vulvoplasty Journey And Experience
Vulvoplasty Journey
OK this blog post is mostly for those going through transition and looking for knowledge, tips, information, anything that might help them. This is not comprehensive. Rather it is a series of Notes, Things I remember, Things I want to share. Think of it as “In addition to everything else…. I thought these notes might be helpful” Also I wanted to get these thoughts down before I forget :). And finally I wanted to give thanks. Lots of Thanks.
Acknowledgements
The Hospital
I went through Legacy Good Samaritan Hospital System. And my experience was humbling. I am so beyond grateful for their support, help, and efforts.
The LGBT Gender Affirming Care Unit
Direct shout out to the LGBT Gender Affirming Care Unit at Good Sam. Thank All of you; from the person at the front desk who checked me in at my visits to the MA who helped me with questions and helped me along with my visits, to the staff member who helped me with forms, to the staff that responded to my emails and inquiries, all of of you!. WOW.. I am just humbled and Grateful. Thank you all (and High Fives). Thank you so much. I am Grateful to all of you.
So.....I recommend them 100%. Awesome sauce.
The Surgeon
My Surgeon was Dr Sineath, and I honestly love and trust him. I was so lucky to link up with him. He really saw me, listened to me, wanted to know about my life and goals and just cared about me as a person. And his skills. Next level, the Universe heard me and somehow we connected. I’m grateful.
The Day of Surgery Support
One thing I experienced during the day of surgery AND recovery at the hospital was being cared for continually by the staff.
Pre surgery Prep
To the Nurses checking me in getting me ready
bringing me back to the room, getting the IV in, making me comfortable, just listening to me and getting me ready, comfortable and feeling safe.
To the Anesthesiologist, I can see her face. Thank you for going back to talk to me and just tell me that she has me in her care and NOTHING NOTHING was going to go wrong in her care. WOW! Thank you. To the MA who also came and went. They made me feel safe.
The Surgeons apprentice - Thanks for meeting with me and just spending a few moments to talk about everything that was about to happen. And just checking in and making me feel safe.
The Surgeon: Dr Sineath came back and saw how I was doing, asking if I was ready. Checkpointing, Again, more awesomeness. I knew I was in good hands and my choice and instincts were good.
Surgery happened.
Time passes.
When I woke up I was on the sixth floor, Room 641. I believe. Just like any surgery it is lights out and then you wake up and it's all over.
So nothing to say about the surgery, other than it is a blink of time. Amazing stuff.
OK during my after stay for three days I experienced 24h a day care.
The Nurses work in shifts of I think 12 hours and I want to just say how hard these women work. How affirming they were to my care and gender, professional, trained and I’m grateful.
I met and was cared for by all ages and all ranges of career, a living breathing operation. One Mission; Care, nurturing and getting me to orbit, on my feet, and in my own bed at home. More Awesomeness. I’m grateful. AND….I want to share something. During recovery it was reconfirmed to me that Oregon has the strongest, most independent people!, I was lucky to have their care. My entire life I have been surrounded by strong, fiercely independent people. In the Military my friends (mostly women) I spent time and served with were Strong , and when I had time off or leave I hung with the women for all the reasons. I miss them. cause ya... I'm a woman too, they knew it... I knew it..., nobody said anything. Don't ask Don't tell applied in weird ways I think back then..
AND....I know strength when I see it. So to all the MA, Nurses, floor leaders, and Doctors who helped me the Week of May the 4th (be with you) 2026). Thank you. I hope you read this. You are all rock stars! You made me want to be a nurse.
Planning For the Surgery
ok this part is about how I did it. tips, thoughts, oh yas... and things that helped
Determination
Anything is possible but it may take time. Just work with the team, save your money, work the angles it may take you time, years even to get there but you can get there.
Gym/Fitness//Nutrition
I started taking fitness and nutrition seriously about a year before surgery. I wanted my body to NOT be the issue of getting surgery or its recovery. Do it! Get as Physically fit as you can.
Years before I was in BAD shape.
So.....I started by walking everyday. ya walking. I would see joggers going by me, I'd see them maybe 2 three times a week, some everyday. I walked EVERY SINGLE DAY. That is key consistent activity daily!!!!!.
Next I added in Gym, not 2 or 3 times a week for 2 hours. F that. go everyday. go for 30 minutes. Thats all it takes. break it into 2. 15 minutes cardio first. Then do weights. Some days do 5 minutes cardio, 25 minutes weights. Key here..... WEIGHTS and consistent visits. Then when it gets easy bump it to 45 minutes. some days... do an hour if you got it in ya. Push yourself.
Food. the rule is....GIGO. Garbage in, garbage out. try to each better. Get a calorie app and use it. I use 'Lose It' Set your goals and just do it. Don't expect results in a day. This is a marathon. Expect results in a month, then 6 months, then a year. Also learn to cook. honestly what an awesome skill to have, saves you money and you know whats in your food and you know your food is fresh. Do it!
Things to Get
The Hospital Staff will give you everything you need to take home
But the following I got and have used
Additional Peri Bottle with Angled Nozzle. GET THIS.
Grabber Sticks (you can’t bend over easily, these help, GET THESE)
Protein oriented foods - think recovery foods protein helps rebuild things.
Metamucil - USE IT!!!!!!! you want to poop without effort. Trust me. DO THIS.
Waffle seat
Bed Angled Wedge Pillow you will be in bed a lot. This helps you partially sit up.
Under the legs noodle (like a noodle but half cirle, get a big oone and a smaller one. I use the big one. I put it under my knees and it allows my legs to stay bent instead of straight flat hyper extended sticks. Super useful.
If you can afford it get a bed desk that can tilt. Amazon has them for 30 bucks. Else have pillows
- Puppy pads (for protecting bed from any accidental mess, blood, etc.
- Ya puppy training pads, cheaper, bigger and they IMO are better than the medical ones.
- Loose fitting clothing. I wore one set of plain loose comfortable clothing, no bra. Thats it.
Things I didn’t use
The Walker… not once. *milege may vary though” you might use it. Sigh.... I wish. had been firm and said no this this one. But at the time I was following guidance 100% anything them gave me I took.
The Day of Surgery
- The Surgery team will tell you everything prior to surgery day. FOLLOW instructions TO THE LETTER
- Some things I noted.
- No Jewelry
- I have ear piercings.
- So...I got non metal plugs for the holes. They sucked but they worked and kept the holes from closing.
- No eating for 12 hours before you show up
- No water hours before surgery (follow your instructions).
- Regarding a pre surgery bowel movement. (pooping concerns)
- a WEEK before surgery. I started planning my wake up earlier and earlier leading up to the day of surgery so I could have a bowel movement, way before my final shower. I knew I wouldn’t poop at the hospital so I wanted to be naturally be as empty as possible before I left.
- BTW. because of the 12+ hours of no eating. + first 24 hours after surgery. I didn’t really eat anything for about 36 hours. IMO that was a good thing.
- Coffee...try to stop drinking it a week before too. don't rely on it to help you poop. Large glasses of warm water has the safe effect IMO.
After Surgery - What they don’t tell you, My Experience
Pain
Expect some. Be Tough. Its bearable, just be real with the staff, they will ask you your pain level 0-to 10 come in with an idea of what that means to you. Like for me a 10 is, I'm screaming and crying in pain and a zero is I'm at home sleeping at peace. Most of my pain was always around a 2 to 6, with a spike at one point to about an 8 in the middle of the night, just once and it was when they were weaning me off the IV pain tap.
I was on multiple sources of pain meds, including an IV Tap thing. That was great BTW. haha More please.
If they offer Oxycodone - don’t do it ... .F that.This is my one piece of advice that I would die on a hill for if I had to do it again ... .For me it MADE ME Nauseous, queasy, and sick all day. This happened after I was removed from the IV Pain tap and was given 5mg oxy, then my pain was spiking in the middle of the night and they gave me another 5mg more which is where I went wrong haha. I should have just stuck with 5mg or none at all or maybe asked for Tylenol.
Oxycodone is an old school Opioid. AND too much of It in my experience of it will F your head up, and your stomach, and it will F UP your ABILITY to PEE. Doing research of my own on this..... Apparently it turns off the receptors in your bladder (and your head) that helps you control being able to pee. You are basically numb and it won’t work. So for all of this. Ask them to give you Tylenol or anything else. But skip oxy if you can or keep it at 5 mg. Yet.....I mean if you need it.... ya need it. Pain sucks. But for me it was a bad decision and made me Nauseous and queezy for a few hours.
Release Requirements
This is important!!! READ THIS
Day of.. I thought you just got released. NOPE!!!!! You have to pass tests. Let me go over each piece.
Are you strong enough?
You will get a little Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy.
You have to prove you can get up and walk and sit. The hospital needs to know generally you can move. Makes sense to me. This is where all that training you did will pay off. trust me.
The women OT, and PT were great, the OT was like a track Coach, there to help you but also push you. Haha. I liked it. Awesome stuff. Be ready for some drill sergeant type tough love. The PT also will push you and work on walking up stairs and that sort of thing. You have to be able to do this stuff. Thus… get physically fit before your surgery. Best Advice I can give.
You have to Pee on your own
OK this one is Tough.
They remove the catheter. Ya BTW during surgery they put in a catheter. NOT optional. Everything is swollen, bruised and you are sore as F. Yet you have to pass a Pee test. Because they have to know that you aren’t so off you can’t pee. Peeing is important and Not being able to Pee is dangerous because if you can’t pee it can cause injury to your bladder. THUS you must be able to pee on your own. If you can’t pee, no big deal, except they will put in another catheter and you go home with that for a while…. Its temporary but. You be aware. This is a thing.
I failed the pee test so they put back in the Catheter.
It's manageable but it depressed me cause I had no clue this was a thing I had to do. However...the up side is I think the catheter actually helped me heal better at home. weirdly. cause my pee was managed till it was removed.
If you go home with a catheter they will schedule a follow up to retest you. Second time you will likely pass I did with ease. I Wasn't swollen, My head wasn't F'd up from Oxy and I was motivated and stronger.
The Final Exit / Discharge - THE WAIT……WAIT….WAIT Some more.
Plan on whoever is getting you, to WAIT HOURS. Discharge is SLOW AS @#$@#$@.
Like if they say 1 pm, plan on leaving around 5 pm.
Make sure whoever is getting you knows they will be stuck in discharge purgatory for a while. It is just how this part works. Nothing rushed. It is Glacial. This is one area IMO the hospitals need to try to get better at. Because we all have lives, jobs, kids, there are traffic patterns. Like Discharge affects everyone. So to mitigate this one come with a plan that the day you do get discharged the people taking you home also need expectations set. I was lucky I was ignorant but my son and his fiancee knew better and were prepared. I am grateful.
Swelling and color or things
You will be a mess down there. DUH!! You just had MAJOR surgery.…to share…my parts are/were swollen and purple/brown, VERY bruised. Be ready for this. If you looked at pictures online you probably didn’t see the REAL Deal. And you will bleed for a few days. They will give you pads, use and replace them. They will give you a peri bottle. Use it….
There is more..but to be real.. Like I said this isn’t comprehensive, it's just things I want to share.
Edit: 8 days later... I am barely having any red in my pads, my sweelling is WAY down. I have lots of yellow and bruising around my waste. This is normal (is my understanding) as the body breaks down waste and repairs itself.
BUT use your medical support team!!!! any question, concern, don't be afraid to ask them
The more you know…
Support and Leaving Messages
Ok EPIC App (website and phone app) Is your life line, use it to get messages to your doctor and your surgery team. Period.
The Phone Systems are terrible…. They are a maze of press 1 if you x, press 2 if you y press 8 if you blah blah blah blah. AND when you make your choice you will likely get voice mail that tells you to hang up, dial the number again and select another number. Its F’d…IMO. Just beware it is a maze of doom. Def leave messages but ya… good luck finding the right place to leave messages.
Use your medical support team!!!! any question, concern, don't be afraid to ask them
Was the Hospital Perfect?
No, of course not. Let's be real, it's a business, people run it, people and processes are not perfect and let's be real patients are human bio machines and not perfect and some are difficult to work with I'm sure.. It's a dance of everyone doing the best we can. Many patients all needing care and many medical professionals trying to meet them. and we are all people.
My advice. Be grateful, be humble, and be patient. Be real about what you need and don't be afraid to ask for it. And be aware everyone is doing their best.
OK, that's it. That's all I got for ya. I am at home. I wrote this from home. I'm doing well… healing I’m on day 4 (Day zero being surgery day). Overall it went well and I’m grateful for all of it.
