Howdy from Michigan

[waj1993]

^thanks, Wheely. With the swelling its hard enough to fish it out and (graphic content alert) depress the barrel down enough when in a sitting position to not end up making a mess. Standing involves a bit more fidgeting to coax it out.

[WheelyFixed]

Well it should get better over the next few days as the swelling goes down... Quite aside from the fact that they are prescription and therefore somewhat hard to come by, I wouldn't suggest trying catheters - it's not a fun solution....

WheelyFixed

[Evolve]

Congratulations!!! I'm SO happy for you.

And right now I'm so happy for pain meds and ice packs.

Before you know it, you'll be off both, but in the meantime, they are your best friends!

[waj1993]

Swelling seems to be on the decline, coloration improved. I've used Muralax to keep things flowing smoothly through the intestines so i dont feel the need to strain (probably paranoid overkill, but I've dealt with those issues before and no thank you).

Followup in a few days with the Dr and just for poops and giggles I'm taking a testosterone blood test to see what the levels are (I'm a data driven person, so I need data...) those take about a week to get back.

[WheelyFixed]

Sounds about right in terms of swelling and such, it takes a while to go away completely, but should get a lot better over the next few days. I'd say 80-90% was gone by two weeks after...

I guess it's an advantage of getting my care at a major hospital, I see most test results showing up in the patient gateway within a couple of hours, or by the next day. About the only things that take longer are stuff like urine culture & sensitivity where they have to wait for the bugs to grow out...

They still give me regular T & E level tests, even though I haven't had detectable T since a month after my first Lupron shot. (and get the results in a couple of hours)

What are you planning for hormone replacement, if anything?

In addition to the T level test, I'd STRONGLY advise getting a DEXA (bone density) scan to get a baseline, and plan (insist) on repeat scans for monitoring as often as your insurance will allow, especially if not doing HRT, or only 'low-dose' levels. If I had to pick one of the biggest health risks of getting castrated and not doing HRT, it's bone-health, as it has no visible symptoms until you start getting fractures... Even with HRT, monitoring is important as any significant declines can signal a need for dose adjustments.

WheelyFixed

[Adam661]

Go to Dr. Arnkoff in Michigan.

[waj1993]

Go to Dr. Arnkoff in Michigan.

Ahem:...

Today was the day. I know i haven't followed up in awhile on this, but had my consultation earlier this week, and today went in. No pain yet, but back at home keeping the cat away from my lap will be a challenge for a few.

Followup visit tomorrow.

I just made it under the wire, as Dr is retiring today from his office practice, I was his last patient (in Michigan). I understand he'll be working in a warmer climate state in some other capacity.

Sweat pants are my best friend right now, and i can tell there is a bit of swelling.

Fwiw: still swollen, but very mobile. Just keeping it chill as much as possible until swelling is gone. It's really tough to assess things while eveything is still swollen. Had a follow-up and everything is progressing fine.