Surgery

Hi 

Im very sorry you’re going through this. You have my sympathy- at the end of January I had half my vulva (including my clitoris and part of my vagina) removed and skin grafted. It’s a pretty brutal experience, isn’t it?

It does take a while to heal - my surgeon said 6 weeks to 3 months. I still get a bit of discomfort now but it’s not too bad.

 In the early days I kept myself fully dosed up on paracetamol and ibuprofen, but if that’s not enough for you please speak to your doctor to see if you can get something stronger.

It’s also worth seeing if you can get referred to women’s physio services (they can advise on regaining sexual function as well as the stuff that you’d expect a physio to do!) and think about some counselling.

You’ve probably thought about all this, I just thought I’d share what has helped me.

Please shout if you have any questions x

On a less practical level, the morning I went into hospital I picked up a poetry book called “poems to get you through the  worst times” and discovered that I’d put a bookmark on this poem a few years ago. I found it very comforting x

Hi Sarah, just a line to say thank you for sharing the lovely poem with us. Hope you are doing ok wishing you well     Jaunty

Hi Dawspen, so sorry to hear you are in a lot of pain it must be so very difficult for you. I am sure in a while all will heal and you will be as active as before. Sending you serenity, patience and hope.               Jaunty