#mention of surgery/medical

[gummybugg]

Happy Worldbuilding Wednesday!

In your world, what happens when people get sick/injured? What are the kinds of help they can hope for? Are there properly trained doctors or something similar?

Happy WBW, thanks for the ask!

(mild warning in tags)

You see, remember how in the last ask, I said I took inspiration from Real Life? It totally applies here, as well!

When your Average Citizen has an ouchie or a boo-boo in Crater City, they will generally take care of it themselves. Ambulence? What, do you want a police escort, too? The average citizen scoffs at those able to afford such luxuries. It is almost unheard of to get diagnosed and go into emergency surgery the same day.

Sitting in draft mode, collecting dust, is a scene in which I plan on explaining the Healthcare System in Crater City a bit more. Blair gets a toothache and must wait 6 months to fix it. "They said it looked like a termite made a home out my tooth," he says. He ends up pulling the decayed tooth out himself once the pain becomes unbearable (goodbye, permanent molar).

In another scene, we find out that there aren't really any reputable doctors or even therapists in Crater City, where Darcy tells Blair

"You just weren’t cut out for Neo-civilization. Maybe you could have been back then, when everyone still had doctors and insane asylums. But there’s none of that left."

The lack of Healthcare providers is mostly due to the staggering amount of citizens willing to go to/pay for college in a scary, post-apocalyptic setting where tomorrow is never promised. It's Very Dangerous in and out of the city border. Yet, Crater City is the most sought-after city in the country. A beacon of hope, some might say.

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Crater City Taglist:

@writeouswriter

@lyra-brie

[abbeyofcyn]

Krang infection 42

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[hemlock-dreams]

How do Peter's tattoos work? In a comic it talked about how if Logan got a tattoo it would only last a few hours, a day and a half tops, because of his healing factor it would fade really fast. So how long would your Peter's tattoos last? Does he just have to get them redone once and awhile?

The OG dosage of radioactive venom was via mixing it into ink and tattooing a spider onto his wrist, and his body accepts it without too much hassle. So if Peter wants his tattoos to stay, he's gotta make his own ink mix using a massive dose of his venom as a bonding agent.

Obviously the ink is crazy fucking toxic and cannot be handled by bare hands. Anything touching the ink has to also be disposed of.

The hardest part about getting tattoos for Peter is finding an artist who is alright with accepting weird under-the-counter ink and willing to use Peter's tattoo gun (when he had one) or be ok with throwing their gun away after finishing a session.

It also takes a few sessions, where the artist has to refresh the tattoo to get it to permanently stick. As you can imagine, getting tattoos are a luxury expense for Peter because the bill can run super high and the list of people willing to do the above + be good is a small ass pool.

Pictured here is the average tattoo artist for Peter:

[domina-honoribila]

My daughter cut her finger really badly and we're in the ER, please keep her in your prayers. She may have severed a tendon.

Her name is Maria.

Update: she needs surgery on Friday to repair the tendon. She's only 4.

Update Two: she will not need surgery! They think it will heal on its own. Thanks for the prayers!

[theotherhappyplace]

Surgery done and recovering now

Feeling a bit better already

Tmi but who cares I had to have a hysterectomy. So that's the big thing I'm trying to recover from. Thank you to everyone sending me such kind messages I can't respond to everyone individually because I'm very tired. But I read them all thank you thank you

[marzipanandminutiae]

many people know about the 1950s doctor who was obsessed with lobotomies (Dr. Walter Freeman)

fewer people know about the 1860s doctor who was obsessed with clitoridectomies, Isaac Baker Brown

he claimed the operation could cure pretty much all forms of mental illness in women- and then-undesirable behaviors that weren't mental illness at all, like masturbation. it's not known how many women and girls he mutilated, but some were teenagers on whom the procedure was performed without their (or their parents') knowledge or consent

Baker Brown cited a text by Hippocrates as support for this practice- a text which in fact concerned surgical removal of genital warts

he was kicked out of the Obstetrical Society of London in 1867 because of his lax approach to consent, but clitoridectomies remained in sporadic use as a mental health treatment in the US and UK until the mid-20th century. thank heaven they don't seem to have ever been commonplace exactly, but...one person subjected to this is one too many

(note: I use language exclusively referring to women here because, as far as we know, his victims were all what we'd now call cis women and girls. obviously not everyone with a clitoris is a woman, and not every woman has a clitoris)

[lgbtqwriting]

recently I had to get a major but non-urgent surgery done. here are some things I wouldn’t know - and as a result wouldn’t know to write about when working with a character in that position - unless I got to experience them firsthand

chances are you’ll have to get up early. like, really early. I had to leave the house by 5:30am so that I could be there by 6

most of the people in the waiting room with you will probably be older than you are, assuming you’re not in your 70s or 80s

surgery prep time (for you) will take at least half an hour. this mostly consists of you getting out of your clothes and into a hospital gown/pair of grippy socks as the nursing staff and surgical assistants periodically check in on you and get your information

depending on the length and intensity of your surgery, you may need to be intravenously hydrated. if this is the case, you’ll be asked to give a urine sample beforehand

from what I remember, hydrating IVs work a little differently than general anesthesia (for those of you who’ve had wisdom teeth removed or molars extracted while under anesthesia) — rather than wrapping a tourniquet around your arm and sticking the IV in your forearm near the inside of your elbow, they instead stick it in a vein on the back of your hand. for me, when the IV drip started to work, it felt like a cool buzzing sensation was thrumming through my hand and traveling up my arm; mildly unpleasant and hard to ignore, but bearable

if your doctors and specialists are nice, they’ll pay you a quick visit before the surgery to make sure you’re feeling okay. if they’re really nice, you’ll be given a sedative a few minutes before they take you into the operating room. for me, it felt like suddenly being submerged under water — I struggled to pay attention to what people were saying, and then it was lights out

a lot of hospital equipment is very mobile, from IVs to desks and computers. one of the few things that kept me distracted from my anxiety was how bewildered I felt at watching person after person roll up to my bed with an entire office setup, then roll away once they were content with the information I gave them

there are three well known reactions to anesthesia: you become loopy, emotional, or constantly fall asleep. but some people wake up from surgery fully lucid and in control of their faculties. after my dad’s colonoscopy, he felt so normal that he wanted to drive himself home. (I inherited that reaction, which is both a blessing and a curse)

and a little something extra for the hurt/comfort enjoyers —

when you finish the prep stage, you’re allowed to ask the nurses to invite one of the people you arrived with to sit with you and hold your hand until it’s time for surgery. this is typically the person they will give a bag of your things to hold onto during the procedure

that’s all I can really think of but I’m open to answering questions if anyone has them.

[whumpy-wyrms]

cannot stop thinking about how whumpy it must’ve been when i was given the anesthesia and passed out earlier. like even before the laughing gas i was SHAKING and TREMBLING in fear i fucking HATE needles. but i was also smiling the whole time because my fear response isn’t fight flight fawn or freeze it’s just. to laugh. for some reason. anyway after i got the laughing gas i was smiling and giggling even more and also shaking a lot more in both fear of what was gonna happen and also probably the laughing gas. they told me to take deep breaths which i did, still freaking out though. i started panicking even more when they put the IV in my arm, like wow that was horrifying i must’ve looked sooooo scared wooow.. so much fear.. (whumpers you know where to find me). anyway i eventually followed their advice and took deep breaths, knowing that it would make the laughing gas effect me quicker, but i did it anyway because its all i could do.

(more under the cut because i couldn’t shut up and this got long)

and guys. guys. THEN. then i started thinking about Anton and imagining i was his test subject and he was just doing an experiment on me and let me tell you. the way pure CALMNESS just WASHED over my entire body. like before i walked into the room i was like “anton save mee save me anton haha lol”. and then anton DID save me. in a way. but yeah i mean i KNEW that would happen because thinking about anton literally always calms me down anyway but i just thought that was funny lmao. woow

okay so then they injected me with the anesthesia. i don’t think i really felt it. then they put a rubber thing in my mouth to keep it wide open, and i was just thinking “haha wow they gagged me that’s gotta be one of my favorite whump tropes.” i just stared straight ahead (i couldn’t really turn my head anyway with the way the chair was set up), struggling hard to keep my eyes open, breathing really deeply, barely able to form a coherent thought.

i do NOT remember falling asleep. like one moment i was sitting there eyes wide and breathing heavily, staring at the doctors on either side of me, and the next i was like all woozy flopping around in the chair, head lolling to the side as the doctors were telling me to wake up. it was sort of a blur, i had NO idea what was going on at ALL. i remember slurring as i talked, telling the doctors i wanted to keep my wisdom teeth. they laughed and asked why and i just kept repeating that i wanted them to let me keep them (they did let me keep them! i’m gonna put them in a little jar like a mad scientist). then i kept asking for my phone and they gave it to me. they put me in a wheelchair to take me to the car because i could NOT walk, i was stumbling around, completely unable to stand or sit up straight, and when we got to the car i just flopped into the passenger seat like i was DIZZY. and i was also a bit nauseous. blood in my mouth and all that. oh i also had gauze in my mouth which definitely made talking a lot more difficult

so i really barely talked, i don’t think i said much else which i’m kinda happy for because i was high as FUCK and did not wanna ramble about a bunch of weird oc lore to my mom. i KNOW i would’ve talked about anton and/or silas nonstop. but i just went on my phone instead which is when i made all those posts from earlier LOL. those typos were genuinely not on purpose at all. i could not type. i’m being fully serious.

here’s a screenshot from my discord server of me attempting to type “holy shit i can’t type.” and as you can see, it was, well, TRUE

anyway yeah i just curled up in my seat on the car ride home, i wasn’t on my phone much because i was still really tired and it was hard to keep my eyes open and stay awake. the car seat was leaned back really far so i was laying down and could not see out of the car windows (but my eyes were closed so it didn’t really matter). but i just remember feeling every turn of the car and trying to guess where we were driving as if i was a whumpee who’d just been kidnapped and was trying to memorize the directions. as you can tell i knew this situation would be whumpy as fuck and didn’t hesitate to make a bunch of silly connections.

so then we got home and there’s not much else that happened. i just took a lot of pills and washed out my mouth and put more gauze in and then went to sleep. it didn’t hurt that much at all because of. the drugs and stuff. i slept for a long time and woke up feeling back to normal, in the way i wasn’t high af anymore. yeah so now my mouth kinda hurts but i have painkillers so it’s fine. i ate lasagna like 20 minutes ago. i’m probably not supposed to eat lasagna. i did it anyway (i took very very teeny tiny nibbles it was very basil core).

anyway that’s it i think! dunno why i wanted to share this whole experience but i thought it was kinda funny the way i kept finding whump in everything hahaha (like i said, my actual fear response is literally to LAUGH and GIGGLE at everything in fear. this needs to be used more in this community imo. and i think… i have a new oc for that actually…. teehee….. ominous.. very ominous dot dot dots…..)

but really this isn’t as bad as i thought it’d be. it’s gonna suck to eat a bunch of soft food and stuff but overall it’s not bad. at least for me. obviously this was only my experience and everyone’s will be different. i do kinda see the humor in everything whenever i’m in a bad or painful situation so that might also be why this is easier for me, idk! hope u all found this at least a little entertaining because i know i did haha

[sugaredoleander]

i say this with love. house fanfic writers, if you ever want me to beta something for medical accuracy, i'll fucking do it no questions asked

[ganondoodle]

so with echoes of wisdom .. i havent watched any of the trailers beyond the very first one and the thumbnails/screenshots and what others have said about it-

but with the world inside the rift being called "Welt des Nichts" aka "world of nothing/void" in german ('still' in english, for some reason) and demises title in french being "avatar of nothing" ... yeah my anxiety is shooting through the roof again

(hopefully you can be a little more forgiving for me being anxious/weird about it bc demise is my blorbo)

i had similar worries with totk, that werent proven true thankfully, but the darn book is making it all worse again with all those weird lore things the game doesnt even so much as hint at AND potential retcons- im in for a really rough time huh, not just stress in real life (more in tags.. its alot) but now about my specific hyperfixation from two things even (AND artblock still..)

weird as it may sound, i dont want demise to get more lore, partly bc i dont believe theyd do anything with him that i would like (given their track record) but much more importantly- the fact that he has this little lore about him is precisely one of the reasons why i fell in love with him, i tend to like characters that are neglected by the narrative, and his story being both so flat and already done meant i can be very creative with what i come up with for him without necessarily contradicting anything in canon (which is ... or was a big point of how i wrote destiny's story and lore, working with canon in a way that reframes it all without straight up ignoring it ... but i suppose i urgently need to let go of that and accept i spend alot of time working things that will go to waste :( ) AND not having to worry that there will be more stuff with him that would massively change not only what im writing but also potentially how i feel about him since the game he was briefly in was the oldest chronologically and ended with his death- i didnt expect them to mess with anything that far back and thought theyd just go forward and leave the timeline behind and wouldnt mess with it again, given how botw seemed to be a sort of 'fresh start' that seemingly regarded the past as the past that needs to rest and that the timeline was finally no longer a discussion if everythings unified through botw and one thing going forward

but i suppose i was very wrong with that .__.

right now the only thing that motivates me still is the left over determination and spite to work on my zelda comic, since i have never gotten this far and really want to get something done for once, but i cant lie that im feeling like i should pause all work on it too to wait and see waht the book and the new game will do .. either to determine if i still have the will to keep working on it after those things are out (my love for tloz has been taking alot of hits lately ..) or if i have to change stuff (mostly bc of my lore problem trying to not ignore it ..)

[prideblades]

Heads up that I may be going on a semi hiatus. My rabbit took a really bad fall over the weekend and may be undergoing an amputation of one of his legs because it's so badly shattered. This means helping him recover and adjust to life as a lil tripod as well as setting up his pen to be friendly to his new found disability. So I'll probably be tending to him more. So if I'm not around as often this is why. I gotta make sure he gets better so he can go back to terrorizing me with his grunts of displeasure when dinner is a second late.

[cloudcastor]

I had a minor surgery/procedure today I was super nervous about but everything went well!!! everyone was so attentive and nice, it made the experience an absolute breeze and I felt really comfortable and reassured ;;_;; couldn't ask for a better care team!!!

just got a couple days of healing ahead but super blown away...just had to share it out into the world!!! the care team even wrote me a handwritten note and added it in to my stuff ;;_;;

there has been A LOT of personal stuff going on the last couple months but finally getting to chip away at stuff, and getting medical providers that are helping eith the burden... I'm extremely lucky and thankful to have that experience !!!! can’t wait to get back to art…. can’t wait to hopefully feel some kind of relief soon!

[lightasthesun]

im in the pits of despair. I have my neurologist appointment tomorrow to discuss my latest mri and as always before a major doctor's appointment I'm spiraling through worst case scenarios, especially because of the latest additions to my symptoms. And it hit me that if my neurologist found what I'm suspecting they will find and I'd end up needing major brain surgery sooner than expected I'd have nobody sitting at my bedside in the hospital. And I don't think I've ever been so sad in my entire life.

[jinxed-ninjago]

Jay, sending the group chat a picture of him in a hospital bed: omw to the operating room wish me luck lmao

Kai, Cole, Zane, Lloyd, and Nya simultaneously: wait WHAT

*12 hours later*

Jay, texting the group chat: man let me tell ya having your appendix rupture fuckin SUCKS

[answersfromzestual]

Phalloplasty and Urethra Lengthening (aka Urethraplasty) Procedure - Personal Article

***Make sure you come home with antibiotics***

Definition of a catheter: A catheter is a tube that is inserted into your bladder, allowing urine (wee) to drain freely. The catheter tube is attached to a drainage bag (a catheter bag), where the urine can be collected.

How a catheter works: Catheters are usually inserted through the urethra (the narrow tube that connects your bladder to the outside). The catheter is kept in place by a ball filled with saline that sits against your bladder wall. This can cause bladder spams.

What is the Procedure?

After phase one, Phalloplasty, a skin-tube urethra (created and placed during the first phase of phalloplasty). After phase one (a minimum of six months between procedures is a common healing period) they make an incision in your scrotum and connect the urethra in the phallis is connected to your original (but lengthened) urethra. It is a short procedure. After the procedure you will have a catheter inserted and you will have it outside of the hospital from two to six weeks (time varies from clinic to clinic). Where it will most likely be removed by your primary health care provider. The catheter is used to protect the new urinary tract as it heals post- operation.

Wearing boxers and loose underwear can help you feel more comfortable while the catheter is in. While more tight underwear such as boxer briefs and briefs are better for after your healing period to help keep your phallis from creating a potentially unwanted bulge in your thigh of your pants.

Findings and Advice:

Bladder spams can be an irritating and annoying type of pain, more annoying than painful. They come and go randomly, but they are something to be aware of.

I was in surgery for about an hour and a half for this particular part. Then, about the same amount of time in the OR (Operating Room) care unit. When I was in there, they offered to let me go as soon as I was wide awake and completely responsive. I received a [intramuscular] shot of morphine. I have a habit of getting sick (vomiting) if I get the entire dose at one time. So I informed the nurse that I get extremely neausous with the full amount of morphine and I was told to do it in two doses. The nurses were nice, they did what I asked. They gave me half then about 20 minutes later gave me the other half. Since I had to take the pain medication, I had to stay an extra 45 minutes. Where as if you don't need anything for pain you can go back to your room after a few minor "tests" of your body and mind.

I know you want to get out of that room, but take your time and rest. Take the pain medication if you need it.

Do not let your pain get over a 7/10 on the pain scale. Once you get to 7,8, or above, you can have a hard time getting comfortable.

Do not try to tough out the pain at any stage. If you are in pain, let a medical professional know.

Ask your surgeon any and all questions you have. They talk to you for a reason. They want you to be informed and heal properly.

Try to have someone who can be around a lot to look after you for a few days after the procedure.

You may have a wound between your phallis shaft and your scrotum. That is where they went in to connect the new and preexisting urethra. (At least for me)

Watch for signs of infection, and if you are concerned, go to the Emergency Room, call your clinic, or whoever provides you Healthcare. (red, irritation, heat, puss, a bad smell, ect.)

If you are leaking from your catheter, speak to a health care professional. Leakage can be a problem if the catheter isn't placed right. Catheter Info

The type of catheter they most likely will use is called: Long-term indwelling catheter: The catheter is passed through the urethra and left in place. This time can range from two to six weeks before it may removed. Surgerons times may vary, average I see is about three weeks. Mine, they wanted six weeks.

WASH YOUR HANDS ALWAYS AS IF YOU HELPED YOUR FRIEND DISPOSE OF A DEAD BODY!!!

The catheter can be in from two to six weeks. This is a long time with a catheter, so be prepared mentally.

You will need some extra catheter bags, hand sanitizer (multiple bottles), medical tape (something easy on your skin), non-scented body wash, some antibacterial wipes, a plastic leg covering from a medical supply store (if required), ice packs, boxers (plain, loose fitting boxers while you have the catheter in) maybe something to put to protect your mattress if you want to, big comfortable sweatpants (get or have at least five pairs to rotate through), a number to your clinic, all of your medications given and taken as instructed, make sure you get antibiotics!

Dripping after you are healed is normal for even cis men (usually its only a few drops)

I drip if I don't shake enough or take my time

How to reduce leakage, dribbling, and general mess:

After passing urine, wait for a few seconds to allow the bladder to empty

Place the fingertips of your hand on your mid taint, behind the scrotum and apply gentle pressure also slight pushing of your pelvic mucles may help

Keeping the pressure in the mid line, gently but positively draw the fingers forwards towards the base of the penis under the scrotum

This pushes the urine forward into the penile urethra from where it can be emptied by shaking or squeezing in the usual way

Before leaving the toilet, repeat the technique twice to ensure that the urethra is completely empty. Source

I do the last step at least three times. I also take time between the three attempts. I will let my penis rest with gravity, I do a slight push, then I can almost feel if anything is left or not. Always do a couple security shakes.

Pro-tip when urinating standing, use the pocket in your underwear, try not to pull your phallis over your waistband (usually you pull your boxer wistband down and flop your phallis over. This is okay to do by all means, but it does work against gravity and makes it more difficult to completely empty. So my recommendation is to use the pocket in your boxers. Just undo your zipper and button (or if you have sweats or something you have to pull them down, but make sure the waistband doesn't touch your shaft or even try to hold it lower than your scrotum. I kind of use my remaining fingers to block my waistband from touching me in sweats or something without buttons or zippers

It gets easier to pee if/ when your pump is implanted. Since you are always slightly pumped (most models of pumps require a pump at all times (min) ask your doctor about your oumping situation, the booklet clinics tend to give out dont always give you all you need to know), there is enough rigidity (hardness/stiffness) to keep your urethra more straight). I found my penile implant really helped with my urination and being able to completely empty my bladder. It also allows urine to flow more freely when I do urinate. This isn't to say before your pump you will have issues, more you have to support your phallis as you urinate a lot more to keep that tract straight. If you get penile implants, for example, you can pee with no hands. If you do with no implant, you may pee on yourself because there is no rigidity, but I'm sure there is someone out there who can and more who will be able to. Like I said, all of our bodies are different

Gravity is your friend

No sex (even anal) of any kind for usually at least 6-8 weeks

Try to relax

I can feel awkward peeing in a urinal with someone next to me because I shake more than I feel is socially typical. Comfort is a big factor in peeing in general. I have anxiety about going to the bathroom in public, I usually use a stall if I can. It's not a big deal.

You can still get pleasure and have orgasms in this state. I do not recommend trying to do penetrative sex, but this is a good question to ask your doctor

I had a lot more sensation after I was healed.

I find that it's easier to wear underwear that is more supportive, eg., Boxer briefs, briefs, pocket underwear. You don't shrink a lot when you're not erect, so you have more to tuck away than the average cis man. I find boxers and loose fitting underwear can cause an unwanted bulge in one inner thigh or the other when wearing especially sweatpants and jeans.

Wearing the above kind of underwear can reduce mess after your catheter is removed and drippage as you learn as well. You're probably gunna pee down your leg as you learn.

Carry a extra pair of underwear with you when you go somewhere, before your catheteris removed as well. If you are learning and you make a mess, you can have a clean pair of underwear to put on. It's not fun sitting in pee soaked underwear...

Wear dark pants at first (hides if you have an accident)

There is a huge learning curve, you don't expect it, but it's not as easy as it seems to hit the target when you stand to pee, and learning to be patient and effective at emptying your bladder.

It is ABSOLUTELY NORMAL TO URINATE SITTING DOWN!!! I did a small survey in a Facebook group for males (i was actually impressed it had over 200 votes, plus over 100 comments in total). Many comments and votes say it's perfectly fine to sit peeing and many people have different reasons. Mine is I want to play on my phone, plus sometimes my feet are tired... It's normal to sit.

Be careful with your urine bags and always ALWAYS have extra urine bags ON HAND/ AT YOUR CURRENT LOCATION!!! And no a plastic ziplock baggie will not do. Trust me.

Have tons of hand sanitizer around the house and bathroom, antibacterial soap, unscented soap (for your body), and make sure that you keep your hands and valve on your catheter always sanitized.

If you feel pain in your member or bladder or anywhere inbetween, go to the Emergency Room, if you feel hot go to the E.R right away. Better to be safe than sorry.

Keep hand sanitizer literally on the back of toilet so it is convenient.

Even with the catheter in, you feel the urge to urinate. I found that I could ease the feeling for a bit if I "urinated" in my usual position (I found sitting to be most comfortable)

You are going to be very tender and sore

Swelling will go down

Make sure you stay clean and dry. Especially where your wound is.

The doctor who does a lot of the work during this phase of surgery is called a urologist. So research them as well as your surgeon. You want every member of the team of your entire procedure to be great at what they do.

Do not try to remove the catheter yourself. You will not be successful. If you are having issues go to the Emergency Room, clinic, or whoever provides proper health care to you.

Do not take any chances with infection. Hands clean, valve sterilized and closed, urine bag attached properly and tightly.

Wait to shower until you are instructed to.

Try to shower as often as they tell/let you. You want to stay clean to avoid infection. Of course you also don't want to overdo it.

Showering with a catheter is a challenge. I found that the plastic covers made for covering wounds/bandages/ etc. Depending on what your surgeon says, you may not have to cover your catheter bag at all. Be sure you ask your clinic!

When you are showering, be super mindful you have a catheter. Any tugging or too much movement can hurt and possibly affect your healing. So be gentle. Also, be careful when washing the tip of your phallis at this stage.

Dry your wound/ pubic area by patting dry and not wiping. Be gentle.

During my showers, I would use medical tape to kind of keep everything (tubing) in one place.

Your catheter may not come with anything to hold it onto your leg. While catheters i noticed usually come with a soft elastic band with snaps that you'd tie to your leg. If you dont recieve that in the clinic, ask a nurse if they can give you some dressing mesh and ask if they can teach you how to make a pocket you can tie to your ankle (that's what I did, the elastic band would slide down my leg). There may be other options for holding your catheter. I do not recommend anything that would cut off blood flow to your leg and/or something that restricts or affects the functionality of your catheter.

Be mindful of your catheter at all times.

If you are going insane with the feeling of having to urinate, try looking at your unit and tell yourself "I don't need to pee, I'm fine. I will not mess myself". It especially helps when I would sit on the toilet as I did this.

Shave your inner legs if you have to, because you will want to tape the tube to your leg, at least in the shower. This helps so you don't pull/tug it. Trust me again. Pulling/ tugging on it even slightly by accident is not a good time.

Always double check to make sure your valve is closed, leaving it open is a welcoming hall for viruses and bacteria directly into your bladder

I know that catheter is going to drive you mad, DO NOT TUG ON IT!!! I tugged (because it was making me not comfortable), and it actually moved the catheter out of place. This caused me to be urinating directly through my new urethra before it could have been ready. It was actually really painful (burning). So please do not tug, go see your medical professional if you are feeling very irritated and/or uncomfortable. Sometimes, the [catheter] line needs to be "flushed" (flushed: when they "rinse out" the catheter system with saline water).

Take your meds as instructed, especially your antibiotics. If you have to take meds at certain times or time intervals, set alarms, tell someone. For many antibiotics, timing matters and is a huge factor in how well they function

Do you feel yourself pee when you are completely healed? - Yes, I can feel it, especially when it's been cold outside

Do you feel yourself pee with a catheter before the swelling goes down? - For me? No, your bag just fills up. But contrary to what I always think (everytime i have a catheter think "i dont have to get up to pee for awhile, niiiice", im always wrong), it does make you uncomfortable as in feeling like you have to urinate constantly. That's a lot thanks to the bladder spasms.

Here are the sources I used:

https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/catheter-problems

https://cranects.com/urethral-lengthening/

I will post my story another day. I want this information to be heard and sink in first.

If you have any questions, or concerns please feel free to send an ask or email.

If you'd like anything added, or you have questions about this. Also feel free to contact me.

Stay Golden Everyone ✌️ 💙 💜

[jokerislandgirl32]

It’s Over, Kinda…

I had my eyes dilated the first time this year…I remember how much I hate it now lol. And I got tear duct plugs put in angain. In general it’s not a pleasant experience. I’m highly allergic to the dilation and numbing drops needed, so now I’m a puffy, red-eyed looking raccoon 😂. I had to sleep for 6 hours to get over the worst of it.

But! I am finally post op!!! With this dilation, my eye surgeries are officially closed!!! Now it’s just maintenance: drops, ointments, and tear duct plugs for potential the rest of my life. But it’s worth it. I’m not in pain, I’m not blind, I’m able to see, I’m able to work, and I’m able to sleep without waking up screaming from unbearable pain. I’m not having to go to the doctor three times a week with my parents having to lead me around like a dog.

And for this I am so thankful. God truly healed me, He gave me the best doctor, and I’m so grateful.