Great Decision for Me!

I have hated the way my lady bits looked since I was a teenager. This has always affected my confidence in intimate situations and sometimes made sex painful. I was also very self conscious in a bathing suit or yoga pants. I only really heard of labiaplasty as an option about 5 years ago and when I mentioned it to a couple of my best friends, they thought I was nuts! I started reading reviews of the procedure online and it was both encouraging and terrifying! I read some horror stories of people being disfigured, having horrible chronic pain or losing sensation in the clitoral area. But then there were many women who were really happy with the results and wondered why they hadn't done it sooner! I went to see 4 different surgeons before deciding on booking my surgery with Dr. Swift. I have had other things done (injections and liposuction) but I have to say that I have never been as nervous about anything as I was for this surgery. He did the surgery under local anesthesia and gave me a little sedative to help me relax. I didn't feel a thing and it was over in no time. For me, the recover wasn't bad at all - I didn't have really bad swelling or pain and it didn't burn when I peed. Other than Tylenol on the first day I didn't take any pain medication. I even went bowling with my nephews 3 days later (although I would not recommend that. In hindsight, I could have split a stitch and that would have caused significant bleeding!) They tell you not to look at it too much and I understand why - it looked like I sat on a meat grinder! It looked way worse than it felt and I started to worry that I made a bad decision. But then I remembered all of the reviews that I read that said that the swelling can cause it to look uneven and to be patient for the result. I had to wear a pad for the first 2 weeks because I constantly had small amounts of blood and then I got my period and since you can't use tampons for 6 weeks, it was a real pain in the butt! But I made it through it all...baby wipes (natural ones with no alcohol!) were a must in keeping the area clean. The stitches started to slowly melt and it did get a little itchy while it was healing - I would gently pat it with baby wipes to stop the itch. I think I finally felt "normal" after about 5 weeks. Now my skin is back to normal - no more hard edges along the incision line. I can't really explain it, but I feel so free. My underwear and yoga pants are so much more comfortable - I just feel lighter. I don't have to worry about tucking bits in anymore and I actually have increased stimulation now :) It was a fantastic decision for me - I couldn't be happier. So, if you are thinking of doing this procedure, here are my suggestions: 1) Pick your surgeon wisely. Don't go for the cheapest or the best sales pitch. Go with the surgeon that you feel in your gut understands your concerns and cares more about his patients than he does about trying to sell you things you don't need. 2) Be very open about what you are trying to achieve and have realistic expectations about the outcome. 3) Clearly establish how much will be taken off. In my case, we didn't really discuss it and he took off more than I expected, which caught me off-guard at first. I have gotten used to it now and I am happy with the way it looks and feels, but I read many reviews of people that were unhappy with how much was cut off..so have the conversation before it's too late! 4) Take at least 5-7 days off work. Although I didn't have any pain, the swelling made it uncomfortable to sit for too long. Since I work in an office, this would have been torture! 5) Be patient for the results because during the healing process, it will look worse before it gets better - and that's normal! For anyone following my path - good luck to you!