Went for It! - Toronto, ON

About a month ago (after much research, contemplation, and two consultations) I finally made the decision to book my labiaplasty. I was sick of being unhappy and self conscious.

Initially I went to Dr. Kyle Wanzel, who was a bit cheaper, but he didn't feel comfortable doing what I wanted done. I appreciated his honesty but decided to try elsewhere.
So I booked a consultation with Dr. Jugenburg (consultations are free, btw, if you mention real self) who sat with me for a decent amount of time as we considered the options. He gave me his professional opinion and we reached an agreement on the desired results.

I wanted to share my experience to help anyone who's considering getting this procedure.

Day 1
I got the surgery done today. I went in, filled out all the scary paperwork, and was seen almost immediately. The nurse took me to the dressing room. The doctor came in and we went over the desired result one last time.
In the operating room he took a couple more pictures then we got down to business. It was definitely as awkward as I'd imagined..."Slide your bum forward, place your feet in the stirrups", that kind of thing. He marked where he was going to make the incisions then took a few more pictures.
Now, I KNEW there would be pain injecting the local anaesthesia, but nothing could've prepared me for this. (Mind you, I'm kind of a total baby!)
I had four main injections - one in each side of the labia minora, and one in each side of the labia majora. The majora killed me to the point where I was cursing loudly and shaking like crazy. Eventually after being covered in blankets the shaking came to an end. I'm not sure if it was my nerves or the pain or a combination of the two but I couldn't stop crying.
That being said, that was the worst part of it so far. The surgery itself was a breeze. Both the nurse and doctor were so sweet and talked me through almost the entire thing. At one point I felt blood dripping down my bum which creeped me out a bit, that only lasted a couple minutes though.
Once it was completed I rested for a bit, slowly got up, and made my way to the change back into my clothing.
I recommend very baggy pants and the granniest panties you own to help keep the jumbo pad they give you in place!
I felt very normal leaving the clinic, experiencing only a bout of dizziness on the elevator. I ate a bunch of food right after I got out, picked up my prescription (well, had my friend who was helping take care of me pick up the prescription) and came home to rest in bed.
The nurse told me to take a T3 around 4:00, as pain would likely begin around 6:00 when the anesthetic wore off. I ended up taking two pills as soon as I got home (3:30) because I was starting to feel a slight burning on the left hand side. I took another two pills at around 7:00 because I felt a couple sharp but isolated pangs.
I have decided under recommendation of both the nurse and the doctor that I will not do an "inspection" until the third day at least. I did manage a peek though when I had to use the washroom and it doesn't look too bad yet. The right side is definitely swelling/turning a little red but I'm icing it exactly as told: 20 minutes on, 20 minutes off. Overall, no real pain. Just discomfort and some cramping from the pain medication.
This whole thing has been pretty exhausting so I'm going to go try and take a nap or something. Will try to post an update tomorrow!

I know a skipped a few days.
I was kind of busy in laying in bed watching crappy television for the last 72 hours, okay? :)

I really don't know how to feel about everything right now. It's still very, very swollen. Still taking t3s, though I don't take them through the night anymore and I've got my dosage down to one pill every four hours for the most part. I'm trying to remain positive and not expect perfection, to instead expect improvement.

It's really not pretty down there. Swollen and dark with bruising. Lots of stitches. I expected the swelling to go down a fair bit today but I don't think I will be so lucky. Have to go out today and brave the real world anyhow. Lunch plans. Sitting. On a chair. Eep.

Peeing is an adventure every time. I always keep a bottle of filtered water in the washroom and blow dry (on the cool setting) afterward to make sure it's dry, as recommended by the doctor. I intend to keep this up at least until it looks like healing has started.

I took my first shower yesterday. It burned a little but immediately after felt great. I used Aveeno fragrance free baby soap to be safe.

Still no real pain. It is uncomfortable when I try to walk or try to lay a certain way, it gets itchy here and there, but nothing like those needles!

I have been taking pictures every day but haven't decided yet if I'll post them. That depends on the final results.
Crossing my fingers!

As of today the swelling has FINALLY gone down some. I'm ecstatic! Bruising is also all gone, though it's still looking pretty red around the stitches. Maybe redness is normal until it's all healed up? (If anyone knows how long to expect redness I would love your input!) Had a small amount of "discharge", I guess you would call it, that I noticed along a couple stitches the last two days. Wondering if there might be an infection...I've been taking really good care of it so I'll be pissed if there is! :p
Funny enough, it seems every doctor gives different aftercare instructions.

Another thing I noticed today now that I can actually SEE myself was that one of my "lips" looks look it got a lot taken off...I was specific to say I don't want it all removed, just the excess, so I'm hoping I'm not missing too much. Time will tell.