WHEN I was told five years ago that as
part of my transition I should consider a
hysterectomy, I secretly decided to put it off
as long as possible. Or avoid it all together.
This resolve became even stronger after my chest
surgery (I am still traumatised by the memory of
the drains being removed).
Why was I so worried? Because I was afraid. I
had heard all sorts of horrible stories about
the effects of the hysterectomy from women I
probably shouldn’t have been listening to.
I thought it would be too expensive. And mostly
I think I was afraid of a gyno treating me like
a freak and looking at that part of my body.
But after four years on T the cramps I got
monthly before T were still REALLY painful.
There was no bleeding anymore, but the cramps
were crippling. So I spoke to Dr Gail (Bearman)
here at the Gender Clinic and it was decided
that the best way to do away with the pain was a
hysterectomy. And the added bonus was that I
wouldn’t need any more pap smears
either.
I needed to see a psychiatrist for approval
prior to surgery, but that is another story.
Needless to say, I was approved.
I called Dr Gordon Kilvert’s rooms for
an appointment. The receptionist was really
friendly to me. When I first attended, the
waiting room was crowded but there was no
discomfort because I realised there were other
guys waiting to see the doctor about their
wife’s pregnancies.
Dr Gordon had me come through to see him. He
was really good. He treated me like a man. Shook
hands etc. He was very gentle in his examination
and very understanding of my discomfort. I felt
that he knew what he was doing and that he
wasn’t embarrassed by the situation.
He booked me in to have surgery performed in
St Andrew’s private where he does all his
ops. He also told me that he would only charge
the recognised fee so that I would have no gap
to pay my insurance company (MBF cover this
surgery for trans-guys).
I remember nothing from the surgery itself
except that prior to being knocked out the
anesthetist and Dr Gordon were talking to me to
make me comfortable and then I pleasantly fell
asleep.
When I awoke, it was dark (I had surgery at
8am). Sharon (my partner) was sitting next to me
and told me that the nurse said to press a green
button if I had any pain. She also told me that
she had to go home to Matt (our son). I
don’t remember pressing the button or any
pain at that time. Next time I woke, a female
and male nurse were asking me if I wanted my
gown changed. I mumbled, “No”.
The next morning I woke up and had my gown
changed by a male and female nurse.They were
REALLY gentle. Sharon came to see me. I
don’t remember feeling much more than a
dull pain in my abdomen at this time. I spent
the day moving in and out of sleep and watching
TV.
The nurses were great. They kept telling me
to press the green button and that if it were
them, they would. It became a joke that I
didn’t feel the need to press it too
much.
The next few days are a blur. I remember that
I wasn’t allowed to leave until my
digestive system was working again and that I
was tricked into eating a laxitive disguised as
icecream (very salty). YUCK! I also remember
that the nursing staff were really good and no
one treated me like a freak.
Dr Gordon came in to see me every day and
check on my progress. Usually he came in early
before work. On the Saturday (surgery was
Wednesday) he came in at 6:30am and asked me
when I wanted to go home. At 9am Sharon was
there to pick me up.
The drive home was uncomfortable. The next 3
weeks were quite uncomfortable and boring. I
couldn’t do anything. I could lay down and
watch TV but that was about it. And it was
summer and our loungeoom gets REALLY hot in the
afternoon. But after about three weeks, my Oma
came over from Holland for Christmas and spent
some time with me.
The second three weeks of recovery were still
painful but at least I could move around. I
helped my Oma cook and I started to do some
cross stitch to keep myself entertained. I was
still very tired and uncomfortable but
all-in-all it was ok.
When I returned to work, I was on light
duties for about three weeks. I still did
everything I normally did in that job
(apprentice two-way radio technician), but I
didn’t do any heavy lifting or stretching
jobs.
I did get some minor internal bleeding at the
site of the scar after about 2-3 weeks, but I
think this occurred because I did overdo it (I
blame it on the increased sex drive from T).
However, between Dr Gail and Dr Gordon it was
treated effectively and went away. I now have
very minor scarring, no cramps and no more
papsmears.
