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transgenderteensurvivalguide · 3 years

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Lee says:

I’m 1 week and 5 days post-op and continuing my post-phallo supplies post series! I’ll write about which items I got, which ones I used, and which ones I found helpful.

(For those who don’t know what ALT phalloplasty is, see this post!)

Today’s post-phallo item is an eye mask.

[Image description: A black, red, and blue eye mask. /End ID]

While an eye mask isn’t a form of PPE, it’s still essential to have when you go to the hospital!

(Sidenote: Everyone has been talking about PPE-type face masks for the past year but that’s something different! I did have to wear a face mask until I went into the operating room. Then I had the face mask on again when I woke up in the post-anesthesia care unit. But when I was transferred to the hospital room I stayed in for the next 6 days I actually didn’t have to wear a face mask because I am fully vaccinated and was Covid tested before my surgery. I did have to put a face mask on to go into the hallway, but in my own room I could be maskless.)

When you’re in the hospital, it’s never going to be 100% dark. There is always light coming from somewhere-- even when they darken the hallway at 10 pm, it’s still lit up.

The machines that display vitals and the IV machines in the room have bright screens, and they start to beep often which makes a nurse come in and flip on all the lights to see if your vitals are weird or if your IV bag needs changing.

The nurses also will come in literally once every hour all through the night and flip on all the lights to check your vitals and use the Doppler to see the blood flow in your penis. That’s in addition to the times they come in to help you get something or to address the beeping.

After the first few days the nurses come every two hours, then every 4 hours, but unfortunately the nurses aren’t the only people waking you up.

The residents came by at 10 pm and 4 am to talk to me and check me out, occupational and physical therapists would stop by during the day, you’ll have meals delivered, people come to change the trash, and so on.

Basically, if you want to sleep for longer than 1 hour uninterrupted, you’ll need to get an eye mask so the light from the hallway, the light from the machines, and the lights turned on by all the people entering your room don’t fully wake you up.

One of the most important things in choosing an eye mask is the adjustability. If the band that goes around your head is too big or too small, it won’t fit comfortably and it’ll pinch your head or slide off so it doesn’t block the light. So that rules out all the eye masks that aren’t adjustable and just have stretchy cords in the back-- the cord is always too tight at first, and then it becomes stretched out and there’s no way to re-tighten it.

While eye masks with Velcro on the straps are adjustable, Velco is also something that I feel like should not be near your head because it can make a crunchy noise and if you have long hair (which I don’t, but I remember what it was like!) it will get stuck in there. It’s also a little difficult to adjust with one hand.

I like the kind that have the adjustable slider (like the image above) so you can just move it over. These can get long hair tangled in too, but it’s not as bad as Velcro, and there’s no extra strap hanging off the end because it just changes the loop size so it’s neater and feels more comfortable when your head is laying on the pillow because you don’t feel the tail of the strap going off who-know-where.

Another thing I find really important in choosing an eye mask is the feel of it because I have sensory issues. I don’t like materials that are too plastic-y, or have rough seams and tags, but this eye mask feels soft and slightly silky so I feel comfortable putting it on my face.

I like that the masks come in a pack of 3 because it means if one falls on the hospital floor you can just put on another one. This is also helpful for people who get really hot and sweaty in the Bair Hugger because they might get the eye mask all sweaty too and want to use another one because the first one got gross.

These eye masks are hand-wash only, but I’ve thrown them in the washing machine anyway. If you send some home with a visitor to wash and bring back to you the next day, you should tell them to put them in a delicates bag and treat them as delicates if you want them to last longer. But if you’re washing them in the washing machine pretty frequently, you might have to buy a new set after a year even if you use the delicates bag and cycle. But that’s plenty long enough to get you through the hospital stay after stage 1!

If there’s any single item you can bring with you to the hospital to have as soon as possible, I’d recommend the eye mask. The ceiling lights were shining in my eyes when I was laying on my back in the post-anesthesia care unit immediately after surgery before I got transferred to my room and I kept thinking “Damn, I shoulda brought one mask in my pocket!” because they brought me my clothes and other items they had taken from me before surgery back before my family was allowed to bring me all my things that we had packed for the stay.

Pros:

Soft

Large enough to cover eyes

Adjustable non-velcro strap

Slightly contoured so they don’t press on your eyes

Comes in a pack of three

Cons:

Can be a little warm to have on your face when you’re in the Bair Hugger

Not supposed to be machine-washable (but that’s an inconvenience related to long-term ownership of the eye masks, won’t be an issue with your 6-day hospital stay)

Where to buy:

Other reviews:

Reacher/grabber

Lap desk

Wound care supplies

Resistance bands

#Lee says #alt phalloplasty #alt phallo #phalloplasty #phallo #bottom surgery #lower surgery #grs #srs #genital reassignment surgery #sex reassignment surgery #trans #transgender #phallo supplies reviews

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