His and Her Health

After u get clearance from the physician u should have a skilled pelvic floor PT assess the muscles and nerves for iriritation and tenderness!

Welcome to our forum Ana52,Since you say you have read some of the posts you probably have an idea that the burning is not uncommon. You can use the Search engine at the top of the page to type in vestibulectomy burning. That will bring up some posts you may not have seen .Our posters do like to share, also you might call your Dr. and ask if there is something for relief of the burning. The healing is a long process. Good luck and stay in touch.

I have sort of a random question. I'm wondering if any of you use a menstrual cup (such as the diva cup or meluna) instead of tampons. I realize that many of you wouldn't due to the nature of vestibulitis.

I have had a vestibulectony and am doing better (mostly) and bought a Diva cup thinking that it might be a god alternative and less likely to cause irritation, but it hurts to insert it. I'm trying to determine if the level of pain I experience upon insertion is totally normal or if it's worse because of my vestibulitis. If anyone has experience I'd love to hear!

Hi Mandy, have you thought about asking your GYN about using a birth control pill that can eliminate your regular period for as long as you and your doctor want it. That would give you time to heal and not have to use cups or tampons . It has no affect on your fertility when you come off it.

if you had your vestibulectomy over 10 weeks ago and it is painful with the cup, then there could be a musculoskeletal component to your pain. See a pelvic floor physical therapist for a proper evaluation.

I didn't know that there was a pill that eliminates your period all-together for a specific period of time. That sounds very appealing, however, I'm extremely hesitant of taking any sort of birth control - mainly because a part of me wonders how "healthy" birth control in general is - after all it is messing with your body's chemistry. Another reason I'm hesitant is because the cause of vulvar vestibulitis is unkown - it seems like minimizing the number of pills, foreign objects such as tampons, etc you are putting into your body is probably a good idea....

It has been 6 months since my surgery. I have been to pelvic floor specialist and we go to the point where she was really pleased with my progress and I was sort of turned loose, but I don't feel like I'm better. I still have pain with the larger dialators and haven't even dreamed of attempting intercourse yet...

I'm having problems with this condition. I was wondering if anyone could refer a good doctor for a vestibulectomy in Salt Lake City?

Welcome to our forum.
We cannot recommend doctors but you may be able to find that information at the National Vulvodynia Association.
www.nva.org

Hi everyone! Brand new here and so excited to be a part of the community. Reading your experiences has given me so much real-world info and I'm so grateful. Let me know if I'm posting in the wrong place!
After suffering for at least 10 years (26 y/o now), I'm finally getting a vestibulectomy on July 6. I'm excited but getting nervous now. I'm trying to prep as much as possible: 2 weeks off work (I'm able to take more if I need it), my parents are gonna be home to help, and I'm getting my meds and materials prepped (ice packs, perineal bottle, sits bath, and dilators for later). I'm sure I will be bored so I will update on my progress as it goes.
Any tips, tricks, or words of encouragement are welcome and much appreciated!

Welcome to our forum Andnobodydied, we are glad you have taken time to read the other posts. There is a lot of first hand information there. You sound like you are well prepared for your operation and we wish you an uneventful recovery . It does take time to recover. Stay in touch.

Sounds like you are well prepared for surgery! That was super helpful to me when I had mine, having everything already on house and people to fetch it for me:). I took a month off of work because while I could have pushed myself, I wanted to make sure I healed well. But I was able to walk around immediately, though very slowly and cautiously! I was glad I did that, as I healed well and quickly. The surgery changed my life, for the better (though I realize that has not been everyone's experience. I do still need to do stretches and have occasional pain BUT I just had my first baby a few months ago. Would never have happened without the surgery as I wasn't able to put in a tampon let alone have intercourse. Just make sure you follow doctors orders after surgery and don't pushe yourself. Praying for the best for you! And don't worry if you aren't 100% right away. While I healed quickly, it took a couple of months before I had the full results. Surgery is surgery, takes a while to bounce back.

Marie, congratulations on your baby!!

Well, I had my vestibulectomy on July 6. My recovery is going alright, as far as I can tell. The first two days were extremely painful. I had problems urinating the first day, they subsided but it was still bothersome. I used a perineal squirt bottle and dabbed with toilet paper. The next few days were better. I couldn't sit up or move, really, but I wasn't in unbearable pain anymore. I constantly used ice and tried not to move. Shifting my weight was particularly painful, as well as coughing, sneezing, and laughing too hard. I think I exerted myself too hard on the 4th day, had some new bleeding and a lesson to be more careful.

Now I'm feeling more of a surface rather than deep pain I felt earlier. Ive realized now that I may have popped a stitch along the bottom and this is concerning me. Has anyone had this happen? Is there anything I can do to prevent scar tissue there? I have an appointment for July 27 and my Dr office is closed for the weekend.

Thanks for reading! I appreciate any advice and help.

Hi there! What you're experiencing is totally normal! First 7 days after surgery are the worst. Coughing and sneezing or even walking down the stairs were awful! slpwly things get better though. Try to sit on a "boppy" pillow (they're really sold as nursing pillows but it worked really well for me when I needed to sit on a chair after the vestibulectomy) My surgery was in November of 2010 and thank GD it was 100% successful!! Went from worst pain imaginable with intercourse to no pain at all. I call it the miracle surgery.

I did pop a stitch the first week after my surgery.. but thank Gd it did not cause any damage or hinder the recovery process. The healing process was a long one. Make SURE to use your dilators when your doc says you're ready to.

Keep us updated!

I would suggest that you see a physical therapist once you get your MD approval, just to make sure there are no underlying musculoskeletal involvement...muscle tightening, scar tissue adhesions, etc. this should be done within the first 3-4 months, bc after 6 months it is harder to treat and scar tissue is not as mobile after 6 months. You can find a pelvic floor physical therapist at www.apta/womenshealth.org, www.pelvicpain.org, ic-help.org or icnetwork.org. best of luck. amy