Re: All Things DILATING

[Heather34]

Hi Lou! Concerning the dilating, it’s entirely normal to feel nervous about this. Prior to my procedure, even the name “dilator” freaked me out. I tried to do dilating on my own several times and just couldn’t do it. I honestly couldn’t even insert a q-tip without pain. So, I didn’t ever think I would be able to insert a dilator. I couldn’t have been more wrong about this. Basically, you wake up with the largest blue dilator already inside of you. I remember when I went back to the recovery room, I had to go to the bathroom once I woke up. This is the point where I took out the blue dilator, went to the bathroom, and was able to easily re-insert it. This was “huge” for me as I had never, ever been able to insert anything pain-free before. Then, both Dr. P and Ellen work with you by showing you how to insert and re-insert the dilators. You then have a dilation schedule where Dr. P wants you to dilate 2 hours per day and sleep with the dilators. Again, this sounded impossible to me prior to the procedure but did work well post-procedure. I used the philosophy that every single day is different with dilating. Some days, it worked really well and others, it was more challenging. I kept at it and it became a part of my daily routine. I still sleep with the dilators around 3 times per week and intend to for a full year. I know that I no longer have to do this now but still have a slight fear that vaginismus may somehow come back. I think this may be a common fear too although it is unfounded. Never be sorry about lots of questions – there can never be too many. Please feel free to ask many more.