Re: Hello from the UK!!

[Heather34]

Hi ukgirl! Welcome to the Forum and thank you for your post. I am so sorry for what you are going through with vaginismus. I had primary vaginismus for so many years and felt so similar. I attempted to insert even the smallest tampon and just could not get it beyond this wall of resistance. It caused a ton of burning pain and, thus, the fear/pain response kept happening when trying to insert anything at all. I tried using dilators on my own prior to having the Botox procedure and despite how many times I tried they just did not work at all. That being said, several women have had great success with using dilators. After I had the Botox procedure and woke up with the largest dilator in place, I seriously was in shock and just so happy and elated that something could be inside of me and it didn’t hurt. It did feel weird as I never had anything inside of me but was not painful. After my procedure, I was able to use the dilators successfully and later make love to my hubby. Every time that I did the dilating post-procedure, I would remember being in the office in NH and how it successfully worked there and it helped me so much to overcome any mental hurdles of it not working. I had the procedure with Dr. Pacik up in NH but he is now retired. He is referring patients to a great group that he trained, Maze Women’s Sexual Health outside of NYC.

I did a search for Botox treatment for vaginismus in the UK and found an interesting site that shared one patient’s story with NHS: https://overcomingvirginity.wordpress.com/2013/11/14/nhs-botox-procedure-to-cure-dyspareuniavaginismus-my-experience/. In her comments, she wrote:

“I had this done at James Cook Hospital in Middlesbrough last November. I told my GP about my ongoing problems with sexual intercourse and she referred me to a gynae at James Cook. After they examined me and realised just how bad my problem was they offered the botox procedure. Have you asked to see a gynae? I’d recommended doing so as the procedure is increasingly common and if you can get it on the NHS it’s free.”

If you do decide to try using dilators, I want to share the link for the second issue of the VaginismusMD Newsletter that discusses all-things dilating. Specific topics include: Styles and Materials of Dilators, Getting Started with Dilation, Anxiety Control, Advanced Dilation Techniques, and Transitioning to Intercourse. http://www.vaginismusmd.com/vaginismus-resources/vaginismus-newsletter-archive/ins-outs-vaginal-dilation/ Post-procedure, I have used both the Pure Romance and Pacik Glass dilators and there are many qualities that I like about both. Concerning the Pure Romance ones, they are silicone and have a large handle which made insertion, removal, and reinsertion much, much easier for me. Concerning the Pacik Glass dilators, I like that they are smaller in length and, again, for me, they had the handle which helped me greatly with the insertion and removing them.

I think it’s great that although we live so far away from each other that we have a place to talk openly about this condition. Please know that I’m here for you. Melissa and Dr. Pacik, do you have any additional thoughts?