Hi ladies. One of my absolute greatest issues pre-procedure was how I would ever be able to use the dilators post-procedure as I had never been able to insert anything prior to that point. This problem was so great that I truthfully came so close to turning the car around and not completing our trip to NH. Thankfully, my amazing hubby was driving and held my hand the whole way up. For anyone reading this who has never been able to insert anything, including dilators, please have hope that this is a possibility and can happen for you too post-procedure. I still cannot pinpoint exactly what makes dilation a possibility post-procedure, but I know it has to be a combination of all of the factors I have previously mentioned, including waking up from the procedure with the dilator already in place and the elimination of the normal resistance that we had always felt with insertion. Once I removed the dilator to use the bathroom and re-inserted it right in with zero pain, it was one of the best feelings in the world and I remember just being so happy that it had worked, I was not broken as I had so often felt, and it did not hurt at all (just honestly felt a little strange at first). No pain, just weird. Thereafter, I remember Dr. Pacik and the amazing staff continuously checking on my husband and I; instructing us on using the different sized dilators for different lengths of time; and just providing a level of support, caring, and understanding that I had never experienced prior.
For any of the other veterans who have also had a complete inability to insert a thing pre-procedure, what was your experience post-procedure? What advice do you have for future patients?
