Is Episiotomy the Answer?

[Anonymous]

I have been dealing with vaginismus since the first time I tried a tampon but didn’t know what the problem was until after I got married and was unable to have sex. It’s been two years now and I feel like I’ve tried everything from dilators to physical therapy, etc. The only things I haven’t tried are surgical interventions or Botox. As everyone who goes through this knows, it SUCKS and it’s depressing and frustrating, it effects your relationship no matter how amazing your husband/partner is, and all that. For me and I’m sure other women who have tried everything and had no success, all the success stories just make the frustration and depression even worse. Anyway, yesterday I saw a super gentle and kind gynocologist who suggested episiotomy, since she thought that would help. When I researched it though, I couldn’t find much info about it and what I did find said that the surgery usually doesn’t help and can make the problem worse.
Does anyone else know about episiotomy for vaginismus? Has anyone had success with it?

[mazemelissa]

A surgical procedure to make the opening of the vagina bigger could be helpful if it is currently physically blocking your ability to dilate. We often need to cut the hymenal ring during our botox procedures to make the introius larger for the bigger dilators to be inserted. Many women have thick small hymenal rings, and that makes it even more difficult to dilate.

The surgery will not make the muscle tension any better. But if part of your issue is a physcial barrier at the entrance, then opening that up, might make dilation easier, and then you can more effectively treat the muscles.

You sound like a good candidate for the Botox procedure. If you want to talk to someone about that, give us a call!

[recessivegenequeen]

I defer to Melissa’s response regarding the episiotomy, but as someone who has had the botox procedure (and who had NO success with treatment until getting it), I can say that botox is a real game-changer when paired with dilation like they do at the Maze Clinic. I’d highly recommend at least giving the clinic a call – they can talk you through whether it’s a good option for you.

Also, I understand your frustration when reading the success stories – having vaginismus can make a person feel trapped and resentful of anyone who isn’t going through what you’re going through. But those success stories are a GOOD thing – they can show you that vaginismus isn’t a life sentence and is fully curable. Someday you will be one of those success stories, I believe it.