More than just Botox: Post-Procedure Follow-up and Care

[Heather34]

There have been many stories about failed Botox treatments for vaginismus at other clinics and locations. For example, in Julisa’s story, it was noted “this patient lives on one of the Caribbean islands and failed to make any progress with two sets of Botox injections. After her treatment, she was not instructed in the use of dilators and given no follow-up support.” What truly makes Dr. Pacik’s Botox treatment work is the entire combined program (i.e. the well placed Botox injections into the spastic muscles, progressive dilation under anesthesia, supervised dilation in the recovery area, post procedure counseling, and careful follow-up and support post-procedure). And, most importantly and what made it work for me, was how much Dr. Pacik and the entire staff at his clinic truly care about you and support you every single step of the way. To know that he believes in you 100% is truly one of the best feelings in the world and instills confidence and helps you to believe in yourself and achieve tremendous success.

I can’t stress enough how important the after-care and post-procedure counseling was for me. Through the use of daily dilation logs, you become accountable for your own change. It helps both you and Dr. P to track your progress and also address any challenges and it aids so much in the success of the program as a whole.

To the treated patients or ‘veterans’ reading this, how important was your after-care communication post-procedure?

[Heather34]

Julisa from the Caribbean, had two courses of Botox treatment in her home country and both failed. No post procedure support was given. After struggling with inability to have intercourse for seven years, she achieved pain-free intercourse at seven weeks. At 3 months she writes: “I’m having intercourse 3 times a week and it does not hurt at all. Im just a little tense in my legs but thats nothing. I’m glad it doesn’t hurt at all. And tell you the truth, I enjoyed it the last time we did it. It was different then the other times.” This is a wonderful testimonial. To the ladies already treated, how important is your after-care following this procedure (i.e. dilation logs, support, etc.)???

[Heather34]

As a follow-up to this post, a single patient who received the Botox treatment program from Maze Women’s Sexual Health in NYC writes: “The support and aftercare I received from the center was very beneficial, and although being diagnosed with vaginismus was a challenging experience for me, overcoming it has really helped me gain even more confidence”. As written in this post and so many others, the after-care following the Botox treatment program is so important and just one of the crucial aspects that makes the entire program work so well!!!!

[Helen Leff, LCSW]

Dilation post Botox treatment is a necessary part of treatment and there is no way around it. However, we are all here to help and keep the dialogue going. There is a light at the end of the tunnel and support is only a click away.

[recessivegenequeen]

I have to agree that dilating is key to the success of the botox. It’s an investment of time at the front end that completely pays off over time. I had the botox treatment and dilated every day for the first three months or so. I was able to have sex for the first time 3 weeks after my procedure but at the 3-month-or-so mark I started to really enjoy sex with my boyfriend. Once that happened I was able to stop dilating completely (we have sex around 3 times a week which takes the place of needing to dilate).

I would not have been ready for intercourse either physically or psychologically if I hadn’t put in that crucial time dilating and becoming comfortable with my body. Botox speeds things up incredibly, but there’s still no substitute for putting in the time to help your body learn to be comfortable with penetration.

[Heather34]

Hi RGQ. I completely second this and found post-procedure dilating to be so, so, so important in our journey. I dilated consistently following my procedure and tracked this in a log as well as kept in touch with the office through e-mail. I think by having this schedule and tremendous support post-procedure, it helped me that much more to stay accountable to myself and to also be able to see progress made as well.