Pink discharge after dilating

[Reenie]

Hello everyone,

This is my first post. I am 31 from the UK and I have never been able to have full penetrative sex with my husband. I have never had a smear or seen a doctor for fear of embarassment and avoidance on the issue.

My husband and I wish to start a family, and he found this online and told me he thought this is what I have been suffering from. I plucked up the courage and ordered a set of dilators. I have never had issues with tampons and I have progressed well with the dilators. I went from number 1 to 2 within a day and 2 to 3 within a week.

I have had issues with 3 with burning pain and sensitivity when I initially insert the dilator to begin with but that seems to be getting better each day.

My question is about dishcharge. I noticed the last 2 days that I have had pink discharge whilst dilating (similar to what you would have whilst spotting). This has only happened the last 2 days and the last 2 days have been the easiest when dilating.

Is this normal? Irritation? I have no other symptoms. I have been dilating everyday with 1 day off a week for 3 weeks.

Thanks in advance.

[Helen Leff, LCSW]

Hi Reenie,
So glad you posted! Sounds like you are doing really well with dilation. The discharge may be from hymenal tissue. When you move up to larger dilators this is very common as you haven’t previously encountered the hymen with using tampons – as they are smaller. The burning sensation is “normal” as the purpose of the dilators is to stretch the muscles. If you think about stretching any muscles like during a workout at the gym there’s a burning sensation involved.
Keep us posted on your progress and any struggles or concerns that come your way.
We are here,
Helen

[recessivegenequeen]

Hi Reenie! How is the dilating going? Wanted to second Helen’s comment and say that the burning sensation is normal and a positive sign since it means your vagina is adjusting to a level of stretching it hasn’t experienced before – that’s the definition of progress! Let us know if you you have any other questions and good luck!

[Sks823]

Hi Reenie,

It was a while ago that I was starting to dilate, but I think I do remember some spotting at the start. And absolutely, the burning pain and sensitivity I do remember – it is completely normal and a part of the process. Hopefully it is not unbearable and you are able to continue with the dilation process – you can always switch to a smaller dilator for a few days if it is giving you too much pain/trouble/anxiety!

Hope you’re doing well!

[Ettina]

I also have had burning pain, and spotting from dilating. The spotting only happened a couple times when I was first starting out with dilating, while the burning pain happens pretty much any time I’m pushing my limits, such as going up a size. Both of these fade with time and practice in my experience.