Recently diagnosed at 21! Prescribed pregabalin?

[Hazel]

Hello,

Finding this forum is a huge relief! I have felt quite isolated with this personal issue.

I have recently been diagnosed with vaginismus by my doctor. I have been with my partner for almost 2 years and have had painful sex for almost 9 months – I thought I would try different methods, eg lube, foreplay, breathing exercises- but after nothing worked, I caved in and saw a doctor.
I expected to be referred to a specialist, but instead I was told to keep doing what I was doing and was also prescribed pregabalin. Has anyone else been prescribed this? I can’t find anything about it being useful for vaginismus on the internet!

I also want to ask; I feel as though I am very young to be having this issue, is it usually something which can affect someone of my age? What do you recommend for getting better?

Thank you all- and I hope you are keeping well during this period!

[Hazel]

Also I just wanted to ask….
I’ve found an amazing lube, which is usually very soothing and I barely notice it at all- however, after my vaginal muscles tense up it burns like crazy! Has anyone else experienced this?

[Jess567]

Welcome to the forum, Hazel! As someone who also has vaginismus, I have found this forum quite helpful and I hope you do too! I don’t know anything about Pregabalin but maybe someone else who does will reply.

I have had issues with vaginismus since I started having penetrative sex at the age of 22 and it can impact women of all ages. I have never had lube that causes burning before but there are a lot of options so maybe you can try another kind? Slippery Stuff is a frequently recommended brand.

I’m not a medical professional but did your doctor mention pelvic floor physical therapy? It is definitely worth looking into if you can. Your physical therapist will probably give you some stretches and dilation exercises to do.

[Heather]

Hi Hazel! Vaginismus can effect any woman at any age. And I’m sorry you’re going through it! I second what Jess567 said about physical therapy. It is soooo beneficial to have a doctor who specializes in those muscles, help teach you how to relax them. I also highly suggest a dilator kit! I got mine from Maze and it’s called Pure Romance. You will start with the size comfortable for you, and work your way up. Spending 20 minutes a day, aiming for almost every day of the week. And you will insert the dilator and leave it in for a minute. Let your body adjust. And then take it out fully. Then re insert it, and begin going about the back and forth motions. This will stretch out your muscles! Once you get comfortable with 1 size where it is super easy, then go up a size. I see you said you’ve already been having sex so inserting a dilator will come a bit easier to you, especially starting off with a much smaller size! A lot of women have trouble even inserting a finger. You could also give stretching a try. If you Google yoga stretches for your pelvic floor muscles, you’ll get a lot of different options and they really do work!! Also, you can massage your vagina. Insert a finger and gently press up against the wall of your vagina and slowly move it in circles, gently pressing at the same time. You can also go back and forth and switch it up. You don’t have to go too far as the PC muscles are more in the opening and those are the muscles you want to target. I hope I could be of help!! Definitely keep up updated! 🙂

[Jess567]

I agree with Heather that stretching is really important. A book that has been really helpful to me is ‘Sex without Pain’ by Heather Jeffcoat. It has a stretching routine in it and other advice (and is a super short, easy read). I do ‘Yoga with Adriene’ on Youtube as she has a lot of stuff for beginners and my physical therapist recommended her videos but there are lots of videos from other people as well to chose from that would be helpful.

I hope we are allowed to post links here? If not I will remove this, but this might be helpful for you to figure out dilators that work for you: http://mazewomenshealth.com/whats-new/recommended-products/dilators/

[amyct23]

Hi! Vaginismus can happen at any age! I was 19 when I got diagnosed I am 21 now! I completely understand how you feel, it can be a very isolating condition especially among people our age, best of luck and let us know if there’s anything else we can help with!