Dilation question

[Jill]

How painful is dilation just after SRS?   And how long does it take to go from painful to not painful or better?

[Hazumu]

There's discomfort.  There may be a bit of pain.  If there's a lot, call the doctor.

There should be a bit of an overly-stretched burning sensation, but it shouldn't be localized, it should be more diffuse.

Take your time inserting the dilator.  If that burning sensation gets a bit much, stop there and relax for a minute, then continue on gradually.

When I switched up to the next size, I would do 10 minutes with the smaller one then 5 minutes with the larger one.  A week later I would try 5 minutes with the smaller one and 10 minutes with the larger one.  In another week or two I was dilating exclusively with the larger one, and it would be time to step up again.

It took me about 4 months to go from 1" dia to 1.5" dia in 6 steps.

It was a bit uncomfortable each step-up, but it got easier in a 4 or 5 days.

It's kind of like orthodontia.  Things are a little sore after each tightening.

I hope this helped.

Karen

[Buffy]

How painful is dilation just after SRS?   And how long does it take to go from painful to not painful or better?

Well pain is a really subjective issue, I know some of my friends had real problems with pain and others who didn't.

In my own case, I never had any real pain only discomfort and that was from initally dilating 3 times a day for 2 hours at a time.

It got harder after about 2 months as I went up in size and things started to heal, but I never felt like it was to painful to continue.

I do think a lot of the issue is physchological, if you take your time, prepare and dont panic (i.e. in getting the angle of entry right), things will go OK and there is also pain meds (which I never took).

I always used plenty of lubricant, covered the dilator with a condom and used a mirror to ensure I got the right entry point! Yes, I admit on my second dilation it proved extremely painful and I had to call a nurse who burst out laughing when she pointed out I was trying to stick the dilator up my butt.

The first week is painful, messy and not nice but after that things become easier with the level of discomfort getting less and less. 7 years later I do 15 minutes a week, no problems and no pain.

Buffy

[Renate]

... covered the dilator with a condom ...

This idea never occurred to me. I can't afford 9 condoms a day!
Cleaning the dilators with Hibiclens seemed sufficient to me.

I never had any actual pain or blood. It is uncomfortable having something hard in you.
It's not like you are going to get up and go to the refrigerator to find something to eat.

There are curved dilators and straight dilators. I find that curved makes more sense.

Don't laugh while dilating. If you have to sneeze, don't hold the dilator in, let it go!

[Syne]

It depends. For me I had quite a bit of discomfort at the beginning but then the nurses did the dilation for me, I just held it in place. Then they made sure they were there for the first few I did on my own and I made sure to wait on taking any pain meds beforehand so I would not over do it. I had trace amounts of blood for a couple of months but I also had to have a small, second procedure a couple of weeks after SRS. A month after that I was up to the largest size, four times a day without any problems.

[Julie Marie]

Last Monday marked 9 weeks post op.  Dilation is more of a hassle than a pain, unless you're thinking a pain in the @$$.    Insertion can be a bit uncomfortable and if you're too vigorous in trying to open up the vagina you could create some discomfort.

What is far more uncomfortable is sitting.  At first it feels like you're sitting on a baseball with spikes on it.  Then the spikes are removed.  Then the ball shrinks.  Today I can sit without substantial cushioning under me but if I had to sit on a hard surface?  No way!  Prolonged sitting, even on a cushioned seat, will eventually become uncomfortable.

Julie

[Hazumu]

What is far more uncomfortable is sitting.  At first it feels like you're sitting on a baseball with spikes on it.  Then the spikes are removed.  Then the ball shrinks.  Today I can sit without substantial cushioning under me but if I had to sit on a hard surface?  No way!  Prolonged sitting, even on a cushioned seat, will eventually become uncomfortable.

Julie

...and that, too, will pass

=K