Dilation routines?

[Debra]

I realize this will probably be different for everybody but I'm curious about your current dilation routine(s) as well as when you first started and began graduating up to bigger dilators. Did/do you start with a smaller one for a certain amount of time and then use the bigger one for the majority of the time? Or do you just plop the big one in there nowadays?

Today I graduate up to the next size (green) and last night I actually gave it a try. I did 10 minutes of my current dilator (blue) and then 5 minutes of the green. It actually wasn't so bad! Although I did find that I had a bit more new pain last night during the night.

Today's 3 dilations I was planning on using the blue one for 5 minutes and then the green for 10.

Tomorrow and the days after, I'm not sure...should I be doing the blue for x minutes and then the green for the full 15 after? And next week when I graduate up to the next size, should I still start at blue or will starting at green be enough by then?

[Dinky_Di]

In the beginning I started with the smallest and worked up to the largest I could accomodate, on advice from the doctor.  I have a set of six dilators and the largest I could reach was No.3.  As time moved on and I increased in size I also found I could stop using the smaller sizes.  From about 6 months I have only used the largest.  I found it to be a bit of trial and error as to what you can accomodate and when you are ready to move to the next size up.  I will add I was quite diligent is sticking to the dilation schedule advised by my doctor.  Can't say that I have ever had any real discomforting pain whenever I have dilated.  I started with about 5 1/4" depth and now have very close to 6".  So, I'm not complaining at all.

You should always use the largest for the longest amount of time.  I personally never dilated for anything less than about 45 minutes for the first 9 months.  I think the longer you keep the largest size in the better chance of a successful outcome.

Just remember that your dilations are so very important to start with.

Best of Luck

[FairyGirl]

it all depends on your level of healing and most importantly what your doctor tells you to do. Obviously if starting with a larger size gives you a lot of pain then drop down to the next smaller size. It doesn't hurt anything to start smaller and work your way up. Don't be too anxious to cram those big guys in there because if you split the skin around your vaginal opening it will cause a build up of scar tissue which will make dilating even more difficult. I never went less than 30 minutes for a session and during the crucial 3-4 month period when the healing contraction is setting in, up to an hour. Sometimes you just have to push through the pain but yet be careful not to damage yourself.

[Debra]

it all depends on your level of healing and most importantly what your doctor tells you to do. Obviously if starting with a larger size gives you a lot of pain then drop down to the next smaller size. It doesn't hurt anything to start smaller and work your way up. Don't be too anxious to cram those big guys in there because if you split the skin around your vaginal opening it will cause a build up of scar tissue which will make dilating even more difficult. I never went less than 30 minutes for a session and during the crucial 3-4 month period when the healing contraction is setting in, up to an hour. Sometimes you just have to push through the pain but yet be careful not to damage yourself.

Ok wow. I didn't realize. I've been dilating for 10 days now and Marci's discharge instructions said 15 minutes per dilation, then to go up a size at 10 days and then again in another 7 days. Should I be doing it longer then? I'm only just over 2 weeks post-op.

[FairyGirl]

Really you should follow your own doctor's instructions, but I would say they are the base guidelines for her style of surgery. My doctor had us doing 5 times a day 30 minutes each and she was pretty strict about it. The best thing is to do is what your doctor tells you because each of us is different, and of course she is the one who can give you the best advise on what is right for you. Stick to your doctor's plan and I'm sure you will be fine, and if you are having issues then put in a call or email to ask her how best to proceed.

[vanna]

it all depends on your level of healing and most importantly what your doctor tells you to do. Obviously if starting with a larger size gives you a lot of pain then drop down to the next smaller size. It doesn't hurt anything to start smaller and work your way up. Don't be too anxious to cram those big guys in there because if you split the skin around your vaginal opening it will cause a build up of scar tissue which will make dilating even more difficult. I never went less than 30 minutes for a session and during the crucial 3-4 month period when the healing contraction is setting in, up to an hour. Sometimes you just have to push through the pain but yet be careful not to damage yourself.

i can really agree with all of this,

i had to drop down to lower then my recommended size in my early post op because my recovery was just so bad, issues of loosing most my depth and width so i modified my dilation sessions to suit and i never did less then 45 mins but i tried for an hour each time. i had no life but it worked i was able to regain all my width later and when the pain levels had dropped. I tihnk that also stopped me building up alot of scar tissues too as i was bleeding heavily for some time.

always follow doctors advice but listen to your body too

[Sandy]

As far as moving to the larger sizes goes, pretty much let (dis)-comfort be your guide.

Early on, like the stage where you are, Deb, depth is the most important thing to concentrate on.  It is the easiest thing to lose and the hardest to regain.  So starting with your most comfortable dilator and spending a good period of time making sure you stretch your vagina to it's maximum depth is best. 

Then start trying to use the larger sizes as you can endure the discomfort.  If using the larger size hurts too much or if you start bleeding excessively, then stop.

In my experience, after a couple of weeks, I would start with my smallest dilator for about 10 minutes and then insert the next larger size for about 5 minutes.  Or at least try to.  At first I could only endure the pain for a couple of minutes.  But after a few days, I could keep the larger one in for longer and longer periods of time.

After the first few weeks of this, I became stretched enough that I could start with the larger dilator and get my maximum depth at the same time and I would spend my entire time with the larger dilator.

I would then try to move up to the next larger size using the same method.

These days for me, I dilate every week or so, and I just use my smallest one.  It's painless, and sometimes fun.  But I find that I have to use the same method to re-stretch myself to regain my width.  And while it does pinch a bit working "Big John" and his larger brothers in there I can do it with little discomfort.

But I would add one piece of advice that Doctor McGuinn left me with, and it does appear to be true.  Most men will be no wider than your second largest dilator.  And you can have very enjoyable intercourse if you are just using the first two dilators, and "organic" dilation.  It is, generally, not necessary to always work your way up to being like the Alaska pipeline, unless you need to.

If you put it in the perspective of what happens with a cis-woman in a relationship, her body will stretch to best accommodate her partner.  And that is what you are doing as well.

Depth and comfort are your best guides going forward.

-Sandy