Sorry it's been so long since my last post but I wanted to share an update. I had my vestibulectomy in January of 2012 and I have some good news :) I am consistently over 98% cured!!
I was still struggling with inconsistent painful sex... great sometimes and not so great others until this past September but now I don't remember the last time I had any pain.
Things I think contributed...
I got a mirena IUD in November and I was so worried about any sort of hormonal birth control because I think that may have been part of what caused this entire problem to begin with. But anyway, the mirena IUD greatly improved my vestibulitis.
Mirena has only progestin and no estrogen so that may be why it worked for me better than traditional birth control pills.
I think partly because I was able to have more spontaneous sex without the restrictions of putting on a condom. I also think everything stays more lubricated without the friction of latex. Highly recommended!
I haven't needed lidocaine or anything else topical in over 8 months.
The problem... while checking my strings a few weeks ago I felt something plastic and it was the end of my IUD starting to come out. I had to get it removed and I tried to have another one inserted but I cramped so bad during insertion that I pushed that IUD out too less than 30 seconds after she inserted it... I decided to give my body a break because obviously my uterus was not having it!
So now, no IUD :( But I am thinking of getting one again in a few months. Before the IUD I had really bad, crampy periods and with my mirena much better periods with virtually no cramps!
Other things that may or may not have contributed to my success...
I have been seeing a massage therapist once a month which has been fabulous! I had a back injury 5 years ago and never had it looked at because it didn't really hurt. I realize now that it has had some lasting effects from me favoring one side of my back over the other and now I'm a little crooked and my muscles are super spazzy.
Seeing a massage person has helped me relax my muscles and that has likely affected my entire pelvic floor.
Another thing, I've been gluten free for a year now and I know cutting out gluten can help a lot with reducing inflammation. I saw a doctor who did an allergy test and I was reacting to a lot of different things which just showed me that my stomach and digestive system was kind of a mess.
Going gluten free was so hard at first but now I have more energy and I feel my stomach has chilled out. This could definitely have been affecting my vestibulitis but if it did, it took a long time to really make a difference. Like I said, I haven't eaten it (at all) in a year and I started feeling better (down there) 8 months after my new diet.
Sorry for any spelling errors... I get these posts out quickly and don't really re-read. Hope this helps!
