Gynae visit

[ailbhe]

We saw my lovely friendly teddy-bear gynaecologist again. He examined me.

As far as he can see, I'm better. There's nothing further wrong down there. Anatomically, I am in great shape and he's very pleased with it all.

Ah - but there's the pain. Yes. Well. That could be a few things. (1) It could be inflammation of some glands I can't remember the name of. (2) It could be nerve damage and hypersensitivity due to the degree of trauma I had. (3) It could be just plain stress. He's referring me to an expert for (1), and I should be seen within 12 weeks. He's given me information on dilators, which are every bit as glamourous as they sound, for (2), and I can basically desensitise myself with determination and gritted teeth. (3) I need to chase counselling.

And there's the prolapsing. Well, for that, he's going ot see about referring me for physiotherapy with someone very good who works miles away, but not until we've sorted out the pain.

Here's the good news: I don't need any more surgery, and I can carry another pregnancy without increasing the damage. I can't labour again - even if I didn't deliver vaginally, the labour itself would put too great a strain on my muscles - but I can carry a baby as close to term as an elective c-section allows. It's not great news about not being able to wait for the onset of labour, but there you go. It could be worse.

So if Rob and I can figure out how to get me pregnant without recourse to the traditional methods, we're all set.

Now we need to get some sleep. I'm doubly exhausted today, because of having to (a) go to hospital, (b) get examined, and (c) have a huge crying jag in the consultant's room. He was very nice about it and didn't say I was uptight. He said it was fine to cry and that I shouldn't apologise. I like him.

(He's been ill and lost a lot of weight. He's much less of a teddy bear than he was last time. But he's still wearing funky leather flip-flops with beads, so that's cool.)

Comments

[datagoddess.livejournal.com]

I'm glad the damage is repaired, I hope they find a way to make the pain go away, now.

I have a friend who's TTC now who can't carry to labor, either. Her last pregnancy ended when her uterus ruptured at 36 weeks. She can carry, but at the first sign of contractions, or 35 weeks, she gets a c-section. Not the most wonderful of things, of course.

And, oh, hon, you have every right to cry (especially if he examined you - ouch!). So, so glad he said it was fine to cry. Sounds like a good doctor.

Get some rest. Take care of yourself. *hugs*

On being examined

[ailbhe]

I almost broke Rob's hand, and I ran away up the examining table on my heels. Apparently my distress was obvious.

He tried to talk to me about his findings while I was still on the table but I asked if I could get dressed first. He really is a lovely doctor.

Re: On being examined

[rmc28]

He sounds a great doctor, and I'm so glad about the pregnancy prognosis for you. Hopefully the other approaches will discover a solution too.

I cry after being examined, and feel like it at the thought of it, and I don't have anything that hurts any more. So damnit, it's ok to cry, and I'm glad the doctor agrees.

Re: On being examined

[juliansinger.livejournal.com]

He... tried to talk about his findings... while you were still on the table.

He may well be a lovely doctor, but I really don't think much of /that/ approach, in particular. Yikes.

Re: On being examined

[(Anonymous)]

He wanted to give me the good news as quickly as possible. He was apologetic when I asked to put my clothes on.

[rosefox]

Here's the good news: I don't need any more surgery, and I can carry another pregnancy without increasing the damage. I can't labour again - even if I didn't deliver vaginally, the labour itself would put too great a strain on my muscles - but I can carry a baby as close to term as an elective c-section allows.

Oh, that is good news! It sounds like he was really good all around and there are reasonable answers for pretty much all of the awful questions. I'm glad you let yourself cry, too, and glad he was nice about it.

Get some rest. It sounds like the worst really is over.

[nex0s.livejournal.com]

i'm glad things are beginning to look up. the fact that you don't need surgury is a huge milestone :) i'm glad your doc sounds soooooo marvelous! yay for good doctors!

i'm glad that there are some things you can do to begin to deal with the pain, and hopefully overcome it.

you are, as always, in my thoughts.

n.

[thereyougothen.livejournal.com]

oh thank goodness for good doctors. and well done to you and your body for healing. good luck with pain management. i'm waiting to see someone for that too.

bartholin's glands? my brother's partner had a problem with that. she is all better now I believe, but not wanting to know too much about my brothers sex life makes it difficult to ask!

have a good sleep. xox

[buzzy-bee.livejournal.com]

I had a friend who had problems with the Bartolin's glands as well. IIRC that *was* surgery but it was minor and did do the trick.

[werenerd.livejournal.com]

That's really good news. YAH!

(oh, and hi, I just found your journal through friends of friends. Parent of two myself)

[djelibeybi.livejournal.com]

Cannot stress enough what a relief a good doctor can be. I've had examinations which stress me out and caused me pain and I'm tearful every time. A good doctor is patient and sensitive and can help a great deal. A good cry may feel embarrasing but it's just needed and shouldn't be subdued.

A teddy bear in flip-flops sounds friendly.

[hitchhiker.livejournal.com]

That does sound like good news! IYDMMA, what promise does that hold for your sex life?

[pariyal.livejournal.com]

I'll bet you needed a bit of good news! Hold on in there!

[barakta]

Sounds like a decent bloke. I sincerely hope some or all of the options he has suggested will improve things for you.

[richtermom.livejournal.com]

Well, it SOUNDS positive, but it also sounds like there's still a lot of work to be done, including -- if the glands are as buzzybee mentions -- POSSIBLY some type of surgery.

Bleah. At least he's supportive and he sounds like he's getting you some good direction. Here's hoping it all comes together.

But for now, sweet sweet dreams. (hugs)

[pir-anha.livejournal.com]

yay, no more surgery! and plans of attack for the pain. and a good doctor.

indeed, dilators are not very thrilling, but you can find a lot of information about them on mtf post-op sites.

[the-warwick.livejournal.com]

A light at the end of the tunnel. I'm glad you've had a little good news when you need it most.

[baratron.livejournal.com]

Congratulations for not being very physically broken!

Hmmm. Well, along the lines of dilators, there does exist a vaginal probe attachment for TENS machines. It's intended for use to improve continence, but I know some kinky people use them in SM play. Anyway, there's a possibility that as well as improving pelvic floor muscle tone, it may also help with pain? Probably worth looking into.

[micheinnz.livejournal.com]

Oh, hooray for good news! And barring other complications, elective C-sections can be done at full term.

Your doctor does sound lovely. I'm glad for you. (It's about bloody time you had some good news on that front!)

[pauamma]

What she said.

[k425.livejournal.com]

You're gynaecologically mended, which is great news. Now to work on being fully mended - having a good consultant who keeps referring you to the people who can do more is good. In fact, your consultant sounds good all round.

Look into the dilators (well, not like that) because they really can help and if they do that means not having to look into non-trad methods of achieving pregnancy.

The end of the tunnel appears to be getting closer, and I'm glad to hear that.

[mrscosmopilite.livejournal.com]

that's wonderfully positive news, I have everything crossed that things continue in this positive way for all of you. You deserve some good things...

[leedy.livejournal.com]

Hullo! Sorry for the rather personal spamminess, but I found you via hfnuala's journal and then saw you were posting about Lady Bit Pain. I had vulvar vestibulitis for nearly two years - for the uninitiated, VV is a DELIGHTFUL condition where, er, you have a sore vagina. No recognisable skin condition. No infection. Just pain. It's not been terribly well researched, but it seems to be some kind of nerve pain, possibly resulting from an initial infection or trauma.

Anyhow, I get the impression from your post that your pain problem was related to birth, and I have not yet spawned, so the pain might be a bit different, but! I had astonishing results re pain in That Area from traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture. A friend on a VV mailing list had done so, and I thought it was worth a try, and ... I was pain-free in about three months. I haven't had a twinge since. I told my GP about it and he is now recommending it to some other patients with lady bit pain problems.

The other thing that helped a bit was bog-standard pelvic floor exercises, as there's a school of thought that says that inexplicable pain there can be caused by excessive clenching - you're sore, you wince, you clench, you create more pain, etc., etc. The exercises not only strengthen the muscles but allow them to relax.

I hope that helps and that things improve. Feel free to ask me questions!

[ailbhe]

Inflammation of the vestibular glands is what he said! I couldn't remember the word vestibular. However, it's not a diagnosis yet - he's referring me to an expert, apparently. I will bear acupuncture in mind. It was good for my RSI years ago.

Pelvic floor exercises - I am the QUEEN OF KEGEL. I was severely incontinent after the birth, and that's a great motivator for doing the pelvic clench. Trouble is, there's a fair bit of nerve damage so I can't actually send to to-clench impulses to all the right bits.

But thanks for the suggestions - I will speak to the gynaecologist.

[leedy.livejournal.com]

"Vestibule" always sounded to me like it ought to have a coat-rack or something in it....

Definitely, definitely consider the acupuncture - I saw (ooh, let's see) two gynecologists, one dermatologist, one genito-urinary medicine doctor (and a partridge in a pear tree) and I got better results from that than anything they suggested (I nearly felt like shouting from the rooftops that glory be, I could have penetrative sex again). Though at least if your pain is definitely the result of a difficult birth you're unlikely to get some idiot telling you that it's some mysterious manifestation of thrush and making you put nasty irritating cream on it. Bitter, moi?

I hope the expert is helpful. It sounds like you've had a really tough time of it about the nethers - I just had the VV, and I still ended up spending days crying about it.

Oh, if it is diagnosed as nerve pain, one thing they may recommend is low-dose tricyclic antidepressants, which apparently can work v. well but also are severely sedating (like old-style antihistamines) - I went for the acupuncture before trying them and am glad I did.

[grumpoldusenaut.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad you've got a doctor who's taking it seriously and who you can feel comfortable with. Even if he can't fix everything, it must be an enormous relief to find someone who at least wants to try.