Hymenectomy results!
May. 25th, 2009 06:18 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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vaginapaginaHi everyone! Although I've never posted in here before, this community has helped me out a lot with questions I've had in the past, so I thought I would share my experiences!
I will have gotten my hymenectomy procedure done two weeks ago tomorrow. I am 19 now, and I first attempted to use tampons when I was about 13 or 14, but could never insert them. I just blamed it on being too nervous about it, and it never caused me a huge inconvenience to just wear pads. But about a year and a half ago when I went away to college it started to become a bit annoying. I started to experiment with tampons, but could only insert the smallest ones, and they always felt very uncomfortable and hurt, a lot, whenever I took them out. At the time I also began dating my first serious boyfriend, and knew there was no way that I could ever have sex with him when I couldn't even use regular tampons!
So, this led me to my first visit with my gynecologist. He told me that my hymen was thicker than most women's, making it more rigid and creating a smaller hole to my vagina. He offered a few solutions, a hymenectomy not being one of them. He said the cheapest and least invasive option would simply be to try and "stretch myself out" by using my finger to push on the sides of my hymen to stretch it and make it more pliable. This didn't work out so well, seeing I am not the best with pain and it hurt to even get one finger up "there," much less to do anything else.
After my boyfriend and I broke up, this problem seemed to be a little less immediate, so I did not bring it up again with my GYN until my next annual rolled around (which was in April). I went into the appointment knowing that I wanted the surgery (which I had learned about on here!), talked to him about it, and decided that a hymenectomy would be best for me.
I scheduled the surgery about a month and a half out from then. I had to go to the hospital about a week before my actual surgery to have blood work done, and met with my doctor the day before the surgery as well.
My surgery was scheduled for 7:30am, so I had to get to the hospital at 5:30. They got my initial IV started, and at about 6:45 my doctor arrived, and soon after the anesthesiologist gave me a medicine to relax me (I'm not sure what it was, but it worked!). I was then wheeled back to the operating room, where they gave me anesthesia to put me to sleep. The whole procedure only lasted about 20 minutes, and I woke up at about 8:15, and left the hospital before 9am.
I was sore for almost a week afterwards, but it was nothing too horrendous. It took a bit of time to sit and stand in the first few days, and made the mistake of going to the mall the day after my surgery - definitely should not have been doing that much walking! I bled for about 5 or so days after my surgery, but only used 2 or 3 regular-sized pads-I mostly used pantyliners.
I went back to my doctor to make sure nothing was infected/everything else was normal a week post-op, and it was! He advised that for my next period (which is this week) I should probably stick to pads, but after that tampons should be a breeze!
I am very, very glad I had this surgery done, and if anyone is debating whether or not to, I highly recommend it!
I will have gotten my hymenectomy procedure done two weeks ago tomorrow. I am 19 now, and I first attempted to use tampons when I was about 13 or 14, but could never insert them. I just blamed it on being too nervous about it, and it never caused me a huge inconvenience to just wear pads. But about a year and a half ago when I went away to college it started to become a bit annoying. I started to experiment with tampons, but could only insert the smallest ones, and they always felt very uncomfortable and hurt, a lot, whenever I took them out. At the time I also began dating my first serious boyfriend, and knew there was no way that I could ever have sex with him when I couldn't even use regular tampons!
So, this led me to my first visit with my gynecologist. He told me that my hymen was thicker than most women's, making it more rigid and creating a smaller hole to my vagina. He offered a few solutions, a hymenectomy not being one of them. He said the cheapest and least invasive option would simply be to try and "stretch myself out" by using my finger to push on the sides of my hymen to stretch it and make it more pliable. This didn't work out so well, seeing I am not the best with pain and it hurt to even get one finger up "there," much less to do anything else.
After my boyfriend and I broke up, this problem seemed to be a little less immediate, so I did not bring it up again with my GYN until my next annual rolled around (which was in April). I went into the appointment knowing that I wanted the surgery (which I had learned about on here!), talked to him about it, and decided that a hymenectomy would be best for me.
I scheduled the surgery about a month and a half out from then. I had to go to the hospital about a week before my actual surgery to have blood work done, and met with my doctor the day before the surgery as well.
My surgery was scheduled for 7:30am, so I had to get to the hospital at 5:30. They got my initial IV started, and at about 6:45 my doctor arrived, and soon after the anesthesiologist gave me a medicine to relax me (I'm not sure what it was, but it worked!). I was then wheeled back to the operating room, where they gave me anesthesia to put me to sleep. The whole procedure only lasted about 20 minutes, and I woke up at about 8:15, and left the hospital before 9am.
I was sore for almost a week afterwards, but it was nothing too horrendous. It took a bit of time to sit and stand in the first few days, and made the mistake of going to the mall the day after my surgery - definitely should not have been doing that much walking! I bled for about 5 or so days after my surgery, but only used 2 or 3 regular-sized pads-I mostly used pantyliners.
I went back to my doctor to make sure nothing was infected/everything else was normal a week post-op, and it was! He advised that for my next period (which is this week) I should probably stick to pads, but after that tampons should be a breeze!
I am very, very glad I had this surgery done, and if anyone is debating whether or not to, I highly recommend it!
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no subject
Date: 2009-05-26 05:32 am (UTC)Keep us updated!
no subject
Date: 2009-05-26 05:33 am (UTC)I have to say that my first time to have sex was a lot easier and more pleasant that what I had heard about over the years because my hymen was long gone, so I hope yours will be too!
One curious slightly personal question: did your insurance cover the procedure?
no subject
Date: 2009-05-26 09:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-05-26 12:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-05-26 02:02 pm (UTC)To the OP- Would you mind keeping in touch since we both had the surgery relatively close to each other, and I could use someone with firsthand experience that's on the same boat as I.
no subject
Date: 2009-05-26 10:22 pm (UTC)