(( VaginaPagina ))

Hi everyone!  I thought I'd tell you the story of my hymenectomy so that it may help others!

For years, I heard horror stories about the hymenectomy I knew I needed.  I heard that I would need to lay on a table upside down.  My GYN said that I might need to use dilators and that idea scared me.  I feared bleeding more heavily when I had my period, just because the menstrual blood would have more 'room' to come out.

In short, I put it off, for years, because it scared me.  Who wants to undergo general anesthesia, right?  When I did have it, only my partner and my best friend knew, not my parents (I'm in my 30's, but still), not my other close friends.  I had surgery, and no one knew, because I was embarrassed about it.  I felt like I was way too old to be dealing with this, that it would have been much less embarrassing if I had done it at 18 or something.  For years, I used only maxi pads, and didn't have penetrative sex.  I am a lesbian, but my sexual options were still limited.  For years, I couldn't swim when I had my period, etc.  I was somewhat sexually active, but couldn't have a pap smear, and that got more and more embarrassing to explain.  Nurses would say 'undress for your pap' and I knew I couldn't get a pap.  My hymen had an opening that was small enough for menstrual blood to get out, but not much bigger.  I think my GYN got a Q-tip through the hole once, and it hurt.  Obviously, no tampon or penis would have fit!

I had the surgery over a year ago, and wish that I had done it sooner!  It was a complete success!

I was in the hospital for only a few hours, and unconscious very briefly.  When they woke me up after the surgery, I couldn't believe it was over.  I had minor bleeding afterwards, but less than a menstrual period.  I was given a gel to numb the area afterwards, which I used for less than a week, and a strong oral pain reliever, which I never took!  I was to use a wash bottle given to me at the hospital to spray the area with warm water after every time I peed, to clean it.  The hard part about this is that I didn't want to be carrying a wash bottle into the bathroom with me in public bathrooms.  I avoided wearing any tight pants for a week or two.  It was summer and I'm a teacher, so I pretty much wore athletic shorts.  I don't know that I had to do this.  I was a little sore down there, and this kept me more comfortable.

The stitches disintegrated on their own.  I didn't need to use a dilator, or to have anything more done, besides a check up to make sure it looked ok.

I had a pap smear within a month afterwards.  I started wearing tampons within a month, without problem (besides the initial adjustment period), and have used them exclusively ever since.  I love them (just as much as anyone can love tampons, anyways)!  I can't believe I didn't do this sooner!  I can now have penetrative sex, and I now feel 'normal' down there.  Before, I felt broken, because my hymen was so thick and imperforate that surgery was the only cure.  'Who needs surgery to have sex?' I thought.  Well, I did, and I wish I had done it sooner!  I can now stick my fingers in there and feel around, allowing me to feel like I know my own body.  I really felt like I didn't know a vagina felt before because I didn't have two obvious holes, ya know?

- No longer feeling broken