I am day 7 post-op and I'm feeling a lot better overall. Walking is not difficult. I went on a 15 minute walk earlier this morning. I have pain but it is more of the stretching pain. My doctor says I should not be in much pain anymore.

I have pain but it isn't localized to the 6 o'clock position. It's more around the 4-7 and it's just a general stretching pain. My doctor said she didn't think I'd need them as my "vaginal girth" seemed fine and I don't have any muscle issues but right now I can't think of putting ANYTHING in my vagina. I think it's kind of funny that on my discharge papers it reminds me not to have sex for 4-6 weeks, AS IF I'd even think about that...

Right now I do have some itching. My doctor told me to take benadryl 50mg every 6 hours or to even put benadryl ointment on the site but I think I'm going to just take oral benadryl. She also said she could prescribe me a steroid ointment if the itching continued, but that she would want to see me in her office before doing that (my post-op follow-up isn't until after Thanksgiving).

To those still considering surgery, I think it's important to know your doctor beforehand and know how available he/she will be to answer your questions, especially after the surgery. When I first met my doctor, and especially after a few appts, I knew that if I was going to have this surgery I would want her to do it. It was just a feeling I had about her and it is difficult for me to explain it. My doctor told me she had only done between 10-15 of these but I still felt comfortable with her. I think what stood out to me was that she was extremely sharp with regard to current treatments and efficacies of those treatments. She's only a few years out of her residency and I think, in general, that is a time when doctors are at their best.

There was another doctor in her department who had done "hundreds" of vestibulectomies but he was also really old and a man, which didn't make me feel comfortable. I'm not saying that a man can't do this procedure or be a good ob/gyn, but for me it has always been important to have a female ob/gyn.

I think it can be confusing when we're on here discussing full vs. partial vestibulectomy because my doctor didn't use those terms- she mapped out using the q-tip several times and her fingers as well, exactly where my pain was. She ended up cutting from 2 o'clock to 10 o'clock so I think that is pretty close to a "full" vestibulectomy. I think each vestibulectomy is going to be different though. When my doctor was describing the procedure to the OR nurse she described it as a kind of like a "modified perineoplasty."

I think what is difficult for me is telling my family and friends. My mom is obviously sympathetic and I'm sure she's told my dad but I also have brothers and when I told my older one his response made me feel more alone-- he thought it was TMI. But my younger brother was a lot more understanding and didn't make me feel judged. My female friends and family have all been sympathetic but they don't truly *get* it.