#dilators

✨ Hey folks with vaginismus/vulvodynia/hypertonic pelvic floor, I just discovered a product that might change things for you completely! I saw this suggestion in an article (I can’t find it now). I’ve been battling with vaginismus for YEARS, and it seems like this has changed the game for me. I’ve made the most progress EVER. It’s SO ENCOURAGING. 💖

Before, I just had the Intimate Rose set, and while it’s basically industry gold standard… it’s been no where near as helpful in removing pain and replacing it with pleasure as the vibrating dilator set. I rarely actually felt pleasure with the Intimate Rose set because there was usually pain… especially when moving up a size, I could just feel the prickly sharp sensations of stretching, so any hint of pleasure was overpowered by that pain! 😬

With a vibrating dilator, you don’t even have time to notice any pain because it’s just buzzin’ in there & feels great. It does the work for you, I don’t even know how to even explain it! While using it, I was thinking “Woah, is this what it feels like to have a normally functioning vagina? This is amazing!” haha! 😂

I never considered vibrators before because they are usually quite large and not designed for people with vaginismus, but these are PERFECT. 😍

I feel silly for not thinking of this earlier! The first couple of times it might be a bit intimidating and strange as you get used to the feeling, but then it’s great (at least in my experience). ✨

Some considerations:

🌸You may need to be able to insert Intimate Rose #2 or an equivalent product in order to use it, because the smallest end of the smaller dilator is about the same size as that.

🌼Make sure to use lubrication. My PT told me to use coconut oil instead of usual lubrication for dilators so that’s what I do, personally!

❗️Please ask a gynaecologist or pelvic floor physical therapist if you have any concerns about whether this is right for you! I’m not qualified to give medical advice- this is just what is helping me! ❗️

💕Here is the link to the set I have: 💕

CalExotics Inspire 3 Piece Silicone Waterproof Vibrating Dilator Kit with Removable Wireless Stimulator, Pink https://a.co/d/10wzWPR

It’s really weird being a 20 year old vagina haver and being scared of penetration.

I received my dilators in the mail the other day. The smallest one is the size of a tampon, and the biggest one is the size of a pretty big penis. They all scare me. Even the one the size of a tampon.

I’ve experienced penetration a small number of times, all while drunk, with little memory of it the next day. The one(s) I have the most clear memory of are of course the ones I’d like to forget. But that was years ago now.

I’ve come a long way, but I feel stuck and frustrated. I’ve been putting in work at physical therapy and dilating consistently, but I’m wondering when I’ll get to the other side of all this. I’m hesitant to move on to dilator 7 and attempt sex. I really want to, but I’m scared! Scared it’ll hurt or I that won’t do it right. But I’ll never know if I never try, right? Time to take a deep breath and dive into this. 

Caitlyn Tivy, the (awesome) pelvic health physical therapist, is back with us again, talking vaginal dilators in a new two-part series.

"Perhaps you’ve heard of dilators — also known as vaginal trainers — before, but you weren’t sure where to learn more about them. Maybe you’ve never heard of them, but you’re looking for ways to manage pelvic pain. Perhaps you’ve already tried using dilators, but weren’t very successful. Regardless, you’re in the right place!

“Vaginal dilator” is the most commonly used medical term for these devices, though many clinicians and researchers are shifting to the term “vaginal trainer.” Many pelvic PTs—myself included!—prefer the term trainer. Not only does “training” sound less aggressive than “dilation”, it also communicates a key concept of trainer use: it should be an active, participatory process in which the user is in control, rather than an experience that is happening to them as a passive recipient.

I also generally refer to these devices simply as just “trainers”. This terminology is inclusive for everyone with genitalia that allow for use of these devices. For these reasons, I’ll use the term “trainer” for the remainder of this article.

If you search online using the terms “pelvic floor trainer” or “vaginal trainer”, you may see ads for other devices designed to help people learn to perform pelvic floor exercises, or “kegels,” properly. These devices are not the same as the trainers we’re discussing here, but not to worry: I’ll include a guide to finding the right type of trainers later!

The trainers we’re discussing here are medical devices used to decrease pain and improve flexibility in the tissues of the vaginal and neovaginal canals.