Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy

So, dear sisters, I want to open a new topic for discussion.  After religiously using the vaginal dilator (I was using the cool water cones) since October after my last radiation therapy, I felt I wasn't making any progress and actually was feeling some pain. So I decided to consult with a nurse practioner I found in a web search who had written an article regarding the use of dilators.  Lucky for me, she had an office not far from where I live.

She did a thorough evaluation and measured my vaginal length and determined that the muscles in my vagina are very contracted and tight and this was leading to the pain.  She also taught me the correct way to use the dilator.  She said the cool water cones, because of their shape and texture, would not help me and she recommended I use the dilator that I was given by my radiation oncologist.  She said there were a couple options; one would be vaginally inserterd valium (off label, insurance doesn't cover, has to be compounded) and/or a type of pelvic floor physical therapy.  I chose the physical therapy and will have my first visit tomorrow.  

I'll keep you posted how the physical therapy goes.  Frankly I'm not looking forward to it, but if it can solve this issue, I'm willing to do it.  I was lucky to find this provider.  I didn't get this type of advice at my cancer center.   It's too bad that we all do not get this type of evaluation considering our type of cancer because this is such a quality of life issue and difficult to bring up in our regular visits.