Recipe for a Perfect Start to Summer

I wrote a very encouraging post on Monday about our progress and how well it's going.  Monday night my vagina started burning.  I went to bed hoping that it was just a burning vagina that would go away over night, but no.  I hardly slept it burned so bad and in the morning I had to face the reality that I most likely had a bladder infection.  I went to the emergency room and I did indeed have a bladder infection.  With the last two bladder infections I've had (the previous one a year and half ago and the most pain I've ever felt in my life), I haven't had the typical symptom of abdominal pain.  My pain is mostly intense vaginal burning.  Now it's probably really my bladder that is burning but to me it feels like my vagina is burning.  So I felt that way again, although this time my pain was around a 9 instead of the 10 that it was last time.

I actually had to miss the last day of school for the students because I was in so much pain I just couldn't imagine going to work.

So I took the antibiotic that the doctor prescribed and then guess what happened?  I bet you've already guessed.  Yes, I felt a yeast infection coming on.  My vagina started to itch yesterday and I knew.  Usually when prescribed an antibiotic I will ask for Diflucan, but I just wasn't thinking.  So I went to the gynecologist today and I do have a mild yeast infection.  Oh, and I also have a little blood in my urine, which they didn't mention at the hospital.

So to sum up, my first week of summer break has been met with a burning and itching vagina and orange pee that burns when it comes out.  I hope to be past all this soon so we can get back to our activities without losing too much progress.

BLAH!!

Penis Colada

My husband and I have been making good progress with penetration.  We try to do it at least 4 times per week, but often more.  Sometimes it hurts, sometimes it burns, and sometimes it's no problem.  Now, I haven't felt anything that's actually pleasurable; it still just feels like there's a foreign object inside my vagina, but I have hope that the pleasure will come eventually.

Here is our updated routine:
Step One: take Valium 30 minutes or more before penetration (to relax both mind and muscles).
Step Two: heat pelvic area for at least 15 minutes before (using hot bath or heating pad).
Step Three: apply lidocaine to sensitive spots inside vagina.
Step Four: Husband wears glove, covers finger in coconut oil and does some pelvic clock stretching with his finger.  He holds down on muscles that are sensitive and we try to loosen up the muscles.
Step Five: I put in my biggest dildo for a few minutes just to prepare my vagina for the penis (also covered in coconut oil).
Step Six: Penis in vagina!  More oil of course.  We have found two positions that usually work, although it's never consistent on which one feels better or worse than the other.  Right now we're sticking to me on top either facing him or facing away from him.  Facing him there is more of a chance of my sensitive G-spot area to be unpleasantly rubbed, but there's less of a chance that it will make my PC muscles feel too stretchy.  The opposite is true for me on top facing away from him.  In this position there is no irritation on the G-spot area, but if I'm having a tight muscle day it can be painful.  So we usually do both and pick the best one.  We stay this way for about 10 minutes either staying still while I do kegels or we do slow in-and-out that I control.

As you can see, it's still all very technical, but I guess it has to be that way for now.  I'm still trying to retrain my body and my mind to believe that sex won't hurt, and hopefully that sex is actually pleasurable.

We've been using Coconut Oil ever since my PT recommended it and I really like it.  Unlike water-based lubricants, it sticks around and you really don't have to keep reapplying.  It makes everything nice and slippery.  And every time we use it I feel like I'm at the beach because of the coconut smell!  The problem with the coconut oil is that it's an oil.  And oil does not wash out of the sheets.  We tried using two towels on top of the sheets, but it seeped through so I ended up buying a waterproof crib pad at Target that is made for babies that wet the bed.  It has little sheep on it and it's only the size of a crib, but it really works quite well.  Even though it's waterproof, it's soft and it doesn't feel or sound plasticy.  Now we use the crib pad with a towel on top and our sheets are safe.  When I think about it it makes me chuckle, but hey, whatever works.  It's worth it to be able to keep using the coconut oil without ruining our sheets.