Pap Smears & Vaginismus

So, if you have vaginismus, you know how difficult or impossible it is to get a pap smear. In fact, up until the other day, I had never been able to successfully have a pap smear done on me and I’m 27 years old.

I was so fortunate to find this amazing gynecologist in my area, who not only knew what vaginismus was, but was understanding, supportive, attentive and proactive!

First, she sat down with me for half an hour, even though she probably was super busy, and asked me to list all of the previous treatments I’ve tried and what my main goal is. Of course, my main goal is to achieve pain free sex.

After hearing that I had one really good PT that provided me with the most success, she recommended I locate another PT and work with her to keep searching until we find the right fit. She is also going to help me find a sex therapist, which I’m pretty excited about because Lord knows I need all the help I can get! She also informed me that vulvodynia symptoms can sometimes worsen with specific birth controls. I thought that was extremely interesting and something I had never heard before. Luckily, I do not have vulvodynia, just vaginismus, but for all of you ladies out there who do, take note!

But honestly, the reason why I decided to make this post was because of another thing she did that made her simply amazing. She laid out all of the tools for the pap smear and had me view each and every one, letting me ask questions and get a better look at the specula. She then asked if I would be more comfortable doing the insertion myself. I had NEVER been asked to do that by any gyno before and I thought that’s a wonderful idea for those of us who have vaginismus!

She let me hold the specula, that weird looking instrument that kind of looks like a duck, and her hand guided me in the right direction. She let me take as much time as I needed to insert it but she made sure I was aware that I was in control.

After the pap, she was so sweet and excited that it was successful because, like I said, I had never been able to endure a pap before! She then looked me straight in the eyes with a smile and said, “See, you can do this! You will overcome this!”

She was such an inspiration and a sweetheart! I can’t thank her enough!