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Meet the woman who had Botox injected into her vagina.

 

Genital pain is something many women can relate to  –  from period induced cramping to the occasional post-sex pain – it’s a reality often managed with over-the-counter pain killers and a hot water bottle.

But for one woman, the frequency of her pain was above and beyond what most of us could even begin to fathom. And the eventual solution to her woes was even more surprising.

Speaking to body + soul over the weekend, the woman, who chose to remain anonymous said, “People often ask when did the pain start? It’s hard to say because I don’t ever remember being pain free. But I do remember distinctly wincing when I tried to use tampons for the first time in high school. Even the mini ones hurt.”

The pain is caused by an extreme reflex of the pubococcygeus muscle, which can tense up suddenly and make inserting anything near impossible and extremely painful.

But because the pain had always been there, the woman says she didn’t know any better. “I thought it was normal — you know, like something I had to get used to — so I kept persisting,” she said.

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"Things started to get worse when I got my first serious boyfriend and we started having sex. It hurt at entry, but after we get started it was usually OK. However, as time went on, rather than get better, things got worse. I started to be in pain after sex too. I would feel sore and swollen down there and this could last for at least a day or two."

Without a clear solution to the problem, the woman began to self medicate with alcohol and rely on sheer will to get her through the pain, but unsurprisingly, the pain transferred from being physical to emotional as well.

 

Despite years of unsuccessful treatments in her earl 20s, the woman reached an all time low and decided to return to her doctors.

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"I booked in to see every gynaecologist, physio and physiologist, that could help me," she said. "Then, by chance, I was told about a specialist who does Botox injections into the muscles of the vagina to relax them. Immediately I called and made an appointment."

Yep. You read that right. Botox, not just for an ageing brow. And while we've heard lots of reasons against the use of Botox, what if in this instance, it could be the clear solution?

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The woman was so emotional at the thought of a solution she began crying in the doctors office. "He told me he thought my condition was caused by sensitive skin, which equals pain, which equals the muscles to contract with pain, and to anticipate pain. He seemed to think that because I had been on the pill for more than 10 years, my body wasn’t getting the estrogen it needed to make the skin supple and elastic.

Having found a doctor with an immediate treatment plan and long-term solution, the woman was told the curable condition would require Botox, but also physio, dilators, tablets and creams.

The first step was to undergo the Botox injections which would allow the tightened pelvic floor muscles to relax.

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Carried out as a day surgery in hospital, the woman had injections to her left and right muscles, and said that there was tenderness and pain that followed for almost a week after.

"Now it’s all about taking advantage of the next six months (that’s how long the effects last) with regular physio and at-home exercises with different size dilators," she says.

And while she's not completely "cured", the woman said that she now knows what pain free sex can feel like, and that her painful memories are slowly melting away.

Watch what Mia Freedman has to say about Botox... 

Video via Mamamia
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