Hello everyone. I am 18 years old and sex has never felt good for me.. it's only been a really bad burning/stabbing pain. I went to countless gynos and none of them could tell me what was wrong with me.

Finally, one I found thought there was a chance I may have something called vulvodynia. She referred me to a physical therapist to help work on my problems, and prescribed me a estrogen/testosterone cream to use. The physical therapist eventually referred me to a doctor in D.C. who was known to be the best doctor available for these types of specialized cases.

Unfortunately they do not accept insurance, so we had to pay for our appointment out of pocket and wait months to get a slot. I had the appointment today, and during the examination he knew exactly what he was talking about and knew exactly how I was going to feel when he touched a certain area.

He believes that the only way my vestibulodynia will be cured is by surgery. The other possible solution would be to drop birth control pills and use the cream again, but because I have had this problem my entire life he does not think it will solve it. (I am supposed to try it for a few months anyways to be sure) There are antidepressants, seizure medicines, etc that can be prescribed but it is not a cure, only mildly suppresses the issue and I would have to take them for the rest of my life. They also have bad side effects.

What scares me is the procedure. For one, it is extremely expensive and we will have to fight insurance to even help pay for a little of it. It is supposed to be very painful for months and a very long recovery time; 2 weeks of bed rest, 6 weeks where even walking will be difficult. Afterward, I have to use dilators to slowly help stretch my vagina out or the procedure will have been for nothing (the pain will come from the opening being too tiny this time however). The surgery will cover a gland that produces lubrication so I will produce 25% less lubrication, meaning I will probably have to carry lube around with me every where I go......

The success rates (on 213 women) were 58% saying they could have completely pain free normal sex using lubrication when necessary
30% saying they only had mild pain
and 12% saying they still had moderate to severe pain, but mostly all of these people admitted they didn't use the dilators. He said this was likely due to 20-30 years of a psychological backup of not being able to touch anywhere near that area.
90% of women after having a baby had completely pain free sex, I was told this was because having a baby helps to completely stretch your vagina to make it flexible again.

I am so scared and don't know what to do. I have money saved up and can use some college funds, but wasting away an entire summer and getting this done makes me so nervous. I have never been able to enjoy sex and honestly I don't want to spend the rest of my life this way. I just don't know what to do and can't help getting upset over it.