Sex After Anterior and Posterior Vaginal Repair (Vaginoplasty) - Yes, It Was Worth It!

This is the first review I've ever written. I'm taking the time to write it because I hope it will help other women out there. When I was researching this surgery I just couldn't seem to find the information and testimonials I was looking for. Most importantly...the million dollar question- was it worth it? I can tell you from my experience - yes it absolutely was. Here's why.... At the age of 34 I had a beautiful 9 lb baby boy. Then, a year later, I had a gorgeous 8 lb baby girl. I had them both vaginally. I read post after post about women who said their sex life was better after giving birth. Gd bless these women. That was not the case with me. We waited 8 weeks after my daughter was born to have sex and when we did it was so terrible. There was no tightness at all. I was so devastated. It was cavernous. I love having sex with my husband so much, and I was so overwhelmed with the idea that I would never enjoy it again. My OB said to start doing kegels, but I had a hunch this wasn't something kegels could fix. I was right. In addition to sex being not pleasurable at all, I also felt the constant urge to urinate all day. I later was told this was because my bladder had no muscle lining in the vaginal canal to help hold it up and in place, so it was sagging down essentially and causing me to feel the need to urinate like every hour throughout the day. My OB suggested I see a Urogynecology & Pelvic Surgery specialist. He examined me and said I was definitely a candidate for posterior and anterior vaginal repair. I asked him if kegels or pelvic therapy could help as an alternative to surgery. He said very frankly that I could do kegels "till the cows came home" and it wouldn't make a bit of difference. My vaginal wall muscles had been stretched beyond anything I could do on my own. I felt so overwhelmed. Then he told me about the surgery. Posterior and anterior vaginal repair is just the medical term (covered by insurance) for vaginoplasty (the cosmetic term not covered by insurance).
When the dr told me this would all be covered by insurance I started to cry. I was so relieved because I knew I couldn't afford a 20k or even 10k surgery out of pocket. After much research and debate I decided to do the surgery two weeks after I first met with the dr. I had never had surgery in my life, but my reasons to have the surgery were extremely important to me. The first was for my sex life with my husband and the second was so that I didn't feel the urge to pee every time I tried to run or jump up and down. The dr said I could either have the surgery now and start enjoying life more, or I could wait 30 years and do it then. I decided I wanted to start enjoying life more now.
The surgery was 3 hours long. I opted not to do the sling if I didn't 100% need it. I decided to rely just on the tightening of the vaginal walls to hold the bladder up and in place. I will know more in 10 years or so if I should have just done the sling at the same time as the vaginal wall repair, but for now I'm fine not having done it. The recovery for this surgery is painful for the first few days. My insurance covered one night in the hospital. I was on pain meds for about 7 days. After that I was fine. I have to tell you that having a bowel movement about 4 days after the surgery was by FAR the worst part of it all and it was made worse by the fact that the pain meds cause constipation. I think I should have been taking MiraLax from day one but I didn't start taking it until day 4. After about a week of pain meds and a good bowel movement, I was able to get around just fine and there was no more pain. You can't lift anything heavier than a gallon of milk for 3-4 weeks, so my mother flew up to help me take care of the babies. It was tough not being able to pick them up, but I could hold and rock them just fine. After 4 weeks I began lifting things I normally would, including my 25 lb son. After 6 weeks I was feeling completely normal in my vaginal region and got the all clear to have sex. I was so nervous about how it would feel and if it would be worth it. We waited until 8 weeks after the surgery, just because. I can tell you very candidly, even the first time having sex after surgery, was terrific. I was back! I felt like myself again with my husband. My vaginal walls were nice and tight, as if I had never pushed a baby through there. I After the first time having sex, it just kept getting better and better. I would recommend a strong cocktail the first time around to relax you and to loosen your vaginal muscles (and your nerves). You have to be very relaxed that first time. There are a few positions I like more now than I did before and some I don't like as much as I use to, but all in all, the sex is so fantastic and feels like it did before the babies, if not even a little better. It was absolutely worth it. So far it's been 7 months since the second baby and 3 months since the surgery. I've lost 45 pounds of the baby weight I gained and have 13 more pounds to go. I am starting to look and feel like my old self!!! (minus the things about my body that changed and will never go back:-) But then again, I have two gorgeous babies. Who cares if I will never be able to fit into those same old jeans. I hope to be back to my pre pregnancy weight in a few months and loving my new body. Being able to enjoy my sex life has been a huge part of my postpartum recovery. I would tell anyone to do it who needs it. I knew the pain after recovery wouldn't be easy that first week, but then again, I had just been through child birth, twice. For me, it was worth it. It solved most of my bladder issues as well and I no longer feel the urge to pee constantly throughout the day, which is wonderful!! Every now and again I will get the urge to pee while I'm running so I wonder if I should have done the sling at the same time as the repair, but I am able to run about 2 miles before it becomes an issue, so for now I'm fine with that. I"m told having the sling inserted is not a huge deal and not near the recovery time as the vaginal wall repair. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope this post helps. I was at a real loss trying to find the info I needed before I had this surgery, so I told myself I had to take the time and write about my experience to help others. I am happy to answer questions any one might have as well. Best of luck! Whatever decision you make will be the right one.

when I did the surgery the first time I opted not to have the TVT sling put in for my bladder. This was a mistake. Less than a year later, after running and exercising, I prolapsed again. I was devastated. I had surgery again and had the TVT sling put in. I wish I had done it the first time. I am now very happy with the results and glad I did it, but I do feel the urge to pee more throughout the day with the sling. I'm hoping this improves with time. That being said, I'm still very glad I had it done. The anterior and posterior repair improved my sex life so much!!! I just wish I had done both at the same time.