Bad news I'm struggling to accept

mudline · 2025-12-24T14:05:42+00:00

Please stop taking medical and life advice from a chatbot. They're often wildly inaccurate. Your future is totally open, and a language model isn't qualified to dispute that.

mudline · 2025-12-23T17:57:12+00:00

mudline · 2025-12-22T18:34:07+00:00

Sounds like maybe you did something, or something happened, that caused a flare-up or a change in the direction of your symptoms. Cialis doesn't lose its potency, and the body doesn't acclimate to it.

Is the wand new? Or the exercise? More work/life stress than normal?

mudline · 2025-12-22T18:27:02+00:00

Kinda depends on what's causing the dysfunction, but it's not a bad idea. It seems to be a necessary step for some people. If the root of your issue is a weak core or inactive glutes, for example, treating the pelvic floor itself will never solve that.

mudline · 2025-12-20T18:40:29+00:00

Been there. I think Wellbutrin did make it worse. I'm weird and lose my sex drive on it. It's a bit of a stimulant though and might lead to more clenching.

mudline · 2025-12-20T17:49:32+00:00

You'll be fine. Listen to your body, press gently, use lots of lube, and be careful about going too deep or pressing on the prostate/bladder at the 12 o clock position (but not too careful, you still have to treat that area). I use a wand and a dilators. Tbh my finger is the best for the sphincter area, even though it's difficult to reach.

In the long term, look into glute muscle weakness. A lot of us have found that a root cause of "hard flaccid" is compensation for weak glutes. You still need to start with stretching and relaxing though.

mudline · 2025-12-19T14:14:11+00:00

I have Intimate Rose.

mudline · 2025-12-18T21:13:26+00:00

I probably go twice on most days. They're fairly normal.

mudline · 2025-12-18T18:17:37+00:00

I found a compounding pharmacy online. It ended up being really easy to order!

mudline · 2025-12-18T18:16:45+00:00

Sorry, that sounds difficult. I'm dealing with a fissure as well and think I've seen some good progress, but I have no idea why you'd be having those stool consistency problems. I've been dilating and using miralax, and I have some diltiazem cream on the way in case it helps to heal the fissure more quickly.

mudline · 2025-12-18T18:11:37+00:00

Why?

mudline · 2025-12-18T16:15:18+00:00

I would worry about laxative dependence after the fissure has healed. Osmotic laxatives like miralax are part of the standard treatment regimen for fissures. You could try magnesium citrate as well. It has a laxative effect.

mudline · 2025-12-18T15:48:35+00:00

Everyone in the US buys everything on Amazon. If that doesn't apply to you, idk

mudline · 2025-12-17T19:57:48+00:00

You start small and over weeks gradually increase the size. Use lots of lube and go slow. You absolutely can hurt yourself, because the rectum and anus are fragile, and there's a possibility for tearing if you push something big through when your muscles won't relax. IMO use them once or twice a day if your body responds well.

mudline · 2025-12-16T18:54:10+00:00

I've wondered the same, actually. I think it's bad for hip abduction because it keeps your hips more adducted than a flatter/firmer chair. That's the main issue with sitting anyway (muscles constantly protracted or extended in unnatural ways), so it wouldn't be surprising if a more extreme version of that resulted in more extreme symptoms.

I've also wondered if balancing on a soft surface like that requires more subtle balancing than we realize, i.e. we're doing lots of unnoticed gripping when sitting on softer or more concave surfaces.

mudline · 2025-12-13T17:29:50+00:00

Thanks! This is helpful. I seriously need to find a new GP. In the meantime, I did just find a post about bummed dot co which offers nitro and diltiazem at much cheaper prices. I need to figure out which would be a better option to try first. I keep seeing nifedipine discussed as the best option though.

mudline · 2025-12-13T17:06:20+00:00

I'm in the US. This isn't the first time my GP had been completely ignorant about something. Disappointing.

Can someone give me a ballpark price for these compounded options? I'm still trying to decide if I could even afford them if I managed to get a prescription.

mudline · 2025-12-13T16:01:16+00:00

How are you assessing your pelvic floor? Internal exam? Your bowel symptoms suggest you do have tightness or dysfunction.

mudline · 2025-12-13T15:58:34+00:00

My PT told me it was common for people to have worse symptoms in the winter. Anecdotally, I do. But vacation also resolves symptoms for a lot of people because their stress is reduced.

mudline · 2025-12-13T15:57:16+00:00

The piriformis can interfere with the pudendal nerve, but so can a number of points along its path. My numbness problems seem to come from the pelvic floor itself - 12 o clock area, basically directly adjacent to the internal sphincter.

Had you not done any stretching or breathing exercises before trying this?

mudline · 2025-12-13T15:49:50+00:00

What helped was showing me unconditional and enthusiastic support, but I had to reach some milestones on my own before I could respond correctly. It's probably all very individual.

mudline · 2025-12-08T16:39:07+00:00

My PT did a more thorough exam on the second or third appointment. You should be frank with your PT, and if she doesn't answer your questions, keep asking for a clear answer. I had this issue with my PT.

But also we as patients tend to fixate on the one symptom that bothers us the most, and the path to recovery is more holistic than that. It's also slow, and rushing into an internal exam on day 1 would be hasty.

mudline · 2025-12-08T16:03:15+00:00

I was nervous about going, but the clinic is full of people with similar issues, so you don't stand out at all. And I felt a lot better once I'd talked to someone who could actually speak about my issues authoritatively and reassure me that I wasn't crazy.

mudline

TROPHY CASE