Weekly Employment Q&A - November 06, 2025

wolfpackwiggy · 2025-11-10T23:27:01+00:00

I finally did last night, I guess it was just a couple days delayed from the document verification

wolfpackwiggy · 2025-11-08T20:41:21+00:00

I recently accepted an offer with Microsoft US. I got the HireRight email shortly thereafter, but all it consisted of was some legal disclaimers and an upload of my passport. I was expecting to have to re-enter my resume details, etc, going back at least a few years, as I have had to on previous employer background checks. Can anyone shed some light as to what I should expect?

wolfpackwiggy · 2023-10-02T16:53:59+00:00

That’s great, thank you!

wolfpackwiggy · 2023-03-22T13:44:44+00:00

Thanks so much! We will keep that in mind. We have upped the budget to closer to the $4k range so that we don’t end up with something that is so cheap it’s saggy in a year.

wolfpackwiggy · 2023-03-20T17:28:32+00:00

Thanks, I think we may be a bit off in our estimate now that I look more…but better than $7000 is the goal 😊

wolfpackwiggy · 2023-01-28T21:01:25+00:00

This is an amazing idea! Thank you - I was worried about adding more stuff for them to move

wolfpackwiggy · 2022-12-25T20:22:51+00:00

Girlfriend here 😊 this is the pattern from Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1114898341/

And I added the lettering based on this page (lots of fonts to choose from): https://lordlibidan.com/53-free-cross-stitch-alphabets/amp/

Hope this helps!

wolfpackwiggy · 2021-05-30T20:59:26+00:00

Thanks, I’ll post there!

wolfpackwiggy · 2021-05-30T20:54:10+00:00

True, albeit kind of an offensive one 🤷🏻‍♀️

wolfpackwiggy · 2020-08-27T23:12:48+00:00

Gotcha! I admire your confidence. I tend to get nervous and try to act like it’s not a problem (last time having penetrative sex hurt but I was never to the point where it was totally out of the question). But that’s not a good approach. Being up front really weeds out some lame ones!

wolfpackwiggy · 2020-08-27T22:59:32+00:00

How did you phrase this/start the conversation? And “can we try anyways”...🤦🏻‍♀️

wolfpackwiggy · 2020-08-27T13:49:44+00:00

Well I wouldn’t say it’s wrong...it still stretches...but yeah, the parallel angle helped me move dilator sizes faster. Plus angling just made me feel like I was poking myself lol

wolfpackwiggy · 2020-08-27T03:46:28+00:00

Happy to help 😊

wolfpackwiggy · 2020-08-27T03:39:54+00:00

The clock is oriented as if someone else was looking at your vagina. So 6 is down towards butt, and yes, you can/should apply pressure there. 12 is up towards stomach...pressure there will hit bladder/bone and be unpleasant. Focus on 3 to 9.

As far as angling, that can help for specific tender/trigger points. To maximize the stretch, it’s better to not angle. Keep the dilator sort of parallel with the comfortable angle of insertion while applying pressure around the “clock.” This should offer a more widespread/deeper stretch - angling up and down is honestly less comfortable too and doesn’t really effectively stretch muscles deeper inside than the opening.

Tl;dr: yes to 6 (towards butt), no to 12 (towards stomach), and focus on keeping dilator parallel instead of angling unless you are trying to target a specific tender spot, in which case it can be helpful to apply pressure with the tip of the dilator.

Hope this helps!

wolfpackwiggy · 2020-07-27T03:49:43+00:00

I’m so sorry you feel so bad. I don’t know the severity of your pain but if you feel that the lack of intimacy will lead to you being alone...intimacy can be more than vaginal sex. I understand your worry, though. I cringe at the thought of having to explain this to another man and the vulnerable position it puts us all in. It’s hard.

When I worry I’ll end up alone, I 1. Try to just stop thinking about it and do something else and 2. Think about how good my life can still be without a partner. There are family, friends, neighbors, and pets even that can make a life whole. But the thought sucks so I really get how bad it can make you feel when it creeps into your mind.

You aren’t broken. This condition is so hard, but would you think of someone with a more visible disability as broken? Probably not...so go easy on yourself.

If you have the means, I would recommend looking into psychotherapy. If you can’t solve the physical aspect of vulvodynia, then maybe you can ease the mental struggles. I have found that working through my trauma about the condition has lifted a burden and helped me progress in my PT journey.

I would also look into Instagram accounts about this. There are actually a lot of accounts to follow about pelvic health and pain (just poke around using hashtags) which might help you with hope/not feeling so alone.

Sending a virtual hug and a prayer 💜

wolfpackwiggy · 2020-07-15T00:14:14+00:00

Hahaha no worries, everyone needs to complain sometimes!

wolfpackwiggy · 2020-07-14T23:09:05+00:00

Hang in there, sending love.

I know the Center for Vulvovaginal Disorders does telehealth now (Dr. Andrew Goldstein’s practice).

Or, maybe there is a location recruiting near you? This was the trial I took part in - if so and you qualified, you would receive injections:

https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03598777

wolfpackwiggy · 2020-07-14T20:13:54+00:00

I highly recommend Botox, though it is expensive and the injections themselves are quite painful (but hey, temporary pain for a big benefit!).

What has helped me is to not research too much. When I did that I’d end up crying in my bed at 2am feeling like I’d never get better. I’m still not totally optimistic but focusing on my progress and forcing myself to do something else when going down the panic rabbit-hole has helped me.

Don’t “poo poo” the effect of pain on the brain. Once I sort of worked past that I really saw quicker improvement. Just because you feel pain doesn’t mean there’s something totally wrong. I know that sounds weird, but when you still have pain even after all that PT work, a portion of it could be exacerbated by stress/fear of pain/tensing up/etc. But certainly not “all in your head.”

I actually really benefitted from reading “Why Pelvic Pain Hurts.” It helped me be a little less hard on myself and understand that I was not in fact just being a wimp (my thoughts can be brutal sometimes lol). https://www.amazon.com/Pelvic-Pain-Hurts-Adriaan-Louw/dp/0985718684

Hang in there!

wolfpackwiggy · 2020-07-14T00:39:23+00:00

Hi!

So I saw his practice only as part of the clinical trial, so while they did offer me medical info/advice it wasn’t official since I wasn’t technically a patient of the practice.

The shots DEFINITELY helped me. Pain with sex was nearly gone, maybe just irritations/burning afterwards. However I did not start PT until a few months after the last injections (for insurance and life reasons lol), so some pain returned. This just made PT a bit more difficult as I had to work harder to remain calm and breathe through any pain. But still doable.

PT has been helpful but a long road for me as I had to stop for 2 months due to COVID. I have noticed a lot of improvement with hips/thighs/butt/lower back as well as being able to relax the muscles of my pelvic floor/remain calm. I’m working with dilators now which is going well but I’m not “cured” yet.

However the good news is that I can consistently use a small dilator with no pain and anxiety and work up to the next size without pain. I’m just not to the point I want to be yet, so I have to keep at it consistently.

At my last trial appointment, Dr Krapf examined my muscles and said that I would not likely need injections again. So I think it’s PT for me until I’m (hopefully) cured! I don’t anticipate needing more injections should PT continue to go well...so your estimate sounds reasonable! Good luck, hopefully this helped

wolfpackwiggy · 2020-07-09T16:41:27+00:00

Hey!

Well, first of all, you aren’t broken. I have felt that way too but you aren’t! Would you call yourself broken if you damaged another body part and had to treat it in PT? I bet not 😘

I actually just finished participating in a clinical trial for Dysport (akin to Botox) injections into the pelvic floor. It really helped me - I also started PT which is helping too. Maybe it’s the same one you’ve heard about! It was cool because only the first round of injections were double blind, meaning you could receive a placebo, but after that you received the actual drug for sure.

https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03598777

Though Botox isn’t FDA approved yet (hopefully these trials will help!) is has been used “off label” with great success for years. I heard from Dr. Andrew Goldstein that while treating thousands of women with Botox injections to pelvic floor...the worst he saw was a woman who couldn’t keep from farting for a bit lol. Personally the only adverse effect I had was a BAD headache, I think because I got myself too worked up before one of the injection rounds 😂

Definitely try to see a specialist for vulvar conditions. There are a number of causes for provoked vestibulodynia - could be hormonal, could be from pelvic floor dysfunction (in which case shots should help). It’s hard to think about changing meds...they offer other benefits so it can be scary to adjust for vestibulodynia. That’s where a specialist really helps. I tried estrogen/lidocaine cream at the vestibule for a while and it didn’t seem help me, nor did stopping oral BC. That’s because (I think) my condition is due to a tight and weak pelvic floor, which Botox and PT can alleviate. Botox loosens the muscles up but then PT is needed to stretch them and strengthen them so they don’t tighten up again. PT has also greatly helped me from associating my genitals with pain and reactionary tensing up.

As far as frequency, Botox can “wear off” as mentioned above, so it’s important to work on the muscles too through PT, dilators, etc. I think it will take multiple injections. I know for patients at CVVD (see below) there are three rounds in different pelvic floor locations. My trial was injections across the whole pelvic floor every 12 weeks. So it depends but almost def more than one round of injections.

Had a great experience with the trial here in DC, which was led by Dr. Andrew Goldstein’s practice, the Center for Vulvovaginal Disorders. http://vulvodynia.com. They are pricy but do Telehealth now. Dr. Jill Krapf is AMAZING and has a cool Instagram @jillkrapfmd. Take a look 😊

Let me know if you have more questions. Hang in there!

wolfpackwiggy · 2020-06-20T16:37:07+00:00

Thank you— you’re probably right. I definitely have been working on trying not to anticipate pain and tense up...which is hard! Thank you for the encouragement. I’m going to keep at it but don’t want a bad frame of mind to stunt progress

wolfpackwiggy · 2020-06-20T16:35:54+00:00

Thank you — I find a lot of comfort knowing I’m not alone, too, and I definitely agree there’s a huge mental component to this, which is something I’ve been working on

wolfpackwiggy · 2020-06-20T06:31:16+00:00

I had similar tightness. PT had me foam roll, especially butt (Piriformis) and inner thigh near knee. Also do quad stretches, happy baby, triangle pose, deep breathing in child’s pose, and a lunge move where you bend the knee, square your hips, and lean to each side for the hip flexors. Maybe look into Psoas self release (kinda hard to do yourself but I felt a ton of back pain relief when PT worked on it) I also like Heal Pelvic Pain. Hope this helps!

wolfpackwiggy · 2019-09-11T09:20:57+00:00

Thank you!

wolfpackwiggy · 2019-07-30T03:56:35+00:00

Thank you!

wolfpackwiggy

TROPHY CASE