The World's Tightest Community - A Podcast About Vulvodynia, Vaginismus & Women's Pelvic Pain

Vulvodynia Medications: Why Nothing Has Worked, and Every Option That Actually Might

Vulvodynia just means pain in the vulva. It is not a diagnosis - and Dr. Maria Uloko argues that is why treatment so often fails. Maria is a urologist trained in compreh

Supporting a Partner With Vaginismus or Painful Sex: What It Feels Like and How You Can Help

This episode started with an email from a listener: a man in his twenties whose girlfriend has lived with vaginismus and pelvic pain for years. He wanted to know how to b

Vestibulectomy on Screen: Bonnie Gross on Lady Parts and Her Second Surgery

If you are googling vestibulectomy recovery at 2am, this one is for you. Bonnie Gross has had the surgery twice, ten years apart, and she is unusually good at describing

The Only Episode You Need to Understand Pelvic Floor Strength, Tightness and Kegels

What does it actually mean to have a strong pelvic floor - and is strong even the right thing to chase? Kimberlee Sullivan is a board-certified women's health physical t

Pelvic Venous Disorders and May-Thurner Syndrome: One Woman's Pelvic Pain Diagnosis

Olivia lived with chronic pelvic pain for years - a constant dull, dragging ache on her left side that worsened when she sat or bent down - while doctors dismissed her fa

Self-Hypnosis For Vulvodynia: The "Silly Fad" That Actually Ended Sheren's 10-Year Pain

Sheren Gaulbert lived with severe vulvar pain for ten years — bedridden, on high doses of amitriptyline, and told by a leading specialist to consider giving up work. What

Vulvodynia's $18,000 a Year Cost + a Mini Interview With Origin CEO Carine Carmy

What does it actually cost to get taken seriously when you're in pain? For the average woman with vulvovaginal or pelvic pain in the US, it's about $18,000 a year - paid

Clitoral Nerve Mapping, Botox Update, and the Question Dr. Rachel Rubin Made Me Ask Myself

What does a groundbreaking study on clitoral nerves, a Norwegian novel about a man who moves into the forest, and one question from Dr. Rachel Rubin have in common? This

Low Desire in Women: How It Works, Why Pain Affects It, and What Can Be Done, With Dr. Corey Babb

Why does desire so often disappear after sex has become painful - and is there actually anything you can do about it? In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Corey Babb, a

ART for Pelvic Pain: Changing the Way the Brain Stores Distressing Memories in 1 to 5 Sessions

Why does the body sometimes hold onto pain long after there's a clear physical reason for it? And what would it take to actually shift that? In this episode, I speak wit

Vulvodynia and the Partner: What the Research Reveals About the Relationship in Chronic Pain

What happens to the person standing closest to your pain - the one who witnesses it but is almost never asked about? In this episode, I speak with Linn Myrtveit-Stensrud

Mast Cells and Vestibulodynia: The Inflammation Root Cause and A New Treatment Trial I Dr Jill Krapf

For years, the hormonal and muscular causes of vulvar pain have become easier to understand and treat. Inflammation is the part we still understand the least - and it may

The gap in OBGYN training: what doctors never learn about vulvovaginal pain I Tightlipped

Why do so many people with vulvovaginal pain leave their OBGYN's office feeling dismissed - or worse, like the problem is in their head? The answer might have less to do

Refused by 7 Clinics With a Vulvodynia Diagnosis: How Broken Women's Pain Care Really Is

I recently hit a wall that I, of all people, should not have hit. And it reminded me exactly why this podcast exists. But this episode is also about something else. I've

Vaginismus and Pregnancy: TTC Options, Birth Planning, and What Happens to Your Pelvic Floor

What happens to your body - and your pelvic floor - when you want to get pregnant, and you have a history of vaginismus or pelvic pain? In this episode, I speak with Dr.

Vulvodynia, Desire, and the Diagnostic Odyssey: One Writer's Journey from Shamans to Sex Toys

What happens to desire when your body becomes unpredictable? Sara Sturek is a writer and founder of Writing Shamelessly, whose essay "From Shamans to Sex Toys" is publis

Vulvodynia, Vaginismus, and Pelvic Pain: Start Here If You're New

If you're new to this podcast - hi! I'm so glad you're here. This is the episode I want you to start with. Whether you've just been diagnosed, you've been searching for

CBD for Pelvic Pain: Do Suppositories Actually Work for Vulvodynia and Vaginismus?

Can CBD help with pelvic pain - and if so, how does it actually work? In this episode, I speak with Tamar Hill, co-founder of Medroots, a company making CBD and low-dose

Pudendal Nerve Entrapment Surgery: One Woman's 15-Year Road to the Right Diagnosis

What does it mean to do everything right for fifteen years — and still not get to the bottom of your pain? In this episode, I speak with Carli Cutchin, a writer and disa

Vulvodynia Clinical Trial: The First Drug Being Developed Specifically for This Condition

There is no medication approved specifically for vulvodynia. Not a single one. John Connell and his team are trying to change that. In this episode, I sit down with John