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TLLC Blog Posts

TLLC's blog is moving!

In January, 2023, TLLC partnered with Lichen Sclerosus Support Network (LSSN). This means my new 2023 blog posts will be published on LSSN’s page. For full details on what the partnership entails, watch this video.

Image of a biopsy sample demonstrating lichen sclerosus amidst a purple background.

What You Need to Know about Biopsies and Lichen Sclerosus

In today’s post, I review vulvar biopsy basics for lichen sclerosus. I highlight the two main ways lichen sclerosus is diagnosed, what a vulvar biopsy entails, what they are looking for to make the diagnosis, and how you get your results. Stay tuned for my next post where I will share biopsy tips for before, during, and after the procedure.

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Image of medical supplies on a desk with the word 'anxiety' in a black cursive font next to it, representing the concept of health anxiety and lichen sclerosus.

How to Deal with Health Anxiety and Lichen Sclerosus

Health anxiety is common in folks with chronic health conditions, including lichen sclerosus. stress management, cognitive behavioral therapy, and medication for health anxiety. I speak both from lived experience and from evidence-based information for psychology papers.

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Image of a medical office, with a person in a long white lab coat at the forefront. The background is a pale purple.

Health Anxiety: How It Impacts Lichen Sclerosus

The topic of this post is health anxiety and how it can affect folks with lichen sclerosus. I being by explaining what health anxiety is, including its perceptual, cognitive, and behavioral components. After, I dive into the ways in which health anxiety can manifest with lichen sclerosus and then share my experience with health anxiety.

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Image of two people in bed together amongst a pale purple background.

An Unexpected Turn in My Dilator Journey

Today, I break from the diary-style entry blogs of my week-to-week experience with dilators. Instead, I focus more on the dynamic between my husband and me during this process, how he helped me, and I share a super intimate and vulnerable moment.

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Image of two people holding hands in a field, amongst a pale purple background.

My Dilator Journey, Part 4

Today, I talk about my dilator journey for weeks 7 & 8. This post will be TMI, so if that’s not your thing, click out. For example, it will include discussions about oral sex, masturbation, lube, etc. In addition to highlighting the physical aspects of my journey, I document how working with dilators affected my mental health. I had a pretty big mental health breakthrough this week, and I can’t wait to share this with you.

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Image of a person walking down a very long beach. This represents my dilator journey. The background is a pale purple.

My Dilator Journey, Part 3

In this post, I continue my dilator journey from weeks 5 and 6. I highlight the physical and mental aspects of the journey. I discuss some setbacks I experienced and how I dealt with those.

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Image of a sunset and a long road stretching in the horizon. The background is pale blue and the title text reads, "My Dilator Journey Part 2" in black font at the bottom.

My Dilator Journey Part 2

Today, I will continue my journey into weeks three and four. I also document how this journey impacted my mental health. Specifically, I highlight mental struggles and some wins throughout the two weeks. It is important to me to be transparent and open about my journey with you.

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Image of hands holding a bunch of mulitcolored lights against a purple background.

Working with Dilators: Why I Started Again

This post will be part of a four-part series on my journey with dilators. I will detail my experience each week, in a quasi-journal entry format. I am sharing my journey in the hopes that it will help you in your journey. This series will be a vulnerable and honest journaling of what I did and how I felt mentally on my dilator journey.

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Image of a person standing on a sunny, shallow area of an ocean holding a bunch of red balloons over their head.

How Dilators Can Help Your Lichen Sclerosus

yours, there are many other reasons you may want to work with them that do not involve penetrative sex. In this post, you will learn all of the various ways dilators can be helpful to your lichen sclerosus journey in addition to helping with painful sex.

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Image of a person writing on a whiteboard with the words, 'now ,'tomorrow' and 'next. The person has the now box checked off. The background is a pale blue, and the title test reads "What You Need To Know About Timelines and Lichen Sclerosus" in black font at the bottom.

What You Need to Know About Timelines and Lichen Sclerosus

Since you were diagnosed with Lichen Sclerosus, have you ever given yourself a timeline to get better? Perhaps you gave yourself timelines concerning seeing relief from your medication, getting out of a flare, to getting into remission? Have you given yourself timelines and expectations for when you will be able to have sex again? Have these timelines caused you mental distress? Did you feel even more depressed and discouraged than you were when you initially set the timeline? If so, this post is for you!

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I am often surprised that she captures what has been on my mind.”

Jaclyn manages to put into words many of the thoughts, feelings, fears (oh, so many fears), and questions, that come with a diagnosis of LS. She captures both the physical and often more importantly the mental health aspects of learning to live with LS. Her generosity in sharing her personal journey and speaking truthfully about LS provides much needed hope and perspective
Joanne

Reading her blogs has helped me deal with LS in every way – physically, emotionally, and mentally. -Maria

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