Dr. Goldstein and the entire staff at San Diego Sexual Medicine (SDSM) are absolutely incredible! I…read morespent nearly five years in and out of generic OB-Gyn offices and pelvic floor physical therapy before finally making an appointment at SDSM and receiving the care and treatment that I had been longing for. I was diagnosed with Congenital Neuroproliferative Vestibulodynia at my very first appointment. I greatly appreciated the immense amount of time they give new patients not only for thorough testing but also for education. My first appointment was three hours long, one for testing, one for education with Dr. Goldstein in his office, and one with their in-house professional sex therapist. Specifically for my condition, I value their holistic approach to sexual health and medicine. Making sure their patients are not only physically healed, but since many of us -myself included- are diagnosed with sexual trauma and PTSD, they make sure we are healing mentally as well. It took Dr. Goldstein three hours to diagnose what other doctors had dismissed for five years. I cannot convey the significance of just receiving a diagnosis. This condition had left me emotionally drained for years. It ruined my wedding night because I had no idea why sex had hurt me so much. Educating me on my condition empowered me and allowed me to finally talk about my condition with confidence.
All of this goodness and we haven't even covered treatment! My initial blood work showed lower levels of testosterone which can also impact sex so Dr. Goldstein opted to treat that first before moving to surgery. I really appreciated this outlook. He was in NO way pushing surgery as a money grab. If a less invasive approach could work, he took it. After a few months with the testosterone supplementation and no improvement in my condition, I was scheduled for surgery. Dr. Goldstein and his staff do a phenomenal job at preparing you for surgery. Your surgery packet explains everything from your medication regiment, cost breakdown, doctors note, to post-operation care. If asked, he will provide you with names and telephone numbers of other women who have gone through the surgery. Known as the "Vestibulodynia sisters," these women were immensely helpful and considerate to take the time out of their schedule to help other women (like myself) walk through the same process. As someone who is now listed herself to be contacted in case any future women have questions regarding the surgical procedure, I can tell you that we are ASKED to do this and give PERMISSION to Dr. Goldstein to provide our phone numbers to future patients. This is not required of us, and if someone should choose to keep their information private, SDSM would happily do so. He only provides are names and phone numbers, nothing else, and should a new patient reach out to us, it is entirely up to our own personal discretion about what health information we would like to share. Words fall short to commend each and every single woman who helped me when I was first walking through surgery. We live in such a sexually charged culture that experiencing painful sex can often feel incredibly isolating and to know I had this "sisterhood" helping me, encouraging me, and preparing me for this major surgery was so comforting.
Lastly, no, they do not accept insurance . But if there is anything I've learned about our healthcare system in the last five years of realizing I had something majorly wrong with my body, it's that our healthcare system is broken. I've been better served by doctors who do not accept insurance than by ones who do. As I mentioned previously, it took Dr. Goldstein hours to do what no other doctor(s) had been able to do in YEARS. If I had just gone straight to SDSM to begin with, I would have saved myself, and my marriage, copious amounts of time and money. Medical procedures are expensive, yes. But, would I trade back the financial investment for more hours crying on my bathroom floor, panic attacks in the bedroom, and inability to look my husband in the eyes?? NEVER. Dr. Goldstein and his entire staff at SDSM gave me back my sex life, my dream of having a family, and renewed intimacy with my husband at nearly 30 years old. 10,000,000 gold stars.
