Note that this is fiction, with no medical substance. Keep this heading if you copy it.

I'm Annie, andI thought I would write about my treatment, which some people here might find interesting.

A year ago, I had an operation in the anal area - it was relatively unusual (and uncomfortable), and I don't want to go into the details here. The main point is that to stop my anus from remaining tight, and having to eat a special diet, I was given a series of anal dilators, and a schedule to use them. My husband David was very supportive, and kept reminding me to use them twice a day, keeping them in for a minute as specified. I also had to move up to the next size when the first size was comfortable.

After 2 weeks, we returned to the surgeon to look at progress, and he was rather disappointed that I was still on the first dilator, around half an inch, and suggested that a slight bit of discomfort was safe, and relaxation was the key. However, beyond that, the practical advice was rather lacking.

When we got home, David (who is a physiotherapist) said that patients do need help and encouragement to exercise at home - he had seen many patients who could not be bothered to do the prescribed exercises, and did not improve. After a bit of research, he explained that he would buy some more equipment, and take control of my schedule. I was totally in agreement, because I really wanted to get better.

For the first new-style session, we worked with the half-inch dilator. This had parallel sides, and tended to slide out after a few seconds, even when my butt was elevated. David suggested staying with this position, and requested me to keep the dilator in for 5 minutes. This was impossible of course, but David gently pushed the slowly-emerging dilator back in with a quiet 'retain'. He also talked me through a relaxation and visualisation, imagining my anus softening and relaxing.

After a week of 2 sessions a day, we got to the stage of relaxing for 5 minutes without help, and the dilator remained in. Success!

The extra equipment had arrived by now, and we started with Dr Young's rectal dilator set. Our sessions now took the form of relaxation with a comfortable dilator, and 5 minutes with the next size up. The new dilators were not quite parallel, having a slightly wider tip to assist my retention. Even so, they tended to slide out, and David repeated the process of saying 'retain' and gently pushing it in again. After a couple of weeks, I could retain the 3/4 inch dilator for 5 minutes without help.

At this point I need to tell you that neither of us was naive - we knew that anal stimulation is erotic, and we had a brief (slightly awkward) discussion about this. Despite this aspect we decided that the main issue was my long-term health - I did not want to use laxatives and stool-softeners forever - so David suggested that when I masturbated alone, I should use anal stimulation as well as clitoral stimulation, as this would provide additional massage. He seemed to have more knowledge and views than me, so I promised to go along with it.

After a few weeks of Dr Young's, we returned to the surgeon, to be told that things were improving, and we should continue whatever we were doing - good news!

Moving to the 1" dilator was a struggle. Though its widest part was 1", the neck was narrower of course, and David thought that this was the problem - how would my anus adapt to 1" if it only encountered the widest part during a short period of insertion and removal?

David suggested that we try the parallel dilators again, but the 1" one slid out, and though David could encourage me to retain, he did not want to do this for long periods, and I could not blame him.

A few days later, David presented me with a harness and accompanying set of glass dilators. I was quite shocked but also excited, because I knew that this was an escalation from medical to medfet. Looking at David, I could see that I was right, and he knew that I 'got' it.

He then explained the new training schedule. Initially, I was to wear the harness and dilator for two periods of 30 minutes, every day. Because he thought I might cheat, he needed to see that I was in fact wearing the harness, and he needed to be able to check that the harness was not 'empty' - that I really was using a dilator. Effectively, I was to wear nothing over it, or possibly thin clothing if I needed to answer the door, for example. Also, to maintain muscle tone, I was also given a regimen of Kegels, up to several hundred per day.

Actually, I was quite turned-on by the harness schedule, but did not show it - I merely suggested that we could give it a try (though I now wish that I had the nerve to begin a discussion). On the medical side, I found that the rationale for the harness was correct, because the supplied dilators could pop out quite easily if I made sudden movements.

On the psychological side there was the erotic pressure of course, but also something that I did not expect - the issue of control when being kept open for so long. It was not possible to work my muscles to move the dilator because of its parallel sides, and I could not eject it because of the harness. I had a complete lack of control which was erotic and stressful simultaneously. The only way to deal with this was to try for some kind of acceptance of my situation, and the knowledge that it was doing me good.

After a month of this I was comfortable with the first glass dilator, but David thought I needed to move up one more size and a longer time. The increased dilation would allow for larger stools to pass safely.

He suggested that I work up to a 4 hour period of constant wear, probably in the evening.

After a month of this, I felt very comfortable, and my diet was now normal, with large stools passing easily. One thing that was not normal was our sex life, however. We usually orgasmed together, but I found it harder and harder to orgasm at all.

I knew the reason - I was longing for my dilator and harness, but I did not have the courage to tell my loving husband. How could I say that I needed more than him?

Eventually, I introduced the idea by moving his hand to my bottom during sex, and amazingly, he suggested that I wear my dilator next time!

It worked just as I hoped it might. My harness was a skimpy one, allowing genital access, so was ideal. I could feel my anus rhythmically contracting on the dilator, and sex was wonderful for both of us.

I just wish I had the courage earlier to discuss such things openly.