Yay for K sharing her story! Her experience sounds similar to mine and to stories I have read elsewhere -- antibiotics kicking off pain, multiple yeast treatments, painful sex and urination -- and ultimately, she has returned to having a sex life (woo!) and found great relief from going off birth control.
I LOVE sharing these stories. I think it is so important for us to know what others are going through. If you want to share your story, email me at madpeachblog AT gmail. There are a couple of Facebook groups that are also a great resource -- if you're interested, email me and I'll hook you up.
Vestibular Vulvodynia - K's Story
It was Thanksgiving week of 2009 when I had to go to the ER for a
very bad UTI. I was urinating blood clots and in awful pain. I got
a 5 day treatment of Penicillin and the subsequent yeast infection
that followed antibiotics. I treated it with a 7 day kit.
I was sore after my UTI but didn't think anything about it. It felt like I
was urinating needles every time I went to the bathroom. December 21
came and I went to a quick visit from a local doctor who gave me another
antibiotic prescription for what she thought was a UTI and I took a urine test.
I started the antibiotics immediately for relief though I didn't register any
infection I found out the next day. The nurse chewed my ear off for taking
the pills before I found out, but I was desperate for relief.
I got pneumonia in January 2010 and was given steroids to calm my
lungs since I have asthma. I didn't know steroids could give a yeast infection
but I had such a severe one my vulva swelled shut and became twice it's
normal size. I got really strong yeast treatment suppositories that
gave me vaginal chemical burns.
Sex
has always been painful for me, even before vulvodynia. I never could
wear tampons. It was always just alittle though and after a couple
minutes (stretching I suppose) the pain would go away. In February 2010 I
tried to have intercourse but I just cried and cried, any thrusting
felt like I had been getting paper cuts on my vagina.
I started to develop itching, just severe itching that nothing would
calm it down. Panties started to hurt and felt like pressure on my
vulva. I couldn't wear pants anymore either and when my monthly would
come, I'd just bleed into underwear since pads were too painful to wear.
I had trouble sitting as well so I'd spend most of my time laying down
in bed on the laptop, until even laying down caused my vulva to hurt. I
started to get pelvic pressure
around this time as well.
In
April 2010 my parents sent me a cushion, and it did help. I was able to
sit better but how embarrassing to be 26 years old hauling a cushion
with you everywhere. I was irritable most of the time and sex was out of
the question. I did anything and everything to avoid any sexual
situations with my husband. Masturbation wasn't even possible. Around
this time I developed clitoris cramps and clitodynia.
I had been on birth control
pills the whole time. I was on the same brand and amount for 6 years by
this point, so I never thought the pills had anything to do with it. My
sister advised me to get off the birth control pills to see if my
symptoms got better but I was hesitant and afraid of pregnancy (which
was ridiculous, I couldn't have sex!)
By
May 2010 I couldn't take it anymore. We saw our local doctor who
referred us to the local sexologist. The nurse on the phone swore I had
another UTI which I knew I didn't since I had one previously. I still
had to take a urine test and they were amazed no infection was present. I
had to wait a month for the sexologist and it was the longest month of
my life.
June
2010 came and I saw the sexologist. She asked a series of questions and
I asked if I should get off birth control pills. She said no, they
don't think the pills cause vuvlodynia. Then the examination happened.
She pressed a q-tip on the left side of my vagina and
the expletives that came out of me were something. She diagnosed right
there I had vestibular vulvodynia and it was one of the worst cases she
had seen. I was given gabapentin cream that had to be specially made and
our local pharmacy had NO clue how to. We had to drive 45 minutes one
way to a bigger city each time to drop off and pick up
my prescription.
The cream worked alright, it took down the inflammation and calmed the
itching. It numbed everything though so when I'd achieve orgasm it felt
like it was happening through a really thick towel. I went through tubes
and tubes of the cream, probably 6 or 7 in the end of treatment.
Every
month I'd see the sexologist (We use public health system) and she'd
press me did I have sex. I'd say no and she would get miffed I didn't
try. The cream didn't work that fast! Soon I was able to start wearing
loose pants and that was great! I was still taking birth control pills
through all this.
I
still had extreme itching, clit pain, and if I ate certain things it
hurt to pee. I still had great pressure in my pelvis, like a 100 pound
weight pointed upside down in my pelvis. I learned about the IC
(insitital cystitis) diet and it did help stop the painful urination. I
went month after month, more cream. I did have intercourse but I was so
numb from the cream it was pointless!
September 2010 was my last visit. The doctor said I was cured! Sure didn't feel
like it! I had such a mental block against sex that it didn't happen but once
in the coming months. Sex equaled pain in my book, and who wants to put
themselves into agony? I was worried the vulvodynia would come back if
intercourse happened and I worried about another UTI and yeast infection.
Recovery was stagnant the next half a year and I still had pain to a degree,
usually the worst flares happened right before my period. I just kept
avoiding trigger foods for me (MSG and citrus fruits) and slowly tried to
get comfortable with sex and the idea of it.
March 2011 I ended birth control pills. Within weeks I noticed a reduction
of pelvic pressure and pain! I was lubricating naturally like I hadn't done for
YEARS. I had a sex drive again and felt the most sane I've felt in years. I wish
I had heeded my sister's advice and kicked the pill right when the pain and itching started.
Funny enough , I checked our country's national health page about vulvodynia
and they suggested getting off birth control first thing! I wish I had read that page
and taken it's advice. Doctors don't know everything!
It's
April 2012 and I still have Vulvodynia and Clitodynia. The pain is less
but it's still there. The pressure comes with a flare and if I eat
things that trigger me to swell, but I've learned to take a Tums or
other chewable calcium supplement if my bladder hurts. It really helps
calm the stabbing pains.
Sex
is happening which is good! It's not at the same pre-Vulvodynia rate of
3-4 times a week but any action is good. I still struggle with my
mental block against sex and it can take a long time for me to feel
aroused, but there's progress. I think therapy would of been good
but there's no therapy that's affordable here outside public and the
waiting list is half a year.
Considering
that, I think my husband and I are doing best we can on our
own..figuring along the way. Communication has been so important, and
I'm lucky to have a husband that listens and wasn't pressuring me for
sex when I had the awful pain in 2010.
I did get a yeast infection last July and no vulvodynia pain spike. I treated it with
yogurt and I healed fine. I'm weary of chemical yeast infection treatments still though.
My main symptom now is painful and itchy clitoris. I get awoken to having my lady bean itch like it's on fire! I learned that zinc oxide is fantastic for vulva/clit itching so I just smother it on and it really does help. I own a ton of tubes of diaper rash cream!
Looking
back, the best move was to get off hormonal birth control. I think the
cream helped heal the irritation but it numbed me so that's a give and
take right there. I do believe I was predisposed to this happening since
I have Fibromyalgia. My sister was never diagnosed
with vulvodynia but she had the exact same symptoms as I did for a year until she ended hormonal birth control.
There
is hope and I hope this letter helps someone. Vulva health is nothing
to be ashamed about and should be spoken of more openly. I delayed 7
months going to the doctor and I wish I hadn't! Read on vulvodynia and
get all the info you can, it really does help!
