Infection, Std, or Cyst?

Hi,

I have been driving myself absolutely insane because of the annoying pain that I have had for a month. I have a dull pain in my vagina that goes away and comes back through out the day and also can suddenly feel like a very sharp pain that shoots upward. It almost feels as if the pain is coming from my cervix because it feels really deep inside. I have scared myself with the research I found online, being that cervix pain can only come from and STD or something worse. I have no other symptoms though other than this pain. I scheduled an appt with the doctor but it's next week and I do not want to wait that long. If anyone has any idea what I could be experiencing, please let me know.

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
It looks like vulvodynia. Vulvodynia is burning discomfort, itching, throbbing, or tenderness in the genital region. Symptomatic treatment includes sitz-baths, anesthetic gels (lidocaine), topical steroid creams, pain relief medications like ibuprofen etc. Avoid any possible irritants including harsh soaps, chemicals, deodorants etc. Avoid coffee, alcohol etc. The last option would be laser surgery. Other causes of your symptoms include pelvic inflammatory disease, ovarian cysts, pelvic adhesions and endometriosis. For a confirmed diagnosis - you would need a clinical examination by an OBG specialist, blood tests and other tests to rule out an infection and hormonal causes; ultrasound scan to rule out the pelvic causes.

It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your doctor. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.