Vulvodynia or Clitorodynia which is it

[kyri3106]

I have had this for more than fifteen years, the doctors don't know what it is or what causes it, we ourselves know more than they do. In the beginning the swelling was so bad the doctor was not able to open the labia to examine me she said it looked like the size of a grapefruit, i couldn't sit down, wear trousers or tights, i was sent to several hospitals who all did the usual tests, all negative.
All the doctors admitted that in recent years they have become aware of this problem it is Vulvodynia if you have pain in your vulva, and it is Clitorodynia if you have pain in the clitoris, or it could be both which i have, either or both are caused by neuralgia a nerve injury. In my family we have the ingrown hair problem, so a few years ago i convinced myself that if i had my pubic hair removed permanently it would solve the problem, which it did although i don't suffer everyday or quite so intensely. Whilst have my lazer treatment they recommended Emla cream which numbs the area and so i use it before and after treatment as it's bearably painful, now i use it whenever i have pain it's easy to use just put a little around the area wait till it dries and in a few minutes you wont feel a thing. Forget the Lidocaine it does not work well for the pain also the gel sticks to your underwear which sticks to you and then the pain starts all over again. Wearing larger size underwear does help, not washing with soap or letting any shampoos and so on touch the area helps, talc helps short term to stop the sticking or rubbing. Not wiping yourself with paper but just dab helps or using wipes with nothing in them helps too. Not wearing underwear in bed also helps. Whatever you have to calm the nerves down is good, but you can only take it at night as it makes you so relaxed the nerves sleep. Oh i tried eating the right food plus taking all the right supplements nothing worked. And what has also helped me is if you empty into a spray bottle some Zivania and spray it on the area it will dry quickly and it is very soothing, here its used to treat wounds, for massaging sore body parts, and has many other qualities. If anyone has 2013 remedies it would help us all.

Suggest wearing only all cotton underwear.  You didn't mention any frequency or urgency re urination.  If you have that you might check interstitial cystitis. Diet is a big factor there, so try avoiding acidic foods and drinks like orange juice, grape juice, spicy foods, etc.  I mention IC because women with IC sometimes also get vulvodynia.  Get your doctors to prescribe pain medication.  There are lots of different ones to try.  Vicodin helped me, but it's short-lived.  Best of luck.  You're finding that you have to be your own advocate, but you are doing it, so keep going to you find a diagnosis and something that works for you!  Good for you!

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
Pain in vulva is due to vulvodynia which can be due to many causes like persistent vaginal yeast infection, irritation to antifungal treatment , sensitivity or allergy to something touching the vulva, such as soap or bubble bath, a drop in the hormone oestrogen, causing dryness of the vulva, stress, lichen sclerosus or recurrent herpes simplex infection.

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.