Has anyone ever heard of this or had it? Women only please!

Has anyone ever heard of vulvodynia? I think I may have this for the past year and a half, but on and off. I have tried switching out detergents, soap, etc, but I still have burning, rawness and itching.

I have tried all kinds of creams from topical steroids, to estrogen creams, to over the counter. I have been itching for the last month and a half, non-stop and am completely miserable.

I have also tried being on steroids, but it isn't helping. I don't know what is causing it. There is no rhyme, reason, or pattern that I can find. I just want to stop itching because it is becoming unbearable to the point where I am becoming severely depressed that it will never go away.

A number of OB/GYN doctors have discussed my case and are stumped. They are going to see if giving me injections will help.

Has anyone ever had vulvodynia or ever heard of it? If so, what can be done to reduce symptoms or get it to go away completely? I am so miserable right now that I don't even care if I exist because after this year, I really don't have anything left to enjoy.

Have you seen this site?

http://www.womenshealthmatters.ca/centres/pelvic_health/vulvodynia/index.html

Originally Posted by Natalie_ca

Have you seen this site?

http://www.womenshealthmatters.ca/centres/pelvic_health/vulvodynia/index.html

Click to expand...

I haven't seen this one, but many others. I'll check it out! I even ordered a book on amazon over it. I am tired of always having something that doctors can't figure out.

I've never heard of that before...it sure sounds painful! For you to get better real soon, and

OMG, that sounds horrible. I am sorry you are having this. I had some itching on one side for a while, but the steroid cream I used fixed it, or it went away by itself. I think it was some kind of dermatitis. never had it diagnosed. Hope it wasn't the beginnings of this. who knew? AS if we don't have enough crap to deal with.

If you're on any birth control, have you tried changing it? If you're not on birth control, maybe being on it would help regulate estrogen in your body?

If you use pads/tampons, have you tried using organic/cotton/non-allergenic type things? Maybe try the DivaCup or something like that which doesn't have any sort of fibres in contact with your skin?

I get really itchy arms, and I know once I start scratching, it gets worse because the histamine spreads over more of my skin. Have you tried taking long lasting antihistamines for a few days to help with the itching, and give the skin a chance to heal properly?

Sorry I don't have any really useful advice, I hope you get some relief!

Oh, and last time I had a yeast infection, I got some Vagisil anti-itch medicated wipes. I wonder if they could provide some relief?

I'd not heard of it but there's loads on the internet about it. Here's a link to a very clear article on Wikipedia about it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vulvodynia