My Doctor Appt.

[Guest guest]

I'm going to quick (hopefully) let you ladies know how my appointment

went and then I must get off to bed before I fall asleep at the

keyboard!

I had a LOVELY doctors appointment today. HOORAY! They had me fill out

a very extensive and thorough form prior to the appointment which I was

happy about because it gave me the opportunity to explain all my various

issues and history. When I got there I gave that form, along with my

brochures, the VPF brochure, and three medical journal articles to the

receptionist to give to the doctor before she saw me. Amazingly, she

took the time to quickly read over the materials I brought! Not only

that, she thanked me (YAY!) for bringing the materials in and

complimented me on taking such a proactive role in getting myself

treated. She actually has some knowledge of VVS and was VERY kind and

listened to every word I said during the exam.

She ended up taking a quick test to check for yeast, which was very

negative. She also took a culture and my pap smear (which I was due

for). It was *very**very* painful and she did her best to be as gentle

as possible. She told me it was very " raw " inside my vagina and that I

obviously had vulvar vestibulitis by the sensitivity around the

Bartholin glands and other areas in the vestibule/vulva. I asked her

about the area in between my labia minora and majora and why it would

get so raw/bumpy there and she said that there are sweat glands and

follicles? there and that because I need to wear pads every day (for

mild incontinence which has never been treated) I'm probably continually

irritating that area. We discussed my mild incontinence and my

fibromyalgia and their possible involvement with my discomfort.

In the end, she suggested that I continue using the Estrace, take a

warm/hot bath for 20 minutes every night without Aveeno or anything

(just plain old water), and the second I get home from work I should

take off my pants/panties and remain " free " until it's time to go out of

the house again. She also suggested a lot of stuff I do already like

white, cotton panties, no soap in that area, etc.

She is giving me a referral to a urologist to deal with the mild

incontinence because she feels it is an aggravating factor in my VVS.

She said that the fact that I have to always wear pads (albeit cotton

ones), and that urine leaks out and remains near my vulvar skin for

extended periods of time is bound to make my already sensitive vulvar

skin all the more irritated. This is first and foremost in her

treatment plan as she believes it is a fairly important step in getting

me somewhat comfortable again. She doesn't want to proceed to other

steps until we get this under control.

She believes that PT and/or biofeedback might be a good route,

especially considering that I have fibromyalgia. The biofeedback will

probably help with the incontinence as well as the VVS and the PT might

help to relax the muscles and/or trigger points in my pelvic region. She

also wants me to use graduated dilators to help me stretch out the

vagina as it isn't getting stretched with sexual intercourse.

She also said that in her opinion having a baby would probably help my

situation. She told me I'm very small, and very tight down there and a

baby will make that all change. She also believes that hormones are

involved and that a pregnancy would be a positive alteration of my

hormones. I explained that I desperately wanted a baby but haven't

ovulated in the past 3 months and fear that I have PCO. So we discussed

that option and she wants me to have a vaginal ultrasound when I'm up to

it and then she's probably going to refer me to a fertility specialist.

I think that's about it. Oh! She asked me how I was coping with the

pain and I told her fairly well typically, except for this most recent

flare up and that I had to use Vicodin for relief. She offered a

prescription of Vicodin and I willingly accepted it. Of course, I'm

only supposed to use that when I am *desperate*.

I also did ask her what her opinion about surgery was and she said " It

definitely has it's place, but only as a last resort. I'm not ready to

consider it with you yet, so let's not even get ahead of ourselves. " I

was pleased with her attitude on this one.

All in all, she was sweet and gentle and I really am glad I went to

her. I do have one minor complaint/question though. She wouldn't use

lubrication prior to my pap smear because she said that it can skew the

results. Is this true? ? Beckie? Anyone? It ended up being

really really really really really painful and I even spotted a bit

afterward.

But - I'm SO glad I went!

Heidi (finally getting the treatment I deserve!!)