symptom relief and lichen sclerosis

[Guest guest]

Okay everyone, please post some of your best symptom relief methods to help

Ann and some of the other newbies.

Ann, hang on and seek support from your family, physicians, and those of us

on list until the current crisis peaks and begins to reside!

Here are my best techniques for acute burning, itching and pain:

1. Soak in a hot bath two or more times a day for twenty minutes. When you

get out, do not further irritate the area by rubbing dry with a towel. Use

the cool setting on a hand held hair dryer to dry the sensitive area.

2. Coat the entire painful area with a thin layer of solid Crisco or plain

petroleum jelly (Vaseline) to provide a barrier to irritation.

3. Wear only one hundred percent cotton underwear, perhaps a size bigger than

usual, so that they are loose and not constricting and remove them and go

undie free as much as possible. When you wash your underwear, double or

triple rinse to remove detergent residue and do not use fabric softener or

fabric sheets in the dryer.

4. Don't wear jeans, heavy twill pants or any clothing that puts pressure on

the crotch area. Flannel lounge pants, loose night gowns or night shirts

with no undies, loose dresses, loose gym shorts, etc., will be much more

comfortable.

I hope others will share ideas for you and all the others who are new to the

list too.

Lichen Sclerosis:

My recollection of the research I did on this condition is that it is only

100% diagnosed by biopsy. Standard treatments for it include cortisone (you

are currently using a generic form of the medication Colbetasol which has

been discussed in depth in the archives), followed by testosterone cream.

The steroid is supposed to relieve the immediate inflammation and the

Testosterone is part of the long-term treatment.

This was one of the treatment routes that my gyn tried. I got initial relief

from the colbetasol but then it began to burn on application to the point

that I had to wash it off. I called and went in for follow up right away and

he explained that his shot in the dark was not working and that I did appear

to be a true case of nerve hypersensitivity or damage (as evidenced by the

duration of my problem, 8 months at that point, my positive response to Paxil

which I subsequently discontinued because I wanted to be drugfree and

healthy, and the fact that even after the yeast was clinically gone I still

had burning, itching, pain on penetration and after sex). Many of us have

tried colbetasol with results similar to mine or worse (i.e., burning and

tissue damage) because we did not have lichen sclerosis but the treatment was

tried without proper diagnosis and monitoring.

So, you are on the right track if you had a biopsy that was clearly

indicative of lichen sclerosis or if your doctor got the diagnosis right

without the biopsy. On the other hand, immediately report any adverse react

to the colbetasol and go in and have it checked out because if you have been

misdiagnosed, colbetasol has done more harm than good for many of us.