Re: Burning w/out an Infection?

October 2, 2002

Tess,

Hi--sorry you feel so icky. Some of us here have vulvar

vestibulitis--an inflammation of the vestibule around the vagina.

This may be what you have, but I am not a doc, and there are many

other vulvar syndromes out there. Others on the list can tell you

about them. A gynocologist who knows what vestibulitis is and how to

check for it (usually called a " q-tip " test--which is just touching

the vestibule with a q-tip to see if it hurts and where) can diagnose

it, but that doesn't mean they know how to treat it. My regular gyno

knew what it was, but I had to educate him on how to treat it. I

ended up at a gyn's office that specializes in women's pelvic pain.

Then, I got relief. There are also many other forms of vulvadynia

(vulvar pain syndromes). I also learned a lot from the ladies on this

group, as well as from some sites about vulvar vestibulitis and

vulvadynia in general. There is a list of helpful suggestions on

several sites, and maybe there is one in the archives. The University

of Iowa and The University of Michigan both had good info on

vestibulitis and vulvadynia on their websites. The University of

Michigan Health System has a " Center for Vulvar Diseases " in their

OB/GYN Dept.

Here's an initial list of suggestions (so you don't have to search

just yet (- :

1. Wear only white, 100% cotton panties/No pantyhose, tights,

tightfitting pants

2. Use dye/scent free laundry detergent/Rinse panties twice (All

Free/Clear or Dreft or one from health food store)

3. Rinse vulvar skin often w/plain water--use a squirt bottle or sitz

bath--esp. during urination

4. Use plain olive oil soap or no soap down below

5. No Fabric softener on anything that touches your vulva

6. Avoid scented products on vulva--bath soaps, bubbles, feminine

" hygeine " products, tampons, pads, tp, baby wipes, etc.

7. Don't scrub vulva--wash and pat dry (or use blow dryer on cool

setting)

8. Use white, plain tp

9. No Douching/shaving vulvar area

10. Keep dry--change panties as needed, pads often

11. Don't use OTC ointments, except for A & D diaper rash ointment w/o

consulting doc

12. Use pure vegetable oil or other spermicide-free lube for sex

13. Limit high-oxalate foods/Take Calcium Citrate tablets/ drink lots

of water

Oh gosh--there's more......I'm sure everyone on the list can add to

this! (-:

Common treatments from the doc for vestibulitis--short term steroid

cream to get pain under control, Estrace cream to help rebuild tissue,

something to take orally (like Elavil) to help with perceived pain?,

sometimes PT for pelvic floor rehab, etc.

Good luck! I hope all this helps you out.

Meg

October 2, 2002

Does the vegetable oil burn? I've used KY and Astroglide and they

both seem to make burning worse...the KY was particularly

irritating. Neither one had spermicides in them.

I am waiting to see if a specialist will see me...fingers crossed.

October 2, 2002

I was just at the health food store around the corner from me and

found pure vegetable glycerine. Will this work?

My fiance thinks I'm crazy 'cause I imed him and said 'we need to try

vegetable oil as a lubricant' :-)

October 2, 2002

I was just at the health food store around the corner from me and

found pure vegetable glycerine. Will this work?

My fiance thinks I'm crazy 'cause I imed him and said 'we need to try

vegetable oil as a lubricant' :-)

October 5, 2002

My experience with vulvodynia for 17 years is sometimes less is more. Your

skin has already been thinned out by the overuse of these medications. What

helped me the most and can keep me pain free entirely is the low oxalate

diet and calcium citrate. If I go off the diet the pain returns and that's

how I know it works. Once you can keep your skin from burning for a period

of time it will begin to heal. Please let me know if you need any more

information. Thanks for your suggestions too. Hugs, Shelli

Re: Burning w/out an Infection?

> I suggest you do some reading about DYSESTHESIA VULVODYNIA which I believe

is my

> problem. This involves nerves and is described with treatments in the

entry

> which I have added to the FILES section at our Yahoo website entitled

>

> DAVISG.doc

> combined articles by Dr. Gordon

>

> When you download the article, do a search for dysesthesia and you can

find his

> remarks including some treatments. He is very strong on using

Amitriptyline

> (elavil) and it did help me. He recommends using it in increasing amounts

up to

> 75 or 100 mg. taken at bedtime. I took it a few hours before bedtime

because it

> made me very drowsy and i needed to get up in the morning.

>

> Ora

>

> On Tue, 01 Oct 2002 20:19:30 -0000, " maria_tess "

wrote:

>

> >Hello All-

> >

> >I'm struggling so much with such severe burning on the outside of my

> >vagina and inside and the GYNO keeps telling me there's no infection.

> >

> >I was treated with Yeast medication, Flagyl, Metrogel and 3 weeks of

> >antibiotics and I feel as if my vagina will NEVER heal. I've tried

> >everything. I sit on a donut (the foam shape women after delivery sit

> >on) and have noticed that if my vagina skin isn't touching anything,

> >it starts to heal a bit. But then I start urinating and that then

> >aggravates it after I urinate - not during. Not until the urine hits

> >the skin. This is also making me feel like I have to pee b/c I'm not

> >fully emptying my bladder because the doctor thinks the pain is making

> >my muscles contract and it's stopping too soon.

> >

> >What has worked for you guys. ANd how can this be burning so bad and

> >there's no infection. One doctor said I had an overabundance of

> >LACTOBACILLIS, but I did a Baking Soda douche and it almost killed me.

> >I don't want to put anything up there now - I want it to heal on its

> >own, but is it normal that it's taking so long. Does anyone know how

> >long the skin down there takes to heal?

> >

> >I was concerned with using VAGIGUARD or VAGISIL because they're

> >scented and I thought that would make things worse. I've tried

> >Desitin and Triple Paste (like butt cream from the hospital), but it

> >just complicates things and doesn't really help. Will the vagisil or

> >Vagiguard burn me even more.

> >

> >Any help is appreciated!

> >

> >Thanks so much!

> >

>

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October 5, 2002