STATISTICS ON VULVODYNIA

[Guest guest]

HI all.

Here's one article I have on statistics for Vulvodynia. I think it's a lot more common than is suspected and many of the women themselves keep it in the dark.

Dee

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Many Women Suffer From Vulvar Pain

Once Considered A Myth, Women

From Many Ethnic Groups Report Vulvodynia

By Jeanie Lerche

WebMD Medical News

April 15, 2003 -- It's a private, debilitating pain for women -- and much more prevalent than doctors once thought. Vulvodynia -- a sharp, knifelike or burning pain around the opening of the vagina that is unexplained -- burdens many women, a new study now shows. The findings are outlined in this month's issue of The Journal of the American Women's Medical Association.

Researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital surveyed Boston-area women, sending questionnaires to almost 5,000 women between the ages 18 and 64.

Some 16% of the women had experienced chronic vulvar pain for at least three months or longer. Nearly 7% were experiencing vulvodynia at the time of the survey.

The numbers of white and African-American women suffering this pain were similar; however, Hispanic women were 80% more likely to experience vulvar pain.

Some 40% of women surveyed chose not to seek treatment for their vulvodynia even when the symptoms limited intercourse.

More than 60% who sought treatment saw three or more clinicians.

"The magnitude of this problem is largely unknown," says researcher Bernard L. Harlow, PhD, an obstetrics/gynecology researcher with Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital, in a news release.

"Our study is the first to suggest that this disorder affects an ethnically diverse group of women and may be a much larger problem than we ever thought," he says.

An estimated 5% of all women will experience this condition before age 25, and it is likely the true figures are much larger, Harlow states. Women who have pain the first time they use a tampon were seven to eight times more likely to have chronic vulvar pain later in life, he says.

An estimated 10 million doctor's office visits every year are for vulvodynia -- although there has long been a myth that such pain is "just in a woman's head," says Gunther , MD, who co-authored the paper. "The research tells women they are not alone -- according to the data, upwards of 14 million women may suffer from vulvodynia (vulvar pain) during their lifetime."

SOURCE:

News release, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Mass. April 2003 Journal of the American Medical Women's Association.

[Guest guest]

Lindsey

Why does it go away, what did he think causes it?????Get trade secrets for amazing burgers. Watch "Cooking with Tyler Florence" on AOL Food.

[Guest guest]

I think what this might prove is that it does go away for a lot of women. one of my docs who has treated vestibulitis and vulvodynia for a long time says it's really rare for a woman to NEVER get better-most women get better at some point. Lindsey

[Guest guest]

my pain has gotten alot better since last year thank God, I have an appt on wed with Dr G I guess I will keep it. It makes me wonder if eventually this would just leave on its own

CGet trade secrets for amazing burgers. Watch "Cooking with Tyler Florence" on AOL Food.

[Guest guest]

Carolyn,

I think that answer is as individual as each woman that experiences

it. There is usually no one cause as there is no one cure for most of

us. Looking for one cure, name, or cause would be enough to drive

somebody nuts-and probably not be very fruitful. The doc I work with

has a huge folder full of research articles on vulvodynia and uses a

combination of them for each individual client.

Lindsey

[Guest guest]

my first specialist said it sometimes disappers just as suddenly as it came. It IS POSSIBLE!. love,ml

<<<<<< .... my pain has gotten alot better since last year thank God, I have an appt on wed with Dr G I guess I will keep it. It makes me wonder if eventually this would just leave on its own

C >>>>>>>>..