PELVIC PAIN AND VULVODYNIA (Fibro & IB)

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DeeTroll wrote: Hi all Small clip mainly abt. Fibro, etc. but mentions Vulvar pain and IB Dee ~ Of the nonplus conditions, three can be considered core: Chronic Fatigue, Fibromyalgia and Irritable Bowel. This is because they are the most common and may occur alone. The

remaining nonplus conditions can be considered satellite conditions. This is because they are not as likely to occur alone but commonly attend one or all three of the core nonplus conditions. If you have one or more of the core conditions then you are likely to also have one or more of the satellite nonplus conditions. Many books, websites and research that discuss the nonplus conditions mention that they frequently occur together and some suggest a common underlying mechanism is responsible for them. .........................clipped and continued...... Vulvar Pain Syndrome, Vulvodynia Vulvodynia also known as vulvar pain are associated with a variety of symptoms of the external female genitalia and often occur along

with fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue and irritable bowel. Problems can include sensitivity of the skin, general discomfort, itching and dryness, parchedness, tiny cuts in the skin that are extremely painful, swelling and drawing sensations all over the vulvar skin, or only certain parts of it as well as in the rectal skin. Hypersensitivity along the edge of the small labia, which makes it difficult to walk, is common as is pain or discomfort on touching or pulling pubic hair. Some women cannot even wear underwear for these reasons. In some instances pain is primarily evoked by insertion of a tampon or by sexual intercourse. The symptoms of interstitial cystitis may also be present as well as burning pain at the level of the

pubic bone, pain in the buttocks, thighs and pain or numbness in other areas of the body.(27)The origin of vulvodynia is not known. Medical examinations and diagnostic workups remain unrevealing and no specific cause of the pain can be identified. Treatment is limited to symptom relief.. Preliminary findings from a Harvard Medical School study reveal that vulvodynia may affect millions of women.(28) Vulvodynia and interstitial cystitis are the most widely known conditions in a group of health problems known as chronic pelvic pain. The pelvic pain syndromes share many characteristics, but with the pain centered in different locations. These conditions include orchialgia (pain in the testicles), urethral syndrome (aching and cramping in the area above the pubic bone, may occur with frequent or painful urination, and low back pain), penile pain, prostatodynia (pain in the prostate), coccygodynia (pain at the tip of the tailbone) and perineal pain (pain in the pelvic floor, between the thighs).(29) According to s Hopkins School of Medicine, hyperesthesia of the vulva was apparently a well-described entity in American and European gynecological textbooks in the last century. However, despite these early reports the medical literature did not mention vulvar pain again until the early 1980's, when a new interest in this chronic pain syndrome developed. It is not clear, why the chronic vulvar pain syndromes disappeared from

the medical literature for almost 100 years. It is possible that the medical community denied and neglected these pain syndromes, or that chronic vulvar pain syndromes indeed were quite rare for a period of time. Further epidemiological studies are necessary to clarify these issues.(30) source ; http://www.guailife.com/nonplus_conditions.htm