Relief !!!! Finally - I can help you

I'm 19 years old and have gone through hell for the last year and a half. It started last summer with a urinary tract infection, and the doctors also noticed a dangerously high count of protein in my urine. A few weeks later I got yet another UTI and took antibiotics to treat it again. Then in September I had a mirena put in which is a form of birth control that blocks semen from going to your Fallopian tubes and traveling to your ovaries. This caused many problems for me: decreased sex drive, terrible mood swings, painful sex, etc so I had it removed a few months later. Prior to having it removed, I had yet another urinary tract infection. I started to get really worried that I had kidney problems but every doctor I went to told me everything looked fine. Then in march I had my most recent urinary tract infection which was so severe I had to go to an emergency room at 1 am and they said I had so many things including blood and minerals in my urine that I probably had a kidney problem. My protein count in my urine was also high still, and at this point I was experiencing the burning of vulvodynia every day, which began around the time I had my mirena put in. After blood work and more doctors they still couldn't tell me what was going on. At this point I had stopped having sex all together because the pain was so unbearable. I had so much trauma occurring to my poor lady areas that I could find no relief. I also had switched to the pill for birth control so I was taking hormones again. For the past four years I also was prescribed minocycline for acne which I took daily and only now realize how damaging that was to my immune system and body. So fast forward a few months and I have no more UTIS but still consistent vulvodynia burning and pain. I was suggested anti depressants but I knew that was a path I didn't want to go down. So here's where my story can help you. I decided that all the chemicals (antibiotics for years, hormones) were actually hurting and destroying my immune system, throwing off my pH balance, and causing hell for my sex life.

My holistic approach that I carefully compiled together from various websites that has finally given me seven days and counting of complete pain free living is as follows:

1) go without sex for two months. Your nerves are sensitive and damaged, they need to recover in peace
2) stretching!! I belief this had this biggest help by far. Stretch everyday!!!!!Regular work out stretches , especially that work your upper legs, glutes, and abdominal area help strengthen your muscles which most likely are weakened and having spasms your are unaware of that cause pain
3) eat a decently healthy diet, love your body!! It will do wonderful things and help regenerate and heal
4) when you feel the burning , tighten your vaginal muscles and release , repeat many times.. It ended up actually reducing burning quickly for me
5) extremely hot baths with oatmeal powder or baking soda give relief for flare ups
6) completely stopping all medication (birth control , anti depressants , antibiotics)
7) buy cotton tampons - available at heb in organic section
sleep without underwear- this tremendously reduced my burning at night
9) once a month put baking soda suppositories up your vagina before bed for pH balance
10) avoid anything bumping against or hitting vaginal nerves
11) on weekend nights when I was drinking a few beers I noticed the pain was less intensified -- do not recommend relying on alcohol to ease pain
12) do this simple routine for atleast three months and I hope you can experience relief like I have. I have suffered and now your pain, I hope to help as many of you out as I can. Please try this holistic approach before further damaging your bodies with more medicine and treatments.

Stay strong, in time your body will heal itself if you let it!

Are you still pain-free? I will definitely try out the things you mentioned such as the baking soda and oatmeal baths.

I'm so glad you found things that work for you. I'm taking notes of the ones I hadn't heard of. I'd never have thought of the technique for tightening and releasing muscles during a pain flare, for instance.

I wouldn't recommend tampons! Washable cloth menstrual pads are the way to go. You don't mention contraception: what are you using? I have a copper IUD. They're wonderful things, 99.6% effective and no hormones at all, but if you have heavy/painful periods they usually make them a bit worse, so they're not for everyone. Although an Omega 3 supplement really helped reduce the heavier periods for me.

Also please don't give out blanket suggestions to strangers to go off their medication. They probably need it, and you have no idea what other medical conditions they have.

go without sex for two months. Your nerves are sensitive and damaged, they need to recover in peace
.
And do you have less painful intercourse afterwards if you respect this rule ?
I'd wait 6 months for them to heal, anything !

Haha or you could just get surgery and be cured. I cannot get off birth control that's bad advice and not the reason I got vulvodynia. And for a lot of women tightening vagina muscles is a horrible idea. I'm glad it worked for you but don't say you can fix everyone half the stuff you listed I wad told never to try...

@ alana 3,
surgery does work but not always, it might leave you with even more nerve damage.
Alas, it depends on the doctor you have

My point was just because going off all thqt stuff helped her my surgery helped me. Everyone's different I'm cured but I cant do half that stuff and recommendations of going off medication is maddening because I can't.