does this sound like vulvodynia? please read!

[LegendOfAspen]

hello everyone, i have known this forum for a while, and all you ladies seem super nice and not judgmental, which is why i have come here. i will try to keep this as short as possible, but i have no access to a gyno as of right now, and my anxiety is killing me because of this, so if anyone can help, that is greatly appreciated. i have had these symptoms for over almost a year now, although the pain has gone down significantly. it started right after a birth control pill i started when i was 18 in may of 2015. i had this intense burning down there as well as dryness. long story short, i was misdiagnosed twice and my gyno didn't help at all. i stopped the birth control by myself and immediately felt improvement, however, it has never fully gone away. i recently had sex with my boyfriend, which was painfree 98% of the time actually. my current symptoms are: slight irritation on the vulva, dryness, pasty white discharge, an odd smell (not that bad really, not like fish), and burning with urination. i can touch my vulva and apply pressure with no pain, but i don't get wet like a normal 19 year old would. i don't wanna be in discomfort for the rest of my life and i'm up at 5:30am having an anxiety attack about this. does this sound like vulvodynia or something else? i just have the irritation and slight burning so i automatically thought of vulvodynia since i was told no other vaginal infection causes burning. any feedback is SO appreciated, thank you lovelies.

[emalita]

Hi!

I'm sorry to hear you're in pain and that you don't have access to the care you need.

Vulvodynia isn't a single disease/condition for everyone. Vulvodynia is a diagnosis based off of elimination of other conditions (e.g. yeast, BV, STDs, etc.), and when a doctor cannot find a cause for the pain, they may diagnose vulvodynia, which is simply chronic vulvar pain without a known cause. Basically they are telling you that you're in pain, but they don't know why.

Personally for me, all of my tests came back normal until I went to a vulvovaginal specialist who developed his own testing method using a higher powered microscope (he has published studies acknowledging these new tests). He diagnosed me with a very bad case of inflammatory vaginitis (IV not DIV). He was the first vulvar specialist who didn't just assume all unexplained vulvar pain was nerve related, which is the answer I've gotten from two other specialists who I wanted to slap. And he didn't tell me all my pain was caused by unresolved sexual issues either (I hate doctors sometimes). Don't get me wrong, there are women whose pain is caused by overactive/damaged nerves or mental trauma from sexual abuse, but that's not my case.

Trust me, there are plenty of vaginal conditions that cause burning besides the typical yeast, BV, and STD. I know this isn't what you want to hear, but you should really be seen by a vulvovaginal specialist who is used to seeing nonstandard disorders. That is the only way you will find any peace from your anxiety...trust me, I've been there.

Hang in there. You can get to the bottom of this