HOW I CURED MY VULVODYNIA

Hello. Please read this, I want to help as many women as possible. One thing I have learned over the last 3 yrs suffering from this condition is NOT TO ACCEPT EVERYTHING YOUR DR TELLS YOU.

I posted on here a while ago claiming that I had experienced a large decrease in my provoked pain due to taking baking soda baths. Since then the pain came back with vengeance and I realised I was wrong. The depression hit again. Suddenly, a light bulb went on in my head - I had been bedridden the whole week of my miraculous 'cure' due to having the flu. I started to wonder whether my pain was something to do with my back, as it seemed to decrease to the point of almost disappearing completely when I was lying flat for a long period of time. Then, I remembered something else. Just before the onset of my pain, I had experienced a strange spasming and pain down the left side of my back, left leg, foot and toe. This pain and spasming was on and off and had been going on about 2 months previous but I never saw a doctor about it. Embarrassingly, the pain came to a head one time in the middle of sex when my toe started spasming and then shot out at a right angle, causing excruciating pain to run up and down the inside of my left leg. It was the time I had sex after this that my vulvodynia had started, at first only in the left hand side (then it eventually spread to all over the vulva). But I had completely shrugged this toe thing off until now, not connecting it with the vulvodynia. That's why I never mentioned it before. (also, its a bit embarrassing so I didn't really tell anybody!)

I asked a doctor who was experienced in vulvodynia about whether my problem could stem from these foot spasms, and he shot down the idea before I had even finished explaining it to him and put me on amitriptyline. Didn't even test my blood pressure or anything first. This is a Dr who claims to have been 'treating' women with vul. for 40 yrs, but who admits he has not ever found a definitive cure for any of his patients. Basically when I saw him (feeling completely miserable with and deserted by my body aged 18) he told me that it would be likely I would suffer from the condition my whole life. He didn't exatly sugar coat it and when I left the hospital I burst into tears. I decided I needed to take matters into my own hands.

Through the Vulval Pain Society I heard about a chiropractic group called the McTimoney Group based in the UK, who are carrying out research on whether back problems can cause vulvodynia. I contacted the group and booked an appointment.

My chiropractor identified that my pelvis was incredibly misaligned - the left side more than a centimetre higher than the right. The symptoms such as the spasming and shooting pain I described led her to believe that I had a trapped nerve somewhere in my back, probably caused by this twisted pelvis. When I started the chiropractic treatment, I came off the amitriptyline first to make absolutely sure that it wasn't just the drugs that were dulling my provoked pain. The first few sessions left me in incredible pain afterwards. The spasming that had mysteriously disappeared after the onset of the vulvodynia came back. I tried sex during this time and was forced to discontinue, it was so painful. I was sceptical of the treatment at first and it is certainly pricey.

However, after about seven sessions (a session a week) with the chiropractor sorting out my back and pelvis my pain has gone from about 9/10 to 0.5. It has pretty much disappeared completely and my chiropractor is now certain my vulvodynia was caused by a trapped nerve. She has completely straightened my pelvis and I have responded very well to the treatment. Everything is in the right place now! I will have to visit her intermittently throughout my life to make sure the pain stays away and my back / pelvis doesn't slip back to the way it was, but we are both optimistic that in a few more sessions my pain will have disappeared completely. I am over the moon.

I am now living my life the way I have wanted to for so long. I have a new boyfriend and painful sex is no longer an issue. It feels like a miracle. Manipulation from a chiropractor is all it has taken for me to go from feeling like hot pokers were on my skin during all sexual contact to no pain. I am so happy and relieved, but in a way I also feel quite guilty that I have found a cure when so many women out there are still suffering from this terrible affliction. PLEASE, even if you think it unlikely to be the cause of your pain, go see a chiropractor. It might be the best thing you ever do. The money is worth it, and at the McTimoney practice all patients' case studies will (anonymously) support their research, so you are doing your bit for other women with the condition!

I have an appointment to see my Dr in a few weeks to see 'how the amitriptyline is progressing'. I'm going to give him a piece of my mind. I think that many of the problems with this illness is Drs only want to treat the symptoms and not find the cause. In my opinion this is negligence. Tricyllic antidepressants are not pretty. The ami made me pile on weight and act a bit like a vegetable. Over 2 months after stopping it I am still suffering from terrible insomnia. It is not worth it when there are other methods to actually CURE vulvodynia.

I hope this helps. If anyone would like more information about the McTimoney Group and which particular chiropractor I visit please contact me, I am happy to help.

Good luck!!

PS: I would also like to add that my chiropractor has 2 more success stories where the vulvodynia has completely gone away for her patients. It certainly is very promising.

Hi Ivy Rose,

Thanks a lot for sharing your story. it sounds hopeful!

I have also been thinking about chiropractic treatment. I was thinking about going for my lower back, because I get back ache from the way that I sit and the chair which I use at work, using a flat wooden one means I can actually sit and focus on work without too much pelvic pain, but it leaves me an achy back.

Which of the mctimmoney people did you go to see? I live in London so they are little bit far away but possibly worth a try

Did your practioner tell you anything else about the kind of problems which other ladies coming to see her have had i.e. have they all had pain like yours in other places than their pelvis (which is different to mine, which is more localised)?

thanks
xxx

Hello, sorry I'm only just replying...
This is my chiropractor: http://www.mctimoneychiropractic.org/index.php?option=com_comprofiler&task=userProfile&user=138

As far as pain goes, I never experienced pain anywhere else but the vulval area (apart from when I had the foot spasms which disappeared when the vulvodynia started). My pain was very localised. My chiropractor has mainly cured women with unprovoked pain but she says that often these women have provoked pain as well.... the first thing to go is the unprovoked pain and then it takes a few more sessions to get rid of the provoked. With me, I never had any unprovoked pain at all. I guess every case is different. But she is a very good chiropractor and chiropractic treatment is definitely worth looking into!
Good luck!

Hi Ivy Rose

Your story is very interesting and its amazing you have found a cure. I have took your advice and also started seeing a chiro who follows the McTimoney approach. I saw her yesterday for the first time and after analying me she said my pelvis was also massively misaligned the right side being much lower than the left. After the procedure I noticed the burning back in my vulva and shooting pains in my vagina. However today I do feel much better and the burning has gone. Fingers crossed I hope my v has been caused from this and hopefully with continued treatment will disappear like your v. How are you doing now? Are you still pain free? I really hope you doing well x

Hello,
I'm new to this website,i've been in pain for fives years and every day gets even harder it's affected my sex life and has nearly destroyed my relationship.I've finally decided that the doctors cannot help me with there drugs because they don't work and i still feel pain when taking them and they only make me feel worse.So i've decided to go drug free and i'm starting to help myself.I saw your blog and i thought wow this can actually be cured so i've made a doctors appointment and i'm going to suggest the chiropractor route and if i can't get it free on the NHS then i''l save up and pay myself!My life is more than pain so i'm taken action and hopefully this will cure me too!Is there anything you have taken naturally which will help the pain?
Thanks
xx