Question About Symptoms

In June I was diagnosed with a very bad yeast infection - I was so sore and in agony and I had white spots on the bottom of my vagina. I took 2 doses of canesteen and 2 diflucan pills and it settled down and apparently it cleared up - with only mild discomfort left. Then on the third day after my second diflucan does I woke up and felt pain.

It seemed like wiping with toilet paper and any kind of soap on my vagina irritated it to agonizing pain - crying every night - can only wear skirts. I had swelling and it felt like bruising and it hurt to walk. I couldnt even touch the labia. And the vagina hole was all red - dark red. My doctor said it looked red but normal. Took weeks for this to fade - the redness is almost all gone but the tip of the bottom of my vagina is still red and painful. Amazing how much pain comes from such a little area.

I got tested for everything under the sun (twice) - no yeast!! No BV not STDs nothing.

A month later after using cloth wipes (I made my own with organic cotton), only wiping on the labia (not the vagina hole) after peeing and no soap things have calmed down - where I have pain only on the bottom.

I saw a gyn and he said it looks normal, gave me numbing cream and advised Aveeno oatmeal bath. He said he has seen with some people it takes a long time for skin to calm down after a yeast infection.

There were a few days that I had no pain - then I used soap and toilet paper and it came back and is still here even when I stopped using it.

My question is - when you have vulvodynia does it hurt all the time. I find at night it does not hurt when I am sleeping and when I wake up I feel something down there very mild but not pain. Then as the day goes on it gets more irritated even with the organic cotton wipes and not touching the vag, the white underwear, no soap etc.

I wonder if I just have irritation that is taking a long time to clear up but one month is long for irritated skin to clear up. Also, I just took two doses of diflucan (one on Monday and one on Tuesday to see if it makes a difference) then I freaked out that I took diflucan.

Hi there, it does take a long time for things to settle down, i think. Hope you feel better! cindy

Hi KT123 - your symptoms sound so typical of vulvodynia. My own problems started with a severe yeast infection, and have continued off and on for years. To answer your question, vulvodynia pain can vary from pain only with penetration to constant pain. The intermittent pain you are experiencing is similar to my situation - that is, I am better after I've been lying down for a while, worse with sitting or standing, and also worse after peeing or showering, even with no soap. Basically, anything that stimulates the nerves seems to translate into pain.

There seems to be good evidence that canesten and company (meaning the antifungal suppositories) can cause vulvodynia in some women. Avoid using these products and stick to oral anti-fungals. Some doctors feel that allergy to yeast can cause a hypersensitivity and ongoing symptoms, even when cultures are negative. You may want to get checked for yeast allergy. Apparently, your immune system may mistake your own tissues for yeast and start attacking, causing symptoms. There have been several studies in which women with ongoing symptoms benefitted from taking 150 mg diflucan once weekly for six months. The tests aren't always 100% - in one study, they compared cultures for yeast to a new test which checks for yeast DNA - and a significant number of women who still had symptoms but negative cultures, tested positive for yeast DNA, and they got better on the long-term diflucan mentioned above. The women who didn't have any yeast DNA got better with elavil. You need to deal with this problem - the longer it lasts, the harder it is to get better. I hope you find what works for you soon.

Too sore-

That sounds interesting. never knew such a test existed. Of course the doctors don't want to run any tests...lol. Would this typically be a urine, poop, or vaginal swab test? Or, would it even matter? At first, my situation responded so quickly to food/acidipholous...adn then I totally cheated...adn it came back. Doc says I never had a yeast infection according to their one and only swab test. I am very interested in exploring this. It's funny how we need to be pushy and be our OWN doctors. I have been begging my chiro for 2 months to do an xray since I feel like my pelvis isn't on straight. He didn't think it was necessary. So, last week I DEMANDED it..or ELSE type of threat...got my xray...and what do you know my pelvis is all messed up...tailbone is in wrong spot, spine is all compressed at the bottom, found out I have a broken rib, etc. Now, I have to go to physical therapy. I know its not hte full answer, but it may alleviate some of my issues.