Do I have vulvodynia?

So, I have been to only 1 gyno (multiple times) for my symptoms, with no relief. So I took to searching on the internet. Right now I only have access to the one gyno I have been seeing. As of May I should be able to able to see other specialists. Please tell me what you guys think in the mean time.

First, i guess I'll start with the fact that i didn't get my period until freshman year of high school. And it was anything but normal i wouldn't get it for months and then I would get it for weeks at a time. I started the birth control my senior year to help regulate.
I didn't feel any symptoms. A couple months after I stopped taking them, I suppose just out of laziness and I was rarely, if ever having sex. I also don't believe ive ever had a uti or yeast infection. I don't know if this is relevant but I thought it was worth the mention.

I began seeing in my boyfriend in sept 2011. We began having sex in dec and by jan I began birth control pills again. After about 3 months of the pill I decided to try the depo shot.

February 2011 is the first "flare up" I can remember. I actually thought it was a uti (bc I never had one and just associated vaginal pain with utis. I also did have the urge to urinate frequently but nothing came out.) I took your standard uti medicine and within a couple days I felt better.

Until I felt the pain once again. The pain would be horrible and it would wake me up all through the night while I sat with a warm rag down there, crying my eyes out. It was occasionally a burning, raw feeling. Other times it felt like extreme irritation. This persisted until July which was the first time I saw my gyno about my pain. All she did was give me the standard talk no scented soaps and laundry detergents, cotton undies, etc. she also told me to try some light cream that was for irritated skin, not even specifically for your vagina, which worried me. I tried it anyway. The cream didn't help, but changing all my soaps and laundry detergent did help slightly.

I saw my gyno a couple more times, none of these visits helped at all. She would give me the yeast infection tests and all that good stuff. They all came back
Clean. She gave me a dose of yeast infection medicine "just in case." No surprise it didn't help. About a year later I got suspicious that depo shot made it worst, so
I decided to switch back to the pill. My gyno insists that if it was a reaction to my bc I would be seeing symptoms in other areas too. I think this helped a lot. My symptoms seemed to lessen from a pain scale of a constant 9
Or 10 to an occasional 7 or 8. I still feel the pain every day, but sometimes feel manageable, other days not so much

At the worst point of my pain I was irritated down there ALL THE TIME. Then at some points it would burn and feel raw down there. I've tried to look for triggers but honestly besides the depo I can't find a constant one. Also my change from thong to cotton under wear seemed to help. I always have used plain dove soap anyway. I try to use sensitive skin detergent but sometimes my laundry gets mixed in with the rest of the laundry and I notice no difference. Sex actually doesn't hurt that often. Though sometimes the day after it gets worst, but that's only sometimes. The final big thing I've noticed is it gets worst right before and in the beginning of my period. It also seems to get worse if I get very stressed and anxious. Oh and I have one last symptom that makes me question if I do have vulvodynia bc I haven't seen anyone else mention this system. Sometimes my pee smells very much like ammonia. I've been using Rephresh vaginal gel that's supposed to Help with balancing ph levels. This sometimes works.
Sometimes doesn't. This is ruining my life though. I rarely ever want sex. Work is miserable many days. I feel antisocial. I never want to go out bc that involves me wearing underwear and pants. Sometimes it
Makes me so sad that i might have to deal wth this pain forever.

I will go to a different dr when I am able until then what do
You think? I start my first full time job Monday and I'm literally terrified I'm going to be in pain all day.

Sorry this is so long and I probably seem
Illiterate. I'm tired and on my phone but I wants to get some feed back. Thanks in advanced.

Hello and welcome to the forum. There are many wonderful ladies on here. Read through all the posts. I'm sure you will find hope and encouragement. I have been dealing with this condition for 18 months. I have been improving slowly. When this first started the pain and burning was constant at a level 9 or 10. Sex felt like being cut with razor blades. Now the rawness and irritation come and go. I have some days when I feel normal for hours. I continue to do the stretches and exercises, internal massage with dilators, Crisco for moisture, deep breathing, healthy diet. There are good books out there to read. Ending Female Pain by Isa Harera was most helpful to me. I am on no medication but continuing to get better. Don't lose hope. This is not a life sentence! Baking soda sits baths helped a lot too. Read some of my previous posts. Take care
Delilah

I forgot to add that my urine had an unusual odor too!!! No one else mentioned that. I no longer have that frequently. But once in a while it happens.

I realize that this post is very old so you may not see it, and it's very possible you have vulvodynia, but given all of your UTI-like symptoms, habe you considered intersistial cystitis?? That also seems like a likely probability. Hope you're well by now!