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Gabapentin Gel. or other topical creams
Thu May 10, 2018 9:43 am by Rosie21
Hi I have been suffering for some years with this abominable pain. I have tried most of the systemic drugs , I asked specialists and Doctors if I could at least try a topical treatment but because this requires a special prescription have been refused Has anybody had a chance of trying these? Thank you I will try to put a link on to some of the research into Gabapentin Gel. Thanks.
Comments: 2
Putnams 'bony parts' cushion or Putnams 'Dr Huff' cushion - which is best?
Sat Aug 01, 2015 4:17 pm by Fielder
Hi everyone,
I'm a newbie. I live in the UK.
I'm trying to work out the best cushion to get for my vulvodynia. I suspect that I could have pudendal nerve involvement (the aching and burning pain is from vagina to clitoris) and I have rectocele and some tailbone pain too.
I have seen some good reports on older threads regarding the Putnams pressure relief cushions....with some ladies …
I'm a newbie. I live in the UK.
I'm trying to work out the best cushion to get for my vulvodynia. I suspect that I could have pudendal nerve involvement (the aching and burning pain is from vagina to clitoris) and I have rectocele and some tailbone pain too.
I have seen some good reports on older threads regarding the Putnams pressure relief cushions....with some ladies …
Comments: 11
An absolute success story- please read!
Fri Mar 08, 2019 10:57 pm by Persevere1990
Dear All,
I posted on here back in March 2017 having just got a diagnosis of vulvodynia after a few months of relentless and acute pain. I was desperate, I was hurting, I was scared I would never know life without pain there again.
I tried creams, acupuncture, numbing gels, frozen pads, baths with various internet recommended concoctions- convinced myself I had lichen sclerosus, herpes, thrush- …
I posted on here back in March 2017 having just got a diagnosis of vulvodynia after a few months of relentless and acute pain. I was desperate, I was hurting, I was scared I would never know life without pain there again.
I tried creams, acupuncture, numbing gels, frozen pads, baths with various internet recommended concoctions- convinced myself I had lichen sclerosus, herpes, thrush- …
Comments: 0
I'm sorry im rambling
Thu Feb 21, 2019 5:49 am by Jet227
hey, im 19, ive been struggling with this almost a year. The first week I became itchy I went in to check about a yeast infection another week later. I have been to 10 different doctors a total of about 15 appointments for this problem for the past 11 months. I have been tested for everything including having a biopsy. I was first told basically to just go home and use hydrocortazone, then I went …
Comments: 1
New member need advice please
Thu Feb 28, 2019 11:33 pm by PANDORA123
Hello, I have just been diagnosed with unprovoked vulvodynia. Im really scared and worried. It burns a lot and it hurts to sit down. I have been prescribed amitriptyle 10mg. Can anyone give me some hope that I can get better from this condition. Feeling low and depressed.
Thanks
Thanks
Comments: 5
MonaLisa Touch
Fri Feb 08, 2019 7:35 pm by rl2091
Hi All,
I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with the MonaLisa Touch treatment for Vulvodynia? My pain started when I went on HRT(pill) for anxiety mainly and my pain abruntly stopped when I stopped HRT. However, when I started on the HRT patch (at my dr's suggestion), the pain returned and has never left. That was 7 years ago. I found MonaLisa Touch on the internet purely by accident …
I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with the MonaLisa Touch treatment for Vulvodynia? My pain started when I went on HRT(pill) for anxiety mainly and my pain abruntly stopped when I stopped HRT. However, when I started on the HRT patch (at my dr's suggestion), the pain returned and has never left. That was 7 years ago. I found MonaLisa Touch on the internet purely by accident …
Comments: 3
Diagnosed Recently
Tue Jan 08, 2019 3:55 pm by flissyg
Hi All,
I’m so glad I’ve found a place where there are others who understand how I feel!
So this is my story:-
I’m 36, and 4 months ago, whilst innocently sitting in bed reading I experienced a very sharp stabbing pain in my clitoris. It last only a few minutes and then subsided as quickly as it came on. It put it down to “one of those things”. The following morning I woke up …
I’m so glad I’ve found a place where there are others who understand how I feel!
So this is my story:-
I’m 36, and 4 months ago, whilst innocently sitting in bed reading I experienced a very sharp stabbing pain in my clitoris. It last only a few minutes and then subsided as quickly as it came on. It put it down to “one of those things”. The following morning I woke up …
Comments: 4
New and need advice and help
Wed Dec 05, 2018 3:26 pm by Cin124
Hi everyone,
About three months ago, I started having vaginal and vulval itching. Then, about two months ago, my vulva started to feel painful and look swollen, so I went to the doctor. I was tested for herpes, chlamydia, and gonorrhea which all came back negative. I also had to do a vaginal swab test and the only thing that came back positive was yeast infection. I was prescribed hydrozole …
About three months ago, I started having vaginal and vulval itching. Then, about two months ago, my vulva started to feel painful and look swollen, so I went to the doctor. I was tested for herpes, chlamydia, and gonorrhea which all came back negative. I also had to do a vaginal swab test and the only thing that came back positive was yeast infection. I was prescribed hydrozole …
Comments: 6
New here would very much appreciate advice at the end of my rope
Wed Jan 09, 2019 9:09 pm by Jma990o
This might be a little long but it's been such a long time I've even been able to talk about my problems openly thank you in advance for any helpful advice.
So ok I'm 24 I've been having this problem for over two years seen quite a few doctors and obgyns alike and nobody will take me seriously I have had a few utis and yeast infections and even bv once and this all started after one of the utis …
So ok I'm 24 I've been having this problem for over two years seen quite a few doctors and obgyns alike and nobody will take me seriously I have had a few utis and yeast infections and even bv once and this all started after one of the utis …
Comments: 3
VVS Surgery email part 2
Page 1 of 1
VVS Surgery email part 2
Copy of second part of email from Vulvar Vestibulitis Relief
Sugery for VVS: Part II
The time has come for part II of the emails on surgery! I've gotten some interesting questions on this topic so what I'd like to do is to compile all of the questions I've gotten about surgery at the end and either send out a follow up email or include them at the end of each article once they are up on the website. In any case, please keep the questions and/or thoughts on surgery coming! And without any further chitchat, here's part II:
Why Do Some Women Still Have Pain After Surgery?
The most common reason cited for the continuation of pain post surgery is that the patients also have “pelivc floor dysfunction”. Another contributing factor can be the presence of infections but this topic will be covered in the next email.
(Side note: I have often wondered why these women who have pelvic floor dysfunction are able to get the surgery done since removal of the tissues will have no effect on the muscular function. The reason that most makes sense to me is that those women elect to have the surgery to remove all the vestibular problems and to deal with the pelvic floor dysfunction later. This makes sense only for women who fully understand what outcomes to expect.)
Why exactly is the pain still there?
So while the vestibular tissue no longer has any inflammtion and/or source of pain (whether it be from hormone definiciency, skin fissures, nerve pain, etc.) the muscles in the vulvar area and surrounding pelvic area may still not be functioning normally. From personal experience, this most often causes a burning sensation (especially during uration or during/after any attempts at penetration).
Luckily, pelvic floor dysfunction is understood a great deal more than vulvar/gland pain (ok, so that’s not saying much but at least it is more). As a result, muscular problems can be vastly improved over time. And while I’m not saying that this problem can be easily “cured”, it can be controlled. Unfortunately, it does take quite a bit of time and effort to retrain muscles once they’ve been set in their malfunctioning ways. Therefore, physical therapy plays an important role for these patients.
(I have written quite a few previous articles about physical therapy and ways to deal with muscular dysfunction so it might be of interest for you to browse the articles page of the website.)
In reality though, physical therapy plays an important role for all women who elect to have surgery for VVS because of it’s role in postoperative rehabilitation.
But let me back up for a second; there are actually several important steps for post operative care which include the following:
1) Liberal and immediate use of ice packs in the days following surgery.
2) Sitz baths several days after surgery and continuing into the subsequent weeks afterward.
3) Limited physical activity for 6-8 weeks (or more, in some cases) after surgery.
4) And of course, physical therapy.
Because the vaginal skin/tissues are made to expand and contract, women who have surgery most often have to work to get the remaining skin to make up for the tissue that was excised. So when it comes to physical therapy, several techniques are used:
1) Dilator work--this functions to retrain the tissue (which has, in most cases, been advanced) to stretch during sexual activities.
2) Biofeedback--this trains the muscles to respond normally (note that the muscles can often react to the surgery, even if no pelvic floor dysfunction is present prior to surgery).
3) Manual and trigger point therapy--this is for many of the same long-term reasons as above. Another positive to trigger point therapy is that it can have short-term benefits by causing the muscles to relax when pressure is applied. This commonly results in an immediate reduction in pain levels.
So having covered physical therapy, I'd like to get to some more commonly asked questions:
What’s the Average Recovery Time?
The average recovery time is about 2 months although that tends to be on the more optimistic side; many women return to normal functioning closer to 3 months and physical therapy can last even longer (this, obviously, is really variable based on a woman's past history). This is also very dependent on how closely a woman sticks to the regiment that her health care team outlines. Some things that women commonly do that prolong their recovery time is participating in vigorous physical activities too early on and not doing their physical therapy exercises outside of their PTs office.
Glands are often removed during surgery; how doees this affect lubrication?
Most doctors say that vulvar vestibulectomies result in about 25% less of vaginal lubrication due to the fact that glands are removed (most often, it is the Bartholin glands). Therefore, how much this affects lubrication depends on the amount of lubrication each women had prior to surgery. Some women need to use a lubricant after the surgery while some return to completely normal functioning (as in, no need for lubricant). In any case, most surgeries performed nowadays don't involve the removal of all of the glands in the vestibule.
That's it for Part II on surgery! Part III will be out shortly and will cover topics such as the role of infections on postoperative pain (including how well women with infections are suited for surgery) and how to approach talking to your doctor about surgery. As always, questions, comments, concerns are welcome!
Wishing you pain-free days
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Fri Oct 23, 2020 12:04 am by ringostarr26
» Please tell me this can get better
Sat Jul 18, 2020 7:38 pm by sammykramer
» By no means cured, but doing much better!
Mon Mar 16, 2020 1:26 pm by tinkerbelle2
» How I cured my Vulvodynia!
Sat Dec 07, 2019 11:54 am by Millie
» 7 months since the diagnosis
Wed Aug 14, 2019 2:38 am by agtoronto
» Gabapentin Gel. or other topical creams
Sat Jun 15, 2019 5:22 pm by mary jane
» IMPORTANT FOR UK SUFFERERS
Sat Jun 15, 2019 5:21 pm by mary jane
» Help New Diagnosis
Sat Jun 15, 2019 5:07 pm by mary jane
» 6 days post Vestibulectomy - Is this normal?? please tell me about your postop healing process!
Tue Jun 11, 2019 12:56 am by VVSSufferer