I Recovered

I want to share my story because back when I was suffering I swore to myself that I would if I ever recovered. I used to spend countless hours searching the internet (and this site) looking for a glimmer of hope tha things could get better. My issues started with a yeast infection. It was the first yeast infection I ever had (at age 29) and I had no idea what was going on until I finally went to the doctor and got diagnosed after about 2 weeks of symptoms that gradually got worse. Once the doc told me it was a yeast infection, I used 3 day Monistat to get rid of it. This worked...until a week later when the symptoms returned. I searched online and realized I may need a longer course, so I tried the 7-day treatment. Another week later and the symptoms were back. I went back to the doc and they confirmed that it was still a yeast infection and gave me Diflucan. This did absolutely nothing. I went back and got another Diflucan 1 week later. Again, nothing. At this point I ordered boric acid tablets on Amazon and started freaking out a little after reading about chronic yeast infections. I used the boric acid for 1 week (1 600 mg capsule per night). This seemed to work. Then 3 days later I had a slight burning sensation and though, oh no, its BACK! The symptoms were a bit different this time (more burning than itching), but I thought it had to be the yeast, cause what else would it be? At this point I was convinced I had a rare strain of yeast and nothing would get rid of it. I decided to use boric acid for a month (read this online and there were research papers to back it up). The odd thing is, when I was using the boric acid each night, the pain wasn't there, but when I stopped, it would be back within 2-3 days.

After the month of boric acid was over, the pain came back! I was completely losing my mind at this point and had no idea what to do. Several doctors later (gyno, dermatologist, sexual health clinic..etc.) I was told I dont have a yeast infection, but Vulvodynia. I stopped all treatment and the pain would come intermittently. I would have a week of really bad pain (always worse later in the day and worse with sitting/running) and then I would have a week with very minimal pain. This went on for about 5 months until each time the came back it was less intense. I should note that through this time I tried physical therapy (muscles were fine though), amitriptyline (taken for a couple months), and acupuncture. Not sure if any of these attributed to the cure. This was all about 6 months ago now. The last pain I had was maybe a month ago and it was just slight irritation after sex. I am more relieved than I ever have been in my life! It is possible for it to just go away!

When I was in the thick of it, I was such a mess that I couldn't think about anything else. I literally thought my life was over. I read so many stories on here about women who have suffered for years and I literally dont know how you do it. You are so strong. This is truly an awful condition and I dont understand how no one is talking about it. I confided in 3 of my close friends and my 2 sisters and they couldn't believe something like this even existed. They felt so bad for me and horrified that one day this could happen to them. For everyone out there desperately looking for answers...keep looking! go to every doctor until you find one who listens. I was prepared to do anything to beat this. I hope this story helps someone.