frustrated

I have been suffering with what was diagnosed as vulvodynia and and vestibulitis approximatley a month ago and have been suffering with the signs and symtoms for over a year now. I am 23 years old female.
It all started like I said over a year ago now with considerable swelling of the clitoris. I thought it was just a minor irritation and hoped that it would go away. Well i still to this day have the swelling. When I try to think about anything that was different in that time in my life.. all I come up with is that I went on birth control about 2 months prior to the swelling and other symptons. Yazmin is the birth control in which I tried.
at first doctors were telling me that I had bladder infections/yeast infections and I was treated multiple times, but with no relief. The symptoms that I have are: Painful intercourse, pain upon tampon insertion, swelling of the clitoris, general feeling of rawness and burning sensation almost all the time. I have a boyfriend of 7 years who knows that this is not all in my head because there was a time (a time in which I would give anything to have back) where I was normal. Right now, I have seen a specialist who has advised me to use Xylocaine on a cotton ball (which is a numbing gel) and insert it to where I have the pain. She advised me to do this every night and remove every morning and afterwards trying to stretch that area. I have an appointment to see her again in a few months and if I am not any better and still have the burning and rawness feelings than she is considering putting me on an antidepressant. Because I guess that has helped people in the past? I would love to hear any input regarding that.
I am really sad. I find it hard to be happy, and hard to do almost everything. I haven't been working since the end of december because I was finding it too difficult with everything else I was experiencing.
I also suffer from some other issues. I believe it is some kind of social anxiety disorder. I am extremley unconfident, shy and I am always overanalyzing myself. I have never really spoken to anyone about that except for with my boyfriend and my family. They think that its something that I can just change. But im really having a hard time.

Welcome to our fourm and I hope you can find the support you need here.

Some women do find some relief with numbing gels. I would suggest a more holistic approach to treatment.

The antidepressants used also work as neuropathic pain killers. For some they work for others they need to try something else. I couldnt go on the antidepressants as I am already on Citalopram for anxiety so I asked for Pregabalin (an anticonvulsant that also works as a neuropathic pain killer)

I am also doing Pelvic Floor biofeedback from Dr Glazer his website for your information is www.vulvodynia.com

I have found the combination of treatments quite effective and have noticed much lower pain levels and fewer and shorter flare ups

Many of our members are undergoing some kind of Pelvic Floor therapy. The theory being that an unstable pelvic floor reduces blood flow and nutrients to the vuval area which prevents healing from a trigger cause (this can be injury, infection, hormones etc)

I too suffer with anxeity and dealing with pain as well as that is sooooo hard. I have felt many times that I simply do not have the strenght to carry on fighting..but I do and so can you

Out of interest have you heard of the book 'The Highly Sensitive Person'? If you google it you will come across the author's site Elaine N Aron. I am a hsp and I find that I over analyze and over feel everything...just something for you to look into.

Also a fantastic forum site for anxiety is No More Panic who have a social anxiety forum

Take Care and we are here for you

Hello and welcome to the forum. While we might all have slightly different symptoms, I'm sure we can all identify with what you are going through. It can be very difficult to remain positive when you are in constant pain in such an embarrassing place. I have been lucky enough to be able take a career break, otherwise I think I would have been on long term sick by now. I practice stretching, relaxation and breathing exercises at home. A couple of books that I have found helpful are "Heal Pelvic Pain" by Amy Stein and "Ending Female Pain" by Isa Herrerra. Both advocate similar forms of physical therapy and I have devised a programme based on my favourite bits of both. Another book I have found useful is "When Sex Hurts" by Andrew Goldstein et al. This looks at the possible causes of pelvic pain and advises on various treatments and how to get the best from doctors appointments. I know this all costs money - I have spent a small fortune - but it helps my mood when I feel I am doing something positive. I hope you manage to find the answer to your problems soon. Try to take it one day at a time. In the meantime, you are among friends here.