food and vulvodynia

I have found food has a big influence on how bad my vulvodynia is.

My biggest triggers are spicy foods, alcohol (particularly baileys, so sad to say! not so much red wine, but beer etc is a definate no), wheat products, oats, fruit and juices.

What food have you found triggers your vulvodynia?

I thought it may help us all, as then we can get ideas what to eliminate, or what even to add in.

I hope you all have a wonderful christmas x

I find that alcohol can trigger it but not always; I only definitely avoid beer and stuff like that which irritate the bladder. If you want to drink I would stick to spirits - if you're going out, it sounds a bit mad but I think shots is probably the safest bet. That might just be me though as I find that irritating my bladder makes things bad!
I also avoid coffee.

I don't find any food or drink makes a difference to me, I tried cutting out various things way back in the beginning but it made no difference at all. Some people do find food and drink worsens symptoms though. Alcohol is good for me because it relaxes the pelvic floor a bit and gives me a bit of extra pain relief.

I too wondered about a food connection. My diet is pretty limited due to IBS (probably adhesions). And maybe SIBO which adhesions are a risk factor for.

I'm into week 2 of a very restricted diet I thought I'd try while I'm waiting to see the only available gastro in my area. I've been trying to eat based on the book 'A New IBS Solution' which is about SIBO in the small bowel. I'm so bloated there (never changes) I thought it was worth a try. Also thought it'd address Candida in case that could be an issue but doctors generally don't believe in it but I figure I've had enough yeast infections as well as UTIs. I'm also avoiding sugar, yeast, gluten, drink only lactose-free milk.

I also bought a bunch of supplements but am laying off them a bit. I was using Candidate (for yeast) tincture, digestive enzymes, garlic, olive lead oil extract, Caprylic Acid but am re-thinking some of those. My left vulvar area has been really flaring these past couple of months. I was given a low dose of Amytriptiline which was great for getting to sleep but I didn't take it long because of the side effects.

Only bad thing I consume is coffee. I currently have to start work at 4:00 AM and it's pretty difficult to not have one cup and usually I'm so tired when I get home I have 1-2 more. I thought maybe eliminating the sugar would be more helpful. I plan to stay off it for now though because I ate one cookie last week (because it was a 'free' sample) and I think I did sense a gut reaction but no change in the left vulvar burning. I also have been having very foul, sweet/sour smelling pee. My blood sugar is good so it isn't that.

Dinner tonight was a can of tuna and some Millet toast!

Would be interesting if diet played a role, or if it would just be about the low-oxylate thing like with IC.

So I think that mine is associated with a vaginal PH imbalance that I have had for about 2 years. I'm now looking at getting back to balance. Suggested diets have encouraged erradicating sugar, dairy (except natural yoghurt) and yeasts. It's hard to know what exactly has and hasn't helped as it has only been a month since I went on the diet but I have noticed that when I eat bread I now feel very bloated and constipated. I haven't had any thrush symptoms since then and the odour and discharge associated with the PH imbalance have drastically reduced.

So I will say yeast is definitely an irritant and yoghurt has been a positive.

Food affects my vulvodynia hugely.

-fruit juices are the worst - particularly ORANGE JUICE and CRANBERRY JUICE (terrible agony when I was a teen and thought I had bladder infections, so was drinking cranberry juice on purpose to try and help)
-any CITRUS fruits - oranges, lemons, limes, grapefruits. Pineapple and strawberry are also very acidic. If I eat any I make sure to drink tons of water to dilute it. Also tomatoes and tomato products.
-SODA POP. My recommendation is to avoid this one like the plague.
-anything SPICY - peppers, hot salsa, Mexican food
-oddly enough I've noticed a bit of an issue with ice-cream
-I don't drink alcohol and hardly any coffee at all, so I can't say much for those

Those are the main ones I can think of right now.

Glad to see somewhere here mentioned ORANGE JUICE! I had been symptom free for six months and then had two glasses of orange juice and BOOM next morning flare up. No more juices for me.

Also, ice cream someone mentioned. I've heard that diabetes can cause recurring vaginal symptoms... this is something I'm currently trying to figure out for myself. The night I had the orange juice I also had ice cream and pudding. I hadn't been eating much sugar lately Because I sarted eating healthier, so I'm seriously wondering if blood sugar has a play in all this.

Has anyone been diagnosed with blood sugar problems as well??

Hi,

I definitely notice a difference in my V pain when I change/restrict my diet. I am allergic/intolerant to wheat and dairy so I avoid them anyway. Im supposed to avoid sugar, yeast and corn but its so difficult I always think as long as the big two are out ill be ok anyway, I had a particularly bad couple of weeks and I decided to cut out sugar. The difference in my symptoms was dramatic I have had three very good days and Im hoping it continues. I tend to follow the candida diet as I get chronic yeast infections which was the cause of my V pain so if I can eliminate yeast from my body it will help in some way.
Pepper
x

I have noticed a huge connection with food. I have to agree with someone else on this thread that a small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth is likely the cause. The bacteria (bad) take over and feed off the sugars that are left undigested by certain foods. The sugars (carbs) basically ferment in the stomach and the bacteria use them for fuel.. when they feed off these sugars it often causes IBS symptoms such as gas, bloating and stomach pains/cramps.
I would recommend (since I can't post a link) to do a search on Paleo Dietitian Aglaee Jacobs, she has a new book that is coming out called Digestive Health with Real Food (it was just released) her website also talks about SIBO, what it is and how to treat it. If you have any questions or are looking for a diet to follow. Let me know, it's good to work with Aglaee though because she really helps answer questions. Hope this helps. it really explains why so many of us seem to react to foods that all have one thing in comment - carbs.. fermentable carbs.. It takes time to heal but I believe there's hope that the body will heal and bounce back. I'm on week 3 with no flare ups ( i was having them every 2 weeks or so)..