Have low free testosterone

Some of you might have already read my rantings on Facebook, but I also wanted to share this here. I had an appointment with my vulvodynial specialist last week. I took the book When Sex Hurts in and explain the how birth control can mess with your hormones, causing provoked vulvodynia theroy. She didn't seem to think much of this, I believe her exact words were, "Andrew Goldstien thinks pills cause everything." She's also doing research on this and so far they aren't finding much of a connection. She also said my hormones looked fine under a microscope. My cells always look well estrognized when she examines them. I then asked her is she can tell if anything about my testosterone levels by looking at my cells and she said no. So after I insited, she did agree to test my free testorone levels humor me. And what do you know, they were low.

I was only tested for free testostorone, but since my cells see to have enough estrogen, I was OK with having that test omitted. My free testosterone was below 0.3 pg/ml. The lab considered the normal range 0.3-2.2 pg/ml. It does seem every lab has their own normal range for free testorone in women. I got the impression that my lab's normal range was lower than some of the other normal ranges listed. So I think it's safe to say, my free testorone levels are low and need to be brought back up.

I'm going to stop taking the birth control pill since that can cause low levels of free testosterone. My doctor also perscriped a hormonal cream that I'm to apply to my vulva twice a day. I go back for a follow up in three months. The doctor said it could take about 3 months for the cream to start working. The cream is .02 percent estradiol and .1% testosterone.

I do want to stress that though I think the birth control caused this issue in me, I also can't prove it. This the first time I had a hormone test. It's very possible I had this problem my whole life and never realized it. Also, not eveyone on the pill will have this problem, so I don't want to cause a panic. I also won't know my low free testosterone levels are the cause of my pain. I strongly suspect this is since the other medicine (various antidepressents and Lyrca) did nothing for me. However, I won't know if there is a connection until my free testostereone levels return to normal. When that happens and if I have reducted pain, that I'd say that is the problem. However, if my pain stays the same, then this could be a coincidence. However, for the first time in a while, I'm hopeful I've found a cause.

I just wanted to share my store in case this could help anyone else. I know this situation will not apply to a lof of you. We all have unique situations that gave us this condition. If you feel like this or anything else could be an issue don't be afraid to be assertive and fight to get the tests done and be heard. You never know when you might find something helpful.

I'll have not started the using the medicine yet, but I will keep you updated.