Conditions
Vulvodynia
This unpleasant condition causes chronic pain and discomfort in the vulval area, with the most common symptoms including stinging, burning, irritation and rawness. The condition can vary in severity; for some they experience only mild discomfort, but for others it can severely inhibit their normal lives and prevent enjoyment of sexual activities. There are treatments available, including anti-depressant and anti-convulsant drugs, but there are also creams and gels that can be applied to help with the pain. With up to 15% of women suffering with this condition, you can be sure that you’re not alone, and your GP will be able to help.
Comments and Questions
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Please note: Unfortunately Channel 4 cannot respond to individual inquiries. If you have any concerns, you can check out NHS Choices, but ultimately it is always best to check with a health professional.
well every couple months after i get my period during my period and after i get this burning sensation at the bottom of my vagina like the opening. me and my boyfriend do have sex and even then when we do it hurts sometimes for him to put it in. im scared to talk to my mom about it because i dont know what it could be, please help!
for about a year now, whenever me and my hubby have sex the entrance to my vagina burns, so much sometimes that i have to sit in a cold bath. if had tests to rule out sti's. please can someone tell me whats wrong with me
Whenever I have sex i always seem to get pain like burning and stinging, it feels like cystis symptoms as well but i feel need to push down. Is this what this is or anyone know what I have?
Hi I'm 15 years old and for the past 1 and half years I have had pain and soreness in my vulva area. It is mostly around the vaginal entrance but there are also sore spots else where, including the area between my vagina and anus. Most of the time it is bearable and not noticeable without being touched, making any form of sex unbearable. Occasionally I have flare ups in which urination painful with a lot of itching. I have been to the doctors millions of times and to a gyno, but all just treat me for thrush. This is unbearable and just want it to go away :(
I'm 19 and have been suffering with this for nearly 5 months, experiencing the sharp burning and stinging just around the entrance. Has anyone else been prescribed gels such as Instillagel and Ametop Gel? Both are local anaesthetics, but both have just created severe irritated burning from the moment they touch my skin, and I think the Ametop is what keeps giving me thrush on top. I find it weird that of all 4 or 5 of the practitioners I have seen have so far been hesitant to use the Amitryptiline.. :/
Hiya,I am 19 aswell and also suffer with this problem and have been for 3 years. Amitryptiline seems to be the first medication drs want to use because they say that vulvodynis is to do with 'over senstive nerves' so with the amitryptiline it is meant to help and ease the pain which is caused by nerves. Drs usually start on a very low dose like 10mg then gradually go up on a two weekly or a 2 week basis. I have been doing this for a while now and am now up to 30mg which I have been told is enough. I must point out this is not a cure as sadly, there is no cure it is just to help ease it. In answer to you other questions I have tried numerous local anaesthetics, which do cause a very strong stinging sensation too so I have stopped using them. The other thing that I have found helped alot is using Dermol in the shower to wash all over, it doesnt bubble or anything but it stops it getting irritated from any perfumed products. Also when it serverely bad I use epaderm to put on it which seems to calm it down, it also acts as a good lubricant and a barrier cream for things like swimming. As I am still having issues with it I am now waiting to see a physiotherapist for some pelvic floor exercises which are meant to help. I hope this helps for you as I understand how difficult it can make life.
hi, im 14 yrs old and i have quite alot of discomfort near my vagina after i urinate. this lasts for quite a while. i've been like this a couple of days, the first few i was suffering from a horrible flu-like illness that just disappeared overnight. do you think i have this or even maybe something else???? i want to tell my mum but i dont know how x
I'm 15 years old and I think I've been suffering from vulvodycia for the past few weeks now. It's a burning/stinging sensation and to be honest I'm too scared to go to my GP or even tell my mum. Could anybody help?
Hi I have this problem too! I am 62 and have been suffering for about 2 years. I am not in pain as such just severe discomfort. I cant sit for long and have trouble sleeping as I am so uncomfortable. I have seen two gynis and both could see nothing wrong. I have tried Replens,Vagisil and taken Amitryptiline up to 30mg and no relief. my GP has now prescribed Instillagel but I am nervous about using it. Any one else tried it?
I am 64yrs old and I have been suffering from vulvar burning pain. I only used to have in the evenings, but now over 12yrs it got steadily worse, now i have it all day everyday.I can't relax it drives me mad.My sex life went years ago,can't sit at my computer for long its unbearable.I have gone from gyni to gyni and back to my doctor who shrugs her shoulders and says who would you like me to send you to.In the end she sent me to a urolagyst, i have been with her for 2yrs.I have now learned how to use a computer and asked my urolygist that i think i may have vulvodynia?she said she didnt think it was . she said she wants me to see a dermatolagist .but to rule out vulvodynia she has put me on gabapentin 300mg it has been a week now and i am still in pain waiting to see another consultant.What can i do?.
I have a whitening to the skin at the top of my labia minora, and an itching, is this normal
No this is not normal and you should be seeing an oncologist gynecologist and have a biopsy to determine what this is. Do not panic HPPV virus could be the cause and can be dealt with easily. Remember not knowing is always worse than whatever the diagnosis is as your imagination conjurs up the worst case senarious so go get checked!!
Hi, I started getting pelvic pain (I prefer that phrase to vulvodynia) about 8 months ago, after I lost a baby at 4 months. It was really difficult at first but I wanted to write because although I am still affected quite a lot by it, I feel like I am also lucky to have found help which has made it a lot better. After having lots of tests done, with nothing showing up, I saw a dermatologist who prescribed amitriptyline. This is a pain killer prescribed for pain which is caused by nerves (it is also used for depression but at a higher dosage). This has made quite a big difference - I gradually increased the dosage to 60mg a day, and now I am mostly not in pain. It was really horrible at first as it made me feel exhausted, but now I am more used to it, although I feel more drowsy than usual, I don't feel the side affects as much. I also started to see a women's health physiotherapy, and this has also helped. I asked my GP to refer me to a physiotherapist as I read that this could help. At first I saw a physio who didn't really know anything about vulvodynia, but then she recommended me to someone who did at Lewisham hospital. Since then, she has given me some exercises which have helped. One of the causes/symptoms of vulvodynia is that your pelvic flaw muscles can be extremely tense and spasm all the time which causes/increases pain. So I am doing exercises/deep tissue massage to slowly tackle this. I hope eventually I will be able to reduce and then stop taking amitriptyline. I am also seeing a counsellor to help, because my pelvic pain was definitely set off by my emotional loss so it is important to work through this. In the meantime, the combination of these has helped me and my sex life with my boyfriend. After I started to see the physiotherapist, she suggested not having sex for a while, and just being intimate with each other in a different while, to help reduce stress around sex which had become painful. This did help, and we are now able to have sex on and off. Although it is still difficult and sometimes can make my boyfriend feel like I don't want him, we try to be together in whatever way is comfortable, depending on how I am feeling. I hope that this helps someone find some support in this way - I would say keep trying even if your GP/drs aren't helpful to start off with. Have a look at the vulval pain society and take a print out of their suggestions to the GP if they don't know what to do. take care x
hi i am 19 years old i have a problem in my vargina it cames a white things in my vargina every day over 16years now and i haven`t be able to contact a doctor neither my mum .it makes me unconfortable and worry .
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