M—
"vulvodynia" is simply a name for chronic vulvar pain without an identifiable cause… or in other words, kind of like "fibromyalgia". They came up with a name for it but you need a cause to figure out how to treat. Even the "National Vulvodynia Association" is not much help (can you believe it has its own association? What does that tell you about
how prevalent it is… there is no EXCUSE for not having effective treatments!) Arrgghhh…
Sorry—I have my lyme rage under control now.
From what I've read, it's basically nerve damage after having a long untreated infection (bacterial or fungal). And many infections don't biopsy well—so you could have something but it not show up in tests.
NONE of the medical articles on vulvodynia I've ever read are helpful and many of them are irrelevant, quite frankly. But reading comments from many (worthless) articles IS helpful sometimes…
A few women have had success taking an antidepressant called amitriptyline. Some women go on pain medication. Quite a few had success with primrose oil—topical and pills. Some had success with Neurontin cream w/ 5% lidocaine gel. And some said Lyrica helped.
Here's a very interesting, albeit tough to read article about
a woman and her vulvodynia adventures… Similar to my journey. She describes the cause of the residual pain pretty well:
"In a matter of weeks, the rashes, the breast pain, the burning sensations, were all gone. In my follow-up appointment, I confided that all of my acute symptoms were gone, but a deep pain still existed that I felt only on contact, feeling like a knife slicing my insides to shreds.
"In the next “layer,” as the ND called it, now that the top layer of the yeast was peeled away, she saw another cause for my pain which also lived in the realm of “not recognized by Western medicine.” She explained that my body revealed nerve damage (and then I remembered having been told that years before, diagrammed on crinkly exam-table paper…). Bacteria on the nerves themselves had attracted certain minerals, forming hard, crunchy crystals, which is why I felt such cutting, slicing pain. I took the recommended products to rid the bacteria and dissolve the mineral deposits, and in a handful of months from when I met that ND, my more-than-five-year struggle was over." Huge disappointment that the author does not divulge treatment but perhaps there is a way to contact her:
www.youandmemagazine.com/articles/vulvodynia-five-years-in-the-fire-p