Guest guest Posted January 31, 2003 Report Share Posted January 31, 2003 Has she tried an antihistamine? And check her muscle levels with biofeedback? I, too, saw little improvement from estrace alone until I started taking an antihistamine. Adding biofeedbacky/physical therapy with that helped reduce my resting tension, which is beneficial even when the skin is causing a problem. Just some other thoughts as many docs don't seem to have heard about the histamine theory... > Hi all, > > Some of you might remember me from a few months back, I posted about > my wife and our dealings with VVS. I thought I would share with you > all that she saw a vulvar pain specialist today (a male doctor that > she actually didn't mind - wow!) and the prognosis. > > He re-checked again to verify that the diagnosis of vulvar > vestibulitis was correct. It is. He talked to her about the > various " groups " of VVS parients. He said that there are basically 3 > groups: skin problems and muscle problems being the main two groups > (she couldn't remember the third group by the time she talked to me :- > ). Anyway, he said that the treatments vary based on the underlying > causes. She is in the " skin troubles " category, so he said that he > felt that physical therapy would not change her situation. She has > already been using Estrace for 2 months with very minimal > improvement, and after reviewing her medical history he said that he > felt that she had already tried everything else that he might have > wanted to try. He feels like surgery is the only remaining option. > > We certainly have tried quite a few things, including lidocaine, > diflucan, tricyclics (which the doctor derided and insisted that > there is no proof that they work. Someone wrote a while back about a > study getting underway to assess their effect. I guess we'll see.) > > In the past me wife has been VERY opposed to the surgery but after > talking to him today she is actually feeling very reassured. He told > her he has done about 140 of these procedures, and has a very high > success rate. It certainly won't be easy. He said she will miss 1-2 > weeks of work and that the time right after the surgery is very > painful. > > I am wondering what others' experiences have been with insurance > companies? Has anyone out there (in the US) had this surgery, and if > so what was the insurance situation? Did you have to fight to get it > paid for? > > On another topic, I thought I might lend a man's perspective to the > recent conversations about maintaining a relationship with no sex. I > saw someone say that they were more like roommates than a married > couple. I know I felt that way for a long time too. I don't think > there is an easy answer, unfortunately. I suppose every man is > different in their feelings and what they are willing to live > with/without in a relationship. I would say that learning to have an > intimate relationship without intercourse is key. (It's also > something I could never get my wife to do. Her feelings are the same > as someone else expressed: anything remotely related to sex is too > upsetting to even approach.) In retrospect, I think that a marriage > counselor would have been very helpful for us, mainly to help > facilitate clear communication. Eventually we figured it out (the > communication) on our own. I think the one thing that I can say is > universay would be this: Silence is the biggest problem. Whether it > is a new boyfriend or a husband of 20 years, being open and honest > with each other can nip most of the little problems in the bud. Of > course there is always this one big problem that has to be dealt with > too. :-) > > Hoping for favorable responses, > > Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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