Guest guest Posted December 15, 2003 Report Share Posted December 15, 2003 In a message dated 12/15/03 12:30:14 PM, VulvarDisorders writes: << I also saw Dr. on years ago (I think 8). I was more impressed with her lush offices filled with fish tanks that were everywhere than I was with her. Not accepting any insurance means she can set her own rates, and I'm sure she can get it. After all those fish tanks cost money. LOL >> I agree with Sue. Doctors who don't accept insurance usually don't because they don't want the costs of employing the office staff to take care of billing the various companies or they don't like what the insurance companies consider a fair fee. Doctors can send you off for any test/procedure you're willing to pay for regardless of whether they are participating doctors of any plan or whether your insurance company is willing to pay for it. Insurance does not tie their hands at all, as long as you're willing to make up the difference. There's one vv/vvs specialist and his reasoning for not accepting insurance is that insurance companies won't pay his outrageous fees. He rationalizes charging several hundred dollars because he claims he spends 60-90 minutes with each patient. He spends 95% of that time talking, not examining the patient. Which is all nice and stuff, but if I want to talk - I'll go out to lunch with a friend and save myself $700. I stay away from doctors that do not accept insurance/bill insurance companies. If they don't, quite often it's because they can make more money not doing so. If they're that concerned with lining their coffers (when they can make a highly profitable living by playing the insurance game), I begin to wonder if I really need this test/procedure/another office visit, etc... and if they are instead just padding my bill. Debbie Tiger " And Staples Girls are so extraaaaaavagant...I just don't have that much driiiiivvvvvvel... " - Alan, 2/12/03 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 15, 2003 Report Share Posted December 15, 2003 In a message dated 12/15/03 12:30:14 PM, VulvarDisorders writes: << Or even more frustrating is when things start off pain free but then suddenly during or immediately afterwards the pain is unbearable and how can you say to your partner who is really enjoying themselves and thinks that you are too 'actually this is hurting now, can we stop'??? >> Hi Gini, That's exactly what you say. If your partner loves you, he does not want his pleasure to cause you pain. My boyfriend can usually tell by my eyes when sex has started hurting me and he stops before the pain has reached a level where I would ask him to stop. << Has anyone had any bad reactions to lubricants or condoms? I'm curious because during one session everything was pretty much pain free until the above were introduced..any ideas??>> You're sensitive to the ingredients used in the lubricants. If one has vv/vvs, our vulvas/vestibules/vaginas are much more sensitive to irritants. If your hands are dry and chapped and you wash with soap - it hurts right? Normally the same soap wouldn't hurt you. It's the same with the skin in our vulvar area. If it's inflamed/irritated, it will react to ingredients in lubricants/condoms just the way any other inflamed or irritated area of our body will. Debbie Tiger " And Staples Girls are so extraaaaaavagant...I just don't have that much driiiiivvvvvvel... " - Alan, 2/12/03 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 15, 2003 Report Share Posted December 15, 2003 In a message dated 12/15/03 12:30:14 PM, VulvarDisorders writes: << You aren't looking in the right places. There have been quite a few that have been cured when treated for long term yeast. >> Then the person did not have vv/vvs, the person had an yeast infection. <<Every case of vulvodynia is different and there are many cures.>> There is no cure for vv/vvs. There are treatments that will relieve symptoms. Possibly permanently. There are cures for yeast infections. <<Here is just one of the success stories: http://www.angelfire.com/hi/HeidiHomePage/index11.html Here is Robin's story of being cured after years of pain. Not using diflucan but using Nizoral>> I don't believe I said long term use of Nizoral wouldn't help. I said long term usage of Diflucan with the symptoms she described was probably not going to do a thing for her. The Aldara is more than likely causing the symptoms she thinks is yeast. And her other symptoms sound like she might want to read some of Arline's posts. Trying a gluten free diet may be more successful than long term usage of Diflucan. I may be wrong and missed a post where she said she has had problems with recurrent yeast infections and if she has had that problem, then maybe long term Diflucan will be of a benefit to her. Her complaints of vulvar dysplasia, Aldara side effects and diarrhea don't indicate long term usage of Diflucan will do much. <<It is a dis-service to others to tell them that a certain med or course of action won't work simply because you, yourself have not seen success with it.>> Did I say Diflucan did not work for me? I don't believe I did. Don't assume I found no success with a drug/treatment if I tell someone else it may not have the results that she is looking for. <<We know that many things cause vulvodynia: nerves muscles bacteria yeast low estrogen birth control pills high in progestin medications allergies (food or airborne) chemicals (detergents, soaps, lotions etc) oxalates wheat/gluten allergies>. Not exactly. They are not the whole cause of vv/vvs. The list above are irritants that our bodies react to and keep reacting to long after the irritant is gone. Having a short term reaction to anything listed above is not unusual. What is abnormal is when the body keeps reacting. The list above is a catalyst, whatever it is in our bodies that is unable to stop reacting and/or over reacts to the irritant is the cause of vv/vvs. Long term relief to vv/vvs requires finding a treatment that that turns off the reaction (cure!), interferes with the brain registering the reaction (relief!) or reduces the effects of the reaction on the body (relief!). Debbie Tiger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 15, 2003 Report Share Posted December 15, 2003 In a message dated 12/15/03 12:30:14 PM, VulvarDisorders writes: << Yes, it was diagnosed by my doctor's lab through a stool (diarrhea) sample--excessive yeast in stool (a minimal amount is a common finding, but excessive is not). >> I don't believe you mentioned you tested positive recently for yeast. I do believe you said you think you might have yeast. There's quite a difference. If you have tested positive, it might help if you tried the Diflucan and the topical yeast medication to rid your body of the yeast. Whether it will relieve pain in the vulvar area, is another issue. Debbie Tiger " And Staples Girls are so extraaaaaavagant...I just don't have that much driiiiivvvvvvel... " - Alan, 2/12/03 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 17, 2003 Report Share Posted December 17, 2003 The stool test was spring 2002. I started HSV meds and Diflucan cleared the smell problem and partially the vulvar skin problem, but not the diarrhea problem. All the symptoms recurred after a month, so I went through the Diflucan routine again. It took 3 pills to fix it that time. Then I tried some quack at-home yeast treatment all summer. I didn't get the smell again but the diahrrhea never went away and I periodically had skin trouble. All the problems just keep recurring. Been to about 8 gynos since that time. Total, I have been prescribed meds for yeast, meds for herpes, meds for thyroid, and now meds for HPV--multiple prescriptions on most of those. Proof of yeast: one positive stool test for yeast in 2002, plus a microscope confirmation for vaginal yeast in summer 2003. Also, I have self-prescribed (bought online) meds for herpes & meds for yeast at various times. But symptoms have gradually worsened in the last half-year. Apparently I am having multiple vulvar problems, and no one medication ever takes away all my symptoms by itself. Nor do multiple medications taken in conjunction. I don't know what I have. I know I probably can't solve it though, considering everything I've tried so far w/ no lasting results. I'm hoping Aldara helps w/ the VIN-1, and I'm waiting for my recent IgA test results about gluten intolerance (Arline's topic) to figure out if that's contributing. So I'm in a holding pattern right now. I don't remember what post you're talking about, but the reason I probably said I " might " have yeast is because I can't tell for sure. The time this summer that I was diagnosed w/ yeast via microscope was the first time ever in my life that I had proof of a vaginal yeast infection. However, the symptoms & the smell had been around for a year. The next time I was checked w/ microscope they said no yeast. But the symptoms were still there. I wasn't experiencing anything WORSE the time they said I DID than the time they said I DIDN'T. And all the gynos say they can't smell anything when I can plainly smell the difference. It is all so confusing--I had so many different symptoms that all started at the same time, but different doctors treated me for different things at different times and I don't expect you guys to come up with the solution for me, but bits and pieces of things I read here do help, and so I just keep reading and waiting and trying more things. WTT VIN-1, HSV-1 somewhere, possible vaginal yeast, and who-knows-what-else > > In a message dated 12/15/03 12:30:14 PM, VulvarDisorders > writes: > << Yes, it was diagnosed by my doctor's lab through a stool (diarrhea) > sample--excessive yeast in stool (a minimal amount is a common > finding, but excessive is not). >> > > I don't believe you mentioned you tested positive recently for yeast. I do > believe you said you think you might have yeast. > Debbie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 17, 2003 Report Share Posted December 17, 2003 Keep in mind that people get a diagnosis of vv/vvs when doctors don't know what the hell else to tell them. So probably some of the people coming here don't TECHNICALLY have vv/vvs, but they think they do because that's what they've been told (like me). So when we're talking to people about relief of their symtoms, we can't just leave out some solutions on the basis of " That doesn't fix vv/vvs " because for some people, it DOES fix THEIR " vv/vvs " . It'd be different if vv/vvs had a unique definition and treatment, but it has neither. I can't tell who's writing to who in the postings below, but one of you is talking about vulvodynia as undiagnosed symptoms of which some might have cures, and the other is talking about vulvodynia as a disease in which EVERYTHING else has been ruled out and there's no cure. In the real world, I think it's rare that EVERYTHING can ever be ruled out completely, so it's plausible to believe there are people who think they have vulvodynia but don't have it in the strictist sense of the word. And for them, there may some " cure " . And to whoever wrote the very bottom-most comment below...I think you are talking about me and my use of Aldara, but the person you were responding to was posting to somebody DIFFERENT about their symptoms, not mine. The format of these groups kinda sucks because there's no way to see discussions arranged in their own threads--instead it's all a mish-mash of different discussions. Maybe someday Yahoo will get a different format so we can all be clearer on who's telling what to who. WTT VIN-1 through biopsy, HSV-1 blood test, sometimes yeast, and who-knows-what-else. > > In a message dated 12/15/03 12:30:14 PM, VulvarDisorders > writes: > > << You aren't looking in the right places. There have been quite a few > that have been cured when treated for long term yeast. >> > > Then the person did not have vv/vvs, the person had an yeast infection. > > <<Every case of vulvodynia is different and there are many cures.>> > > There is no cure for vv/vvs. There are treatments that will relieve > symptoms. Possibly permanently. There are cures for yeast infections. > > Here is Robin's story of being cured after years of pain. Not using > diflucan but using Nizoral>> > > I don't believe I said long term use of Nizoral wouldn't help. I said long > term usage of Diflucan with the symptoms she described was probably not going > to do a thing for her. The Aldara is more than likely causing the symptoms she > thinks is yeast. And her other symptoms sound like she might want to read > some of Arline's posts. Trying a gluten free diet may be more successful than > long term usage of Diflucan. I may be wrong and missed a post where she said > she has had problems with recurrent yeast infections and if she has had that > problem, then maybe long term Diflucan will be of a benefit to her. Her > complaints of vulvar dysplasia, Aldara side effects and diarrhea don't indicate long > term usage of Diflucan will do much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 17, 2003 Report Share Posted December 17, 2003 <<The stool test was spring 2002. I started HSV meds and Diflucan cleared the smell problem and partially the vulvar skin problem, but not the diarrhea problem. All the symptoms recurred after a month, so I went through the Diflucan routine again. It took 3 pills to fix it that time. Then I tried some quack at-home yeast treatment all summer. I didn't get the smell again but the diahrrhea never went away and I periodically had skin trouble. All the problems just keep recurring. Been to about 8 gynos since that time. Total, I have been prescribed meds for yeast, meds for herpes, meds for thyroid, and now meds for HPV--multiple prescriptions on most of those. Proof of yeast: one positive stool test for yeast in 2002, plus a microscope confirmation for vaginal yeast in summer 2003.>> I don't remember what post you're talking about, but the reason I probably said I " might " have yeast is because I can't tell for sure. The time this summer that I was diagnosed w/ yeast via microscope was the first time ever in my life that I had proof of a vaginal yeast infection. However, the symptoms & the smell had been around for a year. The next time I was checked w/ microscope they said no yeast. But the symptoms were still there. I wasn't experiencing anything WORSE the time they said I DID than the time they said I DIDN'T. And all the gynos say they can't smell anything when I can plainly smell the difference.>> You don't have a problem with recurrent yeast infections, it appears you have had two in your life - with one maybe be a bit difficult to cure. I'm not sure what the vulvar skin problem was that you were having last year. If it was itching or burning or something that indicates yeast. The diarrhea may be caused by what you're eating, the medications you're taking, IBS, etc... If may have nothing to do with an yeast infection. I think I'd try something else before taking long term Diflucan to treat diarrhea. You don't mention what the smell is. Vaginal scents and odors are normal. This smell may be completely normal. If you're basing an yeast infection on vulvar pain (not extreme itching and burning), odor and diarrhea - you probably don't have an yeast infection. You probably won't find much help from taking Diflucan long term. I'd pursue another diagnosis for the diarrhea. And wait until you have finished the Aldara to determine if that relieves the vulvar pain. As for the odor, I would think doctors are familiar with the fishy scent that indicates an yeast infection and if they don't detect it - your odor is probably normal. But if your doctor is convinced you have some hidden yeast infection - you might as well give Diflucan a chance. Debbie Tiger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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