Guest guest Posted July 11, 2003 Report Share Posted July 11, 2003 I agree with you Dusty in regards to whole the discharge issue. There is no question after being dx with VVS that I continuously focused on my vaginal discharge as being the "problem" that was causing all my pain & irritation but many years later (6 to be exact) I now realize that its not the discharge itself that's causing my pain. It wasn't until about a year and a half ago when I visited a really good vulvovaginal specialist who's primary specialty was infectious diseases who told me that the discharge that I always thought was abnormally thick, white & coming out in copious amounts, was completely normal according to where I was in my monthly cycle. He backed up everything he said to me during my initial office visit with normal readings of my wet mount and all my numerous vaginal cultures he took came back completely negative. That's when I began to look at VVS differently and I stopped wasting so much time trying to tx a yeast and/or bacterial infection that was never there to begin with!! I have to say that I did waste many years always thinking I had some sort of infection - especially candida when I never ever did!! Of course all the doctors I went to see were just as responsible for this because many of them, despite my cultures always coming back negative continued to tx me for yeast infections that I never had in the first place which only irritated my painful vulva more and more!! I was happy that this infectious specialist finally stopped the insanity for me and once I realized that there was nothing pathological about my discharge, it freed up my time to search further for what was really causing all my VVS pain. I recall this doctor stating that women he treated with vulvodynia repeatedly focused and honed in erroneously on their discharge when it was completely normal & not infectious at all. I think its completely normal and understandable for women with our condition to focus in on our discharge as being the problem because its just so damn hard to believe that you could experience that much vaginal pain and NOT have some sort of infection?? This coupled with how little we still know about vulvodynia/VVS leaves so many of us women in the dark and having to figure out on our own what's wrong with us!! All I can say is if you repeatedly culture out negative for yeast & bacteria and do not notice any improvement in your pain/irritation when taking oral/intravaginal antibiotics or antifungals there is a very strong chance you are not dealing with an infection! Personally, I tend to think that the cyclical irritation I experience during ovulation, a day before my period and the few days right after my period is over are due to an abnormal reaction/response to completely NORMAL vaginal pH changes that occur during the month. I believe ever since I developed VVS, I now have an abnormal hypersensitivity to these normal pH changes and that's what pathological.....not my discharge! I think that its my chronically inflamed vestibular tissue (also nerve fibers & gland involvement) that has gone haywire and is now highly sensitive to hormone fluctuations & vaginal pH changes. Just my thoughts..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 11, 2003 Report Share Posted July 11, 2003 HI Sue Jane, ; ) I thought your post was well thought out and right on the button with a lot of your ideas. I remember when I swore that there HAD to be something wrong with my blood itself during my periods! I too was obsessive about it and always looking and checking. I wanted to collect it to have the doctor analyze it!! My gawd did I burn then!! It was only later that I realized it wasn't the blood anymore than it was water, but 'anything' going over that irritated and raw tissue even air, would burn, but the problem was the tissue and NOT what was going over it. Just like salt going into an open wound, it's not the salt itself, but the wound, get that healed and we're fine. Plus blood is alkaline and that can burn and irritate as much as an acid. so that is part of the pH idea as well, but it truly was the tissue itself and nothing else. Once I had that tissue healthy and restored by using the hormone creams, VOILA, no more pain or irritation. But as I said before I never had any 'abnormal' discharge and of course if there is an infection like yeast or bacteria it definitely can excoriate that tissue even more. WOW do I remember those horrible burns with a yeast infection, never itched, but I sure would be on fire or like someone poured acid or gasoline over me. *sigh* Dee~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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