Thanks to Stacie for being strong and sharing her story .
In Stacie’s words
“This week is all about raising awareness of the chronic pain condition that affects millions of women worldwide. I’ve already talked about what vulvodynia is, the causes, how it’s diagnosed and today I will be discussing the treatment options.
Vulvodynia is a very tricky condition to treat because what helps one person may not work for another. I have tried so many different types of treatments in the past and have spent close to $50,000 of both mine and my parent’s money in trying to get help. It’s also very annoying that most of the doctors I have seen WERE NOT EVEN AWARE of the available treatments. I have been told to just “learn to live with it” and there is “no treatment”. Wrong. There are treatments.
Here’s just a few of the ways vulvodynia can be treated:
- Tri-cyclic Antidepressents, Anti-convulsants (pain blocking medications)
- Topical Lidocaine
- Topical Hormones
- Topical Compounds
- Nerve Blocks
- Pelvic Floor Muscle Therapy
- Diet Modification (ie. Low Oxalate Diet)
- Surgery (for VVS patients only)
- Alternative therapies
- Botox injections
I have had to make major lifestyle changes to cope with daily pain. I can no longer wear jeans or any kind of tight pants, use fragrance free/dye free laundry detergent, no more bubble baths, no swimming pools or hot tubs, no creams of any kind in that area, no sitting or standing for too long, no bike rides. Sex is often out of the question. Basically, what I am trying to say is that my life is very different from how it used to be. I feel like I am walking around with this heavy weight of pain on me and there’s no escaping it. I wish I could take a vacation from my body! I cry sometimes when I think that this is what I have to look forward to it and it makes me very depressed. I guess that’s why I just take it one day at a time. Thinking too far ahead into the future only makes me sad.
I wish that I had a doctor in my country who was as wonderful as my US doctor. Dr. Coady is the only doctor who has helped me and knows more about vulvodynia than me. See that’s the thing- I feel like I know more than the doctors. How can I trust a doctor’s advice then about my condition when it’s something they don’t know anything about? She always does a treatment plan with each visit which makes me feel better. I need to feel like I am in control of at least that since my body is very much out of my control. Too bad their wasn’t a pain switch that I could just shut off!”
