How Vulvodynia Can Impact Your Life

Vulvodynia can destroy women’s lives in countless ways, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. – Finally, Vulvodynia sufferers are finding out about Specialist Vulva Doctors who can help them get their lives back on track by adopting a multi-faceted Holistic Personalised Treatment Program. This protocol incorporates a spectrum of both conventional and state-of-the-art treatment and therapies that are specifically targeted to each and every patient’s individual needs.

So How Does Vulvodynia Impact Someone’s Life?

There is no doubt that for countless sufferers, vulvodynia can become life-altering in the most negative of ways.  Here are just a few of the repercussions:

• The pain experienced from sitting for extended periods of time can make it challenging to be able to do certain types of work. – So much so that some people have to leave their job (even if they work from home)
• The impossibility or difficulty of having sexual intercourse can strain, and in some cases, end, relationships. In fact: “vulvodynia is the most common cause of painful intercourse(dyspareunia) and chronic pelvic pain among people in their reproductive years” [1]
• Insomnia is common.Trying to get to sleep can be very difficult, as can actually staying asleep
• Vulvodynia has been linked to anxiety and depression [1]

Difficulties Receiving an Accurate Diagnosis

“Many people with vulvodynia get misdiagnosed. Or, they may get diagnosed with other conditions involving chronic pain, but the vulvodynia gets missed” [1]

In the UK, only a diminutive percentage of GPs have undergone the necessary years of extensive training and practice in the fields of Pain and Pain Medicine, that are necessary to be able to give an accurate diagnosis. To that end, countless women with Vulvodynia have been left untreated; and in many cases this has made their lives extremely difficult. So this is why it is essential to book an in-person or online consultation with a Pain Doctor. Owing to the nature of  Vulvodynia, Pain Specialists take a very sensitive approach towards their patients. Moreover, the globally renowned London Pain Clinic, has a team of both male and female Pain Consultants. To that end, if an examination is necessary, or if matters that need to be discussed are of a very personal nature, then those who would feel more comfortable with a female Vulva Doctor, have this choice.

Did You Know?

“The pain associated with vulvodynia feels different to different people. When the pain starts, stops, or feels most sever,e varies from person to person, too” [1]

So What Vulvodynia Symptoms Should I Look Out For?

Your vulva pain can be on a scale from from mild to severe. You may experience:

• Throbbing
• Rawness
• Itching
• Stabbing
• Stinging
• Burning [1]

Of note: you might just experience the pain in one spot; it could alternate from one region to another, or it could radiate across your entire vulva

Putting a Spotlight on Vulva Pain

As your Vulva Doctor will explain, your pain could:

• Unpredictably stop and start over a period of several months
• Continue non-stop over a space of several months
• Come on all of a sudden without any apparent cause
• Begin when a sufferer is touched, or is participating in an action such as: sitting down, walking, running, exercising, having sex; or even inserting a tampon [1]

Furthermore, as a Vulva Specialist will tell you: any of the aforementioned activities can actually  escalate the vulvar pain that a sufferer is already experiencing

So What is the Root Cause of Vulvodynia?

As matters stand, studies on the potential causes of vulvodynia, have not brought about a definitive conclusion as to the exact reason/s why it affects a percentage of women. However, likely causes have been highlighted. These comprise:

• Genetics
• Hormonal facotrs
• Inflammation
• Neuropathic issues (injury to the nerves)
• Long-term response to previous vaginal infections
• Muscle spasms
• Weakened pelvic floor muscles
• Irritation due to certain body products, objects, or clothes which interact with the skin [1]

Dermatolgical Disorders & Vulvodynia

Research shows that: “in the symptoms domain, patients with vulvodynia experienced worse quality of life than patients with many dermatologic disorders except eczematous dermatitis. In the emotions and functioning domain, women with vulvodynia had significantly worse quality of life than patients with many dermatologic disorders, including psoriasis, eczematous dermatitis, and acne vulgaris” [2].

Focusing on the Positive: Treatment & Management of Vulvodynia

When you are under the care of a Vulva Doctor, targeted therapy – that is to say, a combination of the best treatments and therapies to suit your specific needs, will be implemented right from the get-go. After this, you will have regular contact with your Vulva Specialist. And whether it is on-line or in-person, these follow-up appointments are likely to be short – so this means that you can easily fit them into a lunchtime or after-work slot.

It is important to create a daily ‘Vulva Pain Dairy.’ This will not only be of immense help to your Pain Doctor, it will also ensure that you are giving them accurate information. This should have a separate page for each day, and there should be 24 hourly slots for you to note any comments. For example, you may have had some vulvodynia (pelvic floor) physiotherapy, and then felt a tremendous difference within a short space or time. Or you may have received a pudendal nerve block injection which gave you immediate relief. Conversely, you could have been given a new pain medication which was not strong enough, and has to be modified. So note down any treatments that you have had, or medications that you are on, and what the results are. You should also write down any activity which brought on vulvodynia pain (for example, inserting a tampon), and note how long the pain went on for. This kind of monitoring will ensure that your Holistic Personalised Treatment Plan will be continually fine tuned to get you back to normal living as quickly as possible.

Vulvodynia Treatments Provided by a Vulva Doctor

These tried and tested research-backed treatments, injectables and therapies, are recommended according to the personal needs of the patient. They include (but are not limited to):

• Topical medications: ointments and creams which numb the vulva or stabilise the nerves. (If appropriate, your Vulva Consultant may prescribe a topical hormonal cream)
• Oral medication: anticonvulsants and antidepressants which work to lessen nerve pain
• Nerve Blocks: these are popular injections which prevent the pain signals that are transmitted from from the nerves to the brain
• Specialised Vulvodynia Physiotherapy: this works to reduce muscle tension and spasm in your pelvic floor (that is to say, the connective tissue, ligaments and muscles in your pelvis). Treatment incorporates strengthening. lengthening and stretching weak pelvic floor muscles)
• State-of-the-art anti-nerve pain pharmaceuticals
• Multimodal anti-nerve protocols
• Pudendal nerve blocks
• PRF (Pudendal nerve pulsed radiofrequency treatment
• Counselling
• Desensitisation exercises
• Self help techniques

References

[1]. Cleveland Clinic (2022). “Vulvodynia.”

[2]. Ponte M, Klemperer E, Sahay A, Chren MM. Effects of vulvodynia on quality of life. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2009 Jan;60(1):70-6.