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[Maryjane]

I have been diagnosed with VA not bad just the beginning. Took Ovestin had to stop using it after six days awful reaction, let it settle down then used vagifem to do every other day, the symptons are as bad as Ovestin this pm.

My question is yes I may have the start of VA, this is where I need your advice please, the pain has always been in one area, the pain feels like pouring acid on a wound, it literally feels like I am being eaten away in one spot, and I know the exact spot, when lieing on my back, my husband put his lubricated finger in, and at the first knuckle of his finger on my left hand side, oh my did he find the spot, it sits under the prolapse and the pain radiates into the back passage, out of the vagina and up the left hand side of the clitoris, and makes the perineum tingle, and pain comes out of the back passage and round also.

I am wondering could I have a tiny ulcer or rub from the prolapse or a fissure, and when the vagifem is used it seeps into it as the pain is really quite bad, as the pain in the back passage is directly behind that of the vagina. I wonder if the only way to see properly is with an endoscope and very bright light. These oestrogen creams are making the sympton in that area much worse, my pain was about a two/three before, it's now a very good 6.5. Do I go back to the consultant, as my gut instinct feels this can't just be VA. I am having to employ someone to keep my business going as I am in to much pain, to stand for long and I have lost half a stone in weight from lack of appetite which is either the iron, vagifem or pain. I definately think the vagifem makes me very blue. Thankyou very much ladies.

[Sarah2]

Really sorry you are having pain like this.

I've often had burning with Ovestin so when it happens I stop using it. I find that I can use it twice a week but any more and sometimes it burns externally. I know how horrible it can be!

A gynae would be able to look at this with a special speculum which they use- have you got a dr you could see?

I think you've written about the prolapse before(?) and said you are trying to improve it with exercises- is that right? If you are then I assume it's not very bad- which makes me think that it can't cause an ulcer or anything like that. All the tissues are very soft so it's not really possible for one part to rub and cause ulcers, unless it's a really bad prolapse outside the vagina. If you had a fissure, a dr could see it and you'd also have other symptoms-  contents from your bladder, intestines or rectum would normally come through it.

An endoscope is usually for looking into the stomach down your throat. They should be able to see with a speculum and a bright light! They might use the instrument  used for a hysteroscopy, ( hysterscope) which is the same idea,  but I don't think that is likely - you'd have to be admitted as a day patient for them to use the equipment in a theatre as it's not something drs have access to except in hospitals.

If you didn't have this pain before using Ovestin then I'd say it's a bad reaction to it. I did post before about someone I know who said she had a bad reaction- burnt holes in her externally.  I think you should stop all creams etc for a couple of weeks at least and give it a chance to heal.

There are some notes in the pack of Ovestin saying burning is a side effect for some women.

If your VA is not terrible then it's not going to hurt you to postpone treatment for a couple of weeks to allow the skin to heal.

Hope this helps and you get some relief.

Why not think about bathing in salty water or bicarb in water which is what they suggest to mums post delivery to help stitches and skin heal?

Are you taking painkillers to help with the pain?

[Maryjane]

Thankyou Sarah.

I mentioned three weeks ago to the uro/gynae could it be pudendal nerve pain as my pain follows the exact route, whatever it is Ovestin and Vagifem have extremely aggravated it, anyway my husband has spent the night on the internet tonight and he said my symptons are exactly that of pudenadal neuralgia.

As I have been doing exercises for the prolapse pelvic floor, and that has also made it worse as pelvic floor exercises are bad for PN. So my investigations continue. Thanks a lot.

[Sarah2]

Maybe it is PN- don't know much about that, but some women find PF exercises can cause pelvic floor dysfunction. This is when the muscles contract in ways they aren't supposed to and PN may be a symptom of this, or vice versa. Google pelvic floor dysfunction.

I suspect you have a bad case of allergic/ over reaction to the cream and it needs a few weeks to settle down but also your pelvic floor is reacting to the exercises - not in a good way! So your symptoms are a combination of two things.  PN is common in men and women who cycle a lot due to the pressure of the saddle along the pudendal nerve.

 Might be worth not doing the PF exercises for a few days too to see if that helps. You can get 'referred' pain in other areas due to  something going on elsewhere.
Hope you get some relief soon.

[Hattie]

Has your husband found the 'Hope (Health Organisation for Pudendal Education) website - there is a wealth of information on there and a forum.
The site is american based but covers the UK for information.
Reading where you say that you have a hot spot in the vagina - two thirds down vagina ? -plus pain radiating to anus and clitoris it does sound pudendal to me too. Your skin may be hypersensitive in this area which is why the creams react badly.

[Maryjane]

Yes I do think it is PN as the pain is also in my perineum and buttock and top of left leg, and the cream has really aggravated that area and nowhere else in the vagina. So I have stopped until I get a correct diagnosis as I may not have VA and I have PN, as the pain from the cream is unbearable and I hope it calms down, will be on the phone tomorrow.

[Sarah2]

Stop doing your PF exercises too because all that squeezing will make it all worse- the soreness and the other stuff.
You can get PF dysfunction and possibly PN problems by doing PF exercises incorrectly- not saying you are...but worth thinking about.
There's an Ozzie physio who has a great website about pelvic floor health def worth looking at- her name is Michelle Kenway- google it.

[Hattie]

Hope that your phone call is productive and that you get some pain relief soon from the Gabapentin. x
(Could i just day that if you join the Forum on the Hope website that there is already someone using the name that you use on here)

[Taz2]

I've just had a look at the forum. Such a lot of good info on there. Hope it helps you Maryjane http://www.pudendalhope.info/forum/viewforum.php?f=27&sid=c7131ca3b4fbffa5352259a322887d26

Taz x

[Maryjane]

Thankyou ladies, I have just been for accunpucture the needle she put in my ear made me go immediately sleepy. Give anything a try to try and relax me, I also yawned for the first time in three weeks I have been running on adrenaline, she used to be a nurse so understood a lot.

I definately think my symptons are PN, we are getting a massage table so my husband can massage my butt as that relaxes the pain a lot, I am hoping it has been irrated by the vagifem and Ovestin and it will calm down now I have stopped using these, because I have LS I seem to be more sensitive to things, if I need to use local oestrogen in the future I am going to have to look into a compounding pharmacy, hope they exist in the UK I know they do in America. Never knew a vagina could cause such problems.

[Katy]

Hi Maryjane

Never knew a vagina could cause such problems.

I can definitely relate to that having been diagnosed with VA four years ago and a year ago with vulvodynia and it was only when I was prescribed Amitriptyline for the vulvodynia that the pain started to ease.  I was prescribed Gabapentin last September for a frozen shoulder and since then the pain is nearly gone thank goodness.  So I can imagine just what you are going through but if you can persevere with the Gabapentin I am sure you will get some relief.

Katy x

[Scarlet]

hi maryjane
i have just been diagnosed with pn
i have already had an mri scan and had some interesting stuff back
i could send you a message but i dont know how to do it
 

[Taz2]

Hi Scarlet - welcome to the forum.

You have to have made so many posts before you can send a pm although I believe that you can receive them from other members.

Taz

[Maryjane]

Hi Scarlett how can we message each other? I have my MRI neurography tomorrow.

[CLKD]

You can't until you have 'made' enough posts 

Let us know how you get on!