Hi, and welcome back to another instalment of how my vagina is ruining my life.
I’ll be honest and say that I have found it rather hard to write this week’s post and so I’m going to interrupt my story and just ramble on really. With whatever journey you may be facing, being aware of your emotions every step of the way is super important when it comes to your recovery. So, let’s have a chat, vagina to vagina.
Me and my vagina are part of a support group and almost every single post that goes up, is from somebody suffering and looking for answers. The fact that these answers are rarely given to us by our doctors and that we have to turn to each other for help and guidance, is one of the reasons as to why I am so passionate about continuing the conversation surrounding women’s health. If you’re lucky enough to have a normal, healthy, working vagina, DO NOT TAKE IT FOR GRANTED! (I certainly did and now I can’t remember what it feels like to have one) This condition can come out of nowhere, for absolutely no reason at all. After hearing from others within the group, I thought id share some of their responses when asked how their pain began, trust me when I say you are going to be extremely shocked.
Vulvodynia can occur due to the following:
- Yeast infections
- Being on birth control for too long
- Strong antibiotics
- Giving birth (Yes, I really said, giving birth – women can’t escape anything can they?)
- Menopause
- Trauma
- STD’s
- Urine infections
- Allergic reactions
I really could go on with the list, but the two points I am trying to make is, if you find yourself suffering with any of these, talk about it and see a doctor, also this condition could affect you at any time in your life and the more you actually know about it, hopefully, the less time you will spend suffering.
This week, I have found myself facing quite a nasty flare up, after being almost pain free for around five months now. You may be thinking, five months really isn’t that long Tiff, but when you’ve had pain every second of every day, for the past three years, five months of relief, feels like you’ve won the lottery. I’m not entirely sure what I did to provoke this, maybe I wore jeans for too long? Maybe I sat in an awkward position? Maybe the walk I went on that week was too long? But all I know is, it hit me like a ton of bricks, physically and mentally. I seem to have taken a lot of steps backwards this week (which is okay and is needed), but, has left me feeling angry and lost. Angry because I have no idea what has brought this back on and, that three years later I am still looking for answers. Sat here writing this post, I almost feel like a fraud. How can I put myself out here and help others, when I’m also needing the same help? This flare up has reminded me that I am nowhere near seeing the end of this condition and I think that’s what I’m struggling most with this week.
Something to take away - you may be at a stage where you have full control over the pain, but this condition (I have found), has a cycle. One wrong move and it could set you back months, if not years. So, if you’re sat here reading this as a sufferer yourself, get ready to take note of the do’s and the don’ts of Vulvodynia. (If you’re just here as a reader, I hope this post shows you just how important it is to get familiar with your vagina and treat it well).
Vulvodynia Do’s and Don’ts:
- Do allow time for your treatment plan to work (Which I know from experience is hard to do, but so worth it in the end when you start seeing improvements)
- Don’t use anything but water to clean the area (or use a doctor recommended soap substitute, for example Dermal 500 lotion)
- Do try to find as many opportunities in the day to go underwear less (You best believe if I’m not out somewhere, I’m home wearing no pants)
- Don’t wear tight fitting bottoms like jeans if you can’t handle the pain, this will only cause more damage
- Do take as many baths as you feel necessary, however not too hot
- Don’t shave the area if it is already super painful to touch, this again will just irritate it more
- Do use heat and/or ice packs whenever needed
As well as these tips, something that is helping me through this flare up is finding things to distract myself with and doing things that bring me joy. For example, planning fun things to do in the week whether that’s a new coffee shop I want to try or organising a zoom quiz night with the girls, watching my favourite films and eating my favourite dinners with my boyfriend or spending hours scrolling through tiktok in the bath. Hold on to the things that help you through each day because with a condition like this, you’re going to need them.
In next week’s post, my pain finally gets its name and things start to look up so please stick around for some positivity. In the meantime, I will continue to power through this flare up and push for more answers so that I can continue to help others the best way I can!
I can’t say it enough, but if you have a Vagina, don’t ever feel like you are being shamed into not speaking about it. It’s yours and yours only and you have every right to scream that from the rooftops.
(A few snippets of my happy distractions)
Tiff x