Vulvodynia Support

Since you're already on a pill with 35 mcg of estrogen, you can't go any higher in a low dose pill.  You could try less progestin (Brevicon, Modicon, and Ovcon have about half of the same progestin and the same estrogen dose) and see if that makes a difference.  Your period could be screwed up a little if you quit the pill, but it's something you'd have to deal with eventually anyway (unless you plan to be on the pill for the rest of your life).  When I quit Nuvaring last spring, I charted my basal body temp to see when I would ovulate and then to see when I'd get my period.  That helped to take some of the insecurity out of things--you won't have a period until after you ovulate, and then your temperature drops a couple of days before your period starts.

A lubricant like Astroglide and the stuff your gyn uses probably have similar ingredients in them, but the technique may be a little different.  If you are low estrogen, anything you insert or apply is probably going to sting or burn.  Do you use tampons during your period, or is that even too much?  When I had atrophic vaginitis I couldn't put anything in my vagina for months.

You might sit in front of a mirror and take a look at yourself.  Check and see if your genitals seem like a normal color (like the inside of your lower lip), normal texture, normal amount of moistness, or if they seem pale, like the color of the rest of your skin, or if the inside of the labia are shiny but not moist.  Pale, shiny, and dry are definitely hallmarks of not enough estrogen.

Hang in there--there's GOT to be an answer, we just haven't found it yet!

Hello Judie,

Thanks so much for that response. Sorry for my delay in posting back to you. Thanks also for assuring me that there is an answer for me out there that hopefully I'll find.

I have spent much time over the last couple months looking in a mirror to see what it going on. I wasn't quite sure what color everything is really supposed to be - since I never had an issue, so I never bothered looking. Based on your description, I don't think my problem is estrogen related. It's not pale, and does actually appear the color of inside my lower lip.

Right now I am slightly more confused because I am feeling a little better. My days of being incredibly uncomfortable have been varied lately. I wake up feeling okay, maybe just a tad itchy, but I am pretty happy because (knock on wood) I haven't had a really bothersome, painful, burning and I can't stop crying because I feel so irritated day for about 2 weeks. I know you said that my changing to Necon over the Nortrel might not help, but I'm not sure if it actually did. I changed to a more potent supplement at the same time as switching my pill, so I'm not sure who is the hero here. I was going to stop the pill at the end of the month because I thought it was to blame, but now I am not sure. Do you think I should take some time off of the pill??

I was even able to have sex for the first time in almost 2 months. I was thrilled because I actually felt well enough down there to do it, and aside from a little pain (while he was inside of me, I felt almost like a pinching sensation more than anything) and slight stinging afterwards (the stinging is normal) it didn't make things worse. I was so afraid that I would be in ungodly amounts of pain after, but I was fine.

My problem isn't 100% better, but recently I have felt more normal than I had in over 4 months. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that because I typed / said that, it doesn't come back. (I had a habit during my months of being treated to say that something felt much better, only to have my problem come back even worse than before).

Again thank you for all of your help - you have NO idea how much I appreciate it. Also, sorry for the delay, I wanted to make sure that I had a week of feeling human again, before posting about it.

Thanks again. Have a HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

How are things now?  I had surgery the Monday after Thanksgiving and the week before Thanksgiving was just awful at work, which is why I've been away.

It might not hurt to take a break from the pill, but if you do you might have to wait several months to see how much things may change.  You could also stop your supplement for a few days and see if that has any effects on the pain--one or the other might need to change for you to figure out which is the hero. ;)  I think if not getting pregnant is very important to you, you  might hold off on the supplement and see what happens unless it's something you need to stay healthy (like a critical one, not just a because-I-want-to-be-healthy one).

Glad things seem to be improving!

I hope that you have recovered fully from your surgery & the pre-Thanksgiving rush of stuff to do. I've been experiencing internet problems which have prevented me from posting sooner...

I think that I might just try cutting out the supplement to see if that does anything, only because the whole pregnancy issue is important to me. (The whole reason I got on the pill was to prevent it.)

I've found that RIGHT NOW at this very moment, I am feeling pretty good. My only complaint since my period went away is that I have been itchy. Not a constant itch, but one that comes and goes, and varies in intensity. The first week after my period the itching was the worst, but still not as uncomfortable as I had been experiencing - so that is a MAJOR plus. I'm really hoping that my problem will go and stay away for good. I guess as long as the pain and discomfort stay away, I can deal with the itching.

Thanks again for the advice and support. I'm keeping my fingers crossed :-)