November 2010
I shudder when I remember that summer. I was so frustrated with my body. I couldn’t understand what was happening. Newly engaged, and we couldn’t be intimate. Every time we tried, it ended in tears. My partner tried to be strong for us, to be positive, but I wanted him to be vulnerable, to show me he hurt too. I tried crazy things, like inserting yogurt and even garlic in an attempt to get rid of what I guessed might be a horrible yeast infection gone wrong. That ended up with me going to an emergency room with cramps and irritation, and a look from the doctor like I was going to be one of her stories (“I had this crazy patient who…”). Vulvodynia isn’t just a yeast infection, and don’t put garlic anywhere near your vulva – they aren’t friends!
After months of waiting, I finally saw an OB-GYN with expertise in vulvodynia. She confirmed my diagnosis of provoked vulvodynia (also called vulvar vestibulitis). Her first course of treatment was a topical compound cream of lidocaine and gabapentin.
A 2008 study of 35 women with local and general vulvodynia women treated with topical gabapentin found that 80% had a 50% reduction in vulvar pain (Boardman et al., 2008). The benefit of topical application is that you avoid the body-wide side effects of taking a pill. If you are interested in a topical treatment, another option is topical amitriptyline and baclofen (an anti-depressant and muscle relaxant, respectively). A small retrospective study that investigated this treatment found : 29% patients reported no or little (<30%) improvement, 18% reported moderate (30-60%) improvement, and 53% reported much (>60%) improvement (Nyirjesy, 2009).
Unfortunately for me, after 3 months there was no change in my pain (and no sex either). I also felt that the base cream was even causing some irritation around the outer labia. So, the journey to find an effective treatment continued…
Topical gabapentin in the treatment of localized and generalized vulvodynia.
Obstet Gynecol. 2008 Sep;112(3):579-85.
Boardman LA, Cooper AS, Blais LR, Raker CA.
Topical Amitriptyline-Baclofen Cream for the Treatment of Provoked Vestibulodynia
Journal of Lower Genital Tract Disease:
October 2009 – Volume 13 – Issue 4 – pp 230-236
Nyirjesy, Paul MD1; Lev-Sagie, Ahinoam MD2; Mathew, Leny MS1; Culhane, Jennifer F. PhD1
Skillfully Well & Painfully Aware 
Hi Katarina, vulvodynia is definitely something that needs to be talked about more. I’m always searching for more information regarding treatment options. Did the doctors figure out what it was provoked by? Thank you for sharing your story, and I’m looking forward to reading more! I like this series you’re doing.
Hi Jessica! I’m glad you are finding it informative! I have definitely found a lack of personal stories about treatments online which is why I am sharing. I was eventually diagnosed with fibromyalgia so my doctors theorized it is a central sensitization to pain in my body. I haven’t found a cure but have found a way to manage, which I will be writing about more soon. Thanks!
I see, thanks for explaining. I’m glad you have found a way to manage your pain, and I look forward to reading more.