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Birth Control and Vulvodynia
Hey, everyone. I'm basically posting this as an FYI to all of you taking oral contraceptive pills. I had a horrible experience and I want to share it so that anyone who experiences something similar can get it taken care of.
Around October of 2007, I began having severe pain around the vulvar vestibule after sex. It felt like the skin was raw and torn. I went to see my regular GYN, who diagnosed me with a yeast infection and put me on Diflucan to get rid of it. 2 months later, the pain was still there. I went back to the GYN, who gave me some topical steroid creams. Needless to say, they didn't work, and the pain was becoming worse and worse.
After my 3rd visit to the GYN, who said that my last option was to try to numb the area, I decided it was time for a second opinion. I tried another GYN, who performed test after test to find nothing. She could tell that the skin was inflamed, and called 4 other people in the room to check me out (embarassing!), before she referred me to a dermatologist.
It took forever to get in to see the dermatologist because she was so specialized. Once I finally got to see her, she told me that there was a fissure/tear in the area and we treated it with Bactroban and Sitz baths. The fissure healed, but the pain would not go away!!!! My sex life was becoming unbearable, and my poor husband was afraid to touch me. It seriously affected our relationship and made our love life very stressful.
After 6 months and 3 visits with the dermatologist, I was finally referred to a doctor at the Center for VulvoVaginal Disorders in D.C. It was expensive and time-consuming, but it was worth it! The doctor there immediately detected what was wrong after speaking with me for a good 30 minutes about my sexual history. She performed a quick physical exam and drew a blood sample and then sat me back down at her desk.
What the doctor told me was the due to the birth control I was on, my hormones were completely out of wack. My testosterone level was only 11% of what it should be (which is what the Pill does- it squelches the amount of testosterone- which is why your boobs get bigger and your skin clears up). The hormones made my tissue tender and raw. After repeated episodes of pain with intercourse, my pelvic muscles began to tighten up and became permanently tense.
Her official diagnosis was atrophic vestibulodynia (the atrophy was caused by the Pill) with Pelvic Floor Dysfunction. She put me on a topical ointment to level out my hormones and I've been in physical therapy to help loosen my pelvic floor muscles.
Happily, my sex life is on the upswing. Sex is no longer unbearably painful and my sex drive is slowly returning.
I'm sharing my story because I want other women to understand that the Pill does have negative side effects. You should be careful if taking it!!!
Normal bloodwork, HSG and S/A
Med Cycles #1-5: 50mg Clomid, Novarel trigger, TI and 2 IUI's--> all BFN's
April, May 2012: Natural Cycles, BFN's
Med Cycle #6: Follistim with trigger and IUI --> BFFN
Ovarian endometriosis discovered in July, treated with laparoscopy 8/3
September Siggy: Birthday Cake MARTINIS
Re: Birth Control and Vulvodynia
This sounds like quite a nightmare. I'm glad you got resolution for your problem.
wow..... exact same diagnosis here, except with Nuvaring. I went to a OBGYN practice (in DC, incidentally) that specializes in pelvic pain because many general OBGYN's don't take the time to learn to treat these vulvovaginal problems. Very similar symptoms -- painful, burning intercourse and loss of sensation/sex drive.
Turns out the hormones in the ring are doing a number on my vestibule tissues as well. I am soaking in warm water nightly, applying an estradiol/testosterone cream, and will start a dilator program in a week or so.
Definitely an FYI.... some of us just don't tolerate these tricyclic pills or Nuvaring, and the side effects aren't always just mood or weight related - it can affect your vaginal tissue quality in those of us who are sensitive to hormones.
Women's issues in particular get passed up, glossed over or even ignored.
Isn't the rule of thumb "if there is pain there is a problem"? So I have heard -- yet doctors can't seem to diagnose whatever the problem with the pain is.