Vulvar pain, irritation, possible vaginismus?

[erlgirl-9.livejournal.com]

Aight, all, I come to you with some questions.

I've been having pain with intercourse for quite a while now; in fact, now I'm just not having intercourse at all, and it's taken a toll on my sex drive (which, whilst never very high, is now down to zero) as well as my relationship (frustration, issues, etc). I'm at university and have been to see the doctors so many times now that I'm quite sure they think I'm an attention-getting hypochondriac. I've had one gyno visit scheduled that I attended and was perfunctorily told to take sitz baths and learn to live with it, and one gyno appointment that was scheduled and I missed it: the gynos around here book about six months in advance, and on a university schedule, I can't commit to that, never mind remember. One day I'll have lots of time and money and be able to get in to see the gynecologist within several weeks, or even days, but until then, I languish. In my last appointment to the university's health services, however, I saw a doctor I'd never seen before, and she theorized that I may have vaginismus.

Now, thanks to my lurker-dom on websites such as these, I know sort of what vaginismus entails, and it could well be the cause. Except ... well ... I thought that the whole "muscle spasm" thing meant that my vaginal opening contracted or something, making it hard for PIV sex. That doesn't happen with me. My symptoms are along the lines of:
-burning
-itching
-irritation
-burning when I urinate
-urethretic pain
-air. In my vag. Not just when I'm having intercourse; sometimes, it'll sneak in when I'm lying in a fetal-esque position in bed, and almost always happens when I'm bending over from a position on my knees.It's embarrassing and feels freaky and weird, and I don't think it's normal for it to happen with such frightening regularity. Is it?

The burning and itching encompasses my whole vulvar region, stopping just short of my clitoris. It sometimes feels raw, or like my vaginal discharge is more like vinegar/acid than anything else; it shows no visible signs of inflammation that I or the doctor notice, however. Some days, it burns without my having been active down there - sitting or walking around makes no real difference that I've noticed.

The pain on penetration only occurs around the opening of my vagina; deeper, there is no pain, and good feeling, so it's rather frustrating.

I've been browsing around, and the only things which seem to really match my symptoms are vulvar vestibulitis (which apparently nobody on the internet knows much about) and vaginal atrophy, which doesn't have much more information than the former.

The point I'm trying to get down to here, ladies, is that I feel like some sort of unsolveable puzzle. It's not a UTI, nor is it any sort of STI or infection; I've been tested for them all. It hurts even when I touch it and take time to mentally prepare myself. My question to you is, has anyone ever had these symptoms? Can anyone shed light on my situation? As well, if anyone has vaginismus, would you be willing to share with me what it feels like/what happens? Because I'm so confused right now.

Comments

[http://users.livejournal.com/urban_faerie_/]

what everybody said before me sounds right on. if you are on hormonal birth control, you might want to look into a different pill. i went through months and months of itchy, burning pain (there was not yeast infection or STD) i was diagnosed with vulvodynia by a specialist who told me there was a chance i needed surgery to get rid of it. that didn't sound quite right to me so i called my gyno and she put me on a lower dose hormone pill. within 2 months the itchiness and pain went away, and now i feel like a new woman. it might be worth it to see if HBC is adding to your woes!

good luck!