I have vulvodynia which is basically the name for a variety of problems that cause burning/pain/itching/irritation of the vulva or vaginal tissue...and i've had LOTS of yeast infections too.

have you had it cultured to make sure it is not yeast? or BV?

for me, the only thing that gets rid of yeast infections is Boric Acid suppositories: you can make them yourself OR buy them. I've also tried EVERYTHING under the sun and so I understand your frustration w/ feeling like "what else on earth can i do?!!!"

and the only probiotic that ever did anything for me was VSL #3 but its very pricy so I wouldn't use it unless you really need to.

also I likes the V book

you may want to check out this site. it could be a skin issue more than a yeast issue...

good luck with everything and PM me if you have any questions.

 

have you tested for trichamonas or bacterial vaginosis?

 

Have you had it cultured to see what it might be?

If yeast, I swear by garlic cloves vaginally. It works so amazingly well, even for really resistant yeast.

 

Boric acid suppositories (make your own with powdered medical-grade boric acid from the pharmacy stuffed into capsules) are a relatively harmless possible solution for bacterial vaginosis. Worth trying. You just insert one capsule as far as you can up into your vagina at night before bed. You should see a difference within 3 days or so. If you do, you can try doing a maintenance wash with diluted hydrogen peroxide once per week for a few weeks and see if that keeps away what ails you.

 

It if is BV, have you had your vitamin D levels checked?

 

If it is yeast, you might need to go on a very restricted anti-candida diet. I just had a client who had a massive yeast infection and she tried OTC treatments, acidophilus, garlic, ACV, and Sheri Winston's vagina vinaigrette with little luck until she started a very strict elimination diet. There are several on the internet, and the one she chose was pretty hard core. It took about 3-4 weeks to finally clear everything up, and she has slowly reintroduced many of the things that she had given up with no problems.

 

I do not think it is yeast as I have tried many yeast remedies. I have an appointment with a Dr. on Thursday, but I think they will try to give me that pill again. I will if I can have them check for BV, but I don't know that there is anything that they can culture as there is no discharge or foul smell. I have considered that it is a skin condition.

TX midwife - do you have links to the diets?

 

Just another thought and I don't know if it would apply or not, but could you have developed an allergy to something? Latex allergies are pretty common and if you use latex condoms this could be the problem. Also, allergies potentially to the elastic in your underwear? Or I even read of a person who became increadibly sensitive to toiletpaper and found all her horrible itching and pain went away when she went to family cloth. Allergies to tampons or pads or the keeper(or whatever you use)? Are you on any hormonal birth control that could be causing the issue? Try to think of everything that comes into contact with your vaginal area from feminine products to lotions that may be on hands that come into contact.

 

I emailed my client to get more info from her on which diet she used.

Erika, that is a great idea about family cloth. I never even thought about toilet paper sensitivity!

 

I am not sexually active, so it would not be any type of birth control. I have considered the toilet paper. Maybe I will have to try family cloth again. Also could be my pads, I have also considered making my own.

 

Well, here's what my client said about her anti-candida diet: "I googled candida diet and read everything I could find. Several diets had contradictory advice so I had to experiment for myself. I also bought a nice big book at the health food store. Most of the diets match up pretty closely with only a few discrepancies as to dairy and things like that."

I did a diet analysis of what she was eating (to make sure she was taking in enough protein and calories since she was doing this while pregnant), and she was mostly eating raw veggies, raw nuts (but not peanuts because of mold), whole grains like brown rice, quinoa, and millet, and meat. She entirely cut out gluten-containing grains, dairy, fruit, and anything with sugar--both artificial and natural. It was hard for her to get in the calories that she needed to sustain a pregnancy while doing this. It was about a 3 week process, and then she slowly added foods back in.

Do you have a naturopath in your area that does muscle testing? That might be another way to figure out what is going on.

 

Could it be allergy to your laundry detergent?

I had chronic yeast in my last pregnancy that only went away when I would take liquid iron supplements 3x's a day for at least 3 days in a row. Any time I stopped, the yeast would come back. But that was pretty uncommon, I think.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by TXmidwife Well, here's what my client said about her anti-candida diet: "I googled candida diet and read everything I could find. Several diets had contradictory advice so I had to experiment for myself. I also bought a nice big book at the health food store. Most of the diets match up pretty closely with only a few discrepancies as to dairy and things like that." I did a diet analysis of what she was eating (to make sure she was taking in enough protein and calories since she was doing this while pregnant), and she was mostly eating raw veggies, raw nuts (but not peanuts because of mold), whole grains like brown rice, quinoa, and millet, and meat. She entirely cut out gluten-containing grains, dairy, fruit, and anything with sugar--both artificial and natural. It was hard for her to get in the calories that she needed to sustain a pregnancy while doing this. It was about a 3 week process, and then she slowly added foods back in. Do you have a naturopath in your area that does muscle testing? That might be another way to figure out what is going on.

Thanks. No we don't have a naturopath near us that I know of.

I use only free and clear soaps so I don't think it is the laundry soap.

 

Have you considered something like lichen? In it's mild form you may not see much of anything at all. I suffered from that - saw a gyne who took a skin biopsy and the lichen diagnosis was made. I used a very heavy duty corticosteroid very sparingly when the itching gets really bad. It was so bad and driving me to total distraction. Like you, I had tested negative for everything a swab could diagnose.

I heartily recommend a book called The V Book. Excellent, excellent book about vulvar and vaginal health.

HTH.

 

i read about this a few years back, it used to be called whites.. i read it in the book "back to eden" by jethro kloss. if you don't have a copy i very very highly recommend it. anyhow what the medical term for it is "leucorrhoea" i looked it up online, it's not sexuallly transmitted, and although sometimes, especially in younger women and girls it does have to do with cleanliness, but from what you have written i am sure that isn't the problem for you. often it is diet related which is also addressed in the back to eden book.

http://www.home-remedies-for-you.com/remedy/Leucorrhoea.html

Yeas Yeast yeast infections : can be treated by combining 3 cups of water and 1-1/2 teaspoons of powdered goldenseal root in a blender. The mixture is then used as a douche several times a day until the problem is cleared up. sometimes it's use does cause a ropy yellowish discharge for a couple days while the mucous membranes in your vagina get under control, but wearing a pad whether home made or commercial would take care of that. i don't believe that it is recommended for use during pg, but i am not sure about that. hope this helps vs

 

i dont know why this wouldn't go into my post so i am adding it here

hope this helps, back in my doula days it was a common problem for the women i worked with who were suffering the same symptoms you describe and who also weren't suffering from yeast issues. although the symptoms are very much the same. including the itch, sometimes there is a smell along with it, which is more from the discharge being there in your panties or on a panty liner etc. the jethro kloss book was great and had a lot of info on how to cure it. if you have been diagnosed with chronic yeast then i agree with the pp regarding the use of garlic. mash it up and put it in a square of cheese cloth, then twist it into a little pouch and wrap with clean thread and put it as high in your lady parts as you can with the end that has the twist towards the outside so you can catch it with your fingers when you take it out. you put it in at bed time and you remove it in the morning and repeat every evening until the symptoms are gone. the reason you do it at bed time is that it gives you harsh garlic breath, so unless you are a sahm or don't care about the breath thing then take the treatment anytime you wish to. it doesn't matter if it is in there for 24 hours, garlic is a natural anti-bacterial and is commonly used for treating organically raised livestock infections etc. you can put it on cuts or abrasions etc. jethro kloss also recommended golden seal root for the treatment of leucorrhoea

vs

 

Lichen was my first thought. It could also be herpes...it often presents itself as a yeast infection. Any updates?

 

I went on the diet recommended in The Yeast Connection. It seems to be food related. My diet has been really extreme since the end of August. I am slowly adding foods back in to see which ones my body can tolerate. When I eat a new food that I shouldn't, then the itching is much worse again.

 

If this is food related, which was my thought, I would recommend that you look up NAET treatments on line, and see if you can find a practitioner in your area. This allergy treatment has changed our lives, is painless, each treatment is quick... well worth your time to investigate, especially if you're on a strict diet. Good luck. I'm glad you've found the source of it, at least!

 

Thanks. I'll check it out.

 

I posted this thread a long time ago, but wanted to update everyone. I found the source of the itch. I have Celiac's Disease and it was causing this atypical symptom. I was starting to itch in other places as well, such as my armpits. I have been gluten free since the beginning of the year and I finally have no more problems with this. Well, except when I accidentally ingest some gluten.