Trigger points in vulva ?

[Rosemary]

Rosemary
Sorry I haven't been on here for a while. I saw Ruth again on Wednesday and it actually took me ten hours to get home because of traffic and I have been suffering the after effects of that!
Yes it's not great having a husband who works away but on the plus side it is his insurance paying for all this!
My vulval area is very sore at the moment too and it was here it started for me too! Ruth mentioned about the pain shrinking back to the area or something.... Do you have pain in your clitoris? Sorry to ask only mine is so sore! I can't stand it being touched/rubbed at all which is a bit of a downer when it comes to sex! But even walking is quite unpleasant. Ruth suggested gently rubbing the area when you are resting to get it used to sensation and normalising it. Just don't do it when people are watching haha!!
How are you getting on in general? I am much better and weaning down the meds. I do my Physio religiously but it is tiring. I still get sore but try to ignore it as much as possible and put it to the back of my mind do I know I am a lot better because before the treatment the pain was all I thought about
Hugs
Chrissy xx

You have a long way to travel - it takes us about 3hrs or so each way.
I don't have pain in the clitoris.Maybe my pain is being pushed back to the vulva too as you describe
Glad that you are doing better - i am early days with Ruth.
My problem is sticking with it all - i can be like that in general -but i know that i have got to try this - it is a last option for me to improve.
I doubt that i would ever meet you at Ruths because of her arrangement there but please let me know how you are doing every now and again either i will look on here or by PM.
Rosemary X

[chrissy]

I was told by my first Physio that it can take up to 3 months to see benefit so although it is hard we have to try to stick with it for at least that time.
I would love to keep in touch and let me know how you get on with Ruth, you can pm me and that way I know I will see it!!
Xx

[Violet M]

i am feeling more muscle tightness and burning in the vulva now though and this is where the nerves were irritated initially- not sure if this counts as a flare up .

Well, I'm sure that's frustrating. Sometimes it's hard to know what causes a flare-up.

Chrissy, that's incredible that you had a 10 hour drive! I used to think a half hour drive was too much so it sounds like you are really committed to going through the full course of PT. I sure hope it works for you.


Violet

[cpps-admin]

I have tight muscles in the vulva itself too - can these muscles be treated in the same way by a physio internally ? Sorry my anatomy is not good enough to say which muscles these are - but it is ones in the outer labia and behind it.

Hi Rosemary. There are no muscles in the labia themselves, but be aware that trigger points (if you have them) can refer pain into the labia. In a similar fashion, men with trigger points in their levator ani muscles have referred pain in the tips of their penis! Strange and counter-intuitive, I know.

You may be interested in reading up on a condition called vulvar vestibulitis.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vulvar_vestibulitis

I'm not saying that that is what you have, but it's something that must be considered in a differential diagnosis.

Good luck!

[Violet M]

What exactly causes vulvar vestibulitis? To me it seems like VV is a diagnosis that doesn't really tell you anything. Kind of like saying "headache" is a diagnosis.

Violet

[Rosemary]

Wiki does give some probable causes Violet.

I asked my pain consultant to put my problem in writing should i need it as my capacity to function is not great nowadays - quote " N was keen for a diagnosis and i confirmed that we are treating her for vulval pain" - my husband keeps telling me that this is not a diagnosis.

The vulvodynia forum has people all over the world looking for answers and trying various things - and where does vulvodynia stray into PN ? a branch of the nerve goes into the vulva.

Rosemary x

[Violet M]

So wiki says this:

"tiny erythematous sores in the vulval vestibule
including sub-clinical human papillomavirus infection
chronic recurrent candidiasis, or chronic recurrent bacterial vaginosis
chronic hypertonic perivaginal muscles, leading to vaginal tightening and subsequent pain
neurological causes, such as vestibular neural hyperplasia
psychological factors may contribute to or exacerbate the problem"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vulvar_vestibulitis#Causes
(I don't view wiki as an authoritative source though)

Rosemary, it is interesting that under neurological causes, nothing is mentioned about the pudendal nerve even though it innervates that area. I tend to agree with your husband about vulval pain not being a diagnosis.

Violet