Vulvodynia is a burning, stinging sensation in a woman's vulva. It is accompanied by rawness and irritation. Sometimes small cuts or sores are present. The skin is thin and easily damaged.  Although 80% of women with vulvodynia usually have it triggered by a yeast infection, once the infection is gone the above symptoms are still present. A yeast infection does not have to trigger this disorder.

Other associated ailments that many women with Vulvodynia suffer from are: acid reflux, migraine headaches, joint pain, dry skin, irritated bladder or IC, heart palputations, high blood pressure and low blood pressure. There may also be other ailments not mentionsed.

The type of Vulvodynia I am refering to is not muscular or skeletal. It is a systemic problem. There are other pelvis diseases and ailments that are muscular and skeletal. I did not suffer from those disorders.

Please rule out other serious diseases before taking your health into your own hands.

Announcing the Vulvodynia forum. Now you can post comments and start threads.

Go to www.vulvodynia.iforums.us and start posting!

If you chose to follow the program I developed I must tell you discipline is essential. There is no getting away with "cheating".. When my body was unbalanced and volitile anything I put in my mouth effected it. The littlest amount of weak acid set me back several steps. I was really strict. I had enough of the pain, burning, itching, doctors (no offense), drugs, skirts, not exercising and not being able to have sex without pain. That did it for me. What about you?

Disclaimer-I am not a doctor and this is not to replace medical advice. This is a description of how I healed from vulvodynia. I can not be responsible for what may or may not happen if you follow what I did. I am just outlining my plan.

This is what I did to become pain free from Vulvadynia.  There are no drugs (yet), supplements (to start) or quick fixes. I am not trying to sell anything. I am just trying to spread the word. It requires a bit of work and a lifestyle change. But if you are in as much pain as I was it will be so worth it. Let's begin......

 What you will need:

*The Alkaline/Acid Diet by Dr. Christopher Vasey, ND. (Amazon.com)
 
*PH Stix or litmus paper available on-line or in a health food store www.ph-ion.com
 
*Diary to write down your daily intake and Ph reading 30 minutes after you have eaten something

 
Phase 1
 
You must eliminate the following:

coffee, tea (except peppermint), sugar, all fruits, vinegar and anything with vinegar in it, whey (that would be most dairy except real butter) artificial sweetners, carbonated soda, alcohol, tomatoes, and peppers of all varieties, molasses, honey, lemon, vitamin c and anything with vitamin c in it, beets, white flour and yeast
 
Foods that are considered "safe" for most and may be eaten fairly liberally in larger quantities

cauliflower, zucchini, carrots, ginger, squash, asparagus, green beans, lettuces

Foods that are usually good for most but some women find they have some burning. I found that these really alkalized me and I felt burning when I measure over 7.25 on the Ph scale. Some of these sent me to 8.0 or higher. I found if I ate these in smaller quantities with a good protein I was fine. Eventually I was fine with these veggies, in fact they helped me heal the most.

spinach,kale, chard, broccoli, and any other dark green leafy veggie

Foods that are okay to eat 2-3 times a week as long as they are accompanied by large quantities of veggies

White potato, sweet potato, brown rice, millet, spelt flour, quinoa, and whole wheat

Herbs are great to add to your cooking or salads. Especially fresh herbs.
Be careful with seasoning. Check ingredients for cayanne pepper and other "hot" spices b/c these are no-no's
Lime seems to be tolerated by most. Lemon is not so stay away!

WATER: Evian is the best or Figi.  You really need bicarbonates to help break down the acid. Evian and Figi have bicarbonates in it. Drink 1/2 you body weight in ounces. If you weigh 140 lbs you will need 70 ounces of water. Think of your body as a river you must keep the water flowing to remove toxins and acids.

Test PH with litmus paper 1/2 hour after food consumption. Keep track of your reading. The stix come with directions and a chart. As you heal you will be able to tolerate more acidic or more alkalizing results.
 
Note that ovulation and menstrual cycle affect your digestion. Symptoms may become worse. Hang in there. It is 4 steps forward 3 steps back.  I watch what I eat and stay balanced. I would feel stinging and discomfort when I was too acidic or too alkalized so I would relieve my pain with food. If I was too alkalized I would eat almonds or brazilian nuts. Don't do this too much as it may aggrevate the candida. You can always use chicken, egg or turkey to balance yourself back to 7.0. If I was too acidic I would eat cucumbers or avocados. It is almost like a diabetic trying to balance her sugar.

Green drink. This is really a wonderful addition to the solution.  I purchased a juicer and I use it everyday.  I juice spinach, kale, cucumber, carrots, celery, ginger and parsley. It is so yummy and really alkalizing. Use your "safe" veggies. Stay clear of beets. Alot of health food places but them in their drinks. If you buy your green juice at a store make sure they wash their machine between customers. You may be ingesting apple or beet from a previous order. This could bother your vulva.

The following foods helped me heal from vulvodynia:

Avocado
Spinach (if you are sensitive to spinach, test your PH-it could be too high rather than an oxalate problem, start with small portions. This was vital in my healing!)
Kale
Broccoli (If you are sensitive to broccoli, test your PH-it could be too high rather than an oxalate problem, start with small portions)
Grean Beans
Cucumbers
Green leaf lettuce
Swiss chard
Potatoes, Sweet or White
Endive, arugala
broccoli-rabe
Zucchini
squash

If it is not here than I didn't eat it, at first.  I would try a veggie (ie. peppers) and if it bothered me I did not include it. However, we are all different so I would suggest trying different ones and seeing how you feel. Try one new food at a time in order to eliminate the food causing the issue.

 The following foods are great to add to your diet. I always eat them with greens.

Chicken-broiled or baked
Fresh wild salmon-no color added
eggs

Fresh baked yeast-free biscuits, (2 cups of whole wheat flour, 1/4 cup canola oil, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 Tablespoon of baking soda, 3/4 C-1 Cup of 1% milk, or soy milk, 1 tablespoon of organic maple syrup, 1 cup of raisins-bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes, grease the cookie sheet with canola oil
Seeds of various sorts
nuts-watch portions these can be addicting
rice-brown
tofu
soy milk, rice milk

The following foods are treats that can be introduced in small amounts after some healing has begun:

Herbal teas-Pau D'arco, Nettle Leaf, Peppermint and Ginger
goat cheese-soft cheeses,not aged cheese
tomatoes
red meat if you must
plain greek 2% yogurt
apples
bananas
lime

The following foods are ones I avoided until I was  healed for at least 6 months:

various fruits like berries, melon -start slow, introducing a new one every few weeks
vinegar-small amounts (less than 1 tsp a week), fermented condiments like soy sauce
molasses-found in many store bought whole wheat bread
lemon-start slow with just a touch
oranges/grapefruit-each with caution, rotating monthly in your diet

The following foods and food like substances should be avoided at all costs:

coffee-regular or decaf
all soda
msg
magarine
artificial or imitation anything
bacon (it's all fat)

Most women who I meet with Vulvadynia have serious stress issues. Most of the time it seems to be relationship based. These issues are real and troubling. However, they are not going to disappear overnight. What we can work on is the physical pain you are experiencing. In order to do that you will need to find a way to relieve stress. When you are out of balance you need to create a stable quiet foundation for you body to heal. Stress rocks the boat. There is no way the body can truly heal properly. You need to find peace. Somewhere, somehow there is a way for you to attain it. I know this because peace is from within. So you may be experiencing the most stressful life situation, but peace is not outside. That is where the stress is. Peace is inside. How you achieve it is really personal. Here are a few of the tools I use to find inner peace. These are just suggestions. Your own path may be different. As long as you have a method 'in your back pocket' for times when stress is plaguing you. Once you begin to physically feel better you can tackle the other emotional issues in your life. As I healed my Vulvadynia, I healed my relationship issues. It was no coincidence.

1. Yoga-In my house, with a dvd, a mat and an hour of focus.
2. Meditation-In my house, a cushion to sit and 15 minutes.
3. Manicure/Pedicure-More costly but it works every time.
4. Massage-Again, a bit costly but totally worth it.
5. Sleep-8 hours of uninterupted sleep
6. Read a book

 

 

After you have done Phase 1 and you feel 70-75% better it is time to add supplements. This is what I take and why.

Probiotics-This is vital as it helps to populate the good bacteria in your digestive system.
Aloe Vera-Healthy Life Harvest only-this helps to heal the delicated lining of the bladder and the vulva. I only take Healthy Life Harvest because most other aloe vera supplements contain an irritant for vulvadynia and IC sufferers.
PH Buffer by Vaxa-This is not a cure all but it can help during a flare. It works pretty quickly on me.
Fish Oil-Omega 3's and 6's-this is great for inflamation.
 
Try one supplement at a time for 3 days before adding a new. If it bothers you cut the does in half. It that doesn't work try a different brand. If you still can't handle it your body is not healed enough to move into this phase. There are more minerals in Phase 3. Do not rush this.

If you can handle the above supplements for at least 2 months you may want to try adding back some foods that bothered you before.
I added back tomatoes, lemon, herbal teas with a fruit essence and once in awhile green tea.

If you can handle those new foods you are ready for Phase 3...Balancing the yeast!

It has been tough but you have made it this far. Now to get to the real culprits of this disorder...yeast and your immune system.

You now need to eliminate all flour and starchy veggies. On this part of the program, you will continue to avoid the "no-no's" and get more aggressive with the supplements and/or medications.

At this point, I followed the anti-candida diet without the granny smith apples and the yogurt. My body does not like dairy at all. So I don't eat it. I added the granny apples back after 3 months and then only 2x a week. I also limited my lemon. But remember go slow, even now, on those weak acid foods. You will find some on this diet. Here is a link for the anti-candida diet

Supplements/Medications

Depending on the severity of the candida overgrowth you may need prescription drugs. I did. My doctor put me on Diflucan. I could not handle the Diflucan 2 years earlier.  I took it for 1 month. This must be done under the supervision of a doctor.

There are alternatives to prescription drugs. Supplements can be really effective. The following are sites where I got my supplements

Threelac-A probiotic that has 3 different strains of good bacteria. I love it and really feel it helps me combat the yeast. 
Colostrum-Derived from bovine cows this helps to restore the walls of the intestines against leaky guts
Active Ezymes-For digestion. I get them all from the link below.
 
www.ghthealth.com/JourneyBackToHealth

Candicyn and Defend-www.CandidaWellnessCenter.com These are herbs that can be effective in treating yeast. They are somewhat pricey but they contain the highest amount of herbs on the market.

Garlique-A garlic supplement. Garlic has anti-fungal qualities

Vitamin C-Now it the time to try to rebuild you immune system. I take 3000 mg a day. My naturopath says some researches suggest up to 10,000 for a weakened immune system.

Calcium-I take chews that taste good and don't aggrivate the candida 800mg. Important alkalizing mineral.

Magnesium Ionic Fizzy-Helps with constipation, Important alkalizing mineral. It also contains potassium and zinc.