Fungal Jungle: My Life & Times with Vaginal Eczema

Only time will tell

2006-01-23T18:05:00.000-08:00

So I've been laying off red foods (oxalates) and keeping up with my steroid ointment and all has been going better. It isn't great (don't want to jinx anything) but I'm surviving. I had sex with the hubby over the weekend and there was a little pain, but it dissipated quickly. I had an appointment with a dermatologist today, but I have been coughing so much, that I canceled it. I want to reschedule for when I am off the week in February, before we go to MExico.
Anyway, as time goes on, only time will tell.

Use more than directed...

2006-01-21T12:51:00.000-08:00

Hello ladies-
Well, I have found that using a little (and I mean a little or you would have quite a mess on your hands) more than the recommended amount of steroid ointment is helpful.

I have been doing reading on the effects of oxalates on vaginal ezcema. There seems to be two sides: one says that oxalates effect it greatly, while the other says it makes no difference. Both have "proven" studies. Oxalates are contained in certain foods (tomatoes, strawberries, raspberries, beans, asparagus, beets, and others [lots of red foods]) where, when these foods break down, they learve behind sharp crystalline residues behind. Therefore, if you eat these foods, oxalates could show up on skin areas or in urine or other normal discharges. I decided to try to cut back on oxalates, and then introduce one day of foods rich in oxalates to see if there was a difference.

I did have a bowl of strawberries for breakfast and pasta with a tomato sauce for dinner and found that I DID have more burning and irritation than when I did not eat those foods. There may be something to this. I will continue to post results.

And the burn goes on....

2006-01-19T16:49:00.000-08:00

So today is the first day back at work from being sick with the flu. The burning was actually better today; maybe because my body, having a fever for so long, decided it could only handle one thing at a time.
But today, it was things as usual: burning, rawness, stinging, the works.
Sometimes, i get so frustrated, I mean, why was I chosen to carry this burden? I only just got married to the love of my life, and now I can't have sex. I do have sex as much as I can, but it really, really hurts. There is very little pleasure in it for me, only that he is there close to me. He understands, and he is SO sweet about it. But I want to keep this guy, and let's face it, a girl's got to put out to keep her man.
Anyway, applied lidocaine as usual. Some relief. Well, there is always tomorrow.

Read this!

2006-01-18T16:06:00.000-08:00

This is a great article about a person struggles like us. It is an uplifting article.

http://www.chronicbabe.com/articles/2005/05/reports_from_th_1.php

Meds

2006-01-18T15:55:00.000-08:00

Here the medications I have been on for vaginal ezcema with the results and commentary. (*currently taking)

*Betamethasone Dipropionate Oint. 0.05%
This ointment works ok. At least it isnt a cream. DON"T DO CREAMS. Creams are irritating by nature.

*Lidocaine HCL Jelly 2%
This jelly is a lifesaver. I don't know how many times I have been on the verge of tears from the pain but I needed to do something. This takes the pain away. Its temporary, though. Very short time span.

*Elavil 25mg
This pill is supposed to help dull the pain receivers in the groin area. Though considered by many to be an antidpressant, in this low dosage, Elavil is definitely a help. There is a difference with pain. I am supposed to take 1 25mg pill three times a day, but so far I have only taken 1 pill a day. The bad part about Elavil is that its known for weight gain. You have to be careful what and how much you eat.

Desoximetasone creamm 0.25%
This sucked. First of all, its a cream. Creams burn like hell when sensitive areas are inflamed. Always go with ointments.

Proctofoam HC 1%
Weirdly enough, this is for hemorroids. But the cortizone in it is immediately absorbed in the skin. It leaves no residue, but it burns just a tad on application. Unfortunately, I was using this about every hour. I needed something stronger.

Some history...

2006-01-18T15:41:00.000-08:00

So ladies-and gentlemen if you're interested-I decided to write about vaginal eczema because SO LITTLE is written about it! You know, in this day and age, when you're diagnosed with something, something that really, really hurts all the time, usually you do the adult thing: look up information about it. But, when it comes to vaginal ezcema, aka Fungal Jungle, there is little to be seen-anywhere. So I wanted to have a place where I could post what I found, products I've tried, and infomercials I've considered.

In this war-knowledge is power.

Here is my sotry:
Last August, while on a road trip, I started feeling funny, you know, 'down there' (hereafter called the cooter). I thought it was the long hours of sitting in the car, or possibly the night after night of great sex my husband and I shared while on the trip. Well, this feeling turned into a burn. Not just any kind of burn: but a searing, jarring burn. It never stopped. I go to the doctor when I get back, and she tells me its yeast. I take a Diflucan. I take another 3 days later. No relief. My mother, who is a doctor, comes into town. I ask her to call me in two more. She does. I take both of them. By the end of August, still no relief.
Over the course of the next few months, I saw four more doctors. I had various results, but they all said I had no yeast. They said yes, my cooter was red, inflamed, and sore looking, but no yeast. So I was tested by the usual-HPV, Herpes, and all the rest, even syphallis! All negative. Finally, doc says its time for a biopsy. We have one. And the diagnosis was vaginal ezcema.

Ok, I thought, this sounds reasonable. "What's next?" I asked my doc. She says, "Not much to do. You will live with this the rest of your life. Deal with it." Talk about depression. Burning all the time? No sex? WTF?
So she puts on a steriod ointment (see med entries).

I still burn. But I'm still looking.

I encourage people to respond if they have had issues with vaginal ezcema. Let's learn from each other.