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Patient Stories
Philly
"My symptoms began in 2022 when I had thrush that didn't respond to clotrimazole pessaries. Instead of lasting 2 weeks, the infection lasted 2 months, most likely as it was drug-resistant, having had 10 infections previously. When the infection had gone away by November, a burning sensation stayed in my vestibule and disappeared after 6 months. However, by October 2023 it came back again with another yeast infection and since then, it's never gone."
Alexandra Black
"My symptoms began in 2008 when I had thrush."
Hear full story on Vulva Pain Society Podcast >>
Harriet
"I had an episode of thrush, went to the GP got that sorted and it was fine. But sex was tricky afterwards... And then a few months later... I had thrush again and I remember it never got better after that. That feeling of burning and stinging and pain never got better after that.
Hear full story on Vulva Pain Society Podcast >>
Heather Coppard
"The factors that caused my pain
Eventually, my pain was found, as it is for many women, to be due to several factors.
Candida parapsilosis: I had a deep-rooted fungal infection in my labia minora and vagina, which repeated standard swabs at the GP had not picked up. This required a year-long suppressive course of antifungal medication. The candida had taken a strong hold as as I was particularly run down. I had low ferritin levels due to heavy periods and had been unwell with various viral illnesses.
I had also taken several courses of antibiotics for recurrent urinary tract infections that altered my gut and vaginal microbiome, rendering me more susceptible to candida infections."
Other factors Heather lists include stress and pelvic floor dysfunction.
In Heather's book - Optimising Recovery from Vulval and Vaginal Pain
Sally Turner
"My GP ran some tests and diagnosed a kidney infection and a "glandular-fever-related virus." A two-week course of antibiotics would sort out the kidney infection he said, and my body would just fight off the virus; I just needed to rest. Sure enough, within a few days, the lower back pain disappeared, but another symptom had taken its place: a vaginal discharge which caused localised soreness, burning and itching. I had never experienced anything like this before, so I told myself it must be something to do with the kidney infection and that it would clear up in a few days, but the discomfort persisted.
Unbeknownst to me, these symptoms would mark the beginning of a seismic shift. The powerful molten underworld I had sensed within was beginning to erupt, not as erotic pleasure but as a burning pain, and it was about to change the landscape of my life entirely.
Two weeks later, I chanced upon an item about vaginal thrush in the problem pages of teen magazine Mizz. The symptoms described were familiar; the agony aunt explained that thrush was a yeast infection, an overgrowth of the fungal yeast candida albicans, and could occur after taking a course of antibiotics which often upset the vagina's delicate micoflora."
In Sally's book - The Red Hot Chilli Pepper Club
Laura
"I got a yeast infection, I had not had one for 20 years or so and it was really bad and I went to my Doctor and they gave me a cream and that didn't work... then Diflucan... I went to another Doctor and they found no yeast... it'd been 2 months since the original yeast, I ran around from Doctor to Doctor and then I looked up vulva burning and found vulvodynia then I broke down, crazy crying."
Listen to her story on Youtube >>
Celine M
I have suffered from vulvodynia since summer 2012. It all started with a prolonged yeast infection that would come back over and over again.
Breanne
'"I had been recovering from a yeast infection and had sex with my fiancée, who was in town visiting me. My genital area started to burn soon after we started having sex." Since then, Breanne has been diagnosed with vestibulodynia.'
Quoted from When Sex Hurts, Goldstein et al 2011