Painful intercourse
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| Sat, 08-28-2004 - 12:14am |
I've done some research on the most common causes of pain during intercourse. I tried using lubricant to see if that helped. It didn't, unless I used so much that I couldn't feel *anything*. Even on the rare occasions when it doesn't hurt when we're actually having intercourse, the pain shows up about half an hour later, after the endorphins wear off, and I have to pop painkillers because it's excrutiating. Almost all the articles I've read about painful intercourse talk about pain at the vaginal entrance, but for me, that's not where the pain is. It's deeper inside. My yearly PAP test and pelvic exam is a nightmare because that hurts, too. Any penetration hurts, even if it's only with a finger. It hurts whether I'm on top or he is.
Of course, there's also the fact that I now expect sex to hurt, and of course that makes me tense up, and that makes it hurt more.
Does anyone have any ideas/suggestions/anything? I do my best to satisfy my boyfriend in other ways, but I can tell that he'd be much happier if we could actually have intercourse.

Since you have already researched painful sex and the usual treatments: relax, use plenty of lube and see a doctor and nothing is helping and you gyn can't find anything wrong then perhaps you have a form of Vulvodynia.
Vulvodynia is an often misunderstood problem the symptoms of which typically include itching, burning, vulvar/vaginal pain and stinging or rawness of the vulva, although the symptoms can vary from woman to woman. iVillage has a Vulvodynia support board http://messageboards.ivillage.com/iv-bhvulvodynia that might be able to help you. I don’t want to run you off but I think the ladies on the Vulvodynia board might be better able to help. The CL on the Vulvodynia board is wonderful, I’m co-cl with her on the Birth Control board. Her problems were brought on when she switched to an oral contraceptive that had a mix of hormones that dried her out. It took a year or more for the problem to show up. Does this sound familiar? Some things I would suggest are to keep pressing to see a female gyn and ask about Vulvodynia. Let us know how you’re doing, ok? I hope you’re feeling better soon.
Hugs,
Jill