
So I had my follow up visit with the gyne specialist last Friday.
Here’s the skinny. I do not have planus lichen (SO glad I went ahead with the biopsy!) Instead I have a ‘chronic inflammatory skin condition’ of the vulva. Basically, she said that the technician could see that I had a chronic inflammatory condition from the tissue sample.
The worst inflammation, according to her, is right where the red is in this drawing. Do you think that it’s a coincidence that I have a chronic inflammatory condition right at the site of the most serious physical injury I’ve ever had? Nope. Me neither.
Luckily, even though it’s not something with it’s own name [actually it does, I found later], there is a treatment. She gave me a prescription for a really strong steroid ointment. I use a tiny amount on the ‘affected area’ as it says on the jar, and then wash my hands really well, since we don’t want them getting ‘treated’.
I am to use it once a day until my vulva is no longer inflamed, to a maximum of a month, and probably about two weeks. You apparently don’t want to use this steroid daily for longer than that or it makes the skin thin [also wrong, I later found out, you use it as much as needed to get the inflammation managed, and then as much after that to keep it managed, as little as possible though].
After than I am to keep the ointment to use for flare ups, and can use it up to twice a week.
The good news is that it seems to be working. My vulva feels different, not sure exactly how yet. My wife says it looks a lot better and less red. I have had one flare up since I started using it, a bad one, but since I’m having a lot more sex now than I used to, that isn’t entirely surprising.
On the poly relationship front, I have a wife and a girlfriend. Who have met one another. And who seem to like one another. I spend weekdays with my wife and weekends with my girlfriend. My wife also seems to be getting her sex drive back. Yay! This is a very good time to have a well functioning vulva.
Hi i have the same problem can u share the name of the oitment?
Hi Lina, The ointment was prescribed by the gyne surgeon. My current general doctor was willing to renew the prescription but other doctors have not because it’s not intended for vulvae. However, it works, and my doctor says to use it, but just don’t go crazy with it. It’s a powerful steroid called Clobetasol propionate in a petroleum jelly base.
For some survivors of childhood sexual abuse (CSA), there is minimal compromise to their adult functioning. Others will have myriad psychological, physical, and behavioral symptoms as a result of their abuse.
I un-spammed this, Chang, because it looks like it is coming from a real person, but your comment does seem a bit incongruous.
You get, that there are all kinds of childhood sexual abuse, and levels of severity, and protective factors such as good immediate social support? Someone who was molested in a physically non-intrusive way as an older child, and who had support from loving people in her life at that time is going to be quite different in their long term effects than someone whose body was seriously injured in multiple violent sexual assaults with the active complicity of everyone she knew.
It also depends what you consider as a ‘compromise to adult functioning’. I personally am extremely high-functioning, and always have been. I share the hard stuff here, but I’ve never had issues holding down a good job, having an intimate relationship or contributing a lot to my community. Even as a child I was always an honour roll student. I do extremely well in all of those areas, and am physically healthy to boot, other than this skin condition. From that perspective you could say that the abuse didn’t compromise my adult functioning at all. But that’s no reason not to work to do even better and heal even more and make social change to help others.
Even people who look like they are doing great, as I do, need support and help and deserve to be able to speak openly about the ways that childhood abuse affects us.
So glad that is a good treatment and that is is helping. Great news on all fronts. Good and healing thoughts to you.
Kate
I’m glad you sought treatment! I have used strong steroid cream for hives, a tip for you- if you lay some plastic wrap in your underpants, it’ll keep the cream from being absorbed into the fabric, and more for your skin! Good luck!