Health Organization for Pudendal Education

hi julia
i am counting down the days i have had to wait 5 weeks for the appointment and am still having constant burning and havent been able to sit for at least 3 months.
i am really hoping he can help as everyone else i have seen hasnt got a clue, all i get is oh its vulvodynia, you will have to live with it and thats it!
we live 2 1/2 hours away from bristol so we have decided to book an hotel for the night so my husband doesnt have to spend all day driving

andrea

Got to say that Bristol is lovely, although luckily I always had good weather when I was down there.
It was less than an hour flight for me, but of course I had to wait for a good while often to catch the flight home. There is a bus from the town (or railway station) that stops right outside Frenchay hospital if you are NHS. If it is his private practice St Mary's is up a steepish hill. I took a taxi as I got disoriented and panicked about being late, but it's not very far really.
Good luck girls

Hi Andrea

We haven't such a long journey, on a good run it's about one and a half hours. My appointment is at 9.00a.m so like you we are staying in Bristol overnight. We did that on my first visit and found a pleasant hotel just about 5 - 10 minutes away from St Mary's Hospital. I have had much the same response from my G.Ps and also a gynaecologist specialising in vulval pain. I know what it's like not to be able to sit down, I've had this pain problem for 4 years now so finding Dr Greenslade who was so caring was amamzing.

Julia

well not long now before my first appointment with dr greenslade, 1 week and counting!
getting slightly worried now as i still dont know if this is a pn problem or not and i am really worried if it isnt where do i go from here?


andrea

I would try not to worry about it Andrea. In the mean time take a new look at the symptoms on the home pages and write yours down so you have them to hand if needed.
Mine was a 'difficult presentation' apparently as my piriformis syndrome with the other pelvic nerve issues complicated things more. Dr G did manage to work it all out (in the end) but the more info you can supply, relating to the nerve pain the easier it will be.
Good luck
Helen

well 48 hours before my first appointment with dr greenslade and it cant come too soon, i have been in absolute agony with pain the past few days and am now in bed trying not to move too much.
my lady bits are on fire with my anus as well and now its travelled to my clitoris so to all you ladies out there you know hw much pain i am in, i have just found some tramadol in my cupboard and will be taking some tonight so that i get some sleep!
i will post again with any news and hopefully a diagnosis


andrea

Get the ice out, andrea. Hope you manage to get some sleep tonight.

well the tramadol helped with the pain but i remembered why i didnt take it too much, it keeps me awake!, big trade off no pain or no sleep!
never understood about the ice what do you do and how?


andrea

I do sympathise about the trouble sleeping - I get that now, if I have taken tramadol - can't get to sleep, weird dreams if I do drop off eventually, and then wide awake again in the small hours. I never used to have this side effect. It is very annoying, isn't it.

Ice is wonderful for immediate pain relief. It sounds too simple to be worth it, but it really works. Not the most convenient of things, but it is very effective.

I have a gel pack which is years old now, bought it at the chiropractor's office. But failing that, a bag of frozen peas or similar, wrapped in a soft cloth. You don't want the frozen thing in contact with the skin. Just put it where it hurts, ie between the legs. At first it hurts more, then it goes numb, and numb is good. Some people fill a condom with water and freeze it, or a mixture of water and alcohol so that it goes slushy rather than solid ice, and put it inside. I have never tried that. But many's the time I have fallen asleep with the gel pack.

hi
thanks for that, i will give it a go, i keep lashing on the lidocaine ointment but it doesnt seem to work so well now, well not long to go and maybe i will get some answers

andrea