help! My fanjo is driving me mad.

[bonzo77]

It's so fucking itchy. On and off for a year FFS.

It's my vulva, between the bigger lips and the smaller ones, and inside the inner ones, and to a much lesser extent sometimes the entrance to my vag. I've been to the GP. I've been tested for thrush, thyroid disease and diabetes, BV, all the STIs. I've used all the thrush treatments (cream, pessaries, tablets), steroid creams. Anti histamines (tis so bad it keeps me awake sometimes). Vagisil. Washing with just water. washing with aqueous cream. not washing. air drying. hair dryer drying. towel drying. talc. not drying. cotton knickers. no knickers (not happening in winter). different kinds of san pro. no san pro (lovely). visually it looks pretty normal (see 2 below). makes no difference. Not related to my menstrual cycle.

3 other related isshooos..

1. I have very flappy flaps. always have done. they are getting more flappy. they never really bother me, apart from sometimes chaffing.
2. I get an ulcer on the edge of my vag, towards my bum. its from tight tissue which they don't know the cause of. I once had an op to remove the tight tissue, which helped for years. but it's back. its not herpes.
3. having difficulty TTC # 3. I.m 36 and had 2 CSs. Periods slightly irregular but pretty certain I'm ovulating.

Going to GP tomorrow and pushing for another gynae referral, or maybe a vulval a skin specialist if such a thing exists on the NHS.

Have you got a gum clinic near you ? You shouldn't need a referral. With ours they aim to see all patients 48 hrs after contacting them for an appointment. Sorry if that's really shit obvious advise.
I have seen a vulval skin specialist, and it was through the gum clinic.
I really hope you get it sorted, it's horrible being uncomfortable. Do any of the things you listed help ease the itch at all ?

What about getting an opinion on getting some if the excess skin removed surgically. If it's protruding further than your outer lips this could be very uncomfortable and cause the irritation.

Nothing to add but I've been awake all night with urethral pain no one can understand so you have my sympathy. I'm 26 weeks pregnant, been treated for a water infection- but I didn't have one, thrush and had a load if STD tests. Nothing came up positive. Doctor said I just had an "irritated vulva". Nice one, helpful. I've had sudacreme, ice packs, bloody packs of soaked pearl barley on it- all useless.

Have you tried changing your washing powder and/or softner?

I can only use Ariel or persil with comfort softner. anything else makes me itch, very badly, but only as you described, nowhere else!

worth a try maybe.

Is it itchy more at night? Have you considered that it might not be skin related but thread worms? I had them once and (TMI) they work their way forwards and itch like hell

Could be something as simple as eczema. Ask for a dermatology referral

wow! so many responses....Thank you!

i launder with surcare, designed for sensitive skin, no softener, nothing biological.

definitely not worms.

Should have said, none of this really helps for any length of time. The best thing is the vagisil.

not sure about surgery. Would do it if I thought it would help though, I know DH would be keen!

I'd thought about the GUM clinic. I think that if the GP cannot help, or the referral is going to take long then I'll go there. My only concern is to what extent they will look at the full picture (is it hormonal, what with the not getting pg thing, do they consider surgical options, what about that ulcer thing). Only one way to find out....

Ask for a dermatology referral if you can't see a skin specialist at gum clinic. If you've been tested for everything and you have no infection, then could be a skin thing. You might need steroid gel. Try Vaseline in the meantime? And switch to simple shampoo and conditioner (no irritants).

It could be hormonal.
this sort of itching and soreness is very common during the perimenopausal stage when local oestrogen preparations are very helpful.

Lichen sclerosis?
www.nhs.uk/conditions/lichen-sclerosus/Pages/Introduction.aspx

I wonder if dermasilk underwear might help? You could see if your gp would prescribe it.
www.dermasilk.co.uk/products.htm

Bonzo, I could have written your post!

In desperation I went to the GU clinic last November and they found nothing...I cried!

Fast forward to last Wednesday...I'm now 10 weeks pregnant and still have this insane itch that you describe. I called the GU clinic and they said to stop all treatment until my symptoms were awful and to then return.

I went back on Friday and was so thrush riddled I gave the med student a field day apparently! I've been put on a very intensive treatment plan and will return in two weeks to see how treatment is working also to see if there are any bacterial issues to throw in the mix.

My GP, although very sympathetic just wanted to prescribe an oral tablet-again- which just fails to work for more than about 7 days :(

I'd highly recommend a quick trip to the GU clinic, they are the experts in this area and can refer on should they be unable to help.

(Ps after two days of treatment my fanjo is felling much happier!)

A friend of mine had something similar to this and also itching on her scalp at the same time, she went to gp like you, had all the usual treatment ect but nothing helped she eventually self referred to a dermatologist which diagnosed her straight away with some form of dermatitis she got treatment straight away and is now almost fine. Will be seeing her tomorrow so will ask her the name and post back then.

You do need to see a vulval skin specialist - a lot of gynae outpatients have clinics specifically for this sort of thing. Your local gum clinic/FP centre should be able to help as well, might be able to refer you faster than a GP for help.

I eventually had surgery (bilateral labiaplasty plus clitoral hood reduction) as there wasn't much chance of the skin healing itself anymore but I did have years of far more conservative treatments. Surgery did help me - and if they can pinpoint the specific area causing problems (like they did with me, they knew it was the labia causing it) then removal might well help you.

Bepanthen has always helped me a lot, as has dermol (you can get dermol bath and shower stuff), epaderm, eumovate, trimovate, dactarin, clarithromycin gel, canesten/HC solution.. I eventually got into a routine of layering stuff on at specific times.

One thing I would suggest , if you do see a specialist keep a list of everything you've used and what's helped/what hasn't. I ended up chucking a page of stuff at the skin specialist..

It's also helpful to monitor what you're wearing and when. I found tights, nylon/non cotton knickers, anything with heavy dyes, lacy stuff and tight jeans/nylon trousers always made me feel far worse. My absolute worst things were lace knickers and net knickers (quite common in new look), awful. I ended up practically crawling to GP when I made the mistake of wearing the latter.

The Vulval Pain Society produce a booklet that's quite interesting/helpful, think it costs £10 though.

Agree with asking for a referral -gynae, GUM or dermatology. Get some dermol cream - use it to wash with, and put some on the toilet paper when you wipe.

I love mumsnet!

Lichen sclerosis came up in another thread, I've had heavy duty steroid ointment, which is the mainstay of treatment for it. Nada!

All my knickers are and always have been plain cotton. I get very cheap ones with no Lycra.

I'm not a manic washer down there, try to stick to water only. Will try milder shampoo and conditioner though, in case it's dripping down. I usually use the kids' Naked stuff, which I thought was fairly mild.

Sounds like I just need to ask the dr for a referral, rather than advice from her, or go straight to GUM. In the mean time I'll try the creams mentioned up thread. While I'm actually not adverse to surgery, it'd be a last resort. Hopefully I'm not pre menopausal! I'm only 36 and want another baby! My mum only stopped having periods in the last couple of years. She's 61.

Has anyone mentioned the possibility that you might be allergic to sperm/semen?

Sounds daft but I do think it's an actual thing...

This mght sound stupid but are you drinking enough? (Water I mean! ) I've had similar sounding problems in the past, though not as bad, and being dehydrated seemed to exacerbate it. I can't give you any advice for a permanent cure though as I grew out of mine in the end (I mostly had it as a child).

My sympatgies though, it's horrible isn't it?

*sympathies, obviously. Though you're welcome to my sympatgies too if you want...

I've tried Vaseline today as recommended by someone here and it's really helped.

holger no ones suggested that. I had heard of it as a thing. DH and I have managed until a year ago (we had been together nearly 5 years by then) without problems. I guess things change, including that. The itching is all the time, and we tend not to shag during AF, or in the few days before and immediately after.

thegirl sympatgies much appreciated! I definitely do not drink enough. I must drink more, at the very least it cannot do any harm.

Hmm. Another use for Vaseline. The magic cure for flakey nails and my itchy flaps! Puts a different spin on "lip balm"!

Has your dp been treated for thrush?