Let’s Get Personal - Chapter 1

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That time a dermatologist prescribed me a menthol mixed cream to apply…on my vulva…

Okay, so this story isn’t long but I think it says a lot about how little is known about vaginal health, and what it’s like being a woman with chronic pain.

Let me preface this story by saying I am quite comfortable and used to having male doctors. During my teens I injured my hamstring attachments (possible clue to how my vaginal issues started), and my massage therapist, physiotherapist, and chiropractor were all men. I was also young, shy, and not super confident in my body, but regardless, I always felt safe and I never questioned their integrity for a second. Maybe you’re thinking, “well of course that’s their job”. The issue is, when a male doctor is not comfortable YOU CAN TELL, and it makes everything WORSE.

This story begins about 6 months into my vaginal pain journey, where I was seeing different doctors almost weekly to find a solution. Flare ups were lasting 2 weeks, with the burning and itching soreness, as well as the shooting pain up my vaginal walls.

I had a referral to this dermatologist that I received from my emergency room visit a few weeks prior. And let me say, this was one of my worst experiences by far. After asking some questions, he brought the nurse into the room to look at my vaginal skin. He stood a few steps away, had the nurse do the physical assessment of the skin, as he pointed a flashlight at my vagina. I felt weird, and gross. Now I know vaginal health is not his speciality - he’s a dermatologist - but seriously?

After assessing my skin he expressed that he was 100% sure my vaginal issue was eczema. I explained to him that I had already explored this diagnosis and it was not possible, reiterating that a gynaecologist had already told me otherwise and I had already tried treatment for it without any luck. He replied with a statement expressing his years of experience and that it was ‘so clearly’ eczema.

He prescribed me a menthol mixed steroid cream - I looked at him straight in the face and said, “I’m going to take this, my skin will get better for a few days, but when I stop taking the cream my flare up will be worse than ever.” “I know this, because that’s what happens EVERY time I try to apply a steroid prescription.” He simply said, “well, you’ll just have to try won’t you”, reassuring me that it would solve the problem. Did I believe him? Of course not. But I decided to humour him and his little diagnosis.

At this point, what did I have to lose?

I called the office 2 weeks later and told the receptionist to note the fact that his diagnoses was incorrect and his prescription made my vaginal pain worse than it had ever been.

Unfortunately, no happy ending to this one. Stay tuned for my next Let’s Get Personal where I’ll share the next chapter of my story.

xoxo

Divulge