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Could this be Lichen Sclerosus or Lichen Planus?

Posted , 11 users are following.

newkeds
newkeds

Anyone who has experience with these please let me know if it sounds like I might have one or the other. I'm a 22 year old virgin and have been dealing with chronic vulvar itching and pain since I was 10. The problems started with one fairly small bump on my left labia minora at 10 years old, and gradually that side has shrunk over the years and part appears to have been absorbed into the skin around it. What's left is thicker and shriveled feeling. My right labia minora doesn't appear to have shrunk much but is very thin and sticks easily to the skin around it now when it didn't used to. My entire vulva area is either bright red or dark purple in some areas like it's bruised and always in pain, with a very raw feeling. I don't have any actual white patches of skin, but my perineum is really thin feeling, easily tears, and a light grey color. I've never had any sexual contact whatsoever, but have tried using a vibrator myself and the pain can be unbearable sometimes and other times just very uncomfortable after pushing past the entrance. I had my first pap test last week and it was some of the worst pain I've ever experienced and I'm still having slightly bloody, yellowish discharge. They tested me for Vaginitis (which was negative) and did the HPV test with the pap smear and I'm supposed to get my results tomorrow, but waiting for the results is killing me. Does this sound like it could be Lichen Sclerosus or Lichen Planus? Any ideas if it's not? Thanks for the help everyone.

1 like, 25 replies

25 Replies

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  • Jessicat
    Jessicat newkeds

    Posted

    Hi I'm 20 and was diagnosed with LS October of last year, I also don't have any white patches, I was diagnosed by using steroid cream and due to my improvement and other symptoms the derm diagnosed me. I used to always have a lot of redness on the vulva, which has since improved using steroid cream and coconut oil, I still have slight itching and soreness. I also have that pain at the entrance of the vagina you explain when I have sex with my boyfriend, I've found dilators help with that. I also get a raw feeling on my vulva when it is touched with clothing and even when I use tampons. I've suspected I may have vulvodydinia as well as LS as they can go hand in hand 
  • deborah82032
    deborah82032 newkeds

    Posted

    Your symptoms sound much like LS. A biopsy will  determine the diagnosis. I can;t believe that a Doctor has not help to diagnose this condition early on.

     

  • lynne1945
    lynne1945 newkeds

    Posted

    Cripes, there's a few differing opinions about LS and LP and just as I suspected nobody is the same it seems. 

    The first page when you come this site will lead you to New To LS and if you  go to that scroll down till you find a site recommended by this site, called caredownthere. Go to medical advice and click on Lichen Planus, there you will find the differences between the two. I did forget to say I have lesions which don't heal also my problem is confined only to inner labia and outer vagina entrance and clitorus, I definitely have LP and I definitely have lost all my labia minora. My specialists, both my previous and now my new one are both vulval dermos and see 100s of people. 

    But maybe the eroding lesions for LP are the deciding factor. 

  • Morrell1951
    Morrell1951 newkeds

    Posted

    Dear Newkeds, whether it's LS or LP you can start by reducing your sugar consumption drastically, this includes fruit (just not PILES) and no sweet drinks. This often makes a big difference in the itching and soreness quite quickly. Whatever prescription you get it will work very gradually over many months. I've also been using jojoba oil with 4 to 20 drops of pure frankincense oil in 25 ml. I'm starting to believe that's had equal effects to the prescriptions.
  • newkeds
    newkeds

    Posted

    Well, I was actually supposed to get my pap test results back yesterday, but they never called and they hadn't yet today either so I just called them and the nursing assistant said she was sorry but they needed to review my results more before calling me. That means it's probably not normal right? I'm going to wait for those results before I say anything about LS or LP, but I still plan to. I really doubt I have HPV or anything though, since I have never had sexual contact.
  • Queenee
    Queenee newkeds

    Posted

    Well, I just hope that things are ok for you.  Let us know when you get your results.
    • newkeds
      newkeds Queenee

      Posted

      Thanks! I did get my results and surprisingly to me, the pap test came back normal and (unsurprisingly) the hpv test was negative. It's really hard to get my doctor on the phone because she's always busy, so I contacted her through my healthcare's patient portal yesterday about testing me for LS (decided to do this before just scheduling since she'll probably refer me somewhere else for it and it will save me money this way). Hopefully they will get back to me on Monday or Tuesday and I will let you guys know what happens.
  • newkeds
    newkeds

    Posted

    If anyone is still interested, I just had my gynecology appointment today. I was a little upset it took this long to be seen, but I can't be too picky because I had a voucher for the visit and it was free! I decided to see what the doctor said first without mentioning Lichen Sclerosus or Lichen Planus myself. At first I told her about my problems and she already said that it sounded like an inflammatory disease that can be treated with potent steroids and I hadn't even undressed yet. When she examed me, she only looked for a couple of minutes and then wrote me a prescription for clobetasol. She hasn't officially diagnosed me yet until she sees how I respond though, but she said she thinks it's Lichen Sclerosus or Lichen Planus and wants me to come back in three months. We did not do a biopsy. She didn't think it was necessary, unless this doesn't help. Overall I thought it went pretty well, and I felt lucky that she seemed to know about LS and LP.
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