Labia Minora Shrinking!!

Posted , 26 users are following.

Hi Ladies

I have never used clob and have managed my itching, soreness and lesions with natural things. Olive oil or coconut oil to keep things moist and a little dab of tea tree directly onto the itch which for me is at the top of my left labia majora just on the inside edge. This is where my white patches are plus a few slightly raised what I think must be hair follicle spots. ( waiting for a dermatologist ref to come through re this). What is concerning me is that in the last couple of months my labia Minora has noticeably shrunk and my clit has also shrunk! I have no fusing and can still have sex with no pain. ( long may this continue). Does clob prevent shrinkage or will it happen regardless. I was diagnosed 2 years ago. Maybe I've been lucky up to now and LS is starting to enforce her true colours on me now. I don't want to use clob but if this is a preventative measure then perhaps I should. I don't have any LS symptoms other than shrinkage at present other than on my labia majora. I am 55yrs so maybe this could also be atrophy from menopause? Any feedback would be appreciated. Thank ladies.

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  • Posted

    Hi! i am so thankful i found these forums. If anyone took some time to read this i would be so thankful. i am 19 years old and my symptoms of Ls started 3 months ago. i had sex and teared in the fourchette area (which has never happened to me before). Got tested for every std and all negative (i have anxiety so i immediately thought this was herpes since my ex was a cheater). My symptoms continue to get worse and i’m at loss. My clitorus almost looks “melted” into the labia majora and my inner labia has shrunk a lot. i can now see very much into my vagina which is so concerning to me. I keep tearing after intercourse, have a wrinkled labia majora, am extremely dry, and it extends to the back end too (tmi) causing fissures and whitening of the skin back there. I have no white patches around my vulva but i know some women don’t have that. If this helps piece anything together i got diagnosed with hashimotos 8 months ago. i’m thinking that may have caused this. Do my symptoms sound like LS? i’m using coconut oil down there to keep things moisturizerized. Seeing the gyno on tuesday but want to hear from personal experience. thank you all, i’m really anxious over this. 
    • Posted

      HI there NIcole we're so glad you found - we all are so glad to have a sounding board community for this.  Ah so I'm 72 and recently finally diagnosed with hypothyroidism ( the little cousin of hashimoto's).   IN any case I don't believe the Hashimoto's directly caused the LS, but that they are BOTH AUTOIMMUNE conditions. ... and a you'll discover ifyou haven't already, many autoimmune disease patients are found to have low vitamin D...

      If you like you may want to print off the paper to wrote up for us about the nutritional deficiencies, and the other one is all the science I could find about them, Pathway into and out of Autoimmune.. click on my name and see them on the lower right. Not all, nor many, gyno's know the nutrition to help this issue. 

      You'll want to ask him/her to get your blood work tested for eh levels of Vitamin D3 in your system. I don't know if you saw my conversation about it just yesterday or so ago. You'll want your levels to be between 60-80 or 90 ng/dl... and if your gyno agrees to test it and tells you your levels are okay at 30 with TWO autoimmune disorders, then you'll have to educate him or go elsewhere.  good luck let us know how it goes. 

      oh YES, you are describing Lichen sclerosus

    • Posted

      Hi Nicole, sorry to say but you have Lichen Sclerosus.

      Short term you will need to abstain from sex for a while to allow the area that keeps tearing to repair itself. I hope your gyno knows his stuff because many doctors/specialists aren't all that well informed and so if you find that to be the case I would look for a Vulva clinic where you will find doctors that have seen LS more than once.

      Take the time to read some of the older threads on the forum as the more informed you are the better you can deal with this disease.  At first, things might seem bleak but once you are in a place whereby you are on top of LS then you will be able to manage it.

      With LS you will have flares but you will also go into remission for months, even years, and that's what happens to people with LS at your age.

    • Posted

      Thank you so so much for your informative response. It helped ease my anxiety. I am feeling lost at the moment but yes i am going to the gynocolgesist this upcoming week. she hasn’t been all that helpful and only tests for surface layer things such as viral, bacteria and yeast. I hope she knows what i’m suffering from and can help. i’m also getting my blood work done this week. i will update! 
    • Posted

      Thank you so much for responding. I.t makes me feel better that this at least has a name and that i.t could possibly go into remission. EBV (mono) ruined my body which i got 10 months ago and i have been feeling horrid ever since. Then i got hashimotos, now this. Plus chronic stress. i think it’s a perfect lichen sclerosus recipe. My symtpoms only started about 3 months ago and it’s been constant. no period of relief. Like a burning, dry, itchy feeling. plus sharp pains in my vulva. and tearing and anal fissures. is i.t possible the fusing would happen this fast?? i feel like it’s happening so quickly. hopefully my gynocolgesist is helpful. I’m worried
    • Posted

      Hi nicole, all the symptoms you describe that you have are classic LS and many of us have the same.  With regard to your fusing I would bet that that hasnt just happened in the last few months.  Many women have no idea whats happening to their undercarriage until they are diagnosed with LS, because most of us dont spent time examining our vaginas with a mirror.  So, the fusing could have started months ago.  You are in a nasty flare up and you need to educate yourself as much as you can.

      At this point stress will exacerbate your symptoms and so you are going to need to find a way to filter out stress long term.  What many of us have found is that diet plays a role.  Diet itself does not cause Lichen Sclerosus but once you have Lichen Sclerosus diet does play a role in whether you start to recover or not.  Sugar is a big problem, and so you should immediately cut back on that.

       

    • Posted

      Wow i can’t believe this has been going on for that long. symtpoms only started 3 months ago which makes me think it’s new, but maybe it’s been working on me unannounced before symtpoms appeared. it’s a lot to process all at once. Again i wasn’t diagnosed by biopsy but can’t imagine what else this could be. I will definitely avoid sugar and gluten. i will let you all know how my doctors appointment goes. 

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