Vulva symptoms what could it be?

Hi Mander, thank you so much for your reply! Im sorry you felt alone going through it, it must of been reassuring to find this site!

I haven't had anyone look at it yet! When I had symptoms 5 months ago i was convinced it was an STI as i had just started dating someone new! When the symptoms started by the time i had STI checks and the results the itching and redness had calmed down in about 10 days then the discharge didnt go back to normal until a week after canestan thrush treatment. Not had any symptoms at all since then until a slight itching a couple of days ago, no burning this time though, yesterday was quite sore and looking in the mirror it red and very dry! Im not sure if it is LS, that's why i was wondering do symptoms stay longer?

have your symptoms been constant since october?

lu, I think you will find individual women have very individual experiences of LS. Until you have someone examine you who is knowledgeable you will not know. It is also possible to have a biopsy to confirm it. In my case the doctor I saw specialized in vulval skin conditions and was able to diagnose LS by sight and the biopsy was not required. It could be that you have another issue. It's important you get a proper diagnosis and then embark on proper treatment. If you do have LS you will find there are varying opinions of treatment as well. But this is not something you want to guess at as early treatment can avoid damage.

There are gyns and dermatologists that treat it, I have gone to both but far preferred the gyn.

Hope you are able to find a specialist in your area. Good luck.

Lu, I want to add my voice to what Beverly says...It is REALLY important to go ahead, get an appointment and get this looked at. LS is treatable, a bit of a nuisance, but can be quite serious if left to its own devices. We DON'T want to go down that path. I'd ask for a biopsy, no matter what. It's good to have that in the files...but be SURE that you're off steroids before you have the biopsy.

I've seen both GYN and derm...and like a team that will work together. I think it all depends on the actual doc and how you "click" with them and how much they're willing to work with you to explore what works.

Thanks for the reply! yeh i can understand and apprieciate that everyone is different. Just difficult under these circumstances getting an appointment. So i am just trying to understand my symptoms and try to rule things out myself until i can see someone, just to help with my anxiety really.

how long to symptoms generally last? or do they not go without treatment? between flare ups is everything "normal"?

Hi.. I'm not really sure how long it lasts. I have been battling this for 6 months and like I said I have been using steroid cream since December and I can tell you since I have been using the steroid cream things have calmed down quite a bit. I do have some days where I feel great and I think to myself oh my gosh it is going away for the moment and then it's back again. I'm assuming it's just the nature of the disease. I am having the diva laser treatment done sometime in July and my doctor said he has been using this procedure on women for 2 years and have had wonderful results to where the women have been cured. they come from all over to see this doctor and the testimonies are very reassuring. so we will see what happens after that.

Mander, I would be very interested in hearing what results you get with Coyle's laser. He says people feel great after one month but did you ask him about after 6 months or a year? Does he have info on longer term results; does he recommend hormone or steroid after treatment? Also how have the three required treatments become one? Is it stronger, longer or a different laser altogether?

When I was diagnosed with LS I asked the gyn about mona lisa laser as I had read about it for atrophy. She did not recommend laser saying it can actually damage thin menopausal skin. Some women on this site have posted that they wished they hadn't had it, while others are satisfied.

Have you considered Platelet Rich Plasma or discussed this treatment for LS with Coyle? I was told by another doctor you really have to have both for best results. It's very difficult to make a decision. Please let us know if you have the treatment soon, assuming the COVID has not put a halt to everything. Hope to hear you've had success.

hi Beverly! I follow up with dr coyle in june and hope to schedule procedure after that. they claim there is 100 percent success rate using this procedure. I have been on hormones now for 3 months and still using the steroid cream twice daily. like I said I have good days and bad days. I havent even talked to him about platelet rich plasma although I know they do this as well. maybe I should talk to him about it! I'm nervous to do any of it due to the price and it not working but I guess it's worth a shot. all of this has been very difficult I just try and take one day at a time!

I found him on the internet a while back, but never saw any posts mentioning him on this site. I would be a little leery of anyone claiming 100% success with a disease that every other medical source says is controllable but incurable. Are you going to have the 3 treatments or new single treatment? He doesn't say in his videos how the 3 treatments became just one. I would be concerned about possible damage to the skin. I think there is little danger with the PRP as it is your own plasma. The process just needs to be sterile.

This is my 2nd year with LS and I have done as much research as I possibly could trying to find a treatment beyond hormones and steroids. For various reasons I have not been able to find an experienced and trustworthy dr to administer PRP injections which I felt was the safest option. I am in FL now though not near the panhandle. Are you in that area?

hi Beverly! I am in the panhandle... can I ask you how your symptoms started and what symptoms you still currently have? like I said I have been using steroid cream for over 3 months and it has helped but not the way I was hoping they would help. it's funny because dr coyle told me hormones would not help with LS but the websites I look at says it will help. am I right or wrong? I am very leery of this laser procedure not working! some how I guess he converted the 3 treatments to one. he said it was too much for people traveling from far distances to come back for 3 treatments so i really dont know how he did that. it costs so much money also that's another reason I'm leery. I do know dr Coyle does the PRP I believe he calls it the O shot. I'm just at my wits end and want to feel myself again. when all this started I thought I was going to have to quit my job it was that bad and I have not had sex in over 6 months which has caused some marital problems... sorry for that information! I'm assuming it affects everyone like this from what I hear.. I'm open to any information you have since you have been dealing with this longer than I have.

Hi Mander - all interesting to get feedback from various sufferers of LS and their approach to managing and controlling this terrible disease. Who is your treating doctor who uses the laser. I'm interested in reading reviews to find out more about it?

Coyle institute in Pensacola florida