Vagina/vulva 3 biopsies taken today. Please advise

Women's health
1

Hallo

Under general anaesthetic in theatre today and had a - high vaginal swab - 1 vaginal biopsy -2 vulval biopsies. No problem at all with the anaesthetic, after 1 hour had tea and toast. Read consultant gynaes opinion on my medical chart in the hospital.

She claims that she saw no sign of any dystrophy. Amazing really. Two months ago my con/derm diagnosed lichen sclerosus. I myself am convinced that i have lichen sclerosus from the white patches on my vulva.

I really had to plead with con/gynae to take vaginal biopsy.

Now i am at home and in great discomfort.

It took all my courage to look at my vulva. The whole vulva is inflamed. The black stitches very obvious.

I do not know what to do now to encourage the vulva to heal and try to avoid an infection. Doctor advised not to use salt instead just clear water.

So i just showered the vulva with lukewarm water and patted dry.

I would really appreciate any advice on how to proceed. Taking anti-inflammatories. Hardly able to walk/sit.

Should i avoid walking to encourage healing. Still losing some blood. Any idea how long this will last.

2

Hi there...I cannot help you regarding the best way forward but I had to say that I am glad you are through this as I was aware how worried you were..Take care and the warm water rinses and not too long soaks in the bath were what I took after incisional problems down there, though not for LS and only used very light clothing and only cotton. I found it was easier to not wear any underware for a few days just allow the air to help healing and walking around the house will help. If you are still bleeding a little try not to use pads they can dry and rub, just thin cotton briefs... Take care and I hope your results are really positive for you smile ...

3

Hallo sandowngirl

thanks for reply. Doctor explained that vaginal stitch was bleeding as a result of very bad bruising and inflammation.

advised to rinse area with cold water after every toilet visit. Cold water and ice cold packs great to reduce inflammation.

Bleeding stopped once inflammation reduced. Also advised course of antibiotics. Stay most of day in bed but walk around a little. i am trying to give area chance to heal and further reduce inflammation. really appreciate your advice. Hope you are doing well.

4

Im glad you are alright...These things have a habit of telling you when they are ready for you to do a little more ,so just take your time. I firmly believe that something in us tells us what is best as we recover so dont you rush...

As for me, I have hospital Friday for my 6 month check up...I have a disappearing clit and have zapped a small white patch this past week with steroid to try and stop further fusing...I was lucky, my doc diagnosed within 30seconds and after the initial irritation and soreness I have been ok using my synalar steroid and a barrier cream plus washing with epaderm always, so I am hoping that apart from the disappearing clit act they will be pleased with me..Fingers crossed....I only suffered for a few months before my diagnosis and I thought I had thrush after a course of anti biotics as I can get that....My worst thing is re occuring bouts of cystitis a couple of bad ones..All goes hand in hand im afraid. All good old auto-immune conditions....Take carex

5

Hallo Sandowngirl

Hope your hospital appointment went well. You appear to have adopted a calm acceptance of your ls. Do you have another auto-immune related condition. Cystitis is very severe so I admire your strength and hope you got encouraging results. Do you see a specialist in ls at this hospital.

I had to return to doctor yesterday. Heavy vaginal discharge. Stitches seem to be ok but my god so painful.. More antibiotics and have to await the results of two swabs he sent off. Hope this is a good day for you

6

Hi mayocovie....My hospital went really well..my doc said whatever your doing keep doing it as its working...The shrinking clit is par for the course but the white has been zapped, so good...The cystitis is because I have a little fusing of inner labia and its stuck to urethra entance so sometimes the ostreogen cream(which is a little runny) goes inside me and gets treated like a foreign body and apparetnly cystitis goes hand in hand with LS...I use the thicker emollient as a wash now too. it is more like a vaseline in consistency and more expensive than the norm, but its brill....

I think that if we can logically say, right, i appear to be here for the duration, so until they find a solution.Ha ha flying pig!!! :roll: I will maintain the area daily then hopefully I can slow down the progression. Yes, I have had other auto-immunes - utricaria.which disappeared when LS started, raised liver function, endometriosis severley, arthritis(osteo) and my mom had rhumatoid arthritis and thyroid trouble, so there we go, quite a list..

I hope you go on ok,love. After the antibiotics you should start healing well. I feel for you having to go through all the pain and I felt how scared you were but in the long run you will be sure of everything and they then can treat you properly. There is nothing worse than having problems down there, as it is hard to talk through how you feel to anyone. If we break a leg at least people can sympathise cos they can see whats wrong.

Check out the girls on **** message page,. They are all UK, and in the same boat, but there is one girl on there, lynzi, we all get great strength from..This site is also brilliant and we tend to flip across from one to the other... If you find the other one use the same name to start with then we will know you....Take care xxx

(Sorry but Patient Admin have removed either a telephone number, an email address, a postal address and or web address, from this posting, as it is the policy of Patient UK not to publish these on this forum.

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7

Hallo Sandowngirl

Uplifting to hear you got positive news at the hospital. Do you use estrogen cream all the time and if so do you find it beneficial. Do you stay on it longterm. I am seriously considering staying on the estrogen (vagifem) longterm if con/gyn allows me to. You say you use a doublebase emollient to wash. Could you give me the name. perhaps i could purchase in boots. Also would be interedted to know what barrier cream you use and in what order you use them daily. I dont seem to be able to manage my ls on a daily basis and could do with your advice.

Did you not have to have biopsies to confirm your ls. The doctors here insisted on biopsies. I appreciate your patience. I cannot locate the message board on ****. How do I join this forum.

(Sorry but Patient Admin have removed either a telephone number, an email address, a postal address and or web address, from this posting, as it is the policy of Patient UK not to publish these on this forum.

If you wish to communicate directly with people, you should register, for free, with the forum (click Register in the menu list below the green banner above). You and other registered members will then be able to communicate with each other via Private Messaging (PM) or e-mail.)

8

Hi there. I use ostroegen cream twice a week injected inside to keep the walls supple. But I was started on it last year on a 10week nightly blast to replenish the lubication....I find it good but not sure whether that is the reason I have still got a certain amount of elasticity in the vaginal circumference or the use of all the different stuff rolled into one. I use epaderm emollient wash -as I say I use the tub not the dispenser...As for barrier I and a lot of the girls use Paladin once or twice a day. That sorts out your soreness. You can use a barrier at the same time as your steroid treatment if any.

**** -look down lefthandside of homepage you will see message board- click on that and then scroll down the opening page till you see the words message board, click on that. Hope you find it.

(Sorry but Patient Admin have removed either a telephone number, an email address, a postal address and or web address, from this posting, as it is the policy of Patient UK not to publish these on this forum.

If you wish to communicate directly with people, you should register, for free, with the forum (click Register in the menu list below the green banner above). You and other registered members will then be able to communicate with each other via Private Messaging (PM) or e-mail.)

9

:oops: sorry mayocovie, i didnt put my name on last message. having a senior moment :wink:

10

hallo sandowngirl... clicked on message board as you said but no response.

11

hi there Once you get onto the message board page, (from the homepage by looking down the lefthandside) see where the words are big at the top, scroll down past the lillies and there is a little message board sign , click that.. fingers crossed.xx