Okay, here goes. I really like sex and I’ve been enjoying it off and on since the age of 18. However, I have been having a slight problem and I was wondering if any other hens have this problem too.
I suffered from repeated bouts of thrush when I was younger and since then, despite the thrush clearing up, I have suffered from pain during and after sex. Sometimes it’s fine. Other times I feel like someone has blow torched my vagina.
I have since tried coming off the pill which has worked very well. Thankfully my libido has come back and my sex life has improved except for one thing. My skin actually tears when I have sex.
Joining this forum has reminded me that I love sex and want to have a good sex life with my very fanciable boyfriend, so I have been on a mission to get it sorted out. I am in the midst of getting tests done at the moment so hopefully I’ll get some treatment at last!!
I guess I wanted to say thankyou and ask if anyone else suffers from this.
Perhaps I’m clueless, but I’m not sure what you mean by “thrush?”
I have also suffered from pain during and after sex, and my skin has torn a little around the lower part of my vagina. If I go for over a week or two without having sex, this sometimes happens to me when having sex again. It’s not pleasant, so I know how you feel. When I was very young, I had minor vaginal surgery which left some scar tissue and this is what causes the pain for me. Fortunately, I’m in a committed relationship with a healthy sex life, so I don’t experience this kind of pain very often.
It’s important that you can talk about this with your partner and your doctor. There are solutions out there that may help you. It could be something hormonal. For example, if your body is not producing enough estrogen on it’s own, that can cause pain during sex. My doctor gave me a vaginal cream that helps loosen the skin and break down scar tissue (Premarin - estrogen cream) and that has worked for me in the past. While every situation is unique, you’re not alone in this. Good luck, I hope it gets better for you.
Thrush = Yeast infection. Thrush is why women wear skirts, rather than pants, although modern clothing material, hygiene, and medication breakthroughs have changed that.
I sometimes have problems with tearing when it’s been a while and my partner is larger than usual. It sucks. Extended foreplay can help, as can extra lube, but sometimes it just ends up being painful regardless.
You really ought to see a good gynecologist about both issues; have you ever had a yeast infection (“thrush”) diagnosed as such by a professional? Many women suffer from recurring bacterial vaginosis (sp?), which can’t be cured (and maybe can be exacerbated) by yeast infection treatments. Symptoms can be confusing between the two.
But the easiest thing that might give you some help is a trip to the drugstore for some Astroglide or similar. (Personally I order my lubes from goodvibrations.com because I hate ending up sticky, but YMMV.)
"The pain experienced by women with vestibulodynia is very individual. The main problem for women with this diagnosis relates to hyper-sensitivity on light touch to the vestibule, such as during intercourse and the insertion of tampons. The degree of pain is variable. Some women have pain but are able to tolerate penetrative sex. For others any pressure to the vestibule area causes symptoms of soreness and tenderness including tight clothes and even light touch to the area. Itching is not usually a feature of the condition.
Vestibulitis was the former term for vestibulodynia. This term is out of date now. It is slightly misleading as it implies that the vestibule is inflamed – hence the term vestibulitis. It is not believed that an inflammatory process in the skin is to blame for symptoms. An excessive sensitivity of the nerve fibres and even, on occasions, overgrowth of the nerve fibres in the area is believed to be responsible for symptoms.
It is likely that a number of factors cause vestibulodynia, but often no identifiable cause can be found. Some women have a sudden onset of symptoms following a specific event and this is commonly recognised a severe attack of thrush followed by anti-thrush treatment. Once the attack of thrush settles following treatment, soreness and burning may persist as vestibulodynia. Some women complain of vestibulodynia following childbirth, or the use of certain bubble-baths and soaps or with the use of antiseptic in the bath eg Dettol. Where symptoms have gradually occurred over some time, even years, then it’s difficult to identify a cause. Some women with interstitial cystitis also suffer from the condition. The reasons why the two conditions are connected remain unknown."