Summary-line: 2-May mfoley@arisia.Xerox.COM #female genital pain Return-Path: Date: Thu, 2 May 91 18:18:45 -0700 From: MAILER-DAEMON (Mail Delivery Subsystem) Subject: Returned mail: User unknown To: owner-immune *** EOOH *** Date: Thu, 2 May 91 18:18:45 -0700 From: Mary Ellen Foley To: immune@weber.ucsd.edu Subject: female genital pain okay, folks, here's a Problem That Dare Not Speak Its Name, but it's tired of being quiet... I am a 33-year-old female who's had unexplained genital pain for 1.5 years. I have a history of allergies to a variety of plants, animals, and foods, so it wouldn't surprise me if this might also be an allergic reaction. I've had a variety of tests and a variety of medications. Coposcopy shows an elevated level of white cell activity, but we can't figure what's causing the problem. I would really appreciate the chance to correspond with other people who have the same thing, have had it, or just know anything about it. The doctors have said that they see a lot of unexplained pain in the external genital area, and that it usually goes away for no apparent reason, although it sometimes takes up to a year -- well, I've passed that mark. (A small, mean part of me wonders if this problem would be tackled harder if it were happening to men? Not meant to be a flaming feminist remark, but hey, if doctors kept having men coming in saying that it hurt to urinate, to have sex, and just to walk or move around (crossing your legs is right out), I think we'd be reading about this in magazines and hearing about it on 'next Heraldo'). At the 9 month mark, I found a lump in the vaginal wall and they removed it (which left painful scar tissue that they didn't warn me about and which they say will 'eventually' go away, so now I have 2 centers of pain in the region), but it turned out to be nothing (where 'nothing' was explained to me as a bunch of blood, like in a bruise, but which hardened into a lump rather than being reabsorbed...I dunno), dashing my hopes that getting rid of the lump would get rid of the pain. While it's not a life-threatening situation, it certainly does take my quality-of-life down a notch. There is depression, too, wondering whether it'll ever go away...getting angry when I see my friends slouching comfortable around in their seats without wincing, having pain-free lives like I USED to have... Please write to me at either the address in the header, or mef@netcom.com, if you know anything about the subject. Mary Ellen