Why I Got Vulvodynia..

I was leading what I thought was a healthy life. I was into working out. I had watched my weight. I was in pretty decent physical condition. When the Vulvodynia hit I thought it came out of nowhere. Looking back now I see it was staring me right in the face.

When I turned 40 I developed bad acid reflux. Being a Pilates instructor, I was feeling it all day because I was exercising lying down a lot. Of course, I did what we are told to do-go see your doctor. My doctor gave me a month prescription for Nexium. He told me it should work and I should be healed in a month. No such luck. One month later, it was back. The doctor sent me to a gastro doctor. The gastro dr.  put me on Nexium for 4 months. I was better until I finished the prescription. Meanwhile, I had developed a yeast infection. The first one in 7 years. I went to the gynecologist. He put me on Diflucan. The gastro doctor suggested I have a scope procedure to make sure my esophagus looked ok. It did. He put me back on Nexium. The yeast infection seemed to still be lingering. I went to multiple doctors for help. They all said there was no yeast. But I felt burning, stinging and sometimes itching. I was in constant uncomfortable pain. Life as I knew it was gone. Each doctor kept trying different creams or pills. Nothing worked. Why does all this matter?

I NEVER stopped to put this all together. I forgot that I was one body. I was treating myself part by part. No doctor ever mentioned the acid reflux when I was at a gyno or the yeast when I was at the gastro. I wrote it down on many in take forms but no one connected any dots. Not even me.

Looking back really is 20/20. Now I see why I got Vulvodynia. The Nexium masked the acid reflux. I believe I had yeast overgrowth that caused the acid reflux. By masking the symptoms the yeast continued to grow. Yeast love warm moist places. The vaginal canal makes a perfect hide-a-way for this annoying fungus. The candida overgrowth depleted my body of essential minerals and vitamins. My body was extremely acidic from: the candida itself, the Nexium, all the anti-fungul meds, the diet I was eating, the over exercising I was indulging in, the stress of life and just by the body's processes. With this acidic overload and lack of neutralizing minerals I was getting burned from the inside out.

Now that I am healed, I never take my body for granted. I try to respect it. Sure, I cheat from time to time. But now I try to provide the proper nutrients so my body can handle the occasional cheat, the vacations and the bi-weekly chocolate craving. I found my way out of this mess by climbing out of a pill bottle and into my grocers produce aisle. It's cheaper, safer and a whole lot more enjoyable.