[kira]

My sister went through every test imaginable and several treatment options but they never found a cause or cure. She has some fairly constant urinary incontinence along with it. I have the same symptoms as her but much more mild and only have incontinence if things have been irritated like from lots of sex or I squat in certain positions. We have debated whether it's from frequent urinary tract infections as children. The problem seems to lie in the muscles at the end of the urethra. They feel constantly stimulated and get irritated easily. The nerves and blood supply to the clit are all tangled up with the end of the urethra and glands under the urethra. Side fact: they actually identified a gland in the area often referred to as the gspot which is equivalent to a male's prostate and may have a back flow from the urethra to store fluid for ejaculation when the clit is stimulated. It's a complicated area that no doctor fully understands yet. Anyway taking phenazopyridine Hydrochloride (available as azo over the counter) lessens or sometimes eliminates the symptoms by numbing the urinary tract. It cannot be taken long term unless you like yellow eyes because it is a dye and will build up in your body until things start to discolor but it is useful for a few days when something else has irritated the area. Also I took thorazine, an antipsychotic, for severe insomnia. It has a side effect of making it difficult for some people to pee and is sometimes used for urinary incontinence. Despite the fact I rarely have incontinence and often go several years without that happening it completely eliminated the feeling and all urinary tract problems but the other side effects made me stop taking it. It was nice to not have a constant burning need to urinated for a few months. I miss it. I've had this feeling for over 10 years so I don't notice that much anymore but it was so much more comfortable for a few months. I haven't bothered to go in for tests since like I said my sister has the same symptoms times 10 and they could not find anything wrong or anything that would treat the problem long term without major side effects. Caffeine may increase the symptoms. My sister and I are at odds over this but my problems improved immediately upon stopping all soda (didn't know the exact problem was caffeine at the time) in junior high while she insisted it wasn't causing problems and continued to down pepsi constantly. She has severe symptoms now and I barely notice mine. I see more than a coincidence here.

[redlady]

Ladies, clitordynia or pain in the clitoris CAN BE (not always) due to PHN...post herpetic neuralgia. You may know you have HSV, you may not. You may have seen an outbreak, you may not have. However, if you had an outbreak and it damaged the nerve, you will have PHN, and if you have it in the clitoral area, that is what the pain is from. It will be a burning, itching kind of pain that nothing fixes. This is nerve damage. You must numb the nerve, which is done with an old class anti-depressant called Elavil. Start with a low dose (10mg) and you will get relief, then it will come back. Increase dosage. You will keep doing this until the pain does not come back and then you can lower dosage slowly. THis is not fun and it takes time...it took me nearly 18 mos. Nerves heal slowly. Again, this does not explain all clitordynia, but it is not something that doctors really look for, especially if they or you do not know you have HSV.

[LanaBear]

Old thread.

Closed.