Topic
The odyssey – A trip into the discovery of my own body
My name is Becca and I am 34 years old. My story begins over 20 years ago, at the age of 11. To be to more specific August 31, 1987 a day that changed my life forever. I was involved in a bicycle accident that resulted in brain surgery due to a subdural hematoma (a collection of blood on the surface of the brain). After spending a week in a coma the doctors released me from the hospital stating that there was nothing else medically wrong with me. A few months later, I began having extreme pain throughout my body that the medical profession could not explain. Unfortunately, this pain never stopped, it took different forms through the years.
I didn’t realize that I had vulvar pain until my early teenage years. I spent countless hours being poked and prodded, each time having a different diagnosis. Every diagnosis was worse than the first. My favorite (most disturbing) diagnosis was I had AIDS. The most common diagnosis was, there isn’t anything wrong with you, “it is all in your head”. While all of this was going on my symptoms were getting worse. I searched and gave up many times on my quest to find help throughout my life. Many of you can relate to the struggles of this horrible condition that prevent you from leading the normal life you so wish to have. I suffered through the countless hours of crying and praying for a miracle, until 2001.
In 2001, because of a doctor in Irvine, California I was finally diagnosed with Vulvodynia, specifically vestibulitis. I began trying several treatments, like the “low oxalate diet”, testosterone cream, different anti-depressants, physical therapy and many more. With the help of the anti-depressants and a wonderful physical therapist, I was able to bring my pain level down a few degrees which was a miracle. I went on living my life with this new level of pain.
One day in 2006, I decided to have sex even though it would be excruciating painful during and after. Shortly, after that day, I found out that I was pregnant. This thought brought me so much joy, but at the same time it terrified me because of this condition. I had no idea what to expect. I am happy to report that after extra bed rest and a planned C-section, I gave birth a beautiful baby boy. Still suffering with all kinds of pain throughout my body I began the process of raising a child. As most of you know motherhood has its own set of struggles. I had given up once again on my quest to find an answer until one day in 2009 when I came across a 20/20 special that talked about women having pain during sex. I actually thought that I had heard it wrong. After listening to the program, I called Dr. Andrew Goldstein’s office the next day. The staff there directed me to Dr. Irwin Goldstein aka Dr. G.
I met with Dr. G in November of 2009. He ran a battery of extremely painful tests that resulted in a diagnosis of provoked vulvar vestibulitis. Then, he performed a nerve block that numbed my vestibule, which he explained would reproduce the kind of pain I would have if I had a vestibulectomy. I spent the next several hours in shock and crying because the results of the nerve block were so good. After going home, researching, and talking to several people I decided to have the surgery. I was extremely nervous and hopeful at the same time. On January 19, 2010, I had a vestibulectomy performed by Dr. Irwin Goldstein in San Diego, California. There were no complications with the surgery, which was great news for me. Because I was traveling from Central, California I choose to spend a few extra days in San Diego after the surgery. With the loving support of my Best Friend who also suffers from this awful condition, I spent the next days in a hotel room dealing with the issues that came with having this kind of surgery. No it was no walk in a park, but in my eyes it could have been a lot worse.
……. There is more to come.