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Judith M. Schlaeger, Heather A. Pauls, Keesha L. Powell-Roach, Patrick D. Thornton, Dee Hartmann, Marie L. Suarez, William H. Kobak, Tonda L. Hughes, Alana D. Steffen, Crystal L. Patil, Vulvodynia, “A Really Great Torturer”: A Mixed Methods Pilot Study Examining Pain Experiences and Drug/Non-drug Pain Relief Strategies, The Journal of Sexual Medicine, Volume 16, Issue 8, August 2019, Pages 1255–1263, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsxm.2019.05.004
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Abstract
Women with vulvodynia, a chronic pain condition, experience vulvar pain and dyspareunia. Few studies examine the range and combination of treatment strategies that women are actually using to reduce vulvodynia.
To describe pain experiences and pain relief strategies of women with vulvodynia.
Convenience sample, 60 women with vulvodynia (median age 32.5 [interquartile range {IQR} 8.5] years; 50 white, 10 racial/ethnic minorities) completed PAINReportIt and reported use of drugs and alcohol and responded to open-ended questions. Univariate descriptive statistics and bivariate inferential tests were used to describe average pain intensity scores, alcohol use, smoking, number of pain relief strategies, and their associations. Women’s open-ended responses about their pain experiences and drug and non-drug pain relief strategies (NDPRS) were analyzed for patterns.
Our mixed methods analysis connected data from pain measures, prescribed treatments and self-reported behaviors with women’s free responses. This enabled nuanced insights into women’s vulvodynia pain experiences.
Women’s descriptions of their pain and suffering aligned with their reported severe pain and attempts to control their pain, with a median pain intensity of 6.7 (IQR 2.0) despite use of adjuvant drugs (median 2.0 [IQR 2.0]), and opioids (median 1.0 [IQR 2.0]). 36 women (60%) used alcohol to lessen their pain. 26 women (43%) listed combining analgesics and alcohol to relieve their pain. 30 women (50%) smoked cigarettes. 54 women (90%) used ≥1 NDPRS. The mean number of NDPRS used was 2.1 ± 1.3 (range 0–6). The 5 most common NDPRS from women’s comments were herbal medicine (40%), acupuncture (27%), massage (22%), hypnosis (15%), and mental healthcare (13%).
Severe pain in women with vulvodynia may be a clinical indicator of those at higher risk of combining prescription pain medications with alcohol, which are all central nervous system depressants and may potentiate overdose.
This pilot study demonstrated that the mixed methods approach to help understand the complexity of vulvodynia was feasible. We identified data showing a reliance on a high-risk mix of prescriptions and alcohol to reduce vulvodynia pain and a high prevalence of cigarette smoking. However, as a pilot study, these results are considered preliminary; the sample may not be representative. Perhaps only women at the extreme end of the pain continuum participated, or women took the survey twice because identifiers were not collected.
Despite attempts to reduce pain using multiple therapies, including alcohol, women’s vulvodynia pain is severe and not controlled.
