Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Lidocaine

I've been using Lidocaine for about 2 months now and I'm not sure I can tell any difference. My PT is trying to troubleshoot solutions to my burning problem and one thing we're trying is putting Lidocaine in my vagina every night. It's supposed to desensitize the area over time and ultimately relieve the burning (as well as probably set my vagina up for less painful sex in the very far future). But I still get the same amount of burning that I was getting 2 months ago. The other thing is that I know Lidocaine is supposed to be a numbing agent, but my vagina doesn't feel numb at all when I use it. Has anyone else used Lidocaine in this way?

10 comments:

brieahnj said...

I will say that I have had minor results with lidocaine. We would use it during my Dr. visits as a way for him to check on thing internally, and I would try to use it before using a dilator. It's not the super numbing agent you would hope that it would be.

Sarah said...

Yeah I've heard of it being helpful for in-the-moment usage, but my PT is trying to get it to make me less sensitive over time by using it each night, which is different. I don't really need it for the dilators, but she's trying to see if it helps with my random vagina burning. I don't know, I haven't read of anyone using Lidocaine in this way except for me.

Sloan said...

Hello,
My doctor also prescribed daily, long-term (several weeks) use of lidocaine. Instead of the overnight method, my doc wanted me applying the ointment five times per day. It's the same general idea: long-term use to dull the pain. Unfortunately for me, it stung like crazy when I applied it- which seemed counterproductive when trying to treat pain. But I've read that some women have successfully been treated with it.

Sarah said...

Thanks for the info sloan. It's good to hear that other people are trying this.

Anonymous said...

This message is being posted a long time after the original blog message so hope it's still pertinent.
The thin bit of skin at the bottom of my vagina tore once during sex and it didnt heal properly so this made sex really really painful. I was advised to use Lidocaine when having sex and it does help - it numbs the area and there's almost no pain. Apparently, eventually I won't need the Lidocaine any more.
I've used it a few times already and I've had no side effects.

Sarah said...

I'm so glad it worked for you. My experience with Lidocaine is that is does absolutely nothing. Maybe I need a stronger dosage?

Kate said...

I tried it over several weeks - the multiple times a day application method - and never got any relief at all. I've certainly heard that people do.

Liza said...

I know this is a long time after the first string of responses. But my personal experience with Lidocaine was good. My therapist prescribed the 2% Lidocaine cream, but I ended up getting the 5%, which was exactly what worked for me. With the 5%, the surface you are applying it to should be completely numb after about 2 minutes. I tried it on my finger first, and it had the same result. My therapist told me to use it twice a day for a few weeks, and it worked. Not only was there less burning; the area also started looking less irritated and red after a few days. So if anyone is not having any luck with their application of Lidocaine, you might ask for a stronger prescription.

Becca said...

I am currently using the lidocaine for use with trying to insert my dialators, but my doctor has never told me to use it for anything longterm. It does sting me too though. :-/

Anonymous said...

Im suffering from vaginismus would lidocaine work for me?