Pelvic Pain and Vaginal Burning.

Hello all, I’m a 25F. I had been normal with no pelvic pain until September of 2024. I went to bed normal and woke up with a “UTI” (Burning urination, bladder pain, urgency, frequency) I had never had one in my life, so I immediately called the Dr and they prescribed me antibiotics and without testing me. I was on them for 5 days. On day 2 my symptoms actually subsided and I thought that the antibiotics were working. Day 3 came around and they were back full force and never went away from there. I was then tested again and my culture came back negative ( with small traces of blood) and put on a different antibiotic. My pain became so bad I landed in the ER. I was given a prescription for Pyridium to help “numb” my bladder and told I most likely have IC. My worst fears coming true. I had been not sleeping and peeing every 10 minutes for about a week now. The Pyridium did nothing… I was given a rush order to see a urologist but there was a two week wait. It was agonizing. I was then seen and told to go on Laxatives for a week and come back, I was shocked at this response. All my urine tests were coming back positive with traces of blood, but no infection. Suprise Suprise the laxatives did NOTHING. I was then scheduled for a scope in the bladder. I was also tested for ureaplasma. Everyone was normal… even the scope. My bladder was healthy.

Fast forward and I’m desperate for relief. I started seeing a Pelvic floor PT for $200 a week. And as a girl in my 20s I racked up a ton of debt. I saw her for a few months with no progress. I saw my gyno many many times. I was prescribed Nerve pain meds and estrogen cream. Nothing worked…. I found out about TMS and I’ve been working on it since April of 2025. I’ve seen improvement but now I have vaginal burning, stinging, redness, soreness. My sex life is non existent and sex flares me so badly. I feel so depressed and I don’t know what to do anymore. I am supposed to be getting married soon, and starting a family is all I’ve ever wanted. How am I going to have a baby let alone get pregnant but I can’t even have sex…. I can’t wrap my head around how I just woke up with pelvic pain over night. How do I keep going? How do I not give up? I’ve done PT, journaling, read all the books, listened to all the podcasts, I even did Pain Reprocessing Therapy. What do I do from here? I need encouragement and help. I find myself spiraling more and more, and I struggle seeing people get better and I’m not. Help a girl out!

 

Our stories are somewhat similar. 3ish years ago I went through the suspect UTI, which became severe genital pain which Pyridium didn’t help route. All basic tests negative. Eventually I was going to the bathroom every 5 min and my bladder wasn’t fully emptying, severe pain, went to er, I got sent home with opioids (thank god lol). I wasn’t TMS aware at the time and although I was in a panic and full of fear, this was my first real health scare and my nervous system wasn’t really primed for this to become chronic. This issue also forced me to leave a job I hated so I think my brain was happy with that result. The pain went away in a month but nerve stuff lingered. I didn’t quite get the message that my life needed some bigger changes than leaving a job.

1.5 years later~a few months after a shitty break up which I unfortunately still hold regret, I decided to get a vasectomy. Right decision wrong time. I ended up with post vasectomy pain syndrome, completely my own doing, obsessed about the post op pain, read horror stories on Reddit, thought I was doomed forever. Had the stinging, itching, burning sensations and my scrotum was visibly red. I was in a nightmare of my own making, constant thoughts of “fucking idiot, why would you get an elective surgery, you did this, you deserve this.” What a pleasure I was. I spent about 6 months in an absolute spiral and eventually thanks to a person on Reddit discovered TMS. I am fully recovered from PVPS although still deal with symptom imperative.

I would say Dan Buglio was the biggest help in getting me over that specific symptom. I think it’s possible that the symptom and pain themselves are the trigger for you and you are obsessing over them trying to find a cure, an answer, anything. But at the same time I get the sense of a lot of self imposed pressure about you and the life you envision, and these symptoms have thrown a wrench in how you perceive your life should be going. Maybe it’s worth examining what you want in life and where and when you started wanting them.

I can’t speak for you, but when I first started with TMS work I thought my obsession post vasectomy recover was what gave me chronic pain. But I soon realized I had dealt with TMS much of my life, albeit mildly. My brain and subconscious was giving me messages and I ignored a lot of them. I have been dysfunctional my entire life, a lot of it isn’t my fault, but certainly is my responsibility. We are going to keep getting messages until we change course. The brain thinks it’s keeping us safe by giving us pain, giving us something to focus on rather than the turmoil in our souls.

you’ve done quite a bit of work it sounds like. How do you speak to yourself on a day to day minute to minute basis? What is your inner dialogue like, is it full of this is a nightmare and I’m fucked forever? Is it endless pressure about where you should be and what you should have? Because that’s what mine was. Everything get betters when I’m my own ally and uplift myself constantly, everything is worse when I become that vicious bastard who talks down to myself, telling myself I deserve chronic pain, that my life is destined for misery.

stop with the PT if it’s doing nothing, put that money towards a TMS coach or therapist if anything. You can get out of this but it is going to take a significant mindset shift.