In the October 10th episode of ABC's "Private Practice" a woman visits the main character's office complaining that she is unable to have sex with her new husband. After Dr. Addison Montgomery checks her out, she's slapped with a diagnosis of vulvodynia and by the end of the show cured.
The Hollywood magic cure has upset some. "While the producers deserve credit for trying to depict the symptoms of vulvodynia, 13 million women in the real world would painfully disagree with the show's fairy tale ending," comments Phyllis Mate, President of the National Vulvodynia Association.
The condition was also inaccurately portrayed on HBO's "Sex and The City" in 2001. In that case Charlotte was "cured" by a prescription of antidepressants.
Vulvodynia has no cure, "miracle" or otherwise. It is chronic pain in the external vagina area. It is often misdiagnosed as a yeast infection and its cause is unclear. Some sufferers are unable to work because they are unable to sit for more than 30 minutes while others are bedridden from the pain. While incurable, there are some treatments that provide pain relief.
For more information on vuvlodynia visit the National Vulvodynia Assosication web site
BRAVO!!! My jaw almost dropped to the floor while watching this show. They tend to get a lot wrong. As a Labor Doula I can tell you that they have botched their storylines on birth as well. This is entertainment for entertainment value only. Some shows do better with the protayals of the actual facts than others but I feel that at least the name is being said on television which is much different than 8 years ago when I was first diagnosed. At that time there were two sites and no way for women to connect freely with each other. I started my site, vulvodyniasupport.com to fill that void. Now there are so many sites that at least the isolation factor is diminishing to some extent. Perhaps in 8 more years there will be enough scientific understanding of the different types of vulvodynia that we will no longer even need to debate how a television shows portray our suffering incorrectly. One can only hope! With loving light, Lauren Kunis, Certified Reiki Master/Teacher, DONA Trained Doula
Posted by: Lauren Kunis | November 19, 2007 7:26 PM | Permalink to Comment