Vestibulodynia pain reduces when aroused?
I'm 25F. I've had vestibule pain for as long as I remember, never been able to have penetrative sex. I've also never used any form of hormonal birth control. I'm currently trying to figure out what my vestibulodynia might be caused by, with my PT.
My pain is located in some spots in the vestibule around the vagina - largely between 3 and 9 o clock. The pain feels sharp and stinging, almost like a raw burning pain, 9/10 at its worst. I've been given desensitisation vestibular massage exercises - to gently touch the area with lube & do diaphragmatic breathing to get the area "used to touch". I've been doing this for 1-2 months with no real improvement.
I recently tried doing the massage/touch exercises on the painful spots while using a vibrator with my other hand to get myself aroused. Essentially distracting myself from the pain with pleasure. I was really surprised that it actually kinda worked? The area still felt super sensitive but it was not really as painful - it dropped from a 9/10 to maybe a 4/10. The pain also significantly went down for a while after an orgasm - so the whole area was much less painful. But the next time I tried the massage (unaroused, with lube) the pain was back to a stinging 9/10 pain.
Is this a common experience? I'm trying to understand whether this might be a pelvic floor issue or a neuroproliferative pain issue? Open to any thoughts!! Thank you!