What's helped me with symptoms of painful inflammation (flare ups) to vaginal tissue:
My personal routine:
1) taking estradiol (inside my vagina -insert) 3x week, as well as spreading a small amount around the tissues on the outside of my vagina - this has made a huge difference. On the off days when I don't use the product - I can feel a big difference and I have more symptoms.
2) The ONLY thing I've found for pain relief and itch relief (so far) Is Aloe Vera gel with lidocaine (like the kind you put on for sunburned skin). It soothes and takes away the itch - and it's wonderful.
3) Not sure if It makes a real difference - but I also started drinking 1 T of Apple Cider vinegar (with the Mother) well diluted with 8 oz of water (I mix a one squirt of Sturr sugar free water drops flavoring with it and a little sea salt) I have this every morning. Sometimes I make up another drink like this in the evening.
4) Sitz bath with warm water (1-2x day) with baking soda added (1 Tbsp) If doing this 1x day - I do it in the evening before bed, dry gently, and apply a skin barrier like either A & D ointment, or Desitin and gently rub those in, then add some of the Aloe Vera with lidocaine. IF it's on a day that I'm supposed to use the Estradiol, I skip the skin barrier and gently rub the Estradiol into the vaginal area - then add the aloe vera afterwards.
5) Supplements I'm currently taking:
4 drops of iodine daily mixed in my morning coffee (Lugol's 2% iodine) Daily
Women's over 55 multi-vitamins (daily) by "New Chapter"
Garden of Life women's 40 billion probiotic to promote vaginal health, immune health, digestive balance (daily)
Vitamin C (1600 MG) (Daily)
Vitamin D (3 per day = 30,000 IU) yes, this may seem like a high amount -BUT my Dr. had me on a prescription before of 50,000 - so I'm not worried about using 30,000. each capsule is 10,000 (250 mcg)
Vitamin B12 (shots from Dr. - every month because my body does not absorb B-12 the way it should)
Methyl Folate daily (1,000 mcg) (this is Vit B-9)
"Doctor's Best" High Absorption CoQ10 with BioPerine
"Doctor's Best" Vitamin K2 MK-7 with MenaQ7
5) DIET - I think this is HUGELY important. I keep a detailed daily journal of everything I eat and drink to help identify possible things that might cause a flare up of symptoms. I use a free program called Carbmanager - there is another free program called Cronometer which is very good. Both are free - but you can also get premium, which will give you access to more features if you want. I have been working with an Elimination diet - and then adding foods back in one at a time to see if I get any flare ups.
What I currently eat:
Beef, chicken, liver (1x week only) eggs, - have added back in: Salmon, other fish, shrimp, smoked oysters (canned) fish roe, Mackerel, Bacon, sausage (I mix in my own spices to fresh ground pork)
FRUITS: ONLY berries because they are lowest in natural sugar (blue berries, black berries, raspberries) I only eat fruit occasionally - 1-2x week and not many. I also will occasionally squeeze a lemon and add a little juice to a drink for extra vit. C
VEGETABLES: I haven't added them back in yet. But the plan is to add low oxalate, low carb vegetables like broccolli, cauliflower, celery, garlic - hoping to add back tomatoes - but will keep them to small amounts because tomatoes have a lot of natural sugar - so do onions.
What I no longer eat: Sugar in any form (watch out for "hidden" sugars - food manufacturers like to add in sugar using different names) It's safest to look at the carb counts to find sugar content of foods - even in vegetables & fruits. No processed foods (if a food has multiple ingredients - stay away from it) No gluten, no grains.
FLARE ups from food: Anything with sugar, grains, peanuts, rice, flours, WINE - my most recent flare up came after drinking a glass of dry red wine - within 2 hrs, I had a big flare up of pain, and itching - same thing happened with natural "organic" Peanut Butter.
I'd really like to encourage everyone to keep a Diary to note any foods that do cause them to flare up. It's been very helpful.