Hi Gang
Been a long time since I have posted. AF hasn't been an issue for quite sometime. But I have had severe itching around the anus and for the past year several bouts of vulva itching. I am dealing with menopause now for 4 years, finally in the postmenopausal phase. In this past year I have had episodes of vulva itching, swelling, skin tears. I just figured it was all part of menopause, tried different creams, lubricants to help with the tenderness. Nothing seems to work. The recent heat waves in the area have triggered 2 episodes in the past 2 weeks.
After some internet searching, I found Lichen Sclerosis. And after reading about this I learned that it causes anal fissures.
Just wanted to share this information with this forum, as this might be the initial problem for some. It takes a skin biopsy to diagnosis and certain treatments to manage. This is a auto immune type skin disorder. Both men and women can suffer from this. You can have it on other parts of the body like back of hands, ankles, tops of feet, folds of the skin, anus, vulva and/or penis.
This causes severe itching, swelling, and most importantly, thinning and tearing of the skin.
Please let me know if anyone out there on this forum has ever heard of LS or has been diagnosed with LS.
Enjoy your day!
I am hoping to get into my doctor today for a skin biopsy, will keep you all posted.