My Story of Healing from Vulvodynia

by Cindy Harrington, CNC, CHS, CINHC, CYT & Master Nutrition Response Testing® Practitioner
Center for Nutritional Healing

It's an understatement to say I am passionate about helping people of all ages get well and stay well with Nutrition Response Testing. It has changed my health and my life for the better. My greatest desire is to share the healing with others. Here's why.

It all started twelve years ago with what I thought was a vaginal yeast infection that wouldn't go away. After several months, I got a diagnosis of vulvodynia - "chronic vulvar pain with no identifiable cause." It was horrible. I was in excruciating pain and, like most women with the condition, wasn't comfortable telling most people what was going on with me. You may be surprised to learn that research shows about 16% of women suffer from vulvodynia at some point in their lives, some chronically.

At the time, I was confused and became isolated and depressed. You see, the prognosis from traditional medicine isn't great for this condition. A lot of women live with it with little hope of recovery. Despite the pain and heartache, I was determined not to let my diagnosis define my life and worked hard to get well.

Throughout those initial years, I experienced great improvement through changes to my nutrition (with the candida-control and low-oxalate diets), physical therapy, chiropractic, yoga, and traditional medicine (injections of Traumeel helped with the pain). Even so, I continued to have horrible, unexplained flareups that would take me months, even years, to recover from, only to have another flare-up later. Since I had made some progress and wanted to help other women navigate a very difficult situation, I became a lay-support person for local members of the National Vulvodynia Association.

Then I discovered Nutrition Response Testing and my health and healing was taken to a whole new level. It was November 2015 during yet another flare-up. I confided in my chiropractic physician that even though I had all sorts of knowledge about nutrition and health, I still felt like I was on an island handling my own health. He immediately recommended a doctor of naturopathic medicine that had helped his brother. He said she could provide me with answers and help.

I went to see her immediately. She tested me in the office via Nutrition Response Testing and it was amazing. She identified what was stressing my unique body and recommended safe, natural supplements to handle those stressors. She even dosed those supplements based on what my body needed, not the suggested dose. Interestingly, I found out I needed a lot less than was typically recommended. I saw improvement within the first few days. Then, a longer period of healing ensued.

My husband, Dr. Joel Clyman, and I striking a partner yoga pose in 2012. He hasn't left my side since we met in early 2006, around the time of my diagnosis of vulvodynia.

It's two and a half years later and I am in such a better place. My pelvic pain is dramatically improved (about 80% better) and the accompanying hemorrhoids are gone. If I have a flare-up, I get tested and it is short-lived and long-term damage/pain is avoided. I have more energy, better immunity, improved breast health, no more premenstrual symptoms (i.e. moodiness and cramps), no more perimenopausal symptoms (i.e. hot flashes and memory issues). I lost 16 pounds just by working on my overall health. The list goes on and on.

Fast forward to today and I am so proud to say I have gotten the most advanced training available (it took 16 trips to Florida!) and am now a master practitioner of Nutrition Response Testing! I have a beautiful office in Royersford, outside Philadephia called Center for Nutritional Healing where I help women and men with all sorts of issues, including chronic pelvic pain (men can have it too). Having the training and skills to practice Nutrition Response Testing is the greatest gift of my life.

If you are a woman or man suffering from chronic pain, including chronic pelvic or sexual pain, feel free to be in touch with me. I offer a complimentary 10-minute discovery call, in-person visits at my office in Pennsylvania, and telehealth visits. There is hope.