Kelly Brown, a 51-year-old restaurant owner from Cornwall, endured numerous hospital visits, was prescribed four rounds of ineffective antibiotics, and suffered through six weeks of sleepless nights before finally receiving a correct diagnosis.

Over a year ago, I began experiencing soreness and dryness in my intimate area, initially attributing these issues to menopause. I consulted my GP and tried various creams and pessaries, which provided only temporary relief as the symptoms always returned.

One evening, while working at my restaurant, I suddenly felt unbearably uncomfortable. The pain in my vagina was so intense that I struggled to walk or sit. I had to leave work early to go home.

Here’s a detailed account of what unfolded next…

June 24, 2025

In excruciating pain, I headed to A&E. After a long wait, a young male doctor examined me and suggested I might have two Bartholin’s cysts, which are reportedly common in women of my age. However, he wasn’t completely confident in his diagnosis since they weren’t manifesting in the usual way.

I quickly searched online and discovered through the NHS that a Bartholin’s cyst is a ‘soft lump near the vaginal opening, varying in size from a pea to a golf ball. It can cause pain or discomfort when walking, sitting, or having sex.’ I was advised to return to the hospital the next day for cyst removal.

Kelly Brown, a 51-year-old restaurateur from Cornwall, tried various creams and pessaries which would give her temporary relief from intimate itching and pain, but the symptoms always came back

June 26

It turns out that they aren’t cysts, but the doctors don’t know what they are so they’ve taken two biopsies. I’ve now got stitches and am feeling emotionally and physically bruised. I thought I was going in for a relatively straightforward procedure and now the doctors are talking about cancer. I think I’m in shock. They’ve given me antibiotics.

June 28

I’m not feeling great today as on top of the agonising pain down there, I’m now dealing with horrible constipation. I feel really low and a bit defeated. My husband calls the hospital and gets a prescription for a hardcore laxative and an anaesthetic gel. They both help.

June 29

The antibiotics don’t seem to be working, I’m still very swollen and sore. I can’t work – in fact I sleep all day. My husband had a look (lucky him!) and said the lumps seem smaller but are still red and sore. I wonder if the last few days of stress have had an effect. It’s also horribly itchy. Honestly, it’s a nightmare.

June 30

The lumps are the same size if not bigger. I’m so sore and bruised I can’t stop crying. It’s the lowest I’ve felt since it all began. I ask for more antibiotics as my course has finished, but the doctor says the prescribed amount should be enough.

July 1

Groundhog Day. I’m fed up with the pain being the same every day. I’m still struggling to walk or sit properly, I’m stuck at home and I can’t work. I’m in limbo, waiting for the results.

July 4

Today’s delight is thrush. I still can’t drive.

Medics initially believed Kelly had two Bartholin’s cysts, which can cause pain or discomfort when you walk, sit down or have sex

July 10

The hospital has called. The swab results came back as normal, but the biopsy results will not be in for at least one more week, possibly two. The consultant advised me to contact my GP about the stinging I’m getting when I wee. She says it might be a UTI or the pain could be due to my ongoing tenderness and swelling. I ask my GP for a stronger painkiller, and the nurse says the pain is worse because I’m moving around too much during the day and I should rest more.

July 13

I’m resting my vagina today – a sentence I never thought I’d say.

July 14

I just saw my GP – she said: ‘You poor thing how are you even managing to sit down?’ She’s prescribed different antibiotics and stronger pain killers.

July 17

There’s still no improvement. The antibiotics haven’t worked. I clearly still have an infection. I’m feeling low if I’m honest.

This afternoon I got a call with the swab and biopsy results – they show nothing sinister. I’m taking that as no cancer. The doctor says she’s changing my antibiotics. The hospital is calling me on Monday to chat things through, but I feel in limbo.

July 21

The consultant called, they still don’t know what’s going on. I finally have an appointment with a dermatologist arranged, so fingers crossed they can work it out. It feels never-ending.

July 22

At last I see the dermatologist. When I go into the consulting room there’s a gynaecologist present too. The dermatologist knows straight away what it is when she sees my vulva is white – she says it looks almost like papier-mâché. After six weeks I finally have a name for the condition that’s causing me so much pain. Lichen sclerosus. It’s a chronic skin condition that ‘most commonly affects the genital area’ and causes ‘the skin to become thin, white and patchy’ which ‘can lead to itching, pain, tearing and discomfort especially during sex, urination and everyday movement’. Yes, all the delightful things I’ve been banging on about for a month. Not dangerous, but I’ll need to manage it with long-term treatment. It’s more common in women, particularly around or after menopause. The exact cause is not fully understood but it is thought to be linked to an overactive immune system or hormonal change. It’s not sexually transmitted, nor contagious. There’s also no cure but it can be managed. I’m still a mess but I at least I know what it is.

Now, I manage my lichen sclerosus by using steroid cream twice a week and using a barrier cream down there when I shower (I use Cetraben) because if shampoo or shower gel touches that area it can aggravate the condition.

Emotionally, it’s taken a toll. I’m anxious about being intimate with my husband, I’m scared of going swimming and I’m petrified of it returning. Every time I feel a twinge of soreness down there, I’m convinced it’s going to come back and I’m going to be in significant pain again.

There are lichen sclerosus support groups online which I find quite helpful and it’s a comfort to know I’m not alone in this.

In total, I had four lots of antibiotics, spent six weeks in pain and off work. Everyone in the NHS was kind and caring (apart from in A&E on the first night but that’s another story). I just wish I could have seen a dermatologist or a gynaecologist sooner, and that more women could know about the condition as it’s more common than I ever imagined. Hopefully, this piece will mean some women will be saved the pain I suffered.