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Few studies examine the range and combination of treatment strategies that women are actually using to reduce vulvodynia.<\/jats:p>\n               <\/jats:sec>\n               <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>Aim<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>To describe pain experiences and pain relief strategies of women with vulvodynia.<\/jats:p>\n               <\/jats:sec>\n               <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>Convenience sample, 60 women with vulvodynia (median age 32.5 [interquartile range {IQR} 8.5] years; 50 white, 10 racial\/ethnic minorities) completed PAINReportIt and reported use of drugs and alcohol and responded to open-ended questions. Univariate descriptive statistics and bivariate inferential tests were used to describe average pain intensity scores, alcohol use, smoking, number of pain relief strategies, and their associations. Women\u2019s open-ended responses about their pain experiences and drug and non-drug pain relief strategies (NDPRS) were analyzed for patterns.<\/jats:p>\n               <\/jats:sec>\n               <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>Outcomes<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>Our mixed methods analysis connected data from pain measures, prescribed treatments and self-reported behaviors with women\u2019s free responses. This enabled nuanced insights into women\u2019s vulvodynia pain experiences.<\/jats:p>\n               <\/jats:sec>\n               <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>Women\u2019s descriptions of their pain and suffering aligned with their reported severe pain and attempts to control their pain, with a median pain intensity of 6.7 (IQR 2.0) despite use of adjuvant drugs (median 2.0 [IQR 2.0]), and opioids (median 1.0 [IQR 2.0]). 36 women (60%) used alcohol to lessen their pain. 26 women (43%) listed combining analgesics and alcohol to relieve their pain. 30 women (50%) smoked cigarettes. 54 women (90%) used \u22651 NDPRS. The mean number of NDPRS used was 2.1\u00a0\u00b1\u00a01.3 (range 0\u20136). The 5 most common NDPRS from women\u2019s comments were herbal medicine (40%), acupuncture (27%), massage (22%), hypnosis (15%), and mental healthcare (13%).<\/jats:p>\n               <\/jats:sec>\n               <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>Clinical Implications<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>Severe pain in women with vulvodynia may be a clinical indicator of those at higher risk of combining prescription pain medications with alcohol, which are all central nervous system depressants and may potentiate overdose.<\/jats:p>\n               <\/jats:sec>\n               <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>Strengths and Limitations<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>This pilot study demonstrated that the mixed methods approach to help understand the complexity of vulvodynia was feasible. We identified data showing a reliance on a high-risk mix of prescriptions and alcohol to reduce vulvodynia pain and a high prevalence of cigarette smoking. However, as a pilot study, these results are considered preliminary; the sample may not be representative. Perhaps only women at the extreme end of the pain continuum participated, or women took the survey twice because identifiers were not collected.<\/jats:p>\n               <\/jats:sec>\n               <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>Despite attempts to reduce pain using multiple therapies, including alcohol, women\u2019s vulvodynia pain is severe and not controlled.<\/jats:p>\n               <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jsxm.2019.05.004","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2019,6,14]],"date-time":"2019-06-14T01:46:19Z","timestamp":1560476779000},"page":"1255-1263","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/elsevier_cm_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":18,"title":["Vulvodynia, \u201cA Really Great Torturer\u201d: A Mixed Methods Pilot Study Examining Pain Experiences and Drug\/Non-drug Pain Relief Strategies"],"prefix":"10.1093","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Judith M.","family":"Schlaeger","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Illinois at Chicago , Chicago, IL , USA"},{"name":"College of Nursing , Chicago, IL , USA"},{"name":"Department of Women, Children and Family Health Science , Chicago, IL , USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Heather A.","family":"Pauls","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Illinois at Chicago , Chicago, IL , USA"},{"name":"College of Nursing , Chicago, IL , USA"},{"name":"Office of Research Facilitation , Chicago, IL , USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Keesha L.","family":"Powell-Roach","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Illinois at Chicago , Chicago, IL , USA"},{"name":"College of Nursing , Chicago, IL , USA"},{"name":"Department of Biobehavioral Health Science , Chicago, IL , USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Patrick 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