The VP Foundation was incorporated in the United States (North Carolina) as a nonprofit organization in October 1992. It was started to end the isolation of women suffering from vulvar pain and related disorders, and to give them reliable information, hope, support, safety, and success in achieving freedom from pain.
In early 1993, the Foundation instituted a membership program for women, their families and friends, and interested health care professionals. Subsequently, medical doctors, nurses, physical therapists, nutritionists, and other health care professionals joined the VPF. In recent years, men experiencing parallel symptoms have also joined the Foundation.
The Foundation’s immediate purpose in 1993 was to reach large numbers of women suffering with vulvar pain, and to create public awareness of intractable genital pain as much more serious than a "yeast infection." During the next decade, over 60,000 people contacted the VPF as a result of publications in the New York Times, Ladies’ Home Journal, Women’s Health Digest, The Scientist; broadcasts of the Bertice Berry Show, NBC News; the internet, and more.
Between 1992 and 2004, the VPF sponsored 31 Research Seminars throughout the United States and one in Canada. Nationally recognized researchers, clinicians, and therapists educated 1,787 women, men, spouses, partners, and health care professionals, resulting in recovery for the majority of sufferers.
Since 1993 the Foundation has published 29 issues of The VP Foundation Newsletter. The Newsletter features treatments which actually work, as reported by large numbers of people who have recovered. The most successful treatments are those related to connective tissue stabilization (low oxalate diet, timed calcium citrate, Ox-Absorb, NAG, HTO) developed through a research project known as the Pain Project; topical estrogen, physical therapy, especially for pelvic floor muscle rehabilitation; natural therapies, including emu oil; and guaifenesin.
Based on research and overall treatment responses reported by thousands of women and growing numbers of men, it is evident that genital pain is associated with a connective tissue disorder that can also involve muscle, urological, and intestinal discomfort (fibromyalgia, interstitial cystitis, irritable bowel syndrome).
The Foundation has worked with a renowned senior biomedical research scientist, Clive C. Solomons, Ph.D., director of Scientific Connections laboratory, Denver, Colorado, for many years. He discovered the connection between hyperoxaluria, connective tissue instability, and pain, conducting a large research study known as The Pain Project for nearly two decades. Dr. Solomons is currently working with the VPF to publish a Handbook on effective therapies developed through his research.
During the past year, the Foundation has been working with Michael Liebman, Ph.D., of the University of Wyoming, to conduct a new research study for assessment of hyperoxaluria.
The Foundation published a milestone resource book, The Low Oxalate Cookbook, in 1997. It collected all information extant on the oxalate content of foods and beverages at that time. Nearly 5,000 books were sold, including over 200 copies that were donated to libraries. Since 2002, the VPF has collaborated with the University of Wyoming to assess the oxalate content of more than 400 additional foods, beverages, and herbal supplements. The resulting data has been reported in The Low Oxalate Cookbook – Book Two, and VPF Newsletters.
Tax deductible donations may be made to The VP Foundation, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization. Donations may be designated for (a) General Support, (b) The Oxalate Testing Fund for Foods and Beverages, (c) The Pain Project (research by Scientific Connections), and (d) the Urinary Oxalate Testing Fund (research by University of Wyoming). For further information, please write the VPF at Post Office Drawer 177, Graham, North Carolina 27253, USA.
