To ask WTF is wrong with my Vag?

[WTFiswrongwithmyVag]

NCd obv. Apols for TMI.

Doctor has done a swab and said it is unlikely to be thrush or BV. I did a home test kit that said the same. Dr said most likely eczema and to keep it moisturised , not use soap, blah blah. I don't anyway, just wash with water.

Had a fairly comprehensive STI screening and nothing detected.

It itches like fuck. All the time. On my vulva skin. And is sore sore sore.

Discharge does not smell. It is usually white and not much of it, but it dries inside my vulva like a smear of toothpaste which can be rubbed off. For one week a month mid cycle it is clear and runny and copious. The itching is far worse then.

Sex irritates it. Wiping after the loo irritates it. It keeps me awake at night with The Fucking Itch. If I scratch it, it gets even more sore.

FML. It has been like this for literally Years. Worse at times, better at times.

I've tried yogurt, tea tree oil, vinegar, canesten, HC cream, probiotics, antibiotics, low carb diet, no yeast diet, cotton undies, non bio washing powder...Not sure what else I can try.

Anyone else had this and can point me to some help?

Have you see a gynaecologist? There are ones specialising in dermatology. I would ask your GP for a referral ASAP.

If i eat too much sugar over a month or so, i get v itchy, particularly in the inside of my thighs and all over
I dont have candida but generally end up with a rash which disappears overnight after a small layer of iodine

Not sure what it is but in my case definitely diet related and definitely sugar

I had a friend with similar, so so itchy. She realised it was eating chocolate that triggered it, she stopped and it never happened again.
A few years later similar symptoms in another friend, I mentioned about the chocolate being a possible trigger and she also found that it all cleared up when she stopped eating chocolate.

It could be a variety of different conditions, mostly treatable. Ask your GP for a dermatology appointment. The waiting list is usually rather long, so you may try your local sexual health clinic for an opinion in the meantime. Go to bed without any underwear. Try prescribed steroids (worked for me anyway, in my case it was psoriasis). Get a diabetes blood test if you haven't already. BV often smells like a dead rat that has decomposed in the sun, so I guess you would know if it is that. It sounds like a weeping skin disease, but only a medical specialist could tell you. Don't suffer in silence, it took me years to find something that relieved raging skin...but it was soooo nice when I did!

www.newsonhealth.co.uk/news/vaginal-dryness-the-last-menopause-taboo

Honestly Mumsnet is amazing at times. I don't need this advice right now - but it's been such an education to read about this. So many knowledgeable helpful people.

Thank you

@ZoeandChandon

Omg, yes absolutely chocolate for me too
Which is why its flares up when I'm on a PMT binge

You need a referral to a dermatologist. It could be eczema, but there are other possibilities, such as lichen sclerosus. Any way round, if it’s sore and discharging then it’s not fair of the GP to essentially send you away, so I’d be going back and making it very clear how much this is affecting your life, and insisting on a referral. Nobody should suffer this sort of thing. I know how hard it is to get ‘women’s ailments’ treated with urgency, still in 2020, but it’s not on. If a man presented with an itchy, sore, discharging penis I’ll bet it would be taken more seriously. Keep at it.

Sudocrem Care and Protect, in the tube, makes it more bearable OP. It's got me through the last few years.

Lichen sclerosis. Need to see Dermatologist.

The clear discharge for a week a month - is this when you ovulate? If so, it's normal. But the amount/duration can increase during the perimenopause. Perhaps that is a separate issue from your itching, although the itching could all be tied up with hormonal changes too (dep on your age). Piriton might help.

This may sound a bit mad but how are your iron levels?

Try a multivit with iron. Can’t do any harm.

I had similar and noticed if the itchyness was worse when I gave blood, i failed the iron test. Multivits and i’ve never had a problem since.

worth a try. As i said won’t do any harm...

A revelation to think it’s chocolate!! I’ve been really suffering but also eating way too much chocolate and sweets... going to cut down and see if it helps. Mine is really bad the week before my period, drive myself mad itching (especially in evenings) it’s awful

A competent doctor at a sexual health clinic will diagnose within seconds.
I was diagnosed with LS a few years ago. Huge relief to be on correct regime of meds after years of self treating for what I thought was thrush and BV 😥

I had this for a few years and the swabs came back as thrush but the one off treatment only cleared it up for a week. I had a fabulous young female GP who took me seriously and prescribed daily low dose fluconazole for three months.

I had the toothpaste thing once that you describe. It was definitely thrush (went away with treatment) but agree with a PP, possibly a different strain. I initially got rid of my recurring one by using boric acid capsules (about 10 years ago). Now I get a start of a one once a year maybe...if that.

I had this but on the very outside.

Coated it in fucidin (sp) as an experiment.

It worked! What does that mean it was?

Try it, OP.

I could have written this. Always thought it was thrush and tried every thrush treatment, pro-biopics etc. I finally went to an STI clinic last year who swabbed and found no trace of thrush. I started washing with aqueous cream (water on its own can be too drying) and apply Dermobase when it's sore. I wouldn't say I'm 100% free of irritation but I'm 95% better than I was. Agree that a trip to an STI clinic is your next step. Hope you get some answers soon, it's bloody miserable.

I have this exact thing and it started after I had the mirena coil fitted. Every month like clockwork for about a week. Had lots of swabs done and given quite frankly useless advice by GP and nurses. I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s hormonal and will probably always be there for one week every month so I just make sure I give in between my legs a good airing! Sleep with no pants on, apply a bit of thrush cream when the itching gets too bad (not that it really helps anything) and buy decent cotton underwear. I’m pleased to say that although I still get thrush every month it’s not half as bad as it was. GL

Are you on the pill? When I lived abroad I went to the doctors a couple of times thinking I had thrush, but the test kept coming back negative. I had a few other issues as well and the (female) doctor sort of shrugged and said “Some people just aren’t sorted to hormonal contraception”. Not hugely helpful perhaps, but things have improved since I stopped taking the pill.

I agree that proper sexual health clinics are in general far better than GPs at treating anything gynaecological though. Good luck!

Have you been tested to see if you're a Group B Strep carrier? It's not something that is routinely done in the UK - but it's in our population and can lead to all sorts of problems for newborn babies. It's also not an STI. I tested positive for it when I was carrying my now 15 year old, having gone to see my ante-natal consultant thinking I simply had thrush or something, she took a swab... back came the results, and thus my plans for a home-birth were thoroughly thwarted! Interestingly, my community midwife thought that I had an STI when she read the added on bit to my file... [anger] From experience, all I can say is this: it itches to the point where you feel like you're going mad, nothing works, and I warn all of my pregnant friends about it, stressing that they'll need to ask for a test to make sure they're not carriers. Nothing major if you are, there might be flare-ups, but you can take antibiotics for them, if you're tested as a carrier and pregnant you'll need a lot of IV antibiotics (hopefully) prior to going into labour (I was induced with my 15 year old and in hospital for 36 hours as a result - but as I know babies can and do die from contracting this during vaginal births... we were lucky). I'd ask for a test, just to rule it out, if I were you, OP.

Lichen Schlerosis here too. I haven't had a flare up in ages, but a bit of hydrocortisone is all that was needed to settle any pain and itching. Good luck

Are you taking any medicines? Long term antihistamine use can cause problems with vaginal dryness for e.g.

I'm currently pregnant and have what you're describing. Doc says not thrush or bv and just down to hormones but my God its unbearable and gp wont do anything about it and midwives just keep referring me back to gp. I've had thrush before but the pain/itching/swelling/burning was nothing like this. I literally had to put ice cubes in my knickers and self medicating with thrush cream to try and rake the worst off it. I can barely sleep, its terrible

One more thing I found helpful Vit. D and Vit B 12 with complex. Especially the B as it can help with skin problems, and many other things.