Horrendous burning down there!

[BooseysMom]

Hi,
I may have posted this previously but can't find it now. I have this awful burning sensation coupled with tonnes of mucus. Sorry tmi! The nurse took a swab and said it's severe thrush so prescribed Canesten pessary and Estriol for the burning. This did absolutely nothing but increase the amount of mucus. The burning continued. I've just tried another pessary and Canesten cream but a few days later and it's the same. Has anyone got any ideas what I should do next? I can't take HRT as I have been on this for over a year and it didn't help. I just need to sort the burning. Oh and I've tried Vagisil too but that hasn't helped.
Thank you

Go back, if it is severe thrush you'll need more than a pessary whicn the nurse should know. You'll need oral antifungal combined with a course of pessaries not just one or 2.
Ask to see a GP for oral meds as the nurse seems a bit useless.
What did the swabs show can you see the results? Did you get bloods checked to see if any other issues going on?

Have you got a mirror out and looked? Persistant itching, burning and pain could be lichen sclerosus, which often presents with ghostly white plaques in the affected skin. It is treated with powerful steroids which sounds alarming but does bring it all back under control again. Either way, a doctor needs to have a look, preferably a vulval dermatologist, but a GP in the first instance.

I’m sorry to ask, OP, but is there any chance you could have picked up an STI?

Oh, and regardless, make sure you don’t use and soap/shower gel/scented stuff when you are washing. Just water or aqueous cream. Sorry if that is patronising. I’m sure you are aware of this.

Thanks for posting. I haven't had bloods. They just prescribed the pessary and useless cream and that was that! I suppose I'll have to go back.

Thanks for posting. Well the nurse checked it and couldn't see any redness. I haven't got any itching which is why I'm not convinced it's thrush.

No chance of that! I'm married and neither of us have strayed. But I do wonder whether I'm allergic to DH as it's always worse after sex!!

Could it be atrophy? If it’s worse after sex it could be the burning you’re experiencing.. vaginal estrogen will help (and can be taken separately from HRT).

Have you tried condoms as an interim measure? They may just give your vagina chance to settle down. He could maybe have candida himself, men don't always display symptoms. You could be passing it back and forth.

I would get back to gps, ask for oral meds as well as pessaries to really blitz your system, use condoms in the meantime, then when settled add vaginal oestrogen. I know you say you can't take hrt but topical vaginal oestrogen poses absolutely no risk at all and of you dohave atrophy it will get things back to how they were.

If it's atrophy which doesn't always mean actual 'dryness' you need to use the cream for that long term. It can take weeks for it to work so you have to keep going- 14 days in a row then twice a week after- forever.

It's not a case of use some for a day or two.

You can also take an oral tablet for thrush- ask at the pharmacy. It often works better than using the pessary.

I can't take HRT as I have been on this for over a year and it didn't help.
Do you mean you were on HRT for a year and had to stop?
Or you were on it for a year and stopped because it didn't work?

Thanks jingling
I tried Estriol cream but the mucus increased even more and it didn't help the burning.
With HRT I started in gel and tablets and it didn't help so I switched to patches and still no help so they increased them to 75 and I had very sore swollen breasts so came off it.
I don't want anything again.

Thanks Janiie
I think that's a very good point about us passing it between us. I'm now too worried to have sex and have a low sex drive anyway. It's not good for him however as he's the opposite! I'll tell him we need to use condoms for a while like the old days!

Not all thrush give you an itch…nhs swabs only for albicans strain…I had parapasollis…..no itch, no discharge….just a burn and pain….canesten didn’t touch it…flucanazole didn’t touch it…..took a daily itraconazole for a month to clear it …..now on blissel gel twice weekly…all good for 14 months

I think you're not giving things time. Yes, you will get more discharge with using vaginal estrogen but if you want to the burning to stop, you may have to accept that. When I first started using it years ago, it took a good 3 months or more for me to notice improvement to my bladder and burning.
The discharge isn't an issue- use panty liners (unscented) and it will settle down.

I had severe burning with no other symptoms and it ended up being bacterial vaginosis. Just an option to check for. Also worse or flared up after sex so definitely ask about being swabbed for that.

I have, what the doctors call, deep seated thrush (oh joys of getting older). At the beginning I had the normal thrush treatment which didn’t get rid of it so they then went down the line of lichen sclerosis so sent me for a biopsy. That was the most painful experience. The results came back as thrush so I have to take a flucazonale tablet every week. Initially for 6 months but as soon as I stopped it came back so I'm on another 6 month course. I can see me being on it for life at this rate as I can feel if I miss a tablet even for one day.
Hope you get it sorted out.

Have you had your blood glucose tested? Undiagnosed diabetes causes thrush. Do you eat a lot of sugar?

Try oestrogen vaginal pessaries rathar than cream? they do not give any discharge at all.
Definitely worth getting oral antifungal meds to work alongside topical canestan.

The discharge is normal and shows the lining of the vagina is healing and functioning as normal.

There is no 'seepage' with Vagifem like there is with cream, but they all increase discharge, as that's what they are supposed to do.

Also if @BooseysMom as external soreness, she ought to apply the cream there not just internally.

@BooseysMom Did the nurse use one of the swabs that are available in supermarkets etc where you can do your own test for thrush? Where they show a result in seconds?

Or did she send the sample off to be tested?
Have you also been tested for BV?

I am a T2 diabetic so along with the menopause I'm living my best life

I'm sorry :(

Jingling
No I don't think so. I do have a sweet tooth and have sugar in hot drinks but am cutting down. I don't have time to go back to the doctor over and over again.. that's why I keep leaving it.

Jingling
I have no idea what swabs she did. It must have been sent away though. I've had BV and would say it's definitely not that. There is no bad smell. The discharge is have is exactly like fertile mucus and it drives me mental so I just want to rip my whole vagina out!!