BV or thrush

[boatgirl81]

Hi, some advice please. I seem to get pain when urinating about 2 days after sex pretty much every time lately. Am early 40's , things are not as moist as they used to be so use a lubricant every time. Have been tested for uti's and doctor doesn't think it's that. The pain and burning will last a few days and go away but return the next time. Getting more frequent as I age, could it be related to peri menopause?

I guess what I am asking is could it be BV or thrush, or menopause or something else? Anyone have experience? It never feels sore while having sexual and only a couple of days later

It could be vaginal dryness which is common from the perimenopause onwards. I was convinced I had some sort of low level thrush or BV which seemed to be triggered by sex but it turned out to be vaginal dryness even though this wasn't actually a problem during the actual sex. You can get oestrogen inserts like Vagifem and Ovestin from your GP, they are very, very low level and they do work! Moisturisers like Replens might relieve the symptoms but won't solve the problem. I would say my issues started with this when I was 44.

You can buy a canestan test kit for BV and thrush in the supermarket.

I would say to look up some of the peri menopausal symptoms as it could possibly be that. Dr Louise Newsome has some good resources:
fact sheets The dryness & irritation can be awful. Have you got any other menopause symptoms? Might be worth checking as they seem to be a random bunch of things that you wouldn’t necessarily put together!
Also the GP/ nurse can test for infections through urethral / vaginal swabs if the problem persists.

Thank you, I have had swabs and uti dips and everything is inconclusive. I had a blood test for menopause in June and that didn't show anything. I have done some research and am going to try some targeted probiotics and see if that helps.