I've been a lurker here for several months now, but recently ran into a real conundrum. I am 49, have had irregular periods since going off the birth-control Pill 15 months ago (I was on Norinyl 1+50 for over 10 years), and have high FSH levels according to bloodwork by an endocrinologist. Both gyns I saw recently seem to pooh-pooh that I my current symptoms of watery (no odor) discharge and vaginal burning (no itching) could be due to atrophic vaginitis (or at least the early stages of it). The first doc examined a vaginal swab using a non-microscope piece of automatic equipment and said "no yeast or BV" present. She prescribed hydrocortisone cream to use on the vulva where she saw some redness down near the area where I have a hemherroid. She said, when ASKED, that I *could* use Estrace cream a couple times a week if I wanted. I went to see another gyn at he same practice 2 days later. He said it looked like I was currently ovulating (I guess by what my vagina or cervix looked like) and that he thought I still had estrogen enough in there. He looked at the vaginal swab under a microscope & said I had "some BV" in the specimen. Ther wasn't a lot & he said that's why the automated office equipment didn't catch it the time before. OK--so he prescribed 5 nights of Metrogel antibiotic cream. The second day I was on it, my vagina was way bunier than what I started out with. I called the office & the nurse said to keep using the Metrogel until the 5 nights worth was used. Like a stupid I did, and then had the burniness (like Drano!) & I white globs of goop coming out vaginally. Yep--a yeast infection. Saw the second gyn again--he said it was now yeast & prescribed Gynazole-1 for 1 night. Once these treatments were done, I was left with a raw-feeling vagina & still some watery (no odor) discharge & plenty of burny feeling in the vagina itself (vulva is not red & seems OK). So now I am wondering if I was misdiagnosed & overtreated. Could perimenopause/atrophic vaginitis be the true thing going on? I have some Estrace vag. cream & Premarin vag. cream, but am reluctant to try either, since I am under the impression yeast 'likes" estrogen & will grow in its presence. I guess what I will ned to do is go get a third opinion at some other gyn practice. In the meantime, any thoughts, suggestions?

Thanks so much for listening!
hugs,
Maggie C.

Maggie,

Ugh, it makes one want to give up on doctors entirely, doesn't it?

You can have burning with vulvodynia (vaginal/vulval pain). It possibly is related to estrogen, but there are other conditions that can cause this. Some people pass calcium "crystals" from food that burn the vagina via urination, and must go on a special diet (the same one given to people who are prone to kidney stones). Also allergies (some people develop allergies to their husband's sperm!). There can also be issues with some of the glands in the vagina - forgetting the names of these. You might want to do a google search on vulvodynia; there have also been some discussions on this here at Power-Surge, and a search should yield some results.

I'd DEFINITELY start fresh with a new doctor. There are 2 national vulvodynia associations (or used to be - again a google search will get you to them), and I'd imagine there is a doctor registry available that can tell you if there's someone in your area who might be a little more knowledgeable.

Meanwhile, if the hydrocortisone cream helped initially, you might want to try that. Other ideas: vitamin E oil, you can either open a capsule, or it's possible to purchase a bottle of the oil. My daughter swears by tea tree oil, and there's also aloe vera gel, which would possibly be quite soothing. I had awful vaginal itching that lasted for years, and then just went away - so strange! The only way I could bring down the itching and redness was with Benedryl cream.

Wishing you luck with this - it's no fun feeling a constant burn in that area.

Hi, I am new to this board. I seem to be having the same issue that several of you are. For the last 3 months I have been having the vaginal burning, although my seems to be more in the area of the uretha and clitoris. It flares up at different times of the day and especially if I have taken a bath the night before.
I have been to the gyn and to the uroligist. The urologist did a cystoscopy and found nothing. the Gyn has had me on 2 rounds of Flagyl helped but then came back, then did a round of Leviquin, helped then came back. I do feel like I need to urinate a lot, but the burning is not any worse when I go, it is almost a relief.
The only thing they ever said I have is a BV, at one time there was a trace of blood in my urine at the gyn, 3 days later at the urologist there was none.
I would really appreciate anything you can say to help or suggest. It is certainly not sex, because we are not doing that. My poor husband-he is a saint.

shebug

Hi Shebug,

Well, I'm sitting here with burning urethra, and know it's because I had a small amount of white wine at supper time. I have a condition called Interstitial Cystitis (bladder discomfort in the absence of any infection), and have to be careful with acidic foods.
Do you notice if your discomfort is related to food intake? Or if you go too long without drinking anything?
Some of us simply develop sensitive bladders, and have to baby them somewhat.

Here are some things that may help the burning for you:

1. Chew a couple of TUMS and wash them down with a glass of water. You could also stir a tsp. of baking soda into a glass of water and drink that (do this only if you don't have heart trouble - it's a big hit of sodium). In both instances, this will quickly alkalinize your urine and provide some relief.

2. Prop a hot-water bottle against your vaginal area. This is very soothing, especially if you feel any kind of "spasming" of the pelvic muscles. It will increase blood flow to the area, which helps healing.

3. Good old Advil can help with this kind of pain.

4. Drink water throughout the day, sip sip sip!

5. Watch acidic foods such as tomatoes and citrus fruits, soda, alcohol, chocolate, etc.

6. Watch bath oils, soaps, etc. These can be quite irritating.

7. Be sure you wear breatheable cotton undies.

Hope this is helpful - good luck!

JJ

Hi,

I'm new to this site but I must say I find it very interesting and informational.

I too, like you girls have been experiencing the burning vaginal discomfort, but the thing is, this was not a problem when I started out on this adventure!!! I had an UTI a couple of months ago, and just figured, go to the Dr., get something and I'll be over it in no time!!! Wrong! The medicine I first was prescribed, I can't tell you the name of it, but it seemed like it had "Sulfa" something in it, made me extremely sick! I couldn't take it, and had to take a 1/2 a doseage because it was over a weekend, until I could get something different on the Monday. By Monday I was really, really, sick, fever, headache, nauseous, no appetite, cold one minute, hot the next!!! Everything seemed to calm down after a couple of days and I was back to work. I was due for my period which came and went as usual. No problems, and then I noticed some vaginal burning, nothing horrible, but I noticed it! I had my yearly physical right about then and I mentioned it to my Dr., and I told her I had treated it with an OTC yeast medication, since I figured I had been on an antibiotic and they will cause those to happen. She ordered my 2 refills of Diflucan, and I thought this will take care of it. A couple of days later after having intercourse w/ my husband I had the most terrible burning for practically an entire day! I couldn't figure out what the heck was going on, I took my last Diflucan, and after so many days, no relief!!!! My Dr. then prescribed a vaginal yeast cream, which did nothing for me. Left me feeling like I was burned out.

I then saw a different Dr., who did a vaginal wet mount and said that I had BV, and prescribed Flagl for 7 days, nothing but lingering burning yet. It's hard to describe, sometimes burns on the lower posterior area, and then other areas. Well, that is good, but please tell me why I am still getting this burning then???? Is it menopause related, and due to estrogen. She is going to have me use a cream which she said could give me some relief, and I am going to go to a GYN next week. Everything tells me this is the big "M" and I am going to have to deal with this for a while!!!! I asked her about the cream and if there were risks to using it, I just need to get imput from someone else who is dealing with this and can offer me some advice.

Thanks so much for reading my book!

Marilynjean,

I sure can identify with your post! I've had the same pesky burning on and off for years. I'm 7 years post meno. Sometimes sex sets it off, or sweating, or even bathing, sometimes it just happens. I too have tried to treat it with yeast cream, ouch, ouch, ouch!!! Hint: if you don't see any white cottage cheese discharge, it's probably not yeast, though it feels like it. I've been on estrogen cream for years and sometimes it helps prevent the burn by correcting dryness but sometimes it seems to bring it on and/or aggravate it.

Here is what helps me: stopping all vaginal applications, whether they're estrogen or anti-yeast or even just moisturizers and oils. Once my vagina feels raw and irritated, even vitamin E oil seems to burn it more. Ditching underwear and tight pants. Not using any soap in and around the vagina and, sadly, abstaining from sex. (Here you need a saintly and understanding hubby with a solid self esteem). I found that Uristat, which is a bladder painkiller used for UTI, gives me some temporary relief but I would not use it more than 2 days in a row, as it says on the label.

With patience and gentleness it eventually improves. Good luck!

Annie

Annie,

Thanks so much for your advice. I just have been struggling with this for the past month and a half, and it really gets depressing. I keep thinking, why did this come on so fast, maybe it really didn't, I just didn't pay attention to it, or further more, any menopausal symptons. So, basically your're saying, it's best not to use any type of creams, like the estrogen cream she is suggesting, I just fear having it turn really bad again, at least where it is at now I can deal with it better, where before I was going crazy... I'm due to get my period in 6 days and I'm noticing it a little more today than I have in the past days. It doesn't help sitting at a desk all the time, I'm a receptionist, so spend alot of the day sitting and this is really uncomfortable for me at work.

Did you notice this the past 7 years then, or has it subsided???

Thanks for the information!

I also found that drinking a couple glasses of cranberry juice a day helped me a lot!! Smucker's make one with Spenda so the amount of sugar/calories/carbohydrates are very low.

MarilynJean,

I'm sorry if I gave you the impression that estrogen cream would not work for you. That's not what I meant. I've been on vaginal estrogen creams of various brands for several years starting about 1 year post meno and most of the time it works well. I had painful intercourse before I got on it and after just a few days of using it, sex was enjoyable again !

No, what I meant was that sometimes, for unknown reasons, I get the burning vulva/vagina and when that happens, THEN the cream seems to irritate me more, so I have to stop using it until the burning goes away, which, so far, it's always managed to kindly do on its own, with the help of gentle care, as I outlined in my previous post. When it clears up I start using estrogen cream again to keep my vagina functional.

I too have a job which involves sitting a lot and that's really hard when I have this blasted burning. My heart goes out to you! I know how depressing the constant burning can be. It's hard to think about anything else, right? I hope you feel better soon. Please don't hesitate to try out the estrogen cream as you GYN suggested. It may just be the right thing for you. Good luck!

Annie

Hi Girls,

I can so relate to everything you are experiencing. I am 47, soon to be 48 in November and never imagined all this vaginal, urogenital problems. I have been struggling with vaginal infection of some months now and always feel like I have a UTI (past two months , doctor checked and no UTI). My doctor feels it is due to vaginal tissue thinning (atropy) due to decrease estrogen.

I started using estriol suppositories but felt a yeast infection coming on. The estriol did seem to provide some moisture and seem to do some good if only I can get rid of the yeast completely. I used it everyday for about 5 days straight, so now my doctor has me using it 3X a week and doing other things in between, like using lactobacillus suppositories.

I might add also that when you see you gyno, ask them to check your vaginal pH, to prevent vaginal infections the vaginal pH is ideally 3.8 - 4.5 (acidic), the more alkaline the more prone to infection such as BV, but a high pH is also indicative of vaginal atrophy. My vaginal pH at one time was 6.5 but recently checked and it is around 5. The pH level does change, as you get closer to your period, the pH
does change throughout the cycle becoming more alkaline toward your period which yeast love.

I am so tired of this...if any of you gals have any success in solving this problem,
please share it.

Take care everyone and feel free to PM me anytime. Wish we didn't have to struggle through sooo...... many symptoms.

Plumeria

Hi Annie,

Well, I just have to tell you what I have been doing and what has been going on with me. I had to cancel my appointment with my GYN because I had gotten my period. Didn't think that would be too good to have since I know they will want to do a thorough examination. The funny thing is, the day before I got my period I actually was feeling really pretty good, no vaginal burning, nothing, I only noticed that I have developed some anal irritation, a visible hemorroid which feels about as uncomfortable as the burning I was experiencing vaginally. WONDERFUL! WHAT NEXT! So, I have been dealing with that. I think a person becomes super sensitive to that sensation of "the burn" and it becomes just a natural thought, not good, "I don't want to be sensing this all the time!"
So, anyway, I have been reading tons and tons of information on the vulvadynia website about vaginal problems and there are tons of woman experiencing some of the same things we are talking about. I really think in our situation it is hormones, and that is what I am going to discuss with my doctor. I will definitely have them check my PH like you said. I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia 15 years ago, and after reading more information on that it sounds like that is hormone related too, and I feel I might be on to something with all of this. I never really pursued further after I was diagnosed, didn't really have the means to keep going to the Dr. all the time, just to tell me the same thing, but feel there is a connection.

Since my last Dr. appt. was 3 weeks and it took forever to get my results back it seemed, I have not been on any meds, and the discomfort has subsided to tolerable, but still noticeable. I can successfully have intercourse with my husband, no discomfort during, but some irritation the next day, but not "Drano Burn" like it had been!!! Since I felt my immune system was low after all this I've went through, I decided I should be taking some Vitamin A to help boost it along, as well as taking Calcium Citrate 3X a day, drinking cranberry juice every day, some yogurt, and avoiding sugars as much as possible, and yes, drinking, drinking, drinking WATER! I have been taking "warm, soaking baths usually every evening, with no soaps to irritate anything, and one woman on the vulvadynia site said, that she used Vitamin E, opened up the tabs and applied it every day. The information that all of you have given has been very benoficial. I am prepared to go see the GYN and ask him questions that I would not have thought of without your imput. I am open to the cream that you have suggested, but am extemely interested in doing this the most natural and healthy way I can. Like you all, "I want quality of life!" My children are all grown now, and I have 3 grandchildren who I want to be able to run, and laugh with, and enjoy with good health!" I will post with my findings next week! Thanks so much to you all, and if "you" get any news please reply! Marilynjean

Marilynjean,

I'm glad you're burning is better. Since my last post, I've been re-reading The V Book by Elizabeth Steward. She is a GYN with 12 years of specialization in vulvo-vaginal problems. I highly recommend the book.

After reading her info on V (her abbreviation for vulvo-vaginal) irritants, I think I figured out why my estrogen cream may have caused burning. It's the base that the cream is made of that may be the problem: it contains propylene glycol, a type of alcohol. Now that's a catch 22: without the cream, my vagina will get dry and burn, but with it my vulva gets irritated and burns!!! I'm going to my GYN on monday and will renew my estrogen cream prescription but ask that it be compounded with petrolatum only. Dr. Steward recommends to use petrolatum or vegetable wax for the base if you're sensitive to propylene glycol.

Further, I also noticed that the supposedly mild soap I occasionally used, Aveeno, also has propylene glycol in it and sodium laureth sulfate, another known V irritant. Drat! Dr. Steward recommends no soap if your V feels raw, or Dove soap only. And she counsels to shampoo out of the shower, over the sink instead, as some of the shampoo lather could find its way on the vulva and irritate it.

Since stopping the estrogen cream and only soaking in comfortably warm water for hygiene, my burning is much better. I too have been taking calcium citrate and my urine is not burning me anymore. Let's hope we're on track with our solutions! I'll let you know how the new cream works out. Best to you,

Annie

Hey everyone.

Thank you for answering my questions. I do appreciate it a lot. I did go to a different gyn last week, was very nice, but i'm still burning!!! I did have a few days that I felt better, but I just did start working out again and it seems to have made it worse. i am guessing that it must be from sweating.
I wonder if maybe going through 30 days of antibiotics could have completly messed up my system. I have been eating a lot of yogart and drinking buttermilk (YUK) I dont really know if this is helping but I at least feel like I am doing something.
I have been on estrogen for 7 years and in May I missed about 10 days and it seems that all this started then. I do believe it is estrogen related.

Well, if anyone has anymore ideas I will gladly take them.

Have a great day,
shebug

Hi Again,

I hope that some of you are feeling better. I do feel somewhat better, after thinking over and over about whether I was using anything different I decided that maybe it was Tide w/Downey. I had used regular Tide for years and in the last few months had changed to this. Well that did help for 2 weeks and then, like some of you my hemorhoids went crazy, got an absess and had to take a a few days of antibiotics. Also took a diflucan becuase I am scared to death I will get worse. Then a week later I woke up on fire in the vaginal area and swollen 3 times normal size. Red and raw.

Well, I tell you all this so that I can tell you what I think my problem is. Over the last 4 months I have had this problem on and off. Of course I have been put on a ton of antibiotics. I have had a mouth full of canker sores and have pretty much felt bad. After having been tested, retested and cultured all with negative results. Now girls, like you I know I am not normal down there. In my quest for answers, I have begun reading, and with my lack of medical knowledge I have determined that I have a bad case of Candidas or Yeast Overgrowth. If you will just google Candida you will be amazed at what you will find! Chronic Fatigue, Fibromyalgia, and so many other things can come from this.

I would love to know some of your thoughts. I have just started on some natural products and am hoping for relief. I will keep you posted on how it goes. Looking forward to hearing from you.
shebug