Weird period, Bacterial Vaginosis

**sockpuppet** · 11-10-2010 12:40 PM

Hello!

Not sure if this stuff matters, but I'm 21. I started my period at 12 and it has been regular for the most part. I'm not on any birth control and never have been. Sexually active since I was 15. A normal period for me consists of mild cramping the day before, pretty bad cramping the first day I bleed, heavy flow with a few small clots on the first 2-3 days, and lasts 5 days usually. I suspect I have PCOS but have not been diagnosed.

Weird period-
So I got my period in September. I'm not sure when exactly it came in September but I think it was in the second or third week. October came and went - no period. I got it again on Saturday. I woke up with a small amount of brown blood on the tip of a tampon I had in (I will explain that in a bit) then had mild cramping (not as bad as usual) and had actual blood around noon that same day. Well, it was unusually clotty. They were quite small still, just a lot of them. I was kinda worried about that but let it go until I realized last night that the blood looks significantly thinner than what is normal for me. I Googled and saw a few people saying that it sounded like "pregnancy bleeds". I took a pregnancy test the day I got my period and it was negative. I put on a pad for bed. Normally when I do this at the beginning of a period, I wake up almost leaking. Yesterday morning, I woke up and there was a tiny amount of blood. I went to school then came home at around 1pm. When I got home, I felt blood gush out, but there is still a very small amount on the pad. It seems to have stopped.This is just so weird for me... Started around noon on Saturday, then had two "normal"(ish) days, yesterday with hardly any blood, then none so far today. I would think that since it skipped last month, this month would be far worse than normal: worse cramps, heavier bleeding.

BV-
Maybe 2-3 months ago I noticed a kinda fishy smell and thin, grayish discharge. Someone in a different community told me that if I stopped washing with soap and just use water, the smell would go away. I did that and it worked for less than a week, then it came back. The smell mostly went away after showers, but not completely, and within a few hours, it smelled horrible. I dealt with it until about a week or two ago then posted about it again in the same community. Someone said it sounded like BV. I am prone to yeast infections, so I researched and decided to try the natural route to clearing this thing up as opposed to antibiotics. I put plain yogurt in my vagina and put a tampon in to hold it in and did that for maybe 5-6 days and only stopped because I got my period (that's what I was talking about up there when I said I found brown blood on the tampon I already had in). I've also been taking folic acid, Azo yeast, vitamin C, and cranberry pills since I started doing the yogurt. I have also been douching once a day with hydrogen peroxide (I have not been mixing it with water). I've been doing that since a little before I got my period, so a little less time than the yogurt and pills - about 5 days now. The first couple days, the peroxide just ran straight out, but when I got my period and did it, it foamed A LOT. But it didn't foam at all when I did it this morning. Could that be because I haven't bled much since yesterday? I noticed that the smell has gone away... With the yogurt, the smell went away unless I went too long without putting more yogurt in. I haven't noticed a smell at all since I started the peroxide douche. Right now I can only smell period blood. Does it sound like it's going away?

- WHAT IS GOING ON WITH MY VAGINA?! And what do I do to fix it?
- Could either or both be stress-related? I have been extremely stressed out lately because of school, my living situation, and money, plus throwing these vagina issues into the mix doesn't help anything!
- Could the BV cause my period to do this?
- Are there any other natural ways I can treat BV that have worked for you?
- Should I keep douching with peroxide? What about the yogurt - should I continue once my period completely goes away? How long should I do the peroxide?
- Should I be avoiding sex?
- Anything else I should know?

I am freaking out pretty bad about this stuff and haven't been able to get it off my mind, so if any of you all could help me out here, I would really really appreciate it! Thanks!

**Pixied** · 11-15-2010 02:02 PM

Hello, I have a very very sensitive body and I have suffered with yeast all my life. What I can tell u is stop what u are doing go to the chemist/pharmacist and get some candida cream or rather ask ur chemist what they recommend and tell them ur symptoms. If u have a shower then use it when washing ur hair. If u only have a bath then stand or kneel outside the bath and wash ur hair while hanging over the bath edge. Also go for the DOVE sensitive, SANEX sensitive or any other mild non smelly soap. Shampoos conditioners and most bath soaps are irritants that make it a lot worse. Even bubble bath and bath salts can sometimes cause it to come up again. I dnt even remember the last time I used bubble bath or bath salts. Also having antibiotics can cause it to start again. Stay away from yeasty products like a lot of bread, bear and refined sugars. Cranberry tabs are good and the yoghurt u shud eat that with ur mouth. I have got a candida infection in my mouth at the moment as I have just finished a course of mild antibiotics and I have to have a liquid stuff poured over my tongue and hold it in and try to eat yoghurt every day and also try to keep it in my mouth for awhile. Black rooibos and green tea is also very good, can be had with sugar. Try avoid sexual intercourse when u got this type of infection as it is infectious. Try wear skirts as much as possible as pants dnt allow oxygen wich helps the growth of candida. That's all I can remember for now. Oh and stay away from coffee. U can have one to two cups a day but rather have tea or juice.

I hope this helps and hope its not to late. And post what happens.

**jordanh** · 11-16-2010 03:14 AM

yeast infections and bacterial vaginosis are NOT the same thing. in your vagina you naturally have a specific amount of yeast and a specific amount of bacteria. when too much yeast forms, you get a yeast infection which usually includes burning urine. when you have a bacterial infection, that's when you get the smelly discharge - and actually they are a LOT more common than yeast infections. any kind of scented tampon, pad, or cleansing products will irritate the infection and make it worse. and, if left untreated there is a possibility of it getting quite serious and turning into pelvic inflammatory disease. you should go to your doctor.

also, as for the spotting/clotting - you could be having blot clots (another good reason to go to a doctor to get an internal exam). they are common and generally not serious and pass on their own (my mom has had them too) brown blood just indicates old blood, which you probably knew. chances are skipping a period let the lining in the uterus build up and it released in an odd way. periods just do that sometimes. i've been on birth control for 8 months without a single hiccup in my period and all of a sudden i got brown spotting which turned into some light (but felt heavy) clotting before it went away in two days. sometimes it just happens.

best solution: go to a gynecologist, get some antibiotics, and get an internal exam to make sure there isn't anything else going on. this way a) you'll get better and b) you'll stop freaking out! don't torture yourself and wait it out like i did!

**Pixied** · 11-16-2010 07:16 AM

Ohk lol thanks! You learn something new every day! :-) and what would the natural remedy be if u didn't have access to a doctor?

**jordanh** · 11-17-2010 02:58 PM

you could wait it out, but chances are its not going to go away on its own like a flu or a cold would. i personally wouldn't recommend using yogurt or anything like that because messing with your internal organs like that can be dangerous. it can also spread and be very bad. if you don't have access, you can always use a telephone to call a doctors office and ask a question, and see if they have any suggestions.

**Katie35801** · 11-19-2010 09:14 AM

I don't know if this would help, but it's an idea. Soak in a warm bath for 20 minutes, twice a day, add either 1 cup of baking soda or 1 cup of organic apple cider vinegar to the bath water-you can alternate. I'd stop putting anything inside of you and don't wash with soap down there. You can also eat 1 clove of garlic daily or take it in capsule form.

**swimgirl18** · 11-21-2010 09:09 PM

Hello, Not to scare you, but I have had similar symptoms (wierd period and Bacteria vaginosis) and it was all the result of an STD. You may want to get yourself examined by a doctor before it worsens. In my case, it was chylmadia, which is curable. So go to your doctor as soon as you can to get treated.