[Sarah001]

I understand, I've been trying to give all options a try locally too so I don't have to go to the clinic miles away, could you call them and discuss your symptoms so you wouldn't have to go there if it didn't sound like they knew how to help?

[lafemelle]

I don't know, I do at least want to call and ask them some general questions about the clinic--like, what is their success rate in helping women in my situation (you know, how often do they see patients they can't cure or offer any kind of a long term solution), and what a typical visit from an out-of-state patient consists of (since there will be limited time to cover about every base possible). What will be frustrating is if, in the end, the clinic either simply isn't doable (for financial/distance reasons) or if I do go they can't end up helping me, because I've had three doctors in a row now who tell me they simply won't help me and that the only thing I can do is go to this stinking vulvar clinic. So what if I can't go or they can't help me, am I just going to have every doctor on the planet give up on me so I'll just be forced to live like this? ARGH!!!

[amelillo13]

I definitely feel all of the frustration with this. I did the hydrogen peroxide douche for 2 nights in a row, took 2 or 3 days off, and did it once more. I was reallllly unsure of how often to douche and got scared that I was doing it too often, so I have stopped for now. I did not put any acidophilus in there after douching, as I was too scared to, especially given the reaction I had with the boric acid that one time; just didn't seem like a good idea in case it didn't break down and I didn't want to deal with the gritty-ness you all were mentioning. Anyway, the bottle I have holds very little, so I wasn't using much and it was really diluted down. It definitely helps me feel less gross about the discharge/constant wetness, but I don't think it actually did anything, since the discharge came back 1-2 days after. The 2nd and 3rd times I douched, it didn't "burn" but it did kind of made me itchy for a little while afterward. Kind of weird.

Until I know how often is ok to do it, I think I will just go back to the stupid clindamycin cream until something else can be figured out. -_-

Not like I expect an immediate cure with anything, but this is getting sooooooooo ridiculous!

[lafemelle]

Does anyone know if there are any viruses that cause vaginal problems, other than herpes and HPV? I was sitting here thinking about all the different antibiotics we've all been on (meaning, to treat bacteria) and how viruses are treated differently, yet other than herpes and HPV I've never had a doctor mention a potential viral problem. I'm not a doctor, but it seems reasonable to me. Just wondering if this has come up with anyone else?

[ItsASecret]

Does anyone know if there are any viruses that cause vaginal problems, other than herpes and HPV? I was sitting here thinking about all the different antibiotics we've all been on (meaning, to treat bacteria) and how viruses are treated differently, yet other than herpes and HPV I've never had a doctor mention a potential viral problem. I'm not a doctor, but it seems reasonable to me. Just wondering if this has come up with anyone else?

It is reasonable to think you have a virus but no doctor is going to give an antibiotic for a virus because antibiotics are not made in any way shape or form to affect a virus. As for viruses other than the ones that cause herpes and HPV, no. HSV (just the different forms of herpes), HPV, and HIV are the viral culprits. If it were those viral infections they would have tried to treat it already with one of the very very few antivirals out there (literally there is a mere handful compared to the maybe 100+ antibiotics). The only other possible reason that the antibiotics you get now are not working as they are designed to is you now have a resistant strain bacterial infection in which the bacteria have become immune and non-responsive to whatever specific antibiotic has been thrown at them. This is how it is nowadays for almost every antibiotic due to other people in the world using antibiotics incorrectly causing other people to become infected one way or another with resistant strains.

[lafemelle]

It is reasonable to think you have a virus but no doctor is going to give an antibiotic for a virus because antibiotics are not made in any way shape or form to affect a virus. As for viruses other than the ones that cause herpes and HPV, no. HSV (just the different forms of herpes), HPV, and HIV are the viral culprits. If it were those viral infections they would have tried to treat it already with one of the very very few antivirals out there (literally there is a mere handful compared to the maybe 100+ antibiotics). The only other possible reason that the antibiotics you get now are not working as they are designed to is you now have a resistant strain bacterial infection in which the bacteria have become immune and non-responsive to whatever specific antibiotic has been thrown at them. This is how it is nowadays for almost every antibiotic due to other people in the world using antibiotics incorrectly causing other people to become infected one way or another with resistant strains.

Okay, so a couple of questions:

1. If HPV is what's causing my symptoms, as my last doctor considered (although the only symptom is usually warts), and my body is not fighting it off on its own, is there something they can do to help my body fight off the virus? Or would I be doomed to live like this for the rest of my life, like an incurable disease?

2. If any of us have a resistant strain of bacteria, a) wouldn't our vaginal cultures show the presence of bacteria (because mine never have), and b) is it still possible to find an antibiotic that will kill off the bacteria?

The way you put it, it makes it seem hopeless that we'll ever get these symptoms to go away.

On the other hand, I am STILL convinced that I have DIV and it just hasn't been properly treated. My symptoms match it so perfectly, but the problem is that the treatment for it is almost always clindamycin cream and hydrocortisone suppositories, but I can't do that treatment because I'm allergic to clindamycin. And although my last doctor treated me for DIV technically, she gave me duricef in place of clindamycin, and duricef doesn't have the anti-inflammatory properties that are the reason clindamycin is usually prescribed. So, I'm going to try my hardest to find a doctor in my city who's more familiar with DIV to see if they can't come up with an alternate treatment with an antibiotic that is comparable to clindamycin.

I'm deep into ****ed-off mode now. I WANT A NEW VAGINA!

[ItsASecret]

1. If HPV is what's causing my symptoms, as my last doctor considered (although the only symptom is usually warts), and my body is not fighting it off on its own, is there something they can do to help my body fight off the virus? Or would I be doomed to live like this for the rest of my life, like an incurable disease?

This viral infection has many many types (last I heard 75+ types but I could be wrong) usually the infection goes away on its own, it is extremely common and often has no symptoms and clears up without people even being aware of it. It is not really associated with discharge though, just abnormal paps and the warts. However there are types that are persistent causing reoccurring warts which can need things like freezing or Aldara cream. Doctors will give advice on how to go about treatment if they discover you have an HPV infection.

2. If any of us have a resistant strain of bacteria, a) wouldn't our vaginal cultures show the presence of bacteria (because mine never have), and b) is it still possible to find an antibiotic that will kill off the bacteria?

Cultures will show tons of normal flora bacteria. They are looking for the pathogenic bacteria that should not be there like some types of Staphylococcus aureus. The normal expected types are ones like Staphylococcus epidermidis, Enterococcus faecalis, Escherichia coli, and Lactobacillus acidophilus. Some of these bacteria can be opportunistic pathogens (if conditions are right they infect), notably the E.coli and often present Candida albicans (yeast). So seeing a bunch of L. acidophilus is not going to cause a red flag.

Finding the right antibiotic is possible if you can figure out how to rid of the few pesky resistant bacteria, and that can be difficult. Lets say you have 6 million bacteria in your vagina right now, you take antibiotic A and it kills 5.95 million of those bacteria, your symptoms go away your a happy camper. But 50,000 of that 6mil are left still, each one now saying "I am resistant"...so while your symptoms of the infection go dramatically down or completely go away, inside you still have some leftover resistant bacteria. Well a couple days later that 50,000 left over bacteria becomes 6million again but now they have a bit of a resistance gene inside them. You get the discharge symptoms again, go visit the doc needing another prescription. You get a new prescription for antibiotic A, this time it kills 5.75 of the 6million bacteria...your symptoms go away your again a happy camper. Few days later symptoms are back because the 250,000 leftover have multiplied again. Repeat process over and over you will have the chronic infection even though the antibiotic is technically working giving the momentary relief, the bacteria with resistance are slowly growing in numbers. This is how resistance is built. The way doctors deal with this is using a different antibiotic of the same class (certain types are more favored) or they combine antibiotics. The combination method is becoming more popular, they can give that antibiotic A which kills lets say 95% then have antibiotic B (of the same class usually) to kill the remainders. Problem is again there is some resistance already present to all forms of antibiotics. So drug A kills 95% and then drug B kills 4.8% of the remaining 5% then the body is usually capable of killing off those 0.2%. It is just that switching around that is needed (while sticking with the correct class of bacteria for the correct class of antibiotic) so that finding the correct dose of an antibiotic or maybe combination gets rid of the infection. Oooooorrrrr there are no resistant bacteria causing the symptoms in which this information is completely irrelevant lol.

On the other hand, I am STILL convinced that I have DIV and it just hasn't been properly treated. My symptoms match it so perfectly, but the problem is that the treatment for it is almost always clindamycin cream and hydrocortisone suppositories, but I can't do that treatment because I'm allergic to clindamycin. And although my last doctor treated me for DIV technically, she gave me duricef in place of clindamycin, and duricef doesn't have the anti-inflammatory properties that are the reason clindamycin is usually prescribed. So, I'm going to try my hardest to find a doctor in my city who's more familiar with DIV to see if they can't come up with an alternate treatment with an antibiotic that is comparable to clindamycin.

It never hurts to ask. I mean the worst the doctor can say is "if you are allergic to Clindamycin we cannot give you X antibiotic because it is essentially the same thing". And if that does not result in a different treatment recommendation then just keep asking questions I guess. Not sure what else could be done.

[lafemelle]

So what you're saying, ItsASecret, is that we're all screwed. At least that's what it sounds like to me.

[ItsASecret]

So what you're saying, ItsASecret, is that we're all screwed. At least that's what it sounds like to me.

Well discharge is never going to be a non-existent thing, all women are going to have it the difference is the discomfort and volume that you and many others are experiencing. Its not that you are 'screwed' its just that obviously it is going to take longer to figure out a way to balance things. You can do things that clearly provide temporary relief, and at least that is something, like you ladies have already been doing but most of the usual treatments have already been prescribed to you. The antibiotics would be the most reasonable method, medically, so it would just be a matter of asking if there are any other antibiotics to try that you have not already or asking for a higher dose of the ones you have had already or getting a prescription for a different antibiotic that is not so commonly used. The reason they are not commonly used is because they have what is called a narrow therapeutic index. This means at one dose you can have a potent effect and at another just slightly increased dose (never know what dose is too high for a person because each is different) you can have some bad side effects like total GI upset, bleeding, toxicity, wiping of normal flora leading to newer infection, the list is long so they simply do not prescribe unless there is absolutely nothing else to do. The other method is using an already used antibiotic and increasing the dose (these ones have a high therapeutic index so less harsh side effects are possible). The problem is increasing the dose of an antibiotic is also going to really wipe out the good bacteria because it is more broad in what it is going to kill so you are again more susceptible to new infections. Personally I would say go see a vulvar specialist. They are going to be trained in things that the average GP doc, or sometimes GYNE were not. They may also know of some treatments that have nothing to do with an antibiotic and have a different therapy treatment, I do not know but I see it as the least you can do is ask.

[lafemelle]

I apologize for not remembering, but did anyone here say whether or not they've tried tea tree oil? It's about the one and only thing I've never tried, and I'm considering purchasing some suppositories and giving it a shot. As far as discharge goes, today is the WORST day I've ever had in nearly 3 years of this problem...it's got me on the edge of insanity and I don't know what else to do.