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I'm tired of dropping my drawers for more specimens and cultures just so my doctors can prescribe the same treatment again.
I used to get the infection on the fourth day of my period and have it for 14 days (with or without medication), but for the last four months I've had it continuously.
It itches and burns, but my fiancés
and I still make love maybe once every couple weeks. When we do, I get so raw and inflamed that I get surface abrasions which bleed on the inner lips and even inside my vagina.
A threeminute lovemaking session has me in tears. Then my fiancé feels bad because he's hurt me. I hate to keep depriving him, because I'd really like to enjoy having sex again instead of dreading it.
I douche and shower a lot for relief, but I just can't take it anymore.
I know yeast infections are common, and most women have them at least once, but my case is really strange. Why don't medicines clear it up or even affect it?
I wear cotton underwear, I wipe from front to rear, and we don't have anal sex.
Being on the Pill has lowered my latural immunity to the infection, I realize, so I'd go off it in a second and risk getting pregnant if there seemed like even a remote chance of clearing up my infection.
I can't stress enough what an emotional strain this is on me. Can you give me any ideas?
Thank you,
Janet
Hello Janet,
There is really hard to make diagnosis over the Internet, justg based on an
email.
Anyways, you are already doing some of the things I would suggest, but there are a few more you can try. First, get a specific diagnosis from a gynecologist. Tour symptoms could be caused by any of several vaginal infections. Judging from the medications you have had prescribed, you probably had trichomonal vaginitis (for which you took Flagyl), monilial vaginitis or yeast infection (for which you used Nystatin suppositories and Monostat cream) and hemophilus vaginitis (for which you were treated with Sultrin).
You could have had one of these infections at a time, or two or more at the same time, necessitating multiple medications.
If you still have the symptoms after you have taken all the medication, call your
doctor right away.
Two things could be happening: Either the infection has become resistant to the drug being used, or you are allergic to that drug.
An allergic reaction could produce the same or similar symptoms as the infection itself.
Yeast infections are rarely transmitted to a sex partner, while the other types are quite contagious. (However, if your
fiancé is uncircumcised, he is much more likely to get a yeast infection than if he were circumcised.)
Since men usually don't have symptoms, your fiancé could have one or more of the infections and be re-infecting you when you have intercourse.
When your gynecologist diagnoses your infection, your boyfriend should see a urologist or an internist and explain your situation completely. He should tell the doctor exactly what you have and how you are being treated. Then you should refrain from having intercourse until you have both taken the full course of prescribed medications, this will prevent your boyfriend from re-infecting you.
Once you have the infection(s) cleared up, there are some more steps you can take to help prevent recurrences. Unless specifically prescribed by your gynecologist, avoid frequent douching. It tends to wash away beneficial surface bacteria necessary to fight off infection.
Birth-control pills are apt to lower your resistance too. Since you seem prone to contracting vaginal infections, going off the Pill would not be a bad idea. Your doctor can tell you about other effective forms of birth control.
You can almost count on developing a yeast infection after taking antibiotics. They kill off the bacteria that keep the yeast under control. So if a doctor prescribes an antibiotic for you, explain your susceptibility to yeast infections, and he will likely give you a prescription for something to treat the problem if it does develop.
Any vaginal infection — and yeast especially — thrives in wet, warm places. Therefore, keep your vaginal area as
cool and dry as possible. This means wearing cotton panties, as you say you
already do, and avoiding pantyhose, tight-fitting jeans and synthetic based slacks.
Finally, stay calm. Emotional upsets cause chemical imbalances that reduce the body's resistance to infection.
I hope it helped. Let me know in a few weeks how things are...
Peter,
Improve Your Sex Technique.
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