Continuous vaginal problems/being told nothing is wrong

by ARGH!
(Portland, OR USA)

Q. Since I turned about 26 years old (27 now) I have been having continuous vaginal problems, increased vaginal discharge.

I went from having next to no discharge to every time I work out it appears, every time I use the restroom... its there! I know it's not normal for me, I consider myself to be very in touch with my body and I know what is not right. It's not really clumpy but the consistency does vary, and it's sometimes clear, sometimes white to light yellow in color, sometimes more yellow. The best feeling I can describe is an overly moist feeling down below.

Anyway I have been to planned parenthood probably at least 6 times in the last year for it seeings as I do not have insurance (this costs roughly 60-70 bucks a pop). They keep telling me nothing is wrong; however they would offer to treat me for yeast and it seemed they were doing it to appease me! They kept telling me it didn't look like BV because I had no odor and that under the microscope but I had increased white blood cells (meaning I was fighting *something*)

Because of them I started thinking I was a vaginachondriac (my own term)!

This last time I went after severe swelling, redness and discharge which occurred the day after my menstrual cycle ended. This time I saw a different doctor who told me what they told me the time before. She treated me for yeast (discharge is still here! but the other symptoms went away) but she also gave me a "just in case" prescription for clindamycin, so that if things didn't clear completely up I could try the prescription. I am now on day 2 of it (I think there is a decrease in discharge but it's probably too soon to tell) and have been reading in tons of magazines about probiotics, so that's how I ended up here.

I rushed out to my local health store and bought Fem Dophilus. Do you think this is a product that could help me? How do I know if I need it since I have not technically been told what keeps occurring? and would you wait to take it until the clindamycin is gone? or start it now?

I should state that when these problems began occurring I had not been sexually active for over 6 months, and I have been STD tested. I am just frustrated and am hoping you have some guidance, ideas... anything for me.



A. Fem Dophilus is a great choice of probiotic for any sort of vaginal woes. This means that even though you don't know what the problem is, it won't do any harm and will be helping to normalize the vagina.

I'm wondering if it is Cytolytic Vaginosis. Take a look at that page and see if it sounds similar. Symptoms cover itching, burning - especially on passing urine, abundant whitish discharge, sometimes discomfort during sexual intercourse, and sometimes worsening in the second half of your period.

For any women with a heavy white discharge that they know is not yeast or BV then this might be the culprit.

If you think it might be cytolytic vaginosis try this Sitz bath recipe which is a very simple cure that has helped women with this problem.

CV would be my first guess. If it isn't -

Check that you're not allergic to something that is in contact with your skin down there - soap, talc, feminine hygiene products etc.

Start taking the Fem Dophilus straight away and keep taking them for several months.

I know this is so frustrating when you can't pin down what is causing the discharge. As you say, you know your own body best and you know when it isn't "normal". I hope that it is CV because then you can move on to treating it. Good luck with it.