Going to try to make long story short. Looking for advice from anyone who has gone through something similar.
In January 2023, I got a yeast infection that I treated with OTC cream + a few rounds of fluconazole. That same summer, I had itchiness around my clit and some white secretions come out from it. I used OTC creams to soothe it, but it kept coming back. In August, my vulva became crazy irritated. I went to a Women’s doctor who looked inside my vagina and said it looked healthy. They also said my vulva was extremely irritated and they thought it was a fungus. I was using an antifungal shampoo and a cream but it didn’t help. I was also tested for STDs and the tests were negative.
In September 2023, I took an Evvy vaginal microbiome test which showed high levels of disruptive bacteria. I followed their prescribed protocol which was boric acid/antibiotic gel/probiotic inserts in that order. I didn’t finish the inserts as they caused irritation. I was still experiencing symptoms so I went to an OBGYN and saw a nurse practitioner there. They tested me for UTI/yeast/BV and it came back negative. We also retested for all STDs (including a herpes blood test) to be safe and they came back negative. The NP told me to stop doing anything to do it, basically because I had treated it so much.
A few months later, I was still experiencing symptoms so I went back to the OBGYN. They gave me an antifungal/steroid cream but I didn’t use it long because it caused further irritation. As a last resort, they biopsied my vulva to test for lichen or cancer, and it came back benign/normal. Miraculously, after the biopsy my symptoms went away. Maybe because I couldn’t put anything on it for a few weeks while it was healing? Maybe it re-jumbled my nerves? No idea, but I didn’t experience symptoms between February 2024-February 2025 except for one minor yeast infection which I treated with OTC monistat.
In August 2024, I started experiencing extreme anal itching. I tried using hemorrhoid treatments and many other OTC products to no avail. In December, I saw a doc who treated me for pinworms and 4 rounds of fluconazole in case it was yeast. I started checking my stool and thought I saw a worm, so I went to urgent care. They prescribed me ivermectin. For a month my symptoms went away, but then they came back.
In February 2025, I started experiencing vulvar irritation again so I treated myself for a YI. I thought it went away but a week later I had burning. Doctor tested for yeast, UTI, bv, urea+mycoplasma. All negative.
In April 2025, I went to a colorectal doc and a vulvovaginal specialist (seperately) and they both prescribed topical corticosteroid + antifungal. This seemed to work with the anal itching and irritation (thought it comes back once in a while and I have to treat it). However it hasn’t made the vulvar pain go away, it may have helped lessened the pain a pit.
I went to a pelvic floor PT who says my pelvic floor doesn’t “move” very much. I have a hard time clenching and letting go. They gave me some exercises/stretches, but they didn’t seem convinced that this is the issue. I haven’t gone back to see them.
I’ve been seeing a naturopathic doctor who tested my stool and I have a high level of candida lustinae in my gut. The doc wants to treat me for that and believes the candida in my gut is traveling to the vaginal and anus. I’m not fully convinced because the tests come back negative, but I’m still taking nystatin and herbal antifungal as prescribed, along with a probiotic which I sometimes insert vaginally. Since starting this regimen my symptoms have gotten worse. Is that a good sign (candida die off symptoms)?
I can’t believe how long this has gone on and all of the money and time I’ve spent in two years. I just want to feel normal. I feel like I’m exhausting every possible outcome. Is there something I could be missing?
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