Need advice on a gross topic

ashie0610 · April 2014

I've got a pretty nasty vaginal infection and just spoke to a nurse at my doctor's office who gave me some options. I'm not sure what I want to do yet.

Back story: At my 6 week appointment, my midwife did a routine exam and said it looked like I was developing a yeast infection. By 13 weeks, it didn't feel like a YI, but I still had the same symptoms (thin white coating, red/irritated, a little itchy). So I called and they said to go ahead and use Monistat 7, which I did, and absolutely nothing changed. I called back last week and they had me come in on Thursday to see a doctor. She did a swab test and determined it was bacterial vaginosis. I started on a prescription antibiotic vaginal gel - my last dose was Monday night.

Yesterday and today, I've been having this disgusting thick, white discharge. It looks kind of like cottage cheese and there is a TON of it. There are clumps of it too. My symptoms are exactly the same as they have been this entire time. It's like nothing changed except now I have more discharge than I did before any medication.

The nurse said it could still be the gel clearing out the bacteria, or I could now have a YI which is apparently fairly common after using this gel. So I now have ANOTHER Rx for a YI suppository that is stronger than Monistat. I just hate that I will have constantly been on a medication between 13-16 weeks that I may or may not have even needed. The nurse said I can wait a little longer, but if it gets worse tomorrow she'd recommend starting the YI meds. Part of me just wants to wait until my appointment on Monday so that they can do another swab and see what's going on, but that's kind of far off at this point. All this discharge is freaking me out and making me worry about the baby.

What would you girls do if it were you? Take the YI meds today, see how things look tomorrow, or wait until Monday when I'll be there anyway and ask them to confirm with a swab test?

TL;DR - I have a vaginal infection, not sure which one at this point, and am nervous about taking a third medication. I have a doctor appointment already scheduled on Monday and am debating if I should wait until then or just start taking the prescription.

JessAnnJ · April 2014

If you are really uncomfortable I would take what they prescribed. If not, I would call the doctor back and ask if it would be harmful to wait a few days and you can see how you feel then since they said it might just be the infection clearing out. I have zero medical knowledge, this is just what I would do in your situation.

meggiev123 · April 2014

In general I think I'd take what the dr recommends. If you're worried about the medication harming the baby maybe call the infant risk hotline for their opinion (I called them a few times when breastfeeding and found them to be very helpful) https://www.infantrisk.com/

youngin12 · April 2014

I think I would probably go ahead and start the meds today or tomorrow. I definitely don't think I would wait until Monday.

heathera1979 · April 2014

It is very common after any kind of antibiotics to develop a yeast infection as the antibiotics kill both bad and good bacteria that would normally keep yeast at bay. The cottage cheese discharge definitely
Sounds like a yeast infection.

ashie0610 · April 2014

Thanks, ladies. I think you all are right and it'd probably be silly to wait until Monday and just wish it away. I'll probably wait until tomorrow. If it's still the same I'll start taking the new Rx and hope that I am, in fact, treating the right issue now.

I hate that everything is so out of balance and I feel like I'm making it worse than it was to begin with!

LightBright515 · April 2014

The medications that treat BV are notorious for causing YI. I'd go back and take the pill form of the medication for a YI if that's what has developed or take the pill for the BV.

I get your animosity regarding taking more meds, but the risk of letting an infection brew outweighs the risks of another pregnancy safe medication.

samanthak2525 · April 2014

When I had a yeast infection I just rubbed plain yogurt Down there and it went away I never had to use the meds, you have to make sure there is no added sugar though.

Sweetiepops · April 2014

I had a bad bout of YI right before my wedding (great timing, right!). It took me months to completely get rid of it. I would take the meds now, because yeast grows when you leave it.

Do you take a probiotic? I have found that taking probiotics prevents me from getting them. I am prone if I do anything to upset my stomach. Before my wedding I had injured my low back and was taking anti-inflammatory meds, which I am sure is what caused the YI. But as long as I'm on a high enough dosage of probiotics, it seems to stay away. Haven't had a YI in over 2 years.

ashie0610 · April 2014

Thanks for all the input!
@Sweetiepops‌ that sounds awful.

That's kind of why I'm so hesitant - I've had yeast infections before and this doesn't really feel like one. I take a probiotic and eat yogurt daily already.

The discharge has eased up a lot this evening so I'm going to give it til tomorrow. If it's not completely gone I'll take the new Rx (it's a suppository you take for 3 nights) and then follow up at my appointment on Monday.

Ugh. Thanks again ladies. I appreciate the input and commiseration!

heathera1979 · April 2014

Sometimes you don't have all the symptoms. About 10 years ago the ONLY symptom I had was lots of thick discharge.... went to my gyn and he said I had the worst yi he had seen in a long time. Prescribed me 3 weeks worth of diflucan but said he considered 6. Before it kicked in I had swollen inside to the point I couldn't pee. I am a big advocate of not waiting when it comes to YI, they can do damage you can't even see.

ashie0610 · April 2014

heathera1979 said:

Sometimes you don't have all the symptoms. About 10 years ago the ONLY symptom I had was lots of thick discharge.... went to my gyn and he said I had the worst yi he had seen in a long time. Prescribed me 3 weeks worth of diflucan but said he considered 6. Before it kicked in I had swollen inside to the point I couldn't pee. I am a big advocate of not waiting when it comes to YI, they can do damage you can't even see.

Eek that sounds painful. I know you're probably right. If I weren't pregnant I'm sure I wouldn't give it a second thought either. I guess I'm just still frustrated that I took a WEEK'S worth of Monistat when I didn't even need to and didn't want to unnecessarily medicate even more if the doctor hasn't even seen me again.

Regardless, the discharge is much better today but still there, so I'm going to start the YI medication today anyway and will ask for a follow up on Monday either way to make sure everything's totally gone.

megrae1026 · April 2014

My knee jerk response to not feeling well or anything wrong with my body is to take apple cider vinager. If I can't drink it straight, I mix a tablespoon or two in a cup of hot water and mix with raw honey. (It has to be raw as the processed honey with it just feed infection). I swear by it. Drank a couple times a week this winter and never got the flu and kicked a nasty cold in 24 hours.

Maggie6424 · April 2014

I had BV during preg with DS. That gel that you insert, when it comes back out it looks like cottage cheese. I also freaked out, but then I realized that it stopped the day after my last dose. I got it AGAIN after DS when he was a nb, and it did the same thing.
With the YI med, I wouldn't wait more than a day or two to start taking it. I've heard of lost of women taking monistat type meds during pregnancy without issue.

Sweetiepops · April 2014

What dosage of probiotic do you take @ashie0610? I'm glad it seems to be improving. I don't know anything about BV and I've never taken those meds, so I'm no expert about those! When I had issues with YI, my naturopath suggested I take 50-100 billion active cells per day. Most capsules don't have more than 10. I found that it did help when I was in a critical state!

ashie0610 · April 2014

@Sweetiepops‌ I just checked and it's only 1.5 billion! Where can you get supplements with higher concentrations? I only remember seeing two or three brands at the pharmacy.

I asked my doctor before I continued taking it once I got pregnant and she said it was fine to take but didn't specify an amount. I'll ask for a recommendation at my appointment Monday but would love to know if you have one you recommend too!

ashie0610 · April 2014

Maggie6424 said:
I had BV during preg with DS. That gel that you insert, when it comes back out it looks like cottage cheese. I also freaked out, but then I realized that it stopped the day after my last dose. I got it AGAIN after DS when he was a nb, and it did the same thing.
With the YI med, I wouldn't wait more than a day or two to start taking it. I've heard of lost of women taking monistat type meds during pregnancy without issue.

That's good to know and is similar to what I had googled so that's also why I was unsure if it was yeast or not. I'm a little itchy now so I'm thinking I am one of the unlucky ones. I hope these suppositories start working!

Sweetiepops · April 2014

I'm in Canada (Ontario)- we have a hotline called Motherisk, and they tell you if medications are safe. When I checked with them about probiotics they said any probiotic that starts with bifidobacterium or lactobacillus are safe for pregnancy. They said dosage doesn't matter. I take 20 billion currently (two 10 billion pills). I take the Jamieson brand. There is a brand that they sell in the natural section of my grocery store that actually has 50 billion per capsule, and that's what I took when I had issues. Definitely check with your doctor first though if you're changing brands, and check the probiotic names.

Justabean3 · April 2014

I always have more issues while treating than I do before hand.. Usually a day after my last dose it gets much better..

Monistat makes me itch too

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