Yeast is SCARING ME! D:

[primeveire.livejournal.com]

Hello! I'm a new member here.

I looked all over the internet for an answer to my question and couldn't find one anywhere. I also looked in the archives of this community and couldn't seem to find anything there either, so I decided to just pose the question myself. :P Apologies in advance if this has already been discussed and I've overlooked it!

My question is...


I went to the gynecologist today for my first pap smear, and while she was checking me she found that I had a yeast infection. The thing is, I now realize that I've probably had the infection for a while. I've had all of the usual symptoms -- burning, redness, itching, and thick white discharge -- on and off for quite some time. I (stupidly, I admit) never really thought much of it, though, because it kept going away for short periods of time and it was rarely unbearable. Most of the time I was able to just ignore it. It has become a little more severe recently, but for some reason it still never clicked in my head that I might have a yeast infection until my gynecologist informed me.

Now I'm starting to freak out. I'm probably just being irrational, but I'm worried that I'm going to have kidney problems or become infertile or my vagina is going to turn blue and fall off. My main question is how long can you go with an untreated yeast infection before it becomes really bad for your health? Also, what exactly can it do to you, as far as long-term damage goes? I'm not sure how long I've had the infection, but I'd say a few months. The last time I went to the gynecologist was June of last year, and she just did a quick check then but everything was normal. I don't think the infection started until this year, maybe in the spring? I'm really not sure.

Anyway, I hope someone can answer my question! I'm probably just being overly paranoid, but if so, reassurance that my vagina is indeed not going to die or hate me for the rest of my life would still be appreciated. :P I know I should have gone to the doctor as soon as the symptoms started, and I don't have a good excuse for not doing so besides that I was busy and it didn't seem like a big deal at the time. Also, I would have asked my gynecologist about it while I was there, but I didn't start freaking out about it until now, heh.


Thanks in advance and yay for this community! :D

Comments

[paperispatient.livejournal.com]

I did some Googling because your question made me curious. The consensus on the sites I found seems to be that, if left untreated for a long time, and it worsens, a YI can potentially leave you prone to things like recurring YIs or PID (http://www.pregnancy-info.net/thrush.html). A few sites mentioned possible kidney and bladder problems as well. However, I don't know exactly how long it would take for some of these things to happen, and I would think that if you're treating your YI now and haven't experienced any symptoms of any other problems, that you don't have anything to worry about. Looking back on it, I treated a YI in the winter and I don't think it ever really went away until I treated what I (at the time) thought was a new YI in the late spring. I haven't experienced any bad repercussions, but if you're really concerned, I'd call your doc and ask. :)

[primeveire.livejournal.com]

Thanks for your help! I think I mostly needed to hear from an actual person rather than a website I'm unsure about. This is the first yeast infection I've had and I don't know much about them, so I wasn't sure how serious they could be. Reading the comments here has really helped. Thanks again! :)

[paperispatient.livejournal.com]

I highly recommend NOT searching random websites for health advice on topics you aren't too familiar with - that's how I convinced myself I had vagina cancer last year. *cringes* I've had my share of YIs, so I felt fairly comfortable being able to tell what was alarmist crap and what was more legitimate info on some of these sites. :) I think it's like with any medical condition that you let go - it's possible for complications to ensue, but "possible" does not mean "likely" by any stretch of the imagination, it just means that it's happened to a person or two at some point. Anyway, glad I could help you out, hope that eased your mind a bit!

[queensugar.livejournal.com]

If it helps: as a general rule, when Google searching anything medical or health related, without even reading the results I skip over the web address of every hit that comes up.

If it ends in .org, .edu or .gov, then I check it out -- those sites are usually going to be quite reliable.

If it ends in .com or .net, I look at the site name very carefully before deciding whether to click or not (still without reading the blurb). Most of the time, it doesn't pass the test.

A few exceptions that I do trust are MayoClinic.com and WebMD.com; other exceptions are the official sites of specific, well-known pharmaceuticals or medical products (i.e. thehpvtest.com for the Digene HPV test).

Basically -- avoid reading any of the actual hits before you've scanned the site to make sure it's reasonably trustworthy, otherwise it just leads to a whole lot of scary!

[queensugar.livejournal.com]

As noted in this section (http://www.vaginapagina.com/index.php?title=Yeast_Infection#Can_YIs_go_away_on_their_own_without_treatment.3F__Are_they_dangerous.3F) of our Vulvapedia entry, YIs rarely cause any serious health problems.

Most of the sites I've seen that state otherwise are not reliable resources (i.e. they're selling YI products); more reliable sources generally agree that untreated YIs in people who are not immunocompromised (i.e. don't have conditions like HIV / AIDS or leukemia) do not pose a serious risk.

For instance:

NYC Department of Health: (http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/std/stdm1.shtml)
Discomfort and inconvenience are the worst problems associated with a yeast infection.

The Alexander Foundation for Women's Health (http://www.afwh.org/articles/paid/yeastinfections.htm) notes that prolonged and untreated YIs can lead to vulvar sensitivity and vestibulitis (an inflammation of the vestibule area of the vulva).

The National Women's Health Resource Centre (http://www.healthywomen.org/healthtopics/yeastinfections/treatment) says that there is a "small chance" that an untreated infection can involve into a more serious pelvic infection.

Basically -- if you haven't had any symptoms, and your doctor today didn't notice anything amiss other than the yeast, it's a good bet you have nothing to worry about. Your vagina will almost certainly be just fine!

[primeveire.livejournal.com]

Phew, thanks! I feel much better after reading this. I guess I mostly just wanted to hear something from a person with credible sources rather than random websites that I don't know who's behind and I'm not sure if I can trust. I've never had a yeast infection before and I don't know much about them, so I wasn't sure how wary of them I needed to be. I really should have talked to my gynecologist more during/after my exam, but I didn't start thinking about all this and freaking out until afterwards. Thanks again for your help!

[queensugar.livejournal.com]

I might recommend browsing through our YI Vulvapedia, there's lots of info in there. :)

Basically, a YI is just an overgrowth of a yeast that occurs naturally in the vagina. If the pH balance of the vagina is thrown out of whack (specifically, if it becomes less acidic), that yeast can grow out of control, which causes all sorts of itch and annoyance. But that's almost always the worst of it, and you are incredibly unlikely to have any sort of ongoing issues because of it. :)

[dearstudioaud.livejournal.com]

um i've had an on and off one for about 2 years, i've only taken meds once (that didnt work) and that was only cuz it was my first trip (and only) to the gyno. i prbly would ask for more meds if my mom didnt have full doctor say on what goes on with me. but it really doesnt bother me too much, so i never gave it a real thought.