Possible Yeast Infection - What Should I Expect?

[earthbend.livejournal.com]

Hello everyone - this is more of an anxious "what should I expect post" more than anything else. I've been experiencing some itching around the vaginal area, and am going to do a 'walk in' to my university health service center tomorrow morning and ask if I have a yeast infection (my boyfriend thinks he may have passed it on to me), or whatever else might be the problem. The thing is I'm pretty nervous about being so exposed to any of the nurse practitioners or physician's assistants - I've gone previously before for a uti, but that just requires a urine sample and a quick antibiotic prescription. So the question is: What should I expect tomorrow when I go in? What are your experiences with getting checked for a possible YI, and what procedures did your health professional use? Any soothing words of advice to get over this anxiousness? ): Thank you.

Comments

[treiale.livejournal.com]

I might not be much help, because my first yeast infection was on, of all places, my tailbone. So the geography was a bit different.

When I went in with itching and pain, I described my symptoms and then hopped up onto the table and the doctor had a quick look at the area. In my case it was pretty obvious what it was and it just needed a quick peek, but I think if it's not so obvious they'll do a swab - make sure, though, that they swab the area that's itching, and not just inside the vagina. Often yeast infections encompass the entire area, but sometimes they're just in one spot and other places don't have an overgrowth. You won't find out if it's yeast if they're not swabbing the right place, you know?

That said, I can totally understand being anxious about it. Doctors can be intimidating! But yeast infections are very common and unless they're recurrent they're not really much of an issue, so it should be very easy. You might get a script for an anti-fungal pill like Diflucan, or you might just be told to go and purchase an over-the-counter treatment like Monistat or Canestan. (The longer the treatment the better, 5 or 7 day treatments are probably slightly better than the 3 or 1 day treatments.)

Also mention that you're worried about passing it onto your partner (or that he might have passed it to you). Unfortunately some doctors will dismiss this idea, but it's worth asking about anyway. If you get dismissed, you can treat him with a dip in plain, unsweetened yogurt with active cultures - maybe a soak for a few minutes for as many days as you're treating yourself.

So! In a nutshell. You shouldn't have more to worry about than a quick peek of the affected area or a gentle swab, and both these should be very quick and easy. (You might not even be examined, but this is more than likely the most they'll do.)

Good luck!

[violette-haze.livejournal.com]

On your tailbone?? How does that work? How did they even diagnose that?

[treiale.livejournal.com]

I produce quite a lot of discharge on a daily basis. So, (it's a bit tmi, sorry!) my underwear is generally always at least damp, even though I'm not aroused by any means. My vagina seems to be particularly enthusiastic about discharge. So, with so much of it, it gets everywhere. I have a pretty long tailbone - I found this out because of excruciating pain when it was inflamed, huzzah! - so if any discharge gets as far back as the anus, chances are it'll cover my tailbone too. Having to wipe front-to-back just helps spread it around. I guess I had a slight overgrowth in the vagina, but not enoughh to cause a problem until the yeast got wiped to a more friendly environment - my tailbone, which doesn't have the friendly warrior bacteria that usually keeps yeast at bay.

Yeast infections, when they're bad, sometimes have a pretty strong smell. It was such a bad and angry infection that really she just needed to take a quick look, and she could probably smell that it was yeast. (Being a doctor must suck sometimes.)

[fireaphid.livejournal.com]

The test for a vaginal yeast infection can be as simple as a single swab, and in many cases it's identified visually. However, if it's your first time seeking any reproductive health care, they may want to do a full pelvic exam and STI testing (which goes something like this: http://www.firstvisit.org/). Let them know you're nervous and what you are and are not okay with in terms of exams (and that link should explain what a typical first visit it like).

As far as encouraging words, I ended up self-diagnosing my first yeast infection. I tried to get in to my local Planned Parenthood, but their wait time for an emergency was 6 weeks! And rather than listen to the geniuses on VP who told me to use natural remedies (like these: http://www.vaginapagina.com/index.php?title=Yeast_Infection#What_are_some_easy.2C_at-home_methods_to_rebalance_the_vaginal_pH.3F) until I had a diagnosis, I used the OTC stuff. Even though I did get the courage to call Planned Parenthood and try to make an appointment, I was scared shitless and not ready for any type of exam, so I'm glad it worked out the way it did, though I can't say I recommend doing what I did, which risked triggering a drug-resistant infection.