What's my doctor looking for/at, anyway?

[glitterberrys.livejournal.com]

I went back to the GYN for approximately the thousandth time this year (if he has kids, I'm pretty sure I've singlehandedly put them through college AND grad school!) to get my vagina swabbed for suspected BV.

He saw no yeast and a mild bacterial imbalance under the microscope, but I've gotten to wondering - what else, if anything, are they looking for under there? I was worried about a potential trich infection (though it would've had to have been asymptomatic for ages because I haven't been sexually active with my girlfriend or myself in at least two months; SSRI withdrawal kills sex drive worse than SSRIs themselves; and my one and only sexual partner doesn't have it, so to be diagnosed with it would be extremely worrisome!) because my discharge has on occasion been slightly yellowish instead of the usual colorless crud I get with BV, and I'm having some bladder discomfort (which is another common occurrence with me and could be entirely unrelated). Would that have been readily visible? Would any other unusual things be seen? Or is it just those two things that can be diagnosed/ruled out by the in-office test?

Also, apparently my vaginal ph is out of whack - no shock there, I guess, with recurring BV - is there anything I can do about that besides the usual not douching, not washing the area with soap, etc? I don't use tampons (they make things worse, I find) or have sex that involves contact with semen, so those aren't contributing factors.

Clitoris pain and irritation after BV

[climbatize.livejournal.com]

I'm having a really aggravating problem. I came down with BV twice in the span of two months, and it manifested as severe clitoris pain and redness. After I got done with the antibiotics, the symptoms came back, but I tested negative for BV. The only way I can get any relief from the pain is when I'm on antibiotics, which I was told to stop taking.

I'm losing faith in my doctors, because I called a nurse and her only suggestions were to use estrogen cream and to try to reduce the stress in my life. This is doing absolutely nothing and I'm still in pretty unbearable pain.

I'm just wondering if anyone has any suggestions at all, or if anyone else has been through this.

Safe way to douche

[whatsherface162.livejournal.com]

What's a safe solution to use to douche occasionally with?

Pain from somewhere

[jadenfox.livejournal.com]

Having weird pains in my pelvis...Hurts to stand up from a sitting postion and also hurts when I use my lower ab muscles (but the pain is not my lower abs, its like inside of my pelvis) Started last night, today better but still there.  I am on my 4th day of my seemingly normal period. No weird discharge, no odd pms nothing. 

I noted last night that tampon removal was painful too- but just the one time. And not because the tampon was dry, it was full and normal looking in that state. 

Is this vaginal pain? Cervical pain? muscle pain from the tampon??

I have tried motrin and a hot bath, both helped but didnt stop the pain.

Advice?

How long does it take for BC to wear off? + cervical caps

[draba.livejournal.com]

Hi,

I'm not sure if it's OK to ask this, or if has been asked before, so if I'm cluttering things up, please let me know where I should be asking this question. . .

Anyway, I have been on a low-dose birth control pill for just over a week-- the kind with both estrogen and progesterone. Basically it has been a week from hell, with unbearable digestive disturbances of various kinds (bloating, constipation, diarrhea, nausea, stomach pain, gas, almost everything one could imagine other than actually throwing up, which is something I very rarely do), mood swings, hot flashes, crying at stupid things, and generally not feeling able to cope, as I am in my first month of grad school. I can't deal with any of this right now, so I am stopping the pills and will be looking into other options as soon as I have time to call Planned Parenthood.

So, two questions:
After having been in the pill for a week and a half, how long should it take for these awful symptoms to go away? I'm hoping days but imagining/fearing I'll have some effects for a couple months. Help please. . . I know a lot of people might say "stick it out, the side effects should go away" but I just can't deal with feeling so awful when I need to be at my best for grad school.

And, I am wondering what people's experiences with the cervical cap have been like. I'm pretty sure that's one of the only options left to me/us (my boyfriend and me), since I tried the copper IUD w/ bad results and I seem unable to tolerate hormones.

Thank you superstars!!

HBC and sex drive

[naked-beauty-21.livejournal.com]

Right now I'm on Seasonale and I'm LOVING it because I have horrible, miserable periods. But I'm HATING it because it has definitely lowered my sex drive and instead of orgasming 99% of the time I've been orgasming about 10% of the time. I'm pissed, I'm sick of it, and my husband is getting frustrated too, because he sees my frustration. I was on Desogen before Seasonale and it did the same things to me. I'd LOVE a non-hormonal form of birth control but my hubs and I both hate condoms and I don't feel like I'm responsible enough at this point in my life to effectively practice the rhythm method or whatever it's called. It wouldn't be a tragedy if I got pregnant but it would be super bad timing right now.

I've thought about getting a copper IUD, but I'm kind of terrified of the insertion process and my cervix is very low so I'd be afraid to use my menstrual cup. And I've heard the copper IUD tends to make periods longer and heavier, which would be ridiculous because my periods are horrible already.

So I'm kind of leaning towards maybe the implant? It would be different because it's only one hormone instead of two. And I wouldn't have to worry about taking a pill at the same time everyday, like the progestin only pill. From what I understand it's really important to take that one at THE SAME TIME every day. Do progestin-only methods affect sex drive as much? Any personal experiences? Any other ideas for me?

Thanks, lovlies.