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What is yeast?

What's the timeline of a conventionally treated yeast infection?

  • I have a yeast infection. I've been treating it since wednesday afternoon. I'm trying to figure out how long I can expect symptoms to last and when I should be concerned that maybe something else is happening. Bear with me for the probably stupid question that I'm having to ask at the ripe age of 41, as I can't seem to find this answer via google and there are some... complicating factors. Happy Saturday morning icky gynecological chat, guys. I've had yeast infections in the past, but probably not for a decade or more, so my memory and experience isn't very reliable. Feel free to skip down to specific questions if I'm overthinking details. I have a long-term, long distance boyfriend who I see roughly every 4-6 weeks. When we see each other the sex is... enthusiastic. Last time he was here was last weekend and we didn't use a condom for the first time. He left Sunday, I started feeling raw and burny on Monday or Tuesday. Wednesday morning the burning was worse, and I noticed a thick, white, chunky discharge - no discernible smell. I peeked inside, and the inside of my vagina was coated with a thick white film. A little panicked googling later, and it appears to be a pretty clear cut case of yeast. Wednesday afternoon I did the monistat 1-day (the goo, not the ovule), then in a panic (after reading more internet reviews, natch), went back to store and got the 3 day monistat (yes I know that maybe I should have gone directly to the doctor. whoops). I'm not feeling the relief that I feel like I should be. Yesterday I did another little peek inside, and the white discharge is thinner and no longer... adhesive, but the skin inside my labia and vaginal opening is red and raw - much like pictures of yeast infection on babies' skin that you find if you google (I have been googling way too many pictures; curse you internet). I took a bath in baking soda water, and afterward the red angry blotches had faded to angry pink with less defined edges. My symptoms have been getting "better", but still very uncomfortable and inconsistent. I woke up yesterday morning feeling almost normal, but also noticed my discharge was tinged pink! I did the last application last night, and woke up at 3am with the WORST itching and burning, almost as bad as it was in the beginning! WTFFFFFFFFF?!?!?? Question 1: What's the lifecycle or timeline of symptoms for a yeast infection? Everything I read says "all better in a week", but what does that mean? Is it normal to still be feeling itching and burning? Is the raw skin at 48 hours post treatment initiation normal? Question 2: At what point do I know this isn't working and go to the doctor? I read that having treated it myself it will throw off the diagnostic process, true? Complicating factors: * I've had weird vaginitis in the past, after (protected) intercourse with this same partner. No STDs, no yeast, no BV, no Trich. Everything is "normal". The last time it happened my doctor said I was positive for group b strep and treated that with intravaginal clindamycin. This current infection is not the same thing - the symptoms of that were totally different. If I thought I was dealing with that again I would have called the doctor first thing. * I have a... sensitive cervix I guess for lack of a better term. I bleed with intercourse every time; no pain. Again, my gyno says everything looks normal. I do have an IUD; this bleeding started after it was inserted. Related? * I am leaving for a 10 day trip out of the country with my boyfriend in exactly one week. I can't right now bear the thought of sex, and I am terrified of being out of the country and having this happen again. The longest we've spent together is 4 days. I'm kinda freaking out about the possibility of getting some kind of infection during the trip. I am a good monitor of my mental health and anxiety and I recognize that this is... almost bordering on irrational. :/ Question 3: How can I best protect myself to ensure this - any kind of irritation/infection - won't happen during the trip? How will I know if I'm 100% healed up before I leave? We've already talked about keeping things lowkey and going back to condoms. Question grab-bag:Thoughts? Experiences? Am I freaking out about nothing? Should I wait it out, make a doctor appointment on monday, or go to a walk-in place sooner? Am I overthinking this? I'm not really interested in yogurt/garlic suppositories as I really don't want to use anything that will hide symptoms so I can keep a better eye on things. I'm already going pantsless, keeping things dry. Damn this is a lot of words about a regular common occurrence and I feel silly for my hyper vigilance, and I ALSO know that this is how my anxiety manifests. Argh, I'm sorry; I'm a little sensitive when it comes to my vagina. :(

  • Answer:

    These symptoms are a totally reasonable reason to go to the clinic! Don't feel bad about going to the doctor for this, ok?

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But hey, the treatment is to have a lot more barrier-free sex, so there's that at least.

elizardbits

Go to a walk-in place and get this figured ASAP -- you don't want to deal with this on your vacation!

bluedaisy

I am essentially allergic to Monistat - it *burns* and I personally view it as awful evil stuff. Go to the doctor of course, but absolutely try Diflucan. The pill usually comes with a small tube of cream to treat the topical agony for the day or two it takes the pill to clear the rest up. Definitely ask for a spare dose to take with you. I think in the US Diflucan is available over the counter - if you can't get to a doctor, talk to a pharmacist. Cotton underwear helps, but sleeping or spending some time commando each day really helps.

jrobin276

Sounds like you got it sorted. Vaginal imbalance also really stresses me out, especially with a pending romantic vacation! Might be worth asking him if everything is normal on his end, men can get skin irritation from yeast down there as well and he may want to use a topical clotrimazole cream. Just to repeat things that have been mentioned, my doctor told me never to mess with the 1 and 3 day over-the-counter treatments and just use the 7-day clotrimazole cream treatment or the 1-time pill. I didn't know that the shorter treatments more commonly cause irritation, but I was also going to mention that sometimes healing tissue can feel itchy, you just want to keep being gentle and keeping things cleansed.

dahliachewswell

The 1-day ovule is evil. Terribly irritating. Just wanted to mention, it is normal to have pink discharge after using monistat and the like.

Katine

Just got back from doctor - she said she doesn't see any evidence of yeast or bacteria, and that the burning and inflammation is probably a bad reaction to the medication - doubling up on one day and three day was asking for trouble. She removed a bunch of it and said my body should clear the rest over the next few days. She gave me a diflucan prescription to take with me on my trip just in case, and if I'm still worried to pop back in for a recheck before I leave, but that everything looks fine and to relax. Lesson learned: call the damned doctor and just get the pill if this happens again. Oh, and if anyone is interested: she said 100% condoms all the time and make sure they're Without Spermacide because that will make a mess of things as well.

lilnublet

Some people are sensitive to the 1 and 3 day monistat treatments. They cause more burn and itch than the infection. The kinder gentler very effective 7 day lotrimin cream works much better for some. Is it possible that you are similarly sensitive to the monistat?

SLC Mom

Also, for some people the Monistat just doesn't work. Boric acid suppositories all the way, esp. for persistent cases (can get at a pharmacy -- google for the how to.)

EtTuHealy

Ok, I just went to the bathroom and wiped and the discharge now has the dreaded "fishy smell" I've read all about but never actually experienced. Making a walk-in clinic appointment now. This is making me super distressed. :(

lilnublet

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