Vulvodynia & antibiotics

[Anthrop42]

Has anyone taking antibiotics for "IC" developed severe pain with intercourse? I mean vaginal pain & burning, not bladder pain. I've been taking amoxicillin & augmentin for over 4 months for enterococcus. After 2 months I came down with my first yeast infection in 20 years & my first herpes outbreak in 8 years. After everything cleared up, I started experiencing awful pain & burning with intercourse, & my vagina is also dry as a desert. Even with lubrication, sex is incredibly painful -- all vulvodynia symptoms. Its very depressing - my fiance & I are getting married in 4 weeks & I can't stand sex. :-(

My question is has anyone else experience this & most importantly, has it cleared up after you stopped antibiotics? I know some theorize some vulvodynia is caused by yeast. I take femdophilus & diflucan but they don't work anymore.

Thanks,
Aline

[IheartNursing]

That sounds like a yeast infection. Before you go out and spend $$$ asking docs what's wrong with you, grab some monistat. Antibiotics are the #1 cause of yeast infections.

Diflucan didn't work for me either. Try upping your dose of acidophilus and try garlic pills. They don't make me flare. I'm sure you don't have vulvodynia. that sounds more like yeast than anything.

The problem about this is, is that you're taking antibiotics along with your probiotics. You're gonna need to take ALOT of probiotics. What I do is take about 6 capsules of probiotics a day, plus about five garlic capsules. Yeast is tricky, and takes a long time to die.

[Anthrop42]

IheartNursing,

Thanks for the reply & advice. I think you're right with the probiotics - I'm probably not taking enough. And the garlic is a good idea. I really do hope its just yeast & I can control it/get rid of it.

P.S. Congrats on deciding to be a nurse practitioner - the NPs I've met in my life have always been more knowledgeable, receptive, and caring than the MDs I've met!

Aline

[mich2604]

This happend to me after my last try on amoxicillin, my vulva really flared with my bladder, but yeast was never cultured, so i often wonder if it was bacterial dyeoff or something.

It did go away after i stopped.

I also know augmentin can be harsh on our tissues, it builds up in the bladder as well.


I would NOT use monistat if you have vulvodynia....it often burns those who have it, and i believe monistat caused mine. I used it for what i thought was yeast and it burned me so badly, turned out i had bacterial infection.

I would increase probiotics, and take as far away from antibiotics as you can.


How is your bladder feeling since being on the antibiotics?

[IheartNursing]

She doesn't know if she has vulvodynia. I guess the monistat would be a great indicator, eh?

Probiotics alone might not get yeast that's built up in the system for some time. if monistat hurts you then try taking Nystatin for a week. Don't go over a week though because oral antifungals are harmful to the liver for extended periods of time.

[Anthrop42]

Mich2604,

Thanks for your thoughts. Nice to know your symptoms disappeared when you stopped antibiotics - gives me hope. :) I agree that Augmentin is very harsh. I'm taking as low a dose as I can, but I want to kill the bacteria come hell or high water! This is war!

Monistat does not work for me. When I came down with what I thought was a yeast infection over Memorial Day weekend (red, inflamed, itchy, but no discharge), I tried Monistat & another brand. Both made the itching worse. I stopped the antibiotics for about a week & took Nystatin & the itching finally died down. My bladder symptoms started coming back so I went back on the drugs. Serious pain & dryness with sex since then. I tried a little Monistat cream on my labia yesterday & ended up breaking out in some tiny bumps/sores of some kind. No itching, just a little red & sore but definitely not herpes. I'm just keeping it clean & dry & taking Benadryl in case its an allergy. Will see what happens.

My bladder is better overall with the antibiotics, but its not perfect. I've had small flares occasionally, usually in the form of some urgency after I pee. I still have to watch what I eat & drink. The bladder cramping & pain is completely gone & even though my vagina is in screaming pain during sex, my bladder is fine. :rolleyes:

I did switch from Diflucan to Nystatin today. I'm also thinking of switching to Nitrofurantoin. I know its not as strong as augmentin, but it creates less yeast & side effects.

Anyway, thanks for all the replies.
Best wishes,
Aline