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Six Months of Symptoms For the past six months, I have been in recurrent and intermittent pain. This pain involves a burning, itching and the feeling as if nettles were in my vagina. These symptoms consequently mean I often cannot sleep properly and have to sleep with a pillow between my legs to prevent my labia majora (outer lips) from touching. Often as well the pain is so bad that I cannot walk or do physical exercise. These symptoms usually develop quite quickly and randomly, though I have noticed they can be triggered by both sexual intercourse, masturbation or high intensity workouts.
Ruling out Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) When I initially started noticing these symptoms, I thought that it may be useful to rule out the possibility of having an STI. At the time, I had a new sexual partner and so the possibility of an STI causing these symptoms, although unlikely, was not impossible. Additionally, I noticed that sexual intercourse would often make my symptoms worse. Therefore, we both ordered home testing kits for STIs to rule out this possibility. For the home self-test kit, he had to do a finger prick test and I had to do both a finger prick test and also a self-swab. My boyfriend has a really bad phobia of needles which at the time I didn’t realise the extent of, but it turns out that pricking his own finger and then collecting his droplets of blood into the tube consequently made him faint. His brother then had to smuggle him jelly babies to get his blood sugar levels up without his parents knowing he just fainted because of an STI test. My experience of doing the test was rather different and was not at all traumatic like his. Both self-test kits results came back within three days and we were both negative for every STI tested. Therefore, I was able to rule out STI’s as not being the cause of my recurrent symptoms.
In the UK advice, information and tests for STIs are free. You can get tested at your sexual health clinic, some community contraceptive clinics, some sexual health services and some GP services. https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/find-a-sexual-health-clinic/ = use this link to find your local sexual health clinic and their contact details
My Journey with UTI’s
When I first went to a private Urogynecologist (someone who has received special training to diagnose and treat women with pelvic floor disorders) about my prolapse after my examination she noted that my vagina looked “very angry”. I noted my symptoms to her and she suggested that I take Flamazine for two to three weeks and apply it to my vulva. I also did a urine test that came back as positive for a urine infection specifically an infection with Streptococcus urinalis and was prescribed with an antibiotic called Nitrofurantoin. I continued with this antibiotic for its due course which consequently made me feel highly nauseous and I lost my appetite. I thought my symptoms were cured, however, two weeks later the same symptoms resurfaced and I was in so much pain I had to go to A and E. The doctor who saw me noted that it looked like I had had an allergic reaction and therefore prescribed me antibiotics to treat this and also took a swab. Although I was told the results for the swab would be available two days after the test it took almost three weeks for them to come through and the results just stated I had vaginal thrush. So, at that point, I was using vaginal thrush cream, Flamazine cream and vaginal thrush pessary tablets. A few weeks later the pain and burning came back and I booked another private doctors appointment in the hope to get some quick answers as I was fed up and drained from being in so much recurrent pain. The urine test from that appointment revealed that I had yet another urine infection. Consequently, I was given another set of antibiotics which would hopefully rid my symptoms once and for all. One month later and here I am still in pain requesting another doctor’s appointment hoping to find the cause of my recurrent symptoms.
What is a UTI UTI stands for urinary tract infection. It is an infection in any part of the urinary system – your kidneys, ureters, bladder, and urethra. However, most UTIs usually involve the bladder and the urethra. Women are also more likely to get UTIs than men. Symptoms of UTIs usually involve a burning sensation when urinating, the urine can appear cloudy, and one can experience a persistent urge to urinate. Prevention includes peeing after sex, drinking cranberry juice, drink a lot of water, and avoiding products that may potentially irritate the genital area.
UTIs and Uterine Prolapse
One thing that the doctor did explain to me was that my uterine prolapse could be a potential cause of my recurrent UTI’s. The reason for this being is that having uterine prolapse may cause incomplete bladder emptying which means that the remaining urine not properly drained becomes stagnant and can result in bacteria growth. Therefore, as well as a urine test at my next doctors appointment I have also suggested they do an ultrasound to work out if my prolapse is preventing my bladder from draining properly.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4137160/ - Read this article on why women with pelvic organ prolapse who have recurrent UTIs should have an ultrasound performed.
https://www.pelvicexercises.com.au/uti/ - Bladder emptying techniques for avoiding UTI with prolapse. Positions for optimal bladder emptying.
Useful links
https://liveutifree.com/uti-test/#UTI-test-strips – about the different types of UTI test methods, the accuracy of these test methods and 8 reasons your negative UTI test results could be wrong
https://www.health.harvard.edu/a_to_z/uterine-and-bladder-prolapse-a-to-z - Uterine Prolapse and UTIs
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4137160/ - Read this article on why women with pelvic organ prolapse who have recurrent UTIs should have an ultrasound performed.