[VPD} Re: All about my appointment today

[Guest guest]

Becky,

I am also in St. Louis. What other doctors have you tried? And what

is this current docs name? I feel like I have given up on MDs but

you need to them to prescribe any medications

Thanks!

Kathleen

>

> Becky. YOu say below that you went to the docs today - the 16

and she did

> a culture which came back negative . A culture takes a number

of days to

> grow. It the the material taken from your vaginal swab, placed in

a petri

> dish and allowed to grow - if there is anything present to grow.

This

> takes days - and the more sensitive ones take longer than that.

So she

> did NOT do a culture and you don't know anything more than you did

berfore

> you got there about your yeast status. Except that she looked

under a

> microscope and based on her experience with looking at the swabs

deems that

> it probably isn't present. If you really want to rule out yeast,

you need

> the culture and the strain identifcation.

> Dusty

>

> [VPD} Re: All about my appointment today

>

>

>

>

> Hi all,

> Thanks for your advice and for sharing your experiences

concerning

> biopsies (didn't have to have one!) and appointments. I had my

appointment

> today with a vulvar specialist who is also a university professor

(at SLU,

> for any of you in St. Louis). Her course of action was to start

slow. She

> did not want to start prescribing all sorts of meds because then

we wouldn't

> know what was working. She basically wanted me to be sure I was

doing

> everything on her vulvar care list (change detergent, soap, etc.)

and use

> olive oil as a daily lubricant to add a protective barrier to my

vestibular

> glands, and come back in 6 weeks.

> I was a bit disappointed because I had put together a

considerable amount

> of information for her about patterns I've observed in my body

(not just

> vulvar issues) and have come to the conclusion that this is not

just a

> localized problem, rather a whole-body approach is necessary. To

this, she

> replied that there does seem to be a link involving VV and other

> immune-system issues, however there are no studies to show

a " cure " for all

> of it. Also, I keep fertility charts using basal body temps and

cervical

> mucus, but she prefers Natural Family Planning, which is a slightly

> different method than Fertility Awareness. She didn't seem to

care about

> the potential ailments my temperatures were showing over the last

8 months.

> Anyway, I asked to have my estradiol, progesterone, and

testosterone levels

> checked and she said she would have to know exactly what point I

was at in

> my cycle (again, she did not trust my charts). So, I guess before

I go back

> in May, I will look into her method of choice so she can

accurately gage my

> hormone levels? (Unless of course, the olive oil does miracles in

the

> meantime:))

> I also asked her to test my thyroid, and she sent me to a lab,

though I

> could tell she was rolling her eyes on the inside. I should get

the results

> within a week. However, the only tests ran were for TSH4, Free,

Reflex,

> whatever that all means, and I thought I had read on this site

that you

> needed additional thyroid tests (TSH2, 3, etc.). Does anyone know

why they

> don't order all of these at once?

> One good thing is she did swab me for a very sensitive yeast

culture and

> it came back negative. So at least that's ruled out (about time,

after 10+

> years!).

> She also checked my pain response to her touching my pelvic

muscles

> (which was very minimal) and told me my vestibular glands were red

and

> tender to the touch (oh, really?).

> Goodness, this turned out to be long--sorry! Thanks for

letting me vent!

> Any recommendations on what to do when I go back in May (again,

barring any

> unforeseen miracles from the oil or change of detergent?)?

> Becky

>

>

>

> Becky Thorn

> Music Instructor

>

>

>

>

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