[VPD} Re: All about my appointment today

[Guest guest]

Dusty--

My question is this...how do you find a doc that will do this kind of more

sensitive culture

with typing and how do you know they're doing what you need? I went to the GYN

and had

a standard culture done which was negative, but I really don't trust it.

>

> 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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