Discharge and stinging?

Submitted by christinabf on October 21, 2010 - 10:11pm
Body: 

Hi ladies,

I've been trying to figure out what is causing the occasional stinging sensation and weird discharge I've been having since giving birth 3 1/2 months ago. I have discharge that I never had before this last birth (1st child was c-section, this one was a violent, brutal hospital birth with uterine and cervical tears). I asked the urogyne last week about the discharge and he said it looked like normal uterine discharge. Anyway, I noticed that when I have more discharge, I have more urgency, more of that little spasm or twitch feeling around the urethra when I bend or get up, and a little bit of stinging, too. Strangely, my bladder is not excessively low when this happens (well above the vaginal opening, but still very visible). The discharge looks white when it's hanging out on my cystocele, but when I wipe it, it looks like a really pale greenish-yellow. It's also kind of stringy. Also, usually my symptoms subside when I'm sitting, but when I have this excessive discharge, I have urgency even when I'm sitting. A friend of mine, who also has a cystocele, says she gets the same discharge, but she doesn't have the general urinary urgency that I have, so she doesn't get increased urgency with the discharge. I'm breastfeeding exclusively, so I'm not sure if it has anything to do with hormone fluctuations.

Anyone else have this problem? Sorry about the TMI, but I figured that this is the one place where it's acceptable to talk about your discharge!

Christina

louiseds

October 22, 2010 - 4:01am

Christina, you seem to have a good handle on what it is and when it happens. The colour of it is a bit weird. It sounds to me like the discharge I had just before menopause, which has now ceased. It was quite tacky and stuck my pubic hair together on many occasions which was 'very uncomfortable' (ouch!). It might be a normal low oestrogen-type vaginal discharge. If the doctor said it looked like a normal vaginal discharge, what was he talking about? My vagina is like my kitchen. Different things have come out of it on a regular and irregular basis for a very long time. *Normal*, when?

At 3 1/2 months postpartum, even if you are exclusively breastfeeding, your ovaries will be stirring in preparation for returning to oestrus, and producing more oestrogen. Your oestrogen levels will be close to normal again by the time you have your first period, which may be months away yet. So, while you have not had this discharge up until now, you have it now, and no doubt it will change again before you are back in normal cycle.

I would diary the discharge, and also the stinging, so you have information on hand. It may have a roughly monthly pattern. The stinging might be due to a change in vaginal pH, which *also* happens as menopause approaches. If the tissue of your urethra or vulva gets urine burn at all that change will be exacerbated, ie whatever gets on your knickers will be more concentrated, especially if you are having some urgency as well. Any faecal matter in the area will make it worse, just like nappy rash, which it might be. Any odour? I would suggest changing your knickers frequently, or even going without when you can. The fellas call it Commando Style. I don't know of an equivalent female term.

Perhaps we could collectively think one up?

Any suggestions?

Louise

granolamom

October 23, 2010 - 8:00pm

agree that it might be hormonal in nature, this time around I got my cycles back at 4 mo pp even though I was exclusively bf.
now the stinging...I'm sure you would've noticed if it was after sex or something like that. are you using too much soap in the area?

and louise, you had me laughing so hard dh came over to ask what I was reading. never, in a million years, would I have thought to compare my vagina to my kitchen (with different things coming out of it on a regular and irregular basis). and I'm sure the guys have come up with a term for ladies who go without undergarments, though I doubt its 'commando'.

christinabf

October 23, 2010 - 10:10pm

I kept thinking the stinging was related to the discharge, but maybe it's not. I mean, when I feel the stinging I am, of course, constantly checking out my vagina and noticing the discharge. However, I now officially have the first UTI of my life. So maybe it isn't the discharge but instead I may have been fighting a UTI for the past 3 months. Who knows? Anyway, this sucks!

louiseds

October 24, 2010 - 12:02am

Hmmm, well at least you know, and can get on with treating it. You were very observant. Now you need to work out how to avoid getting it again. Hopefully the stinging has been a secondary effect of the UTI, and it will go away as well.

L

louiseds

October 24, 2010 - 12:09am

How 'bout Breezair style instead of Commando style?

Breezair is a popular brand of evaporative air cooler in Australia. Do you have them in your part of the world?

L

:-)

granolamom

October 24, 2010 - 10:33am

ugh is right
sorry that's what it is, but at least you can treat it and be done.
uti is probably the last thing you need right now

christinabf

October 24, 2010 - 9:27pm

Louise, you are a riot. My vagina is like my kitchen right now! And your description of your low-estrogen discharge sounds exactly like what I have - and since I'm not very glamorous when it comes to my pubes (no brazilians for me), it sticks to them as well. Except today there's been a little blood tinge to it on a couple of occasions. What the heck? That's got nothing to do with a UTI, does it? I would see blood in my urine but not my discharge, right?

So, I've been on antibiotics for 2 1/2 days now, and while the burning feeling has let up for the most part, I still have to pee all the time. Urgency and frequency have been my main issue since my prolapse, but certainly not this bad.

I should mention that I self diagnosed my UTI with one of those home kits which showed extremely elevated white blood cells, but no nitrites, which I know is what they look for in terms of diagnosis. My urogyne called in the prescription without seeing me, as it was a Friday afternoon and I was home alone with the kids and no car and I was DYING by that point to say the least. He did mention that even though I had the strongest symptoms of a UTI, he thought my infection could be vaginal if it wasn't urinary, since elevated WBC often indicate that in the absence of nitrites. Anyway, I did another home test today which indicated trace WBC, so the antibiotics are clearly working on something but I still don't understand the blood-tinged discharge. A kitchen-like vagina, for sure.

Anybody have any experience with this? How long before antibiotics take full effect? Should I still be peeing like crazy? I'm on a 5-day antibiotic called nitrofuratoin, and I'm half way through. It made the pain go away pretty quickly, but the urgency is still there. Ugh!!!

granolamom

October 25, 2010 - 9:05am

I have (thankfully) limited uti experience. I had a really bad uti a few years ago, thought I was successfully treating it with lots of water and cranberry juice until it spread to my kidney. I really did almost die. it was pretty scary. I had some heavy duty antibiotics by injection for a few days (ouch! but better than hospital admission for IV) and then oral antibiotics for a month. the really bad acute symptoms disappeared pretty quickly (ie the burning and stinging as well as high fever and shaking chills) but by then I was so sick I pretty much was out of it for a few weeks. I don't remember having much urgency after starting the meds, but again, I was pretty much out of it.
I say call your dr and ask him. I don't mess with uti's anymore.

louiseds

October 25, 2010 - 9:08am

Hi Christina

I have had a UTI that doesn't respond straight away. Not nice. If I were you, I would go and get a mid-stream specimen cultured to make sure they are fighting the right bug with the right antibiotic. The inflammation can hang around for a while after the bugs have gone, so the irritation may take a while to settle.

The urgency and the UTI may or may not be related. They could conceivably be abetting each other. ie peeing small amounts repeatedly might never really give your bladder a good flush out, so the bugs may grow in stale urine that is left. Then the bugs irritate the urethra and bladder and make you want to pee more.

Cranberry capsules may help send the bugs packing.

There are a few ways of emptying your bladder properly. On all fours under the shower is one way, so your bladder really is resting against your abdominal wall, and your urethra is unkinked, so there is nothing stopping the stream.If you pee on the toilet, doing a couple of half squats over the toilet after finishing your pee sometimes lets the last urine out.

You can do without bladder urgency. You might find that bladder training works. I imagine that if your bladder is never full it would become functionally smaller. Holding on for progressively longer between pees will help it to regain its ability to hang on and fill properly. I think the brain signals sometimes get mixed up too, and your brain just thinks you need to pee, ie it interprets the sensation wrongly. Somebody on the Forums only a couple of weeks ago had quite a bit of success building up her bladder's ability to fill up properly and hang on. Suddenly she could go out without scouting all the toilets on her itinerary. Very liberating.

All this bladder training stuff is pretty technical. I would be seeking out a physio who has experience with continence work, to guide you along the way. I am sure that would be the quickest and most effective way to do it.

Louise

teebar

October 25, 2010 - 2:39pm

Yeast, or candida, is common in pregnancy and post-partum and that would explain the discharge. Yeast can also mimic UTI symptoms. You could try reducing your carbs and refined foods and see if that makes a difference.

christinabf

October 25, 2010 - 9:46pm

I have been doing bladder training since starting a physical therapy program 6 weeks ago. I can go about 1.5-2 hours without going to the bathroom, but it's still pretty hard for me. This has been my main issue since giving birth. My urogyne is not convinced it has to do with my cystocele, since he says my case is too mild to cause such problems. He thinks it's lack of estrogen for some reason that I don't fully understand. I will admit that last week, before the UTI, I started a topical estrogen cream, and my urgency was definitely reduced. I think that might be how I got the UTI, though - rubbing cream on my urethra with hands that I thought were clean but maybe I didn't wash them well enough beforehand. I never knew how much one's urethra could stretch delivering a baby! So much more room for bacteria to fester.

louiseds

October 26, 2010 - 6:10am

Hi Christina

So, is the bladder training working, ie are you slowly able to go for longer? Was it you that I referred to?

Applying the oestrogen cream with a less than sterile finger? Mmm, maybe, but there are so many other factors at work. If it is helping, then I would keep doing it for a while. Your urethra needs all the help it can get.

How are you finding WW posture?

And yes, I agree with Teebar. Thrush could be involved too. I have had UTI and thrush at the same time, and had to treat both before the inflammation would go away. I ended up using antibiotics two different thrush creams and a month of probiotic, and cut all processed carbohydrates, simple sugars and high glycaemic index foods out of my diet for a week, then reintroduced them slowly, to try and keep my blood sugar steady. Lots of freshly made, natural yoghurt.

It is a bit of an insane balancing act really, trying to balance all the microflora, while simultaneously bombing them with antibiotics and antifungals. But you have to do something! I felt that the diet changes were helpful enough to perservere with, despite the limitations.

I also did not realise how much an urethra could stretch open while birthing. Rest assured though, that it will get smaller again, but you will need to be patient. Remember that it could take two years for your body to revert after pregnancy, and the reversion of your urethra will be part of that.

Louise.