Chronic BV

Hi everyone. I have been suffering from this dreadful chronic bacterial vaginosis for over two years now. When it first started, my symtoms were very strong. I had a fishy odor and (Warning, TMI) it would seap through some of my clothing making me smell it all the time. The discharge was also milky looking and a whitish/yellow. Anyways, I was treated immediately and my GYN initially prescribed me the oral antibiotic Flagyl. The Flagyl antibiotic did correct my symptoms, however as soon as the antibiotic was finished and I started to have sex again I would notice this smell every time after. Eventually after 2-3 GYN visits getting the same antibiotic prescribed, I treated myself with Monastat vaginally. This also masked my symptoms for a period of time, but it kept coming back. My boyfriend and I would have sex like any other couple. He had only finished inside me a couple times before, and I had this problem well in advance. Certainly him finishing inside me didn't help considering it upset the PH balance even more. Eventually my GYN prescribed me Metrogel. Initially I was told to insert it vaginally once a day for 5 days. This eliminated my symptoms for a long period of time, however I still managed to end up with BV again. I am currently inserting Metrogel vaginally twice a week for 6 months. On top of the Metrogel I used an over the counter probiotic pill once daily with the intent of gaining back good bacteria to overrule the bad. My GYN claims that if I use it enough it could completely eliminate BV from my system. As of right now, I have sex about twice a week. My boyfriend and I have a lot of sex when we're with each other (we share a bit of a distance between our towns) and while taking Metrogel I never have any of the BV symptoms. The problem is about a day or two after I have sex with my boyfriend and don't insert the gel, then the symptoms immediately return. I get a goopy, cottage cheese looking discharge due to the gel, it's completely normal. What goes up must come down. And I tend to spread out when I use the gel in that week based on when I know I'll be seeing my boyfriend so that hopefully all the gel comes out with my discharge. Excuse my ranting, but this is by far the worst thing I have ever dealt with. In the past year I've researched everything to figure out what causes it. I don't use any scented soaps in that area, I've never douched, I wipe front to back, I wear cotton underwear and I change them on a daily basis, etc. I've had my boyfriend tested, I've been tested. It's just a hopeless and continuous cycle that I can't take any longer. I've come to the conclusion that the primary cause could be the use of our saliva during sex. A little while ago, my boyfriend started to spit in my when we preform oral. I told him that he can't spit in me because his mouth bacteria is going to clash with my vaginal bacteria and ultimately increase my bacterial vaginosis symptoms. I don't want to completely rid of oral. Oral is very important when it comes to a successful sex life in my opinion, and I want to be able to have a normal sex life with oral. I am so desperate right now for some answers and soon enough I will have to return to the GYN after I finish my last round of Metrogel, even though just recently I noticed the symptoms again after going a couple days after sex without using the gel. I don't know what I'm going to be told, but I certainly do not want to live a sex life where I have to insert a gel every time after. I really encourage your input and any other suggestions you have. I've done everything to fix this reoccurring problem without harming my vagina through stuff I know will make it worse such as antibiotics and douches. Anyways, thank you for listening, and for those of you suffering from this same problem, you have my support and I hope everything works out of you. 😊

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