Think I have BV but all tests are negative

Hi, this will be a long post with my story and my test results -

So I've had vaginal odor and discharge for as long as I can remember (at least since I was about 12 years old - I am 25 now). However, my sex education was minimal so I thought this was normal, although I did always wonder why other girls were so confident spreading their legs and not worrying about the odor escaping, but I didn't worry too much about it. Later, when I was about 17 years old, my aunt, who did my laundry at the time, mentioned to me that she thought my sister had a vaginal infection because of what she saw on her underwear, but my sister and I are the same size and I KNEW I had some stuff on my underwear so I'm pretty sure she was talking about mine. This was the first time I even had an inkling that maybe something was wrong with me, so about a month later, I asked my mom to go see a GYN, but her GYN told her it was unnecessary unless I was sexually active (first example of an incompetent GYN). I wasn't going to admit to my mom that I was sexually active at that age, so I just went on with life as usual.

When I was 22, I was about to get it on with this guy that I really liked, but suddenly got really self-conscious about the odor so I stopped it before things went further. Fed up with this, I finally scheduled an appointment to see a GYN and see what was up. So I go to the doctor and she says I look normal and does the test, but it comes back NEGATIVE.

At first I was relieved, because oh my god nothing is wrong with me! But then a couple of months passed and I got self-conscious again and thought, "No, this CANNOT be normal." So I schedule an appointment again at the same clinic but with a different doctor and she examines me again. She says it looks like I might have a yeast infection and tests me again. This time it comes back negative for yeast, but "intermediate" for BV. She did a PCR test (DNA test) which has a 95% senstivity so it's supposed to be pretty accurate and much better than a simple culture.

These were the results:

Lactobacillus LOG: 7.59 - normal

Gardnerella Vaginalis LOG: 4.64 - detected - normal

Atopobium Vaginae LOG: ❤️.00 - Not detected

Megasphaera LOG: 5.29 - increased

According to the results, everything was normal except for Megasphaera which is considered "increased" if over 4.40. But the diagnosis was: "Sample demonstrates quantitative profile of bacterial species which is not characteristic of bacterial vaginosis, but may represent a transitional state." So my interpretation of this is that I didn't have BV, but it could shift that way if something happened.

I was given oral metronidazole which did absolutely nothing. Literally didn't change my symptoms or anything. I had to leave the state for a year and wasn't able to go to the doctor again, so I learned to deal with it just by making sure not to open my legs near anyone so that they wouldn't smell me, but now suddenly the discharge was bleaching my underwear at the crotch. That had never happened before so now I was more worried.

I went to a different GYN in November of last year and she once again told me that I looked totally normal and tested me for cultures. Once again, NEGATIVE for everything.

I went to a different GYN in January of this year and she did a PCR test again and this time the test results were totally normal!

Lactobacillus: >7.50

Gardnerella: ❤️.00 - not detected

Atopobium: ❤️.00 - not detected

Megasphaera: ❤️.00 - not detected

All this told me was that I always have the necessary lactobacillus and none of the bad bacteria, at least not enough to overthrow the good bacteria which is supposedly what BV is all about!

All the doctors assumed since I had normal test results that my discharge and strong odor meant nothing apparently, so they didn't help me after everything said I was supposedly normal. I took to wearing panty liners everyday since at least that way I wouldn't have to worry about bleaching all my underwear or accidentally opening my legs and subjecting my coworkers to a such a strong odor.

In May, I went back to the third doctor I'd been to and I told her I was still having the same issues. She examines me again and notices that I do look "runny" so she prescribes me oral metronidazole again despite the fact that I told her it didn't do anything the last time. She does a test too and later emails me to tell me the results were once again NEGATIVE. I take the metronidazole anyway, except this time not only did it not do anything, but it made me extremely sick too. I had to take a day off work because it made me so nauseous.

I travel for my job so I constantly have to find new doctors wherever I go, but this was becoming such a problem because I decided to google what BV was, since I never had before, and suddenly I was reading about reduced fertility, miscarriages, PID, susceptibility to HIV/STDs, and it freaked me out. I requested a 2 month extended vacation so I could come back home and go to my mom's GYN because I freaked her out too when I called her, crying that I would never be able to have kids, and she told me to go to her doctor because he was great (this was the same doctor who said I didn't have to go until I was sexually active).

Anyway, he turned out to be a good doctor. I told him about the negative test results and he says to me, "Yeah, BV can sometimes test negative, but you still have all the symptoms of BV so we'll treat it. I won't even take a test since you've had so many and I'll give you the Metrogel since it's more effective." Honestly, I felt relieved. Finally! A doctor who believes what I say!

So I used the metrogel for the 5 days and my symptoms cleared by the 3rd day. I was ecstatic! I also started taking 150 billion CFU of probiotics every day and used boric acid suppositories for 21 days after treatment since I read that it can prevent recurrences. And it was working great except for the excessive watery discharge from the boric acid, but the smell was nearly gone and the light yellow discharge was minimal. But then...like 5 days after ending the boric acid method, all my symptoms came back.

Now here is where I need someone's help because I don't know if I really have BV or if it's something else, or if this is just how I am supposed to be normally. I'll be a bit TMI right here, but if you're reading this then you're probably used to it. I don't have a fishy smell. I can sometimes convince myself that it smells like tuna, but usually the smell I get is either vinegary, or overly sweet. My sister and I had been working out once and I accidentally opened my legs too wide and she remarked that something smelled like rotten bananas. My panties will either smell like that or like ammonia. I have discharge all day long. Like I can be clean for like 3 hours after showering, but then it's like I'm leaking nonstop and my panties will be damp by the end of the day and the smell will linger so bad on my jeans that I can only risk wearing them once before I have to wash them. I have rare itching, like maybe once a week for like 5 seconds.

And something super important: I have pH litmus strips. I tested myself while on metronidazole and on boric acid suppositories and it was around 6-7. Before I started those and now, after treatment and with my symptoms having returned, my pH is between 4.0-5.0. It's hard to tell exactly because of the slight differences between the strip and the color chart, but it's WAY lighter than while I was on boric acid and metronidazole.

So I don't get it. My test results are negative, my pH is technically close to, if not in the healthy vaginal range, and I don't have a fishy odor. What is wrong with me? I'll also mention that I've been tested for all STDs and I am pre-diabetic (though I'm not sure how much this factors into it considering I've had these issues since I was young and I for sure wasn't pre-diabetic then).

I'm getting so frustrated because I'm taking a ton of probiotics, including L. Rhamnosus and L. Reuteri, along with 140 billion CFU of women's probiotics that contain a ton more bacteria. I've inserted fem dophilius into my vagina and that didn't do anything except give me a sour yogurt smell and more watery discharge (from the capsules, I'm guessing). And probiotics are so darn expensive!

I've tried:

a balance complex* - didn't do a darn thing even after taking them for a month

essentials prebiotics* - these mildly helped, but symptoms returned right after finishing them

essentials probiotics* - didn't do anything

Folic acid w/vitamin d and vitamin B - again, nothing

Boric acid suppositories - helped while using them and a little afterward, but not a permanent cure

Salt baths - I saw this on youtube and tried it for like 2 days, but it was so inconvenient and didn't help the slightest

I did take 50 billion CFU probiotics along with a tablespoone mix of Apple cider vinegar, Garlic, and Honey for like 3 days and that reduced the discharge a lot, but I then had a pap smear (normal) and it all came back full force.

I don't know what else to try. Luckily, my doctor gave me 11 refills on the metrogel so I'm going to try that again along with double the amount of probiotics, a few inserted vaginally, and the ACV/Garlic supplement to see if it does anything. I've also read that Vitamin C inserted for 6 days after your period for 6 months can work. But I tried Vitamin C suppositories from the essentials brand and it had me spotting on the second day so I stopped.

Does anyone else have similar symptoms to me? Regular-ish pH, non-fishy odor, negative test results? I'm driving myself crazy constantly researching treatments, clinical studies, and checking how I smell every hour.

I'm sorry that this was so long, but I needed to be as detailed as possible 1)to document this, and 2) to see if anyone else has had this experience.

Any help is appreciated, thank you! And hopefully we can help each other.

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