Think I have BV but all tests are negative
Posted , 72 users are following.
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.
2 likes, 75 replies
ashlyn51913 lily89380
Edited
same issue... im an addict.. drug of choice was heroin and xanax tried getting clean by attending a methadone clinic but the doctors literally made sure i stayed on it forever because it was more money for them and been on that for 6yrs...did everything else i got my hands on.. all this since thee age 22 and at 28 went to get clean in Newport beach,ca and was sober off everything for 6 months out there.. while out there being clean for the first time in yrs i was horny and just had a crazy sex drive but was super shy and scared of socializing,.. but eventually slept with a total of 4 guys. while i was using i had a bf the entire time and had a kid with him at 25 while going to the methadone clinic staying off of heroin all throughout my pregnancy but had to be on the methadone or else id miscarried.anyways, as soon as i got sober i dumped my daughters father and had sex with a total of 4 men. i started getting homesick and went back home and got bavk with my kids father. one of the guys i slept with was some lame soundcloud rapper sad boy wanna be lil peep n st kinda of dude haha. but he was notorious for sleeping around so i got scared and went to planned parent hood and never got a call back from them so i assumed i was clean. never did the siphilis test tho cause the nurse couldnt find a vein and i had to go to some other place to test for it since they had people who were better at draeing blood i assumed. but ii moved away before i went and been back home. im 29 now will be 30 soon this may3rd. and ive been dealing with the same issue.. for about 7-8 months now... ugh. i now buy pantyliners like crazy... it started with no smell discharge that was sort of thicc and slight grey color. then as time went on it started to smell ammonia and just non stop wetting my underwear thru my jeans, yoga pants ugh 😕 and i can smell myself when i get up and walk away andwalk bavk to where i was chillin and id be so disgusted with myself and tell literally everyone including my bf like can u smell that im literally a walking garbage can. like its starting to smell like fish food flakes u feed ur pet gold fish or something now!!!!??? and the color dischsrge was light green or a light yellow. i also have an implant in my arm that has to be taken out now it kept me from getting pregnant for about 3 yrs but the 2yr was hard cause it had me bleeding excessively for two months straight every other month after i got clean... and when i got home it stopped and now ill have a period once every two or three months but this april i had two periods and im just not feeling well down there. im tired of going thru atleast two or three pairs of panties a day. my pants have to be washed immediately since i dont want the room to smell like st lmao. but i need answers 😦 i bought boric acid pills and tried one at night and i felt so clean the morning but still had lots of discharge but it didnt have no smell atoeast but i bo its just a temporary fix i feel like... i really want the docs to give me every std treatment and every vaginal yeast treatment too... 😕 i never had a yeast infection or rancid vagina problems ever in my life. i took very much care down there even thru my addiction and trust me if u saw me you wouldnt believe i was a junkie lol... but pls someone help 😕 i dont like this problem and my bf is tired of not having any intimacy etc cause im so depressed of dealing with this... hes like just go see a doctor like its fixable but i just am so embarrassed and scared to know
sophia56819 ashlyn51913
Posted
my discharge is the exact same I feel your pain
adrianna12007 lily89380
Edited
you have no idea how relieved i feel to know that i am not the only one going through this!
i've never had intercourse and frankly, i am too embarassed because of the smell down there. Mine smells vinegary too and i always have discharge usually yellowish. I went to go see 2 GYN, all tests for bv came back negative but the symptoms still persisted so they prescribed me Flagyl. Did absolutely nothing for me. Second GYN told me i was conpletely normal too... test came back negative again. i tried boric acid, helped when on it the smell was gone but the moment i stopped boric acid the smell came back. Everything started 3 years ago for me and I cant even remember what i normally smelled like. I am too scared to even get a bf or have any intimacy because of the smell. I am honestly so tired and depressed and ive tried everything: vitamin D, Vitamin C, salt water, changing laundry detergents and softners, taking probiotics, and cutting out sugar and meat. I really hope that we will be cured from whatever is going on downthere.
sophia56819 adrianna12007
Posted
I just hope we find something to get rid of it just want to be normal
adrianna12007 sophia56819
Edited
me too... i´m tired of feeling embarrassed and like an outcast. We´re in this together!
kolo88858 lily89380
Edited
im literally in tears reading your post and all the replies, i thought i was truly the only one because of how crazy the doctors made
me feel.
rosie62921 lily89380
Edited
So sad to see this is happening to others but also a bit reassured that it isn't just me, I have been to the Drs several times and the last one made me feel like she thought I was making it up or being a drama queen.
Started over a month ago, just a strange, strong, smell, I would not describe it as fishy. No smell until it is dried. Nothing I tried stopped it. I used 2 boxes of Canesbalance which is a gel that ensures there is the correct PH, this did nothing except hold off the smell for a while when I was at work, it I think just by diluting it rather than fixing it because it came back after around 2 hours every time.
I have had thrush before and it definitely isn't thrush. I went to the Drs and was given 7 days of oral metronidazole but it made me feel really ill and I had to go home from work one day because I was dizzy and sick. I took the entire course, no change. I had my period during this time which smelt AWFUL like death and was thick and dark.
I was then given a swab test that was apparently negative for BV, STI's, but positive for group b strep. But told that 'we don't treat that unless you're pregnant'.
I was given Metro gel which was great and stopped the original smell and made me feel briefly normal except that it caused thrush with horrible cottage cheese discharge and smell, when I took fluconazole that was managed but it was getting expensive to keep buying it at £9 for one pill. I estimate I have spent at least £100 on this smell so far...
This week I tried stopping the metrogel and tried using boric acid instead. The boric acid at the moment works for a few hours after I get up but then it comes back so I'm going to try one at night and one during the day. I have a stable relationship but we haven't had sex in around 2 months now, and I just feel a bit hopeless about it all now
I have the copper coil and think this is probably pelvic inflammatory disease, the Dr has referred me for a scan but due to what it going on that wont be for a long time.
this week I have also started getting abdominal pain and pain when peeing so I'm sure its getting worse but I feel like I've been fobbed off to wait for this scan which may take months...
rosie62921 lily89380
Posted
Some useful info, I was having some slight relief from boric acid but it would wear off after a few hours so I'm using one every 12 hours now, there is now no discernible smell, also I saw a study that showed that probiotics can enter the vagina from the underwear so I started slightly moistening the pad I was using and emptying a probiotic capsule on the pad and spreading it around. There is no irritation yet from the boric acid but it does make some watery discharge but it doesn't seem to smell. This may not be permanent, and I'm doubtful I'll be able to resume a sexual relationship with my partner yet, but I feel able to go to work without being concerned about the smell. I'm also taking multivitamins and probiotics orally every day. Give it a go, good luck.
mel7207 lily89380
Edited
Hi Ladies,
Thanks for all your shares......I am so relieved I am not the only one with this aweful odor and discharge. I have only started have symptoms this past year. I couldn't figure out where it was coming from and still can't.
I also had all the test done and been on Antibiotics and still no relief from discharge & nasty odor.
I haven't tried probiotics yet. I will try it and hope for the best. There has tobe a solution?
janka26147 lily89380
Edited
Hello, I have been experiencing the same sort of issues as everyone on this forum, and having recently turned 18 but struggling for over a year, im starting to lose hope. I saw probiotics and boric acid being things people mentioned, and I'm just wondering if anyone has found a cure since this discussion has begun? It's so frustrating and I want it to be over:( I have to change underwear during the day otherwise I'm uncomfortable, it worsens when I have sex, so I don't know if I'm supposed to just never do it again?! also I've been told it's pH imbalance and with time it will be better, but seeing everyone's posts about 7 years of struggling, it doesnt sound like something that will pass... Can anyone please please give me some advice on things that have helped or worked??? I should mention I've tested negative for Bv STI and Chlamydia, no signs of anything being wrong but a lot of things seem to be!
rosie62921 janka26147
Edited
So I haven't posted on here in a long time, basically what I put above didn't help long term. What did help was a couple of courses of metronidazole gel (antibiotics. Oral antibiotics did nothing for me, only the gel.) and to stop douching alltogether, stop putting any water or anything that shouldn't be there, in there, not even water, let alone soaps or feminine washes or anything like that. I used the metronidazole gel for ages and the Dr recently refused to give me any more so I was quite scared because I thought it was the only thing stopping the smell coming back. I started using vaginal probiotics from canesten on the same day I stopped the metronidazole, and I'm almost a week in with no smell, no discharge, nothing.
I did get it to go away a few months ago but then it came back, but I didn't realise that washing my puss out with water before sex made it come back.
Janka26147 have they done a swab to see what is in there, if its come back negative for everything else? I also tested negative for all the STI's but positive for Strep B in there but they said that is a normal thing and that wouldn't be treated.
rosie62921 janka26147
Edited
I'm sorry this is happening to you, at 18 that must be hard to deal with, I'm 32 and I'm finding it difficult. This will most likely pass. Make sure you don't give up on your doctors, eventually they will find out what it is if you keep badgering them. Try asking for metronidazole gel. Make sure you tell them what an impact this is having on your life and that they can't give up until they solve this. If you don't get a good service from them try asking for a referral to the outpatients gynecology dept at a local hospital, that's the breakthrough that I had a few weeks ago.
My advice would be if you have the ability, try everything you can, but be smart about it. There is a lot of bad/dangerous advice. I tried everything I read on the internet, mouthwash, apple cider vinegar, nothing worked and it probably made it a million times worse.
Stop douching, though it can be tempting, because you get into a cycle of it smells so you wash it, then it just smells worse then so on.
Boric acid is a pessary that kills thrush. If you don't think you have it, don't use it. Probiotics that you eat are no good to put inside you, it does nothing. There are special vaginal probiotics, the ones Ive used are canesflor by canesten.
nick46337 lily89380
Posted
i have the same issue. Although, my vaginal odor ranges from fish.. to smelling like sweet bread and occasionally bleach or chlorine. Ive been to the doctor only 3 times each time was negative except positive for yeast infection this last time. just like you I smell
good for about 3 hours after a shower and then its a swamp down there. my boyfriend claims he hasnt smelled anything but im afraid for him to go down on me. I have a ph balance of 4. Ive tasted myself and some days its terrible and some days its actually totally fine. I just wish I could be confident enough to go dancing. my issue gets worse when im sweating. like wayyyyy worse.
hbenick lily89380
Posted
This is the worst! I have been on a 5 year battle with BV. I have tested positive. I will treat it, and trst negative, then it comes back. I assumed this was from my then partner's sperm. Well, we are no longer together and I have a new partner. (Before the new partner, I treated it and my lord, my vagina smelt heavenly)
UNTIL I started have excessive discharge. More than the usual excessive. Got tested and the lovely BV was back. I do have an IUD and I do not get my period.
I went in 2 weeks ago to get swabbed because of the excessive discharge. and my provider said I do not have BV. The sad part- she looked at the swab and said "if anything, I would say yeast infection, there's small chunks on the end". Well yeast tested negative as well. She said this may just be my "new normal". I have never hoped for a positive BV test as much as I did then, if that meant my "new normal" could go back to that SAP smell.
The only other change I made is that I now take a 100 billion CFU probiotic high in lactobilicus or however it is spelt. My OBGYN, had said if its just discharge, even with a positive BV, and there's no smell or itching, no. red to treat, as we don't know what to do at this point. I could go through 5 pair of panties daily with the amount of discharge. It is so frustrating!!! 1000% self esteem killer. 😩
You are not alone!
m7865 lily89380
Edited
You are not alone, I have almost the EXACT same story only mine started more recently and is itchy. I mean literally everything down to dozens of tests, vinegar, spotting from vitamin C, and traveling for work is spot on. I recently just found an amazing GYN who was telling me how she had the same story with BV a few years back and because of it she reads medical journals on BV from all over the world. She was telling me how medical journals in South Africa and parts of Europe are exploring evidence that men can offsetPH causing a shift in bio films and that men can reinfect us because the bv lives in the biofilm which is very resistant and can survive in/on men. My dr was suffering from BV for a long time before she stumbled into this information, finally treated her husband with BV medication and she has since had no issues (years now) she now does it for patients if the gel doesnt work. I have my 4th appointment with her (6th overall) next week where she will be treating my partner and I. I will keep you posted.