Hi there, I’m new here. Just looking for the thoughts of other ladies on this forum who may be experiencing similar issues. I’ll try and keep it as brief as possible. Here goes..
I’m 56 years old, had my Mirena IUS removed in July 2023 (it was fitted to deal with heavy periods). It was supposed to be in place for 5 years but, with covid restrictions at my surgery, I ended up having it in place a further 18 months, although I believe it’s licenced for use up to 10 years (that’s what the nurse at clinic told me).
So, I had it removed in the summer. Straightforward, slight bleed for a day or two which settled down. 2 weeks later I had a smear test done, results came back normal.
Then at end of August, I started experiencing symptoms of UTI. Like cystitis, burning, running to loo a lot. I had this treated by pharmacist with cranberry sachets. Seemed to settle. Then it came back so I handed a sample into my surgery which was sent away. When I passed urine, there seemed to be a bad odour afterwards although my urine itself smelled fine. In meantime, I was given Nitrofurantoin antibiotics. Nothing showed up in my urinalysis so it wasn’t a UTI . My vaginal area felt really itchy inside. Thought I might have thrush, but symptoms settled down.
On and off, the smell would appear in the bathroom when I urinated. I was given a further course of antibiotics as I had a burning feeling when weeing. The symptoms improved but I still was aware of the smell at times. Further sample was sent away to lab but came back clear.
Anyway, one day after I had used the bathroom, my son went in after me and he passed comment on the lingering smell. Bless him, he didn’t want to hurt my feelings but he said it smelled a bit like bad BO. I thought it had a rancid cheesy smell myself (sorry ladies, TMI 😳 ). It was embarrassing. I spoke to the nurse, she arranged for me to do a vaginal swab and hand it in, which I did, but it was ‘satisfactory’.
Anyway, by this point I was starting to get a bit fed up as the smell would be there after weeing. Couldn’t see much discharge on my panty liner but I decided to buy a vaginal pH kit in Boots and test myself. The pH was showing at 5.3 or so, with a possibility of BV, so I phoned the surgery, spoke to another nurse who decided to treat me with a Clotrimazole pessary for possible thrush and gave me a course of Metronidazole over Christmas. The smell did go away while on it but returned about 5 days after I finished the Metronidazole, so I was given a further 5 day course. I had to then submit a vaginal swab afterwards and wait for the nurse to call me. She did and said that the swab showed no BV, thrush or any infection, which was reassuring. But I did tell her that the smell can make an appearance. Plus I do experience vaginal dryness - I noticed this when I was doing a repeat test of my vaginal pH, there wasn’t a lot of wetness inside of me going onto the little testing stick.
It was then that the nurse mentioned vaginal atrophy. I didn’t know what this was, but she briefly explained about it and how it affects women at menopause. She recommended a gel (Ovestin 1 mg) to be used internally daily for 2 weeks, then twice a week afterwards, with a review after 3 months.
I got the prescription from the chemist but haven’t started it yet - for 2 reasons. (1) I’m now recovering from flu, which left me in bed feeling so rubbish, plus I lost my sense of smell/taste, so I couldn’t be sure if there was a lingering smell after doing a wee. My sense of smell is improving, so hopefully it’ll soon be back to normal. (2) The other reason I haven’t started using the gel is because I read the l instruction/info leaflet and I’m realising that this is a form of HRT. I feel quite apprehensive about using it inside of me, worrying about the potential health risks. BTW I’ve never had a vaginal examination done since this all started. I just had the Mirena removed and the smear done beforehand. But I was wondering if it was a coincidence or if they might have been connected? I’m trying not to overthink it but it’s been really frustrating, plus 4 courses of antibiotics in as many months….
Can anyone relate to this experience? Has this or similar happened to you? Are there any ladies who can let me know how they are getting on using Ovestin and if, like me, they felt a bit unsure about starting it?
Sorry for a very long first post!
Thanks x
