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[Tes1973]

Hello everyone. I am very new here, I read lots of advice here when I had my Hysterectomy and was very comforted at the time. I've never posted before, but having not had a great experience with the G.P recently, my first thought was to come here. I apologise in advance for the long and quite graphic post!

I Am 46 years old and had a total hysterectomy back in March. I had problems for years, firstly having an Ovary removed in May 2018, then in March the decision was made to remove everything, including my remaining ovary.

Following the surgery, I was put on 50mg of Estradot, which increased to 75 quite quickly. I've felt great in myself so far. The only disadvantage was a real increase in vaginal discharge - lots of it daily. At my surgery follow up, 8 weeks later, I told the nurse about this. She said the HRT could cause it and it will settle. She took a swab which came back clear of any infection.

I persevered for several more weeks, but the discharge became worse. It varies greatly in colour and consistency, but I always have to wear a liner, and on a couple of occasions a sanitary towel because I was quite uncomfortable. I also developed a very heavy feeling, as I could feel my vagina (I hope that makes sense), especially when sitting.

I had not resumed my sex life, partly being nervous because of the surgery and partly because of not really knowing what the discharge was. Anyway, 14 weeks after the surgery my husband and I went on holiday, feeling very relaxed and ready, we resumed sex. It wasn't painful or even sore. But things down there did change. The discharge appeared to be tinted pink, presumably light blood, but not all the time. Sex stopped again. Then i developed a nasty UTI where I was literally peeing blood.
Antibiotics cleared that up. The blood eased off, but the discharge is as persistent as ever.

I went to the GP to specifically discuss the discharge. She was so patronising, not very kind, didn't listen to most of my story, and said she was convinced it was Vaginal Atrophy. I am going back next week for a swab and internal exam.
She suggested I use ‘Sylk'. I haven't tried anything yet.

I've looked up on here and googled and I can't find anything about vaginal atrophy causing such bad discharge, and I don't have any itching or burning. I am still getting the odd bit of blood, but not very often and it's very light.
I can't work out if the blood is in the discharge or coming from my urethra when I wee. It does sometimes appear in my pants when I haven't had a wee.
I still haven't resumed the sex life since my holiday, I'm too nervous about what is going on down there!

I don't know if it's connected, but over the last week or so I've now developed sore heavy breasts, being very emotional and craving carbs and sugar - feels like PMT all over again!

I hope some of you can shine a light on any of this with your experiences. I again apologise for the lengthy story, but wanted to make sure I included everything!
Thank you for reading.

[CLKD]

You don't need a swab as that won't show vaginal atrophy. 

VA mimics repeated urine infection-type symptoms: a feeling of pressure, repeated need to wee ........ do read our threads here and the one       about bladder issues. 

Sometimes a tiny piece of ovary might be left, enough to cause menopausal symptoms.  I think you need to go back to discuss with the Surgeon who did your operations.  Could you have a prolapse, if you have a feeling of pressure whilst sitting?

I'm sure someone will be along with other ideas.

[Joaniepat]

Hello Tes1973, welcome to the forum. Glad to hear you've found it useful so far.

Vaginal Atrophy can cause copious, watery discharge as the mucosal lining of the vagina changes due to lowering oestrogen levels. The secretions can  become thin and watery, unlike the thicker, more 'mucousy' discharge we used to get. VA often needs targetted, local treatment on top of systemic, so make sure your GP prescribes a local oestrogen treatment such as Vagifem.

By all means have the swabs done to rule out anything else. The pH of the vagina changes with VA leading to decreased acidity, which can result in an imbalance of the vaginal flora (eg, thrush or bacterial vaginosis) but it doesn't sound like that is the problem in this case.

As you probably realise, urinary infections are also a symptom of VA. There are oestrogen receptors in the bladder and urethra too, hence the 'proper' name, Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause.

Good luck with the patronising GP - I  think some of them weren't taught 'bedside manner' at medical school  .

JP x

[Tes1973]

Joaniepat and CLKD, thank you for your responses. Does sound like Vaginal Atrophy then. I shall see how things go at my next appointment and will definitely mention the Vagifem. I think the examination is to check for any signs of prolapse. I'm seeing a different doctor next time, which I am very glad about!

[sprocket]

Hiya, have you tried Multi Gyn Flora? It helps stabilise the ph in the vagina. Also, when I started vaginal oestrogen ( Ovestin ) I had horrendous discharge and some uncomfortable lower tummy ache/pressure. I took a fluconazole tablet and the discharge went! The weird pressure in my lower abdo also went. See what you think.
Main thing is to find a sympathetic Gp.
X

[Tes1973]

I'm definitely going to give that a try, never occurred to me to take what I normally would for thrush to balance everything. I used to be prone to Thrush a lot but haven't had it for a couple of years, so it's well worth trying that. Thanks