So, I've been a monogamous relationship for 1 year, and have been having sex for about 10 months of it. We've been having condomless sex (I am on HBC) for about 8 months. He is my first sexual partner.
Saturday, the 19th, I had condomless sex per usual. The next day I noticed I was fairly sore, and the day after (the 20th), I noticed it was painful to urinate. Upon inspection of my vag with a mirror, I noticed some tell-tale signs of a yeastie.. My entire vulva was a bit red, inflamed, and I had some cottage cheesy discharge. Throughout that day I started experiencing itching and burning on the vulva. Assuming I had a yeast infection, Tuesday night I started a round of Monistat 3 (a OTC yeast infection medication that you insert into your vag every night for three nights).
The last day of the Monistat, which was Thursday the 24th, I noticed that right above the entrance to my vagina was painful to the touch (it had NOT been painful to touch previous to Thursday). By Thursday/Friday, most, if not all, of the yeast infection symptoms were gone... Vulva was no longer red, and it was no longer itchy, but still occasionally painful when my urine hit my vulva, but not nearly as bad.
The pain immediately above my vaginal entrance has persisted (though I *think* is a little less than it was yesterday and the day before), and I had assumed this meant the yeast infection wasn't gone. But then I realized it wasn't itchy, or burny, and there was no longer any discharge, and every day have been inspecting the area with a mirror. The very sore spot is fairly deep underneath all the folds of my vagina (the red and itchy stuff had occurred allover my vulva, and not just here, and has since cleared), and I have to fish around to find it with a finger, let alone see it with the mirror. It LOOKS a bit red, but I honestly have never looked at this part of my vagina to know if it is redder than usual. It still hurts sometimes when urine hits it (though not nearly the wincing pain it was on Monday when I first noticed the yeast infection symptoms).
Anyway, I found the spot and for the past two or three days noticed nothing strange about it (though potentially red). Today though, it appears I have two very small sores (that I didn't see before). They are indeed fairly small, and are what is painful to touch (the rest of the surrounding area isn't painful, just the sores), but not itchy or burny... unless something is touching them I don't notice them and they are not sore. They are a little whitish. Until I found these spots, I had continued using a topical ointment that came with the Monistat 3 that is supposed to help relieve symptoms. I used a lot more than I think I should because the pain was irritating, and don't know if over-using it (it contained the same active ingredient to kill yeast as the stuff inserted into my vag) could potentially cause these sores or at least make them worse.
The sores don't look 100% like the pictures of genital herpes that I've seen online and are linked to on the vulvapedia, but I'm not going to rule out herpes.
I have never experienced anything like this before, and assumed it was a yeastie from particularly dry and rough sex two days before the symptoms occurred. I've never had any painful sores or blisters previous to this, or any other pain except for being sore after rough sex.
Does this sound like herpes to any of you? I'm a little freaked out right now, and obviously will be going to the doctor ASAP. But I'd like to know if anyone has experienced anything like this before, and if I should be as worried as I obviously am.
Saturday, the 19th, I had condomless sex per usual. The next day I noticed I was fairly sore, and the day after (the 20th), I noticed it was painful to urinate. Upon inspection of my vag with a mirror, I noticed some tell-tale signs of a yeastie.. My entire vulva was a bit red, inflamed, and I had some cottage cheesy discharge. Throughout that day I started experiencing itching and burning on the vulva. Assuming I had a yeast infection, Tuesday night I started a round of Monistat 3 (a OTC yeast infection medication that you insert into your vag every night for three nights).
The last day of the Monistat, which was Thursday the 24th, I noticed that right above the entrance to my vagina was painful to the touch (it had NOT been painful to touch previous to Thursday). By Thursday/Friday, most, if not all, of the yeast infection symptoms were gone... Vulva was no longer red, and it was no longer itchy, but still occasionally painful when my urine hit my vulva, but not nearly as bad.
The pain immediately above my vaginal entrance has persisted (though I *think* is a little less than it was yesterday and the day before), and I had assumed this meant the yeast infection wasn't gone. But then I realized it wasn't itchy, or burny, and there was no longer any discharge, and every day have been inspecting the area with a mirror. The very sore spot is fairly deep underneath all the folds of my vagina (the red and itchy stuff had occurred allover my vulva, and not just here, and has since cleared), and I have to fish around to find it with a finger, let alone see it with the mirror. It LOOKS a bit red, but I honestly have never looked at this part of my vagina to know if it is redder than usual. It still hurts sometimes when urine hits it (though not nearly the wincing pain it was on Monday when I first noticed the yeast infection symptoms).
Anyway, I found the spot and for the past two or three days noticed nothing strange about it (though potentially red). Today though, it appears I have two very small sores (that I didn't see before). They are indeed fairly small, and are what is painful to touch (the rest of the surrounding area isn't painful, just the sores), but not itchy or burny... unless something is touching them I don't notice them and they are not sore. They are a little whitish. Until I found these spots, I had continued using a topical ointment that came with the Monistat 3 that is supposed to help relieve symptoms. I used a lot more than I think I should because the pain was irritating, and don't know if over-using it (it contained the same active ingredient to kill yeast as the stuff inserted into my vag) could potentially cause these sores or at least make them worse.
The sores don't look 100% like the pictures of genital herpes that I've seen online and are linked to on the vulvapedia, but I'm not going to rule out herpes.
I have never experienced anything like this before, and assumed it was a yeastie from particularly dry and rough sex two days before the symptoms occurred. I've never had any painful sores or blisters previous to this, or any other pain except for being sore after rough sex.
Does this sound like herpes to any of you? I'm a little freaked out right now, and obviously will be going to the doctor ASAP. But I'd like to know if anyone has experienced anything like this before, and if I should be as worried as I obviously am.
Thanks. :)
I'm a little freaked out, and don't really know what to do if this IS herpes. Do you have any advice? Obviously I'll need to tell my SO if this is the case, but honestly, I don't really like the idea of having to break it to him that... he gave me herpes.
its good that your worried about it because many people go a long time without getting things checked out. if it IS herpes, a doctor can tell you what kind it is and a rough estimate as to how many break out a year...etc.
If this is as bad as it gets, I'm honestly not too afraid of my own discomfort. This is a pain I can definitely live with.
Do you find that your sores crust over? These sores appear to be growing fainter (I found them this morning when I awoke and they were much 'whiter', now they almost blend in with the surrounding skin and are much less painful), but without any crusting over. Any advice on what to do if they go away before I can get to a doctor?
Thank you, by the way! Your comment has definitely made me feel much better.
even if the sore isnt present, the doctor can still test you to check if you do in fact carry the virus.
now about crusting over: i think it depends on how wet your vagina is. sometimes i have had a drier sore, like its developing a light scab, but usually my vagina is pretty lubricated, so a scab doesnt form. my boyfriend on the other hand DOES have them "crust over". pretty much like i said before, a light scab. but usually it falls off, or gets re-hydrated in the shower. HIS sores never look white though (mine are usually slightly white), they just look like flesh colored canker like sores.
I'm 99% positive what you have are little cuts caused by your YI. I ALWAYS get paper-cut looking cuts on my labia when I have a YI. Sometimes, if they crack open a little, they can look a little like a canker sore. If they're long and narrow, assume they're YI accompanied cuts. If they're more round, that might be a reason to get checked out. However, I really think this is what it is. YI's are VERY drying, especially when treated with creams.
In your experience, how long do these little cuts take to heal? If they haven't improved by the morning, I'll definitely see a doctor JIC, but I'd hate to go to a doctor and waste money just for them to say "nope, just cuts, thanks!"
They do look like very small, very mild, canker sores... but not quite like the canker-looking sores caused by herpes (I'm having a hard time explaining the difference). These are almost impossible to see without really close inspection. When I went to look at them just a couple minutes ago, I almost couldn't find them, haha.
Thanks!