Hello everyone.. please take the time to read this. If anyone has any suggestions I would be so appreciative. Has anyone ever experienced or heard of anything like this before?
I’ll start out by saying I’m 23 years old and in good health, aside from whatever is going on in my groin area. I am not overweight or diabetic. I will also say that there are a lot of different symptoms I am about to discuss- but am not entirely sure each and every one is related. I am very depressed, confused, and hopeless about this situation. I feel like I will never be able to have sex, a normal relationship, or live a day without discomfort and severe itching in that area again. I am borderline suicidal. I have no idea how I’ll ever excel in a career either because all I can focus on is how uncomfortable my body is every second of the day. I experience these symptoms every day and have no explanation for them.
They include
-redness and rawness
-extreme vaginal and anal itching that is worse at night
-yellow/green discharge with no odor (consistency of boogers… sorry i know that’s gross)
-discomfort and slight burning during urination (worse towards end of urine stream, worse when i’m on period)
-loose discolored stools, frequent gas (more than I’ve ever had in the past)
-an odd TINY patch of skin next to my clitoris that no doctor can seem to identify. (tried to take a pic but its so small you cant see anything)
-vagina looks more wrinkled than it used to
-hypersensitive clitoris… discomfort if touched in a certain area
-pain during intercourse (bad enough that I don’t want to have intercourse)
-(less often than the others) a shooting internal vaginal pain
-persistent every day for 4 years cough with mucus (I smoke so this may be unrelated)
The most prominent symptoms are the itching, redness, discharge, and discomfort while urinating.
I also have had a couple cysts/abscesses in my groin area. They were located on the bikini line. I always have them treated or surgically removed. This has occurred since age 13 though and may be completely unrelated to my other issues. They have always been biopsied and confirmed to be harmless.
I have been diagnosed and treated for chlamydia a while before these symptoms occurred. i went back after treatment for and it was confirmed the antibiotics worked and it went away. I did not notice any symptoms when I was diagnosed with this.
Since then, my current symptoms have developed seemingly out of thin air and have not subsided for even one day in the past 4 years. I have seen 3 dermatologists and over 10 gynos. All of my test results for every kind of infection one can possibly get in that area have come back clean/negative every time. I have been pap smeared at least 20 times in the past 4 years, no kidding. The doctors have prescribed me many different creams, antibiotics, antifungals, antiparasitics, and more to see if anything will give me some relief. I do not believe these tests are false negatives, given that they have been done so many times. I also do not believe I have vulvodynia, because of the discharge and the anal issues. I am scared to see a gastro specialist because I know they will order a colonoscopy- which I heard is unpleasant to say the least. I feel like every doctor is just guessing at this point.
Recently, the last gyno I went to said I had a positive HPV test. Not for the kind with warts, but for the kind that predisposes you to cervical cancer. Under further examination, no abnormal cells were found. I have been tested for this. Being as I’ve been tested many times for it and its never shown up, I believe this HPV is new and has nothing to do with my symptoms that are giving me daily discomfort.
This sounds insane- but recently my eyes are constantly itchy and have a slight discharge escaping from the inner corners. I think I see tiny bumps inside the corners but at this point I really can’t even tell if I’m just paranoid or insane or how the world’s most difficult infection to identify. I have never had even a sneeze from allergies, and it has been constant for months, so I am 99% sure allergies have nothing to do with it. My nipples are also itchy, and sometimes my armpits are too.
I have been hesitant to get a biopsy of the vaginal area because I am scared of the damage and pain. However, I think this is my next move to rule out LP and LS. These fungi have not been known to cause pain while urinating though, so I am doubtful this is the answer. Also, the little patch of skin looks nothing like the pictures of LP and LS when I search online.
I stopped shaving, using soaps, wear only cotton underwear- all of the precautions I could think of the eliminate contact dermatitis.
My gut has always told me this was some kind of infection, but all tests are negative and none of my sexual partners have ever had any issues (that they’ve spoken to me of at least).
Does this sound bacterial? Fungal? Like a hormone disorder? Diet related? Could the cysts in my groin be spreading infection to my vagina? Did the past chlamydia I had just completely and permanently mess up my vagina? Can I have a UTI or STD that isn’t showing up on tests? I literally have no idea what to do anymore. Yeast or BV spread to anal cavity? Can that even happen?
Please help. My mom is sick of hearing me complain (I think she thinks I’m crazy too) and I’m too embarrassed to talk to my friends. I’m pretty sure my doctors are all starting to think I’m nuts. They all tell me they can see the redness and discharge and irritation but cannot find a reason for it. It seems to be as long as my test results are negative they do not care, even though they can physically see the irritation and confirm that to me. For some reason it doesn’t seem to bother any of the doctors I see that I leave their offices feeling so alone and hopeless. I am scared I am really sick and no one can find what is wrong with me. Someone please help. The mental toll this has taken on me has been outstanding.