Aa
Severe Yeast Infection, or Herpes? Confusion.
Hi. Today I was examined due to some pain and redness inside my vagina. I was looked at by the NP, laying down and she said "It looks like herpes to me." I explained that the symptoms I was having were visible and felt right after having sex(less than 6 hours) on the same day. I had soreness, no itching, & after self examination that same day, I noticed the left inside of my vagina was red. It has been 2 days since I had sex and felt like something was wrong, when I visited the doctor. She said they were going to check and results would take a couple of days which I'm aware of since I get tested more times in the year than an average person. She scraped a said ulcer she said I had to test for HSV and she had said it is too early to tell since this was Sunday. She recommend waiting 2 weeks to get STD testing, because it was too soon. I was taken aback by her statement and I was told to dress and she'd be back. She came back and told me I had a yeast infection. She gave me a pill for my yeast infection and pills (acyclovir) for herpes as a "just in case" which obviously caused me stress and panic. She asked if I wanted the info for the herpes medication, and told me a different dosage than what was instructed on the bottle. I was thrown off but still tried to understand, still obviously shocked. She said we shouldn't say it's herpes until we had confirmation, which I agreed, but I still was concerned about her statement earlier saying that it was herpes from her. She then added, "Hopefully it's just a tear." Which I did mention earlier that I had rather rough sex and thought it could be a uti, yeast infection, injury, or tear which she denied. So when I heard the mention of a tear, I was confused because before it was found out that I had a yeast infection there was no mention of there being another possibility beside herpes. So after all that confusion and stress, I have a couple questions. Are you allowed to diagnose and say " It looks like herpes" to a patient after stating it's too soon to even tell? Also after explaining that this happened right after I woke up from sleeping after sex, how is it possible for me to have gotten/diagnosed with herpes ulcers when most cases are asymptomatic and also show symptoms usually occur days and weeks after the contact with the person infected? How did I get redness and pain the day of sexual intercourse if that's true? How is that a proper diagnosis and why does it say on my diagnosis that I have been DIAGNOSED with HSV? I thought it was too early to tell? I am confused, stressed and kind of upset with the wording and back tracking/contradictory statements made. I understand this is a possibility until tested, but I was just left with confusion on why the dosage was different from the bottle, and why I was told about it possibly just being a tear as I was walking out after only hearing herpes? Also, if it's too soon to diagnose since it has only been less than 2 days, why was I told it looks like herpes from the beginning? I obviously got this visible redness and discomfort RIGHT after having sex. I am just confused. I have been staring at photos of my left inside vagina area because I have just been left in distress.
Best Answer
COMMUNITY LEADER
2 Comments
I would be lying if I said this wasn’t the only thing I’ve thought about since 3pm yesterday. I really do have to be told to take a deep breathe sometimes.
I originally wrote this in my notes app on my phone & decided to post it today when I remembered a couple years back I asked a question & you gave me a reassuring answer back. I was hoping and praying for another & I got it. Thank you.
I do have a yeast infection & that was the pill given to me. One dose and I took it right away. As for the acyclovir, on the bottle it says twice a day & it’s a 60pill count & she said, “Three times a day, I think for 10 days, let me check.” & the uncertainty just got to my brain. I’m a pharmacy tech and my brain was just on a cloud & I couldn’t get down.
I do not have diagnosed anxiety, but I used to have extremely bad anxiety in high school and now only some days it’s equally as bad. I’m in my early 20s now and have been thinking about therapy. As for the constant doctor visits, it’s mostly regarding sexual health. Any time I have a new partner or revisit a partner, or a razor bump or any small change to my vagina will make my mind spin.
I truly just wish I could’ve had that experience go so much more different, and could’ve asked more questions and truly explained the options. My first stressful experience with PP.
Aside from the HSV, I saw in my portal that a wet mount & ph test were also sent.
Time will only tell what happens next! I’ll wait for my results and try to breathe because I haven’t.
Thank you again. :)
I originally wrote this in my notes app on my phone & decided to post it today when I remembered a couple years back I asked a question & you gave me a reassuring answer back. I was hoping and praying for another & I got it. Thank you.
I do have a yeast infection & that was the pill given to me. One dose and I took it right away. As for the acyclovir, on the bottle it says twice a day & it’s a 60pill count & she said, “Three times a day, I think for 10 days, let me check.” & the uncertainty just got to my brain. I’m a pharmacy tech and my brain was just on a cloud & I couldn’t get down.
I do not have diagnosed anxiety, but I used to have extremely bad anxiety in high school and now only some days it’s equally as bad. I’m in my early 20s now and have been thinking about therapy. As for the constant doctor visits, it’s mostly regarding sexual health. Any time I have a new partner or revisit a partner, or a razor bump or any small change to my vagina will make my mind spin.
I truly just wish I could’ve had that experience go so much more different, and could’ve asked more questions and truly explained the options. My first stressful experience with PP.
Aside from the HSV, I saw in my portal that a wet mount & ph test were also sent.
Time will only tell what happens next! I’ll wait for my results and try to breathe because I haven’t.
Thank you again. :)
I'm glad that I answered you, and that it helped.
The wet mount and ph test look for yeast, bacterial vaginosis and trich. Those 3 are run together, so don't worry about trich being included - it's just how it's done.
The yeast infection pill will start working right away, but can take up to 7 days to fully work. You should feel a marked improvement within a few days.
The acyclovir dose - taking two every day is the suppression dose. The initial outbreak dose is 400 mg every 8 hours (3x a day) for 10 days.
I think therapy is a great idea. It won't get you to a point where you are great with the possibility of an STD - no one wants an STD - but it can help you cope with the possibility, and help you cope with other anxiety.
Do you use condoms/barrier methods? Ask partners about testing or STD history? Taking those steps might help ease your anxiety, too, and help you have a sense of control and empowerment.
I don't know if the anxiety has anything to do with sexual anxiety, but therapy can help with that, too.
There are therapists who specialize in sexuality and sexual health. You can find one that does, and they won't judge or get freaked out by talking about sex.
Definitely breathe. Right now, it's just a suspicion of herpes. That's all. If it is herpes, you'll be okay, I swear, but we'll cross that bridge if we get there and if we need to.
Whatever happens, you'll be okay. :)
The wet mount and ph test look for yeast, bacterial vaginosis and trich. Those 3 are run together, so don't worry about trich being included - it's just how it's done.
The yeast infection pill will start working right away, but can take up to 7 days to fully work. You should feel a marked improvement within a few days.
The acyclovir dose - taking two every day is the suppression dose. The initial outbreak dose is 400 mg every 8 hours (3x a day) for 10 days.
I think therapy is a great idea. It won't get you to a point where you are great with the possibility of an STD - no one wants an STD - but it can help you cope with the possibility, and help you cope with other anxiety.
Do you use condoms/barrier methods? Ask partners about testing or STD history? Taking those steps might help ease your anxiety, too, and help you have a sense of control and empowerment.
I don't know if the anxiety has anything to do with sexual anxiety, but therapy can help with that, too.
There are therapists who specialize in sexuality and sexual health. You can find one that does, and they won't judge or get freaked out by talking about sex.
Definitely breathe. Right now, it's just a suspicion of herpes. That's all. If it is herpes, you'll be okay, I swear, but we'll cross that bridge if we get there and if we need to.
Whatever happens, you'll be okay. :)
Have an Answer?
You are reading content posted in the Herpes Community
Herpes spreads by oral, vaginal and anal sex.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
STIs are the most common cause of genital sores.
Millions of people are diagnosed with STDs in the U.S. each year.
STDs can't be transmitted by casual contact, like hugging or touching.
Syphilis is an STD that is transmitted by oral, genital and anal sex.
So first, doctors can say something looks like herpes. They are allowed to say something looks like anything. They can visually diagnose you with herpes, and many doctors do, although those diagnoses are often wrong.
I understand your frustration with this. I think we've all had doctors who we feel didn't really listen to us. It's frustrating, but all we can do is vent about it, and take the info we hear and try to process it. Let's do that.
So you have a yeast infection. That's from the test, right? Many places can do that test in the office. Take the pill - fluconazole, I'm guessing. It will help. You may have caught the infection early enough that you didn't have the itching yet.
She may have also written itching to justify the visit and/or treatment to your insurance company or to justify the treatment to her superiors or something. That's okay. Don't get too caught up in that.
What is the difference in dosing? They may have prewritten labels on bottles, and may not have had any for a primary outbreak vs a recurrence, or vice versa, which could explain the difference.
Herpes symptoms don't appear until 2 days minimum after exposure. Maybe she thinks you're having a recurrence and not an initial outbreak - I don't know. She did well to test you, though.
Did you use a condom when you had sex? That significantly reduces the chances of you getting herpes.
A tear can look a lot like a herpes outbreak, and a yeast infection can look a lot like a herpes outbreak. She actually did well to give you treatment for both. If this is herpes, giving you the meds will help you. If it's not, it won't hurt you to take them.
You say you go to the doctor more than most. Do you have health anxiety? An anxiety disorder? Are you getting treatment for that?
Her job is to let you know what's happening, or possibly happening, to and in your body. She did that. Your job is to process that information and manage the anxiety. Hopefully, this helps you do both.
If you have a counselor for your anxiety, now would be a good time to check in.
Whatever happens, you will be fine. I promise. I've had herpes for almost 20 years. I promise it's not nearly as bad as people think. If you don't, you'll walk away from this with a little more info than you had before. :)