Volumous Vaginal discharge during menopause

[tyng2]

I went into early menopause 2 years ago at 46.  1.5 month ago I began getting significant amount of discharge which I assumed to be loss of urine (due to smell and volume). For the first 3 weeks I needed 4 sanitry pads a day to control it, now it leveled off at 2 pads.  I have no urge to go to the bathroom, or loss of bladder, just continous leaking. There is little discharge during the night, more when I am walking/standing.

I have seen a GYN with no conclusion. And yesteday I saw a urologist. Before doing a urodynamic exam, the doctor gave me pyridium pill (which turn urine a bright color), and I see that the leaking is not turning colors, which means it is vaginal discharge not urine.

The appearance (slightly yellow) and the smell of the discharge (anomia-like are similar to urine.  What can be done to control it? Or at least to diminish volume and ordor?  It seems all the possible solutions the doctor mention had to do with urine loss, not vaginal discharge.  For vaginal discharge, he said you might have to learn to live with it.

I don't have STD (and have not had a sexual partner for several years).

[Machelle Seibel, MD]

A. It is always difficult to diagnose a problem like yours without seeing the patient. But you have done some very important investigation learning that it is not urine.  A common cause of this type of discharge is atrophic vaginitis. It is caused by low levels of estrogen.  It is always a good idea for your gynecologist to look at the discharge under the microscope and to get a culture using a cotton swab and sending it to the lab. That often makes the diagnosis.

One thing you can try is to get an over the counter product called Replens. Replens helps to balance the pH of the vagina which reduces the acidity and often clears this type of problem up. It also moisturizes the vagina.  Use it daily for one week then twice a week after that. If this is the problem, it should be better over two to three weeks. If not, talk to your gynecologist about whether or not it is a reasonable risk for him or her to prescribe a short course of vaginal estrogen.
Machelle M. Seibel, MD

[tyng2]

p.s.  I also have a pain in my calf (urologist said the pain is in my Sciatica nerve). He said he thinks the main in the calv is unrelated, but the pain and the discharge began at about the same time.

The only other unusual health situation was that about one month before the discharge began I had a gum infection and my dentist gave me 10 day penisilin treatment, which cleared up the gum infection.

I am not taking any medication (only calcium vitamins).