Virginia and fungal infections

The discharge is usually thick, white, and kind of chunky—though it can be thinner too, like at the very start of a yeast infection—but once things really start spiraling out of control (please don't just ignore it!), it becomes much more pronounced.
You might notice some redness, but honestly, it doesn't always show up. The itching can be hit or miss, too.
As for the smell... I wouldn't say it smells "good," but it isn't exactly foul either. It’s just this weird, off-putting scent.

First off, I’m against using Cinderella, even though my girlfriend is on them (and she doesn't have any health issues). If you were to ask me which pills to take, I'd suggest Cinderella. I only know one person dealing with fungal issues who actually takes Cinderella.

Has it ever occurred to you that since you started taking Cointus, the interruptions have stopped because your semen is now packed with nutrients that act like a feast for fungus? Maybe the issue is actually just basic hygiene?
You know, after sex—especially when you're left full of semen;
it would be a good idea to wash up once in a while.

Does a guy really need to be told that by some kid?

Look, I’ll tell you right now: that is almost certainly a side effect of your birth control. I spent five grueling years struggling with the exact same issue, and the solution turned out to be incredibly straightforward. Oral contraceptives containing 20 mcg of estrogen—products like Loestrin or Yaz, for instance—don't actually cause yeast infections.
I honestly find it hard to believe how many people just spout off nonsense claiming there's no connection to contraception at all. Perhaps people should try doing a bit of actual research before they start rattling off baseless theories.

casualbear21 said:First off, I’m actually against Virginia, even though my girlfriend takes them (and she doesn't have any health issues), but if you were to ask me which pills to take, I’d probably suggest Cinderella. I only know one person who deals with yeast infections while taking Cinderella.

Has it perhaps occurred to any of you that now that you're taking Cointus, it isn't interrupting things anymore, and consequently, the semen is packed with nutrients that act as a literal paradise for yeast? Perhaps the issue is actually just basic hygiene?
You know, after sex—especially the kind where you end up full of semen;
it might be a good idea to wash up once in a while.

Do you really need to hear that from a man, and an immature one at that?

Oh, please, stop lying... I was on Cinderella and ended up with yeast infections... the issue is the estrogen dosage, not the specific brand of pill...

silentcanyon102 said:Fungal infections have absolutely nothing to do with birth control pills. Honestly, it feels like every other woman deals with yeast infections, regardless of whether they’re on the pill or not. When you're fighting fungi, you have to be incredibly persistent. You need to stick with something like Monistat for at least a full month; otherwise, you're just masking the symptoms instead of actually curing the infection. Both my OB-GYN and my dermatologist told me the exact same thing. I personally kept using Monistat for a month even after the symptoms cleared up. It's also smart to use it preventatively once you're healed—applying it a few times won't hurt you, it can only help. All of this is advice I've tested on myself in direct consultation with my doctor.

This is exactly what my gynecologist told me. She was very clear that Catherine has zero connection to the pill.
I haven't heard about any other type of fungal infection attacking down there besides this one😕, so if anyone knows more, please share some info

So, I’ve gone ahead and consulted with several different gynecologists, and they all insisted that birth control has absolutely nothing to do with yeast infections.
But if you actually take the time to dig through some legitimate medical literature, the connection becomes quite obvious. In fact, there are specialists here in the States who specialize specifically in yeast infections and possess a much deeper understanding of the issue than the doctors I've dealt with locally. Based on the recommendation of an American gynecologist, I switched to a supplement containing 20 mcg of estrogen, and I honestly haven't dealt with any fungal issues since making the change. I should probably mention that for five years, I was using pretty much every pill available on the market here...
Look, it’s fine if people don't want to believe me or if they disagree, but at the end of the day, I managed to solve my own problem.
And I really feel the need to point out that my doctors told me I simply couldn't use contraception at all and that I would never find a pill that worked for me, which, frankly, just isn't true.

All you really have to do is type "oral contraception + yeast infection" into Google, and you'll find millions of pages confirming the link.

I’m with that guy above... there's no way Virginia causes yeast infections... I mean, maybe if someone has a really weak immune system, but that just means your levels weren't where they should've been anyway..

And another thing, I take Virginia for my acne, and there is zero chance I'm stopping...

And honestly, think about it—people take it for sex, and for some, it's their first time going without a condom, so that's probably more likely to be the cause than Virginia...

Like my doctor says, a vagina isn't sterile, and neither is a penis... when those two meet, you get all sorts of stuff 😁 some more, some less... maybe you both should have just gotten tested first before ditching the condoms...

One of the potential side effects associated with birth control is vaginal yeast infections. I actually saw this explicitly mentioned in the instructions for Cinderella....so, I suppose whether you choose to take that information at face value or simply disregard it is entirely up to you.

Maria Chase55 said:Look, I’m telling you—it’s definitely not just about birth control...
and I honestly can't believe how people keep drumming on about how it has nothing to do with contraception...

It isn't "safe" from birth control. Just because your issues stopped when you quit the pill—well, that might just be true for you.
We've been in a stable relationship for 8 years. During those 8 years, she was on various types of birth control for about 5 of them (brands like Trinovum, Triquilar, Cinderella...), and maybe 3 years without any pills at all—let's call them breaks.
Throughout the entire 8 years, we’ve dealt with regular yeast infections regardless of whether she was on the pill or not. They flare up constantly at irregular intervals (anywhere from one to four months apart), happening at least several times a year. The real nightmare is that her infections always come with this nasty discharge, plus intense burning and itching, which makes them incredibly frustrating. It has such a negative impact on our sex life and her general mental well-being. 🙂

We’ve tried everything... everything from different vaginal suppositories and creams (mostly Canesten and Nystatin) to oral pills... not to mention all those "boost your immune system" methods (acid salicylic, vitamin supplements, aloe vera products, Noni...) — so far, absolutely nothing has provided a permanent fix.

The only pattern we've actually noticed is stress and sexual activity: the more stress there is in life, the more frequent the infections. The same goes for sex... for example, a week of intense sex almost always results in an infection... and again, we're back to talking about a compromised immune system. 🙂

Right now, we aren't using any kind of birth control... but of course—the yeast is still there.

Anyway, if anyone out there has had an experience like "it tortured me for years and then miraculously stopped"—we would love to hear it. 🙂
I heard a story once from a woman who suffered from constant issues with Catherine. Luckily, her infections weren't painful or anything... the only sign was discharge... basically, the infections just stopped after she had her first baby—so tell me about that! 🙂

shadowdrifter21 said:It’s not "safer" than birth control. Just because stopping the pill helped your specific issues doesn't mean it's a universal rule.
We’ve been in a steady relationship for 8 years now. Out of that time, maybe 5 years were spent on various birth control pills (like Yaz or Sprintec, or even Cinderella...), and about 3 years were off them—kind of like breaks.
Throughout all 8 years, we've dealt with yeast infections constantly, whether she was on the pill or not. They pop up at irregular intervals (anywhere from one to four months apart), happening at least a few times a year. The real headache is that her infections come with different kinds of discharge, plus intense burning and itching. It’s frustrating, and honestly, it takes a massive toll on our sex life and her mental well-being overall. 🙂

We’ve tried everything... various vaginal suppositories and creams (mostly Monistat or Nystatin), oral meds... not to mention all those "boost your immune system" methods (acidic supplements, vitamin blends, aloe vera stuff, noni juice...). So far, nothing has provided a permanent fix.

The only pattern we’ve noticed involves stress and sex: the more stress there is, the more frequent the infections. The same goes for sex... for example, a week of really intense activity almost always leads to an infection. I guess it all comes back to a weak immune system. 🙂

We aren't using any birth control right now... but yeah, the yeast is still there.

Basically, if anyone has had an experience where they struggled for years and then suddenly it just stopped—we'd love to hear about it. 🙂
I heard a story once about a woman who dealt with constant issues with Catherine. Luckily, her infections weren't painful or anything; the only sign was discharge. Anyway, her problems finally cleared up after she had her first baby—so, you tell me. 🙂

Has your Pap smear come back normal? I actually thought I just got yeast every single time after sex for a whole year, until it turned out I had CIN 2 and HPV... even using condoms, obviously. I was seeing a gynecologist regularly from day one, but that didn't save me from the HPV.

I seem to recall a woman on this forum once mentioning she’d been dealing with yeast infections for about nineteen years... I can't quite remember her specific remedy, but there was another individual who struggled for two years and mentioned taking itraconazole tablets, which apparently prevented any recurrence... and if you look at the prescribing information, it actually specifies treating chronic and recurrent candidiasis, so perhaps that might offer some relief

As for childbirth, my own OB-GYN mentioned the same thing—that your pH levels shift significantly after delivery, which can sometimes resolve these issues entirely. In fact, she shared that she experienced this personally; her own yeast infections just cleared up after she gave birth...

Regarding my previous comment, I suppose "certainly" was misinterpreted; I didn't mean to imply that these issues apply to every single instance of a fungal infection... the underlying causes are often quite varied, I suppose...

Maria Chase55 said:Oh, please, stop lying...
I took Cinderella and ended up with a yeast infection...
The issue is the estrogen dosage, not which pill you take...

I'm not lying; I'm just learning from reading.
I already mentioned that I don't personally know anyone who has dealt with this.
And I admitted that I'm just a kid.
Am I expected to track the microbiome of every woman in the city?
I am not a gynecologist.

What Maria Chase55 is relentlessly attempting to clarify is that birth control pills alter the vaginal pH levels, creating a shifting environment that subsequently increases one's susceptibility to yeast infections; however, since every single one of those fungal infections stems from its own unique set of circumstances, there is simply no direct, definitive causal link between the pill and the fungus itself.

To the gentleman who so graciously defines himself as some sort of enlightened masculine paragon: yes, we do indeed practice basic hygiene. And no, let us disabuse ourselves of the notion that unprotected sex is the sole catalyst for developing a yeast infection. I have utilized both forms of contraception for years, yet the infections persisted regardless. Later, when I moved away from using condoms altogether, the inflammations occurred with the exact same frequency. There were even stretches where I was entirely sexually inactive, only to find the infections returning with the same predictable regularity and timing. I can think of countless other instances that prove this correlation is nothing more than a fallacy.

shadowdrifter21, it is perfectly logical that you are experiencing these fungal issues, provided they remain isolated incidents. You have cycled through an excessive number of medications and implemented various breaks in treatment all within a remarkably condensed timeframe; naturally, such turbulence would cause significant fluctuations in your vaginal flora. It is imperative that you commit to a single, cohesive treatment protocol and see it through to completion. For instance, both you and your partner should undergo a full month of treatment while strictly abstaining from sexual intercourse.
There is also that persistent theory regarding the compatibility of bodily fluids—an idea I stumbled upon somewhere, though I cannot claim to know its exact origin or if it holds any scientific merit. The notion suggests that it takes roughly six months for the vaginal canal, the penis, or even the oral cavity to fully acclimate to the biological environment and specific conditions of another person's compatible anatomy. One can only wonder if there might be some underlying truth to such a concept.

I just started my third pack of Virginia, and by day three, I ended up with an infection. I honestly never would have guessed it could be linked to the Virginia.
I’ve been using Canesten for three days now, but I'm not seeing much improvement. I don't exactly have the time to go see a gynecologist right now, and frankly, I'm getting pretty annoyed. I had everything under control for about two years, and now this 😢 happens again. I suppose I'll finish this pack and then stop taking them. I'll stick with the Canesten for another week and then see how things go. 👎

In my experience, Virginia definitely triggers Candida, though it’s probably not the smoking gun. I don't know—I stopped taking them, but they're still hanging around... there's clearly a connection, even if my OB-GYN told me this morning I was losing my mind for cutting them out because of it.

My Pap smear was always normal... well, except for those inflammatory changes.
The last one, about a year ago, showed ASCUS (atypical squamous cells)... we're following all the standard testing protocols. HPV came back negative, though I did test positive for ureaplasma. After getting the right treatment, the subsequent tests and my Pap were clear.
Of course, the yeast infections just came right back...

The thing is, no gynecologist seems to take yeast infections seriously. When a woman deals with one major, persistent inflammation for eight years, she can expect all sorts of other issues besides just the yeast. It’s easy to kick someone when they're already down. They always say to focus on the bacteria because "that's clearly the main issue, not some minor yeast thing"... so you clear the bacteria, but Catherine keeps coming back.

@stormymaker24: nothing like that feels "normal" to me.
It sounds like you're implying we were switching birth control every two months... but each brand lasted at least a year or two. We took maybe two breaks, lasting six months to a year each. Any of those periods should have been long enough for the body to adjust, either positively or negatively—and it always reacted with recurring yeast infections.
We always treated ourselves together...
And we've heard that theory about bodily fluid compatibility... but I guess you'd expect our systems to have adjusted after eight years. 🙂

Standard treatments for acute inflammation aren't really a solution. It's easy to fix an active infection with something like Monistat—you don't need garlic, propolis, Acidophilus, or whatever else people suggest inserting. The real question is what to do so this acute state doesn't just happen again next time.
🙂

I've read about twenty pages on the topic of Candida... and it seems we aren't the only ones dealing with this. But unfortunately, it looks like a miracle cure is pretty rare.🙂

Rebecca Lee said:I just started my third pack of Cinderella, and by the third day of taking them, I ended up with an infection. I stumbled upon this thread purely by chance; I honestly hadn't considered that it might be linked to the Cinderella.
I've been using Canesten for three days now, but I haven't noticed much of an improvement, to be honest. I don't exactly have the luxury of time to go see a gynecologist right now, and I suppose I'm feeling a bit frustrated about it all. Things had been perfectly fine for about two years, but now this has cropped up again. 😢 I think I'll finish this current pack before I stop altogether. As for the Canesten, I'll likely stick with it for another week and then just see how things go. 👎

I feel like I am constantly repeating myself, and perhaps I am being quite tedious, but here goes once more. Using a preparation containing 20 mcg of estrogen shouldn't cause a yeast infection. Perhaps you could try Yasminelle instead. If you still end up dealing with infections after switching, then I suspect the issue lies elsewhere and isn't actually related to your contraception. In other words, if your body is functioning normally otherwise, you shouldn't be developing Catherine while on Cinderella.

@ stormystag19. — I suppose you might want to consider whether anyone has tried Ketoconazole, or perhaps a six-month course of Itraconazole?
One could also look into chewable acidophilus supplements or those "yeast fighter" varieties...
The reality is that fungal issues tend to surface whenever there isn't a sufficient amount of lactobacillus to maintain a healthy equilibrium. It seems quite likely that your wife is dealing with a chronic deficiency in her lactobacillus levels.

Therefore, taking chewable acidophilus tablets a few times a day—over a prolonged period, maybe even up to six months if necessary—should ensure that once the Catherine infection is cleared, it won't simply return.

And honestly, it’s true that most OB-GYNs don't take this seriously at all. In fact, I believe someone mentioned on a different forum that they encountered a gynecologist who actually complained about how many women come in for these fungal issues, essentially claiming it isn't even a real disease and doesn't require treatment.

I used to deal with Catherine all the time, and honestly, it happened every single time I had sex without a condom. It was like the pH levels between me and my partner just weren't vibing together at all 😢

And yeah, every time I had to finish a heavy round of antibiotics, it would totally wreck my vaginal flora and leave me with absolutely zero lubrication...

So when my doctor, Dr. Miller, had me sitting on the exam table for Virginia, he asked if things were flowing okay down there or if I was having issues with moisture or discharge, and I was basically as dry as the Mojave Desert 😢 and he suggested Lactacigin—it’s more of a supplement than a pill, and I think you can even grab it over the counter. Ever since I started taking it, the stinging and itching have completely vanished, seriously 😁
I've honestly forgotten what it's even like to need Vagisil or Monistat 😉

Basically, for all you girls on birth control who aren't using protection, maybe try sticking to condoms for a little while. Though, from my own experience, definitely stay away from the ones coated with spermicide because those made me itch like crazy, like I was covered in lice 🤷

Lisa Martin50 said:...maybe try using condoms for a while...

Well, we actually tried that for a bit—and definitely during those breaks—but it didn't do squat. Honestly, it wasn't even just that. Even when we aren't having any sexual contact at all, the yeast just comes right back... I swear, these things are practically immortal and impossible to kill off once they take hold. 🙂

So, I've got another checkup with my OB-GYN this Wednesday... the last time I had to deal with those HPV swabs and all those other tests, I couldn't even eat for a week. Plus, let's just say some non-existent organs were giving me a hell of a hard time the whole time. 🙂

edit:
Maria Chase55... I can't quite remember about the Econazole... (we went through so many different pills, they all start sounding the same after a while)... We definitely weren't on Itraconazole for six months. And the Yeast Fighters or that Acidophilus stuff? No—though we did use that liquid acidophilus, both orally and via those vaginal "applicators"... Orally was fine, I guess, but I absolutely hate the feeling of that vaginal stuff. 🙂
plus, there was also all that "standard immune support" junk—Aloe Vera in every possible form, Noni berries...

Anyway, once we get this current inflammation under control, we’re going to give it another shot... we'll see about trying those Twinlab products.