vaginal discharge does not smell but is sour to taste , no s

Hey guys,

I know it's been a while since this thread was replied to, but I recently visited a gyno and have been having good results so far and I thought I might post just in case this helps someone down the line. Apologies in advance for the long post - I am on my phone and likely won't be able to scroll up and down easily to edit in this tiny box.

For those who don't want all the context and details - it turned out my gynecologist thinks I have chronic thrush, but she said it's different to the thrush we all hear about. She said the reason it didn't show up on my swab was because my levels are actually normal, but my body is almost hypersensitive, and overreacting. She said usually for thrush you'll hit it with a sudden large dose of treatment and then it goes away. But when it's chronic, she likes to give a lower dose over a longer period of time - usually six weeks (though she finds that people usually need twelve weeks of treatment). So I am currently in week two of a daily 50mg Fluconazole treatment. So far I have found that my discharge is coming back to a normal I had forgotten, the skin of my vagina feels a lot smoother AND my taste Is no longer bitter/acidic/sour/gross!!

Now for the background info/context... so, I had a similar thing come to my attention - one time when going down on my partner after penetrative sex, I was completely taken aback by my taste - I nearly gagged. Suddenly I understood why he doesn't go down me that much! I was confused though because when I was in my late teens, I tasted myself (out of curiosity, after reading about oral sex) and was pleasantly surprised. I tried again a few times every now and then just to make sure I wasn't imagining things hahaha, and it really seemed like I actually had a fairly ok taste.

An interesting thing is that from my mid-teens I have had random flare-ups of swelling and severe itching of my inner labia, usually just on one side. It always went away on its own and was never accompanied by strange/copious amounts of discharge or anything. I was too embarrassed to tell anyone about it, and as it went away on its own and I wasn't sexually active or anything, I just shrugged it off as another normal (yet annoying) part of being female.

Fast forward to about 18 months ago. I had my first Pap smear and my GP asked if there was anything else I wanted to her to check while she was poking around in the area (hahaha). I said "it's probably nothing, but..." and told her about my random swelling and itchiness that always goes away on its own.

She took a swab and it came back positive for thrush. I did the recommended 7-day thrush treatment (cream inserted using an applicator and then the leftover applied on the outside) and I didn't experience any of those swellings again for a long time afterwards.

Until this year. At some point also my discharge became almost always white - certainly not cottage cheesy, not irritating, not a terrible smell - it didn't sound like thrush as I had heard of it. But after tasting myself on my boyfriend during sex, not knowing what it could be down to, and after trying a bunch of different things suggested (probiotics etc), all of which seemed to make it (the taste) way worse, I booked in to see my GP again. I told her that I had a bit of a swelling/itchy flare up again a little while ago and that I was just concerned that perhaps it was thrush again, like it had been last time. I also told her that it seemed my discharge had changed a bit and I wasn't sure when. She did a swab and the results were clear. I was unhappy though as I felt like something wasn't normal, so I got a referral to see a gynecologist.

Thank goodness I did!! And even more thank goodness that I had another flare-up the day before my appointment! The swelling and itch was pretty much gone by the time I saw her, but when she examined me she saw some of my discharge still inside and also could see some irritation on my vulva, and I was able to pinpoint where the main irritation was.

From there, she basically explained that she suspects that I have chronic thrush and expects that it had been there for years, but in the sense that my body was reacting as if there was an overgrowth... even though there wasn't an overgrowth. Which is why it wasn't showing up on the tests recently.

Im not sure how that works with me actually having had thrush show up on the swab 18 months prior, but the way she explained it made a lot of sense and it also explained why I didn't have typical symptoms like I had read about.

Anyway, as I mentioned - I am happy to report that this low dose antifungal seems to be doing the trick! I had a little sniff of my discharge the other day (sounds weird but I have been doing a lot of checking/comparing etc) and I had this experience where I was transported to what felt like another lifetime! I was like "OH MY GOODNESS I think this is what I used to smell like!" It had completely changed over time and so gradually that I don't think I noticed a definite change!

I then did a bit of a taste test and it was basically back to what I remembered from all those years ago!

Don't get me wrong, I know it's normal to have some fluctuations and variations but I think what I thought was a fluctuation ended up become rather permanent.

I'm excited that I'm back to "my" normal as far as I can tell, and I am going to see the treatment through as directed and see how I go!

I just wanted to write here in case this may be what others in this thread are suffering from in some way.

Other things to note:
- I went on the contraceptive pill roughly 3.5yrs ago after getting into my first sexual relationship, which I know can change things a little (but I wouldn't have thought it would make it totally gross)
- we didn't use any other contraception and both of us are clear of STDs and STIs to this day.
- I went off the pill a while ago because I was experiencing hair loss, but also I wanted to see if my taste/smell/discharge would change - it didn't.


Good luck to everyone else, hopefully there are some solutions out there! If you feel something isn't right then please persist - I'm so glad I did!

I have tasted this on my spouse after intercourse, and while ive been married for 27 years, this taste has always baffled me, that is the main reason i don't like receiving oral. I have no STD. No infection, every single pap smear in my life has been normal results. Ive had 7 children, its always the same taste. I take percocet, for severe arthritis, i also take vyvanse, for ADHD. as well as unisom or ambien for sleep. I take those fairly regularly...all efforts, even stopping all medication...for 2 weeks, to try and find out why. I ALSO. Since i have arthritis. Have been told to eat less sugar and carbs. Less milk and cheese. And to drink apple cider vinegar (3 oz. Diluted with 8 oz. water and add Tblsp. Of Agave for flavor ) daily....to help balance my ph...im going to try all of this this week, i will report back what i have discovered.

Is this something that changes the older you get? As in texture, smell etc..

Hi there, I'm the one that posted the long thing about a month ago (two posts above yours). That's what I thought was happening, to be honest. I think it's normal for things to change BUT as I mentioned after taking a low dose anti-fungal over the course of a week or so my smell and taste went back to what I remembered from my teenage years.

One thing I noticed though, was that after my period... things went downhill again. Very strange. I'm just continuing on with the medication and I will see what happens. I'm positive that the smell/taste/texture was down to something strange going on, though. I'm now convinced/reassured that that bitter/sour/awful taste, and the smell I've become accustomed to, is not my regular smell or taste.

I just had my 6-week checkup and my gyno is very happy with my progress. Going for another 6 weeks on this low-dose anti-fungal, and from there we'll see if I need more. This has likely been going on for a very long time for me without it having been picked up on by anyone!

I've had the same issue with thick white discharge it smells more then normal and was really sour. I found washing with Ph balancing soaps and changing my toilet paper to a cheaper firmer brand help. The soft toilet paper leaves behind little fibers that when get in to ur system clots and makes bacteria start to form. It sucks I know but it's really works trust me

I'm so very happy that you have figured out your issue. I hope this is the solution to my problem. I can note that I too suffer from candida or excess thrush in the body and I've noticed a very small itch in the back of my throat. It's very consitent with when I am about to get a yeast infection BUT I HAVENT HAD ONE. I think my body is telling me that Hey something is wrong and it too is chronic. I'm going to go to my gyno and kind of demand this same course of treatment. It's so embarrassing to be an otherwise healthy woman with a weird tangy vagina taste. I want to feel clean and healthy and it kind of sucks that I've had this reminder here for years that 'oh hey your vagina is different'.

For anyone else reading

Symptoms:
Pap comes back normal
PH a tiny bit on the higher side
Urination hurts like a near UTI on very random days.
Slight itch in back of throat
But rarely sick and it never becomes a cold
Tangy vagina taste more than half of the month
No odor
Slight random swelling 3x year
Uncomfortable dry vagina on random days

Used to get very random BURNING that thankfully has gone completely away on its own

This was happening to me as well. I was taking Microgestin birth control pills. When I switched to Loloestrin, it completely went back to normal

Hi there,

Yes definitely visit your gyno! You know what's normal for your body, so definitely listen to that. See what they say and let us know how you go!

I have had the sour taste problem too and i have found a kind of cure: i use lactacyd or any other cleanser for your intimate area, maybe this will help any of you!

Has anyone been tested for trick? I had it and it made my smell and all sorts of things go haywire. Not something I was even aware of for how common it was.

Well ladies I think you all should try drinking some damn water 24/7 hours throughout the day instead of drinking that damn alcohol all the time forreal that's all

Yogurt and probiotics are the answer if you want a water tasting vagina. If you think there's a chance of an infection go to the doctor real quick let em test you. If nothing comes back as an infection. Eat Yogurt and take Probiotics, good bacteria eats yeast, and bad bacteria. That's what going on in your vagina is a fight between the good and bad, so help the good out and eat LIVE ACTIVE CULTURES YOGURT AND PROBIOTICS. REFRIGERATE THESE ITEMS.

Have u found out anything

Trust me it makes no difference.

An alkaline diet wont do anything, the kidney regulates body pH so ingesting alkaline products just makes it work on making the body more acidic until its back to homeostasis. A vaginal pH gel is more likely to help