vaginal discharge - thick white, not a yeast infection - aff

I feel reassured after reading everyone's posts! Thank you all for bringing these symptoms to light. I have been feeling so gross from this tissue paper like discharge that I too am able to scoop out. It has been a problem for a month, I had recently tried bc pills for painful periods, and when I first noticed the weird consistency of the discharge I treated myself for a yeast infection. I didn't "feel" like it was yeast, but it "looked" like it at first. Two rounds of over the counter 1 day treatments, then a trip to the gyn who said what you all have been hearing, " everything looks normal"......Really, because Ive never had tissue-paper like white chunks come out of there before, so how is that normal?!?!?
Heading back to gyn in the morning, because I miss feeling good about my girl parts, and will not have sex when I feel dry as a desert, but with chunks. FYI i am a Registered Nurse, and I usually can self diagnose pretty well. I have ruled out yeast, I have tried RePpHresh, tried pads instead of tampons, have stopped the Yaz pills, am in a long term monogamous relationship and have no stds, do have thyroid and IBS issues but both are well controlled. I will not have someone tell me this is normal. If I get any answers I will come back and repost. Also I am going to look at the endometriosis theory a bit, too. Be strong ladies :-)

its scary how this accurately describes me!!! Please help!

This has been going on for years in my body. sometimes its so bad that i take baths just to clean it from my walls. You can actually SEE it flow into the water, and is quite disgusting!!! That only lasts for about an hour or two. Its not the birth control, as I am not on any birth control. It started while I was in a monogomous relationship with my ex boyfriend. I am not buying doctors' stories that it is normal, because I know that to be untrue because I am now a lesbian. :-P This is very embarrasing and i pray that we all find a remedy. It's clear that we all have the same WHATEVER it is.

Ugh! I also have all same symptoms as the replies.....I have had it for at least 3 years....still searching for answers. I had when I was on birth control and have been off of BC for almost a year now and still have it. Please post any updates as you get them. I will do the same. We together will find answers!!

I have this too! I have had it since last august, weird clumpy discharge with a tissue paper like texture. I was initially diagnosed with bacterial vaginosis but flagyl did nothing. I went back again and the doctor said I have a *tiny* amount of BV, tried flagyl again to no avail. After this I lost hope with conventional medicine and tried all the natural remedies: hydrogen peroxide, boric acid,  probiotics, rephresh. Still no change! I went back last week and apparently my bacteria down there are fine and the doctor gave me yeast medication just in case. I was skeptical and indeed this has done nothing. I am at my wits end. And my vagina is extremely dry too. 

I have never posted about my health issues on a public forum, but I hate that this topic is still being discussed (with no real resolution) after four years.
So, I too, ladies, have this problem and have had it for as long as i can remember being truly sexually active at about 19.  I'm 23 now, have no other medical issues (besides a vitamin D deficiency that is under control), am on no medications besides a daily multivitamin and a Biotin supplement.  I've had this problem through several brands of birth control, including Nuva Ring and the lowest hormone pill I'm on now.  I've been sexually monogamous with the same partner for about 8 months now, am free of any STIs or infections (i've only had a yeast infection once in my life) and our sex life is infrequent and sporadic (busy graduate work!)

This problem is embarrassing and the few times I've brought it up to my gyno she said my pap smears were normal and that I should try switching birth controls.  I think it's obvious that our BC's have nothing to do with this problem, as many of you have said you have been off them for years.

I can not distinguish a pattern of when the "white stuff" appears and when it does not- it's not every time we have sex but it is often.  My boyfriend has not gone down on my recently and I am sure the "bitter" taste is the issue that he won't speak of.  We haven't been dating that long and he's very reserved, I'm not sure how to discuss these issues with him or if i even can.

There are a few things that I feel affect this issue, the first being diet.  I am in college, I try to eat well (full serving of fruits and veggies with every meal), I stay away from most meats (occasional fish) and TRY to avoid the sweets (but we all now how that goes, ladies).  I'm curious as to what the caffeine intake of the rest of you is- someone else mentioned coffee and I do have quite a coffee habit.  Sometimes 2-3 cups a day or a large iced coffee.  If this is the root of the problem I honestly don't know what I would do- how can you survive college without coffee!?

A few things have been happening to me recently (the last 6 months or so) that don't seem to have anything to do with our main issue.  The first being infrequent/late periods-  I've taken so many pregnancy tests in the last few months!  I've just chalked this up to switching birth controls, being stressed low iron intake, etc.  Along with this has been some cramping and pressure, of course freaking me out even more as this is just another symptom of pregnancy.  There was an instance a few months ago where during a menses I experienced cramping so severe that I couldn't really get out of bed.  I haven't had much pain as of late, though, just some (what I THOUGHT was normal bloated/cramping).  The most recent strange symptom that I've never experienced in my life is diarrhea- again I just attributed this to poor diet.

The thing is that our "strange" symptoms are very vague and to our doctors, when we describe them, "normal."  Some of the things that the woman who had Endometriosis said do resonate with me; but again, many of my "symptoms" can just be attributed to PMS/poor diet/stress/etc. 

I think we all know this "white stuff" is much more than an annoying problem.  I plan on going to another OBGYN in the next few months and specificially outlining my problems, and I hope you all keep sharing your trials as well.

I have the exact same problem. I have had this for nearly a year now and it is driving me mad!

i will always go to the toilet before i have sex and make sure i have no excess discharge around before sex or i will not want it and it will put me off having it.

but recently i watched embarassing bodies and funnily enough there was a lady on there with a problem for her vaginal discharge. she has the EXACT same problem!!!

In the end, they put her on THRUSH tablets and when she came back her discharge has decreased and she was happy to have sex with no problems, also she had no itch no more after sex.

I am too scared of going to the doctors with this problem.. as i am 16 and not very confident, but when i come round to it i will DEFINITELY ask them about this!

:-) <3

Hello everyone!!

My doctor told me that is not a good idea...bathtubs are full of germs and would only make the situation worse.

I recently started taking birth control, about a week ago and immediately about a day after my discharge changed color, taste, odor EVERYTHING. I'm pretty sure it's because of the birth control because before this I had ABSOLUTELY no problem EVER. The problem is I can't afford to switch birth controls, it was hard enough to get my hands on the one I have now, I don't know what I'm going to do I'll just keep taking it and wait a little longer if not I might just stop taking it altogether, I'll try to call my doctor and see what I can do, I was worried it was a yeast infection because I read that BC causes this but I'm pretty sure its not because it doesn't itch or is red or anything, just my dicharge has changed and I'm really dry inside but not on the outside...strange :S

Wow - I was so shocked to find this forum and to find so many women out there suffering from the same thing as me!!  Another thing that I found really surprising is how little luck many of the people who have posted have had over the years at getting answers and finding relief.  I'm writing because I'm hoping that I might (fingers crossed) be able to help.

The biggest piece of advice that I can give based on my own experience is -- GO SEE A NUTRITIONIST.  You are wasting your time with regular doctors like GPs and gynaecologists.  I just think the nature of healthcare has really changed over the years and nowadays, once a doctor knows that you don't have anything "serious" or life threatening, they basically show you the door.  But consequently, you can end up living with something - a symptom or a condition - that can really affect your quality of life.  Nutritionists are far superior at helping patients when it comes to matters like these for thousands of reasons that I won't bore you with in this post.  You also might be surprised to find that they have access to a whole raft of tests that most doctors, GPs and gynaecologists seem to be too lazy to use. 

So if you have the means - definitely go see a nutritionist.  If you go to a school of nutrition, you may be able to get one that has just graduated.  They tend to be cheaper than others - but incredibly sharp and motivated.

I'll also try to give you a summary below of the things that my nutritionist has recommended that have really helped me:

1. After reading a lot of the posts, it really sounds like some of the women posting to this forum could have a form of Candida or other dysbiosis.  Most doctors and gynaecologists seem skeptical about Candida - but after suffering for 7 years with stomach problems, chronic yeast infections and white vaginal discharge that tested negative for yeast infections and BV - I was diagnosed by a nutritionist with Candida.  And after treatment that lasted only a few months - my life was changed.  So look into it.  If you don't have the means to be able to afford a nutritionist, you can do your own internet research about Candida and choose a plan to address it.  There are a few out there and I don't recommend any one in particular because the basic principles are the same: a) You cut all forms of sugar and fermented foods out of your diet and b) you take some kind of natural anti-fungal, like garlic or olive leaf or caprylic acid or something.  So google it.  It works.

2. If you are having problems with thick white vaginal discharge that is accompanied by vaginal dryness, the first thing you should do is cut out ALL wheat and refined sugar from your diet PERMANENTLY.  Just pretend that it doesn't exist.  And don't consume foods that contain either wheat or sugar as ingredients - so this means buying sugar-free maynaise, ketchup, peanut butter etc etc.  You should also cut down your dairy consumption drastically.  Replace milk with almond milk, replace cream with cashew cream.  Trust me, you won't be sorry.  Doing this made a massive impact for me.  I don't even miss the wheat, sugar or dairy thanks mostly to things like agave nectar and books like Cooking with Agave Nectar by Ania Catalano (you can find it on Amazon).

3. Try drinking wheatgrass twice a day, preferably powdered wheatgrass.  And start drinking a minimum of two cups of hot water with half of a freshly squeezed lemon in it (be sure to drink the pulp and the seeds as well as the lemon juice).  Those two things sound so simple but again - they have transformed my life, and I have no one other than my nutritionist to thank.  Another thing that I do is garlic shots -- I crush 1-2 cloves of raw garlic, leave it for 10 minutes and then put it in a small shot glass, add some water and drink it.  The wheatgrass, the lemon and the garlic all have tremendous healing properties such as boosting the immune system, being full of antioxidants and having natural anti-bacterial properties - I won't list the details here, if you want to know more about them - just do some Google searches.  But the one thing that I will explain is that, in addition to being good for you, they help you control your body's pH balance, which I realize more and more is an important key to maintaining both vaginal health and general health.  There is a theory that says that bad yeast and bad bacteria can't survive if your body's overall Ph balance is more alkaline. (But please note that the theory is that the overall body's pH balance should be alkaline but that the pH balance of the vagina should be more acidic to discourage the growth of bad yeasts and bacterias.  It sounds counterintuitive, but that's the way it goes.)  My nutritionist has advised me to measure my body's Ph balance on a daily basis - I measure my saliva and my urine first thing every morning.  It's super easy, I just use Ph test strips - it taked about 10 seconds in total.  And I adjust my diet accordingly to manage my body's Ph level.

4. You MUST must take a probiotic and a good one.  Get advice from a nutritionist or do online research to ensure that you choose a good one.  Don't just go with any old thing on the shelf at the health food store.  Saccromyces boulardi is the one that I'm using currently.  It is a 'good yeast' that effectively competes against bad yeasts to colonize the gut. 

5. Finally, if you're having a flare up  and experiencing a lot of the discharge, try using suppositories that directly impact the pH balance of the vagina, like tea tree oil suppositories or things like BioFem ActiGel. 

 

But basically I have found that if you do just one of the things mentioned above - it doesn't work.  So for example - I can honestly tell you that every single time I start eating refined sugar or wheat and dairy - I have flare ups and get yeast infections or have a resurgence of the vaginal discharge that tests negative for both thrush and BV.  And it doesn't matter how much wheatgrass I drink or how many probiotics I take, it still happens.   I don't know why I am this way.  But I am, and after 31 years of living on this planet, I finally understand that!

But I have honestly experienced brilliant results from the things that I've recommended above and hopefully my advice will help some of you. So, remember:

--Cut out wheat, sugar and reduce dairy -- Learn more about candida and how to treat it -- Go see a nutritionist -- Start drinking wheatgrass once or twice a day every single day  -- Do garlic shots  -- Drink hot water with lemon every single day  -- Be mindful of your body's pH balance  -- Take a good probiotic every single day  -- Try feminine washes and suppositories that restore the vagina's correct pH balance like tea tree oil suppositories...

 

...and good luck...

 

 

 

i have this exact same problem minus the dryness....and i am not on birth control pills...i noticed it used to come only certain times in my cycle and now it seems to come constantly. i also noticed that when i am sexually active it is much worse than when i am not. my dr has said that it is just normal discharge and nothing to worry about but it is gross and i am very self conscious about it especially when my husband's penis is covered in it and he's going ummm what is that....he is used to it now but constantly accused me of cheating on him and having an std early in our relationship...i had to have him go to the dr with me for her to tell him that it is normal and not a result of an std.

I think a lot of women suffer from this problem. I have been struggling from similar symptoms for the past year: discharge, dryness, etc. It makes me very self conscious about having sex with my partner. However, my symptoms also have pain, especially when urinating. I have gone to many doctors, had blood test, urine tests, ultrasounds but there was nothing there. My doctor suggested I change my pill and try taking some trush medication. She said that sometimes thrush can cause the inside of the vagina to become grazed during sex, which causes infection and more thrush. Sometimes this can not show up on tests because the fungal infection can come and go.

I know these are older posts... does anyone have an update? I have been suffering with this problem for 3years now.. im 50 have had the same partner for over 3 years, a hysterectomy 19 years ago... are there any new answers?  same symptoms.. white, no odor bitter .. I have resorted to purchasing an in shower douch system so I douch with my shower (clear water) before sex.. and use grapeseed oil for lube during sex.. if anyone has anything new to add please please add it. Doctors just see it and say the same thing as I have read here.

I too have this thick white odorless discharge.  I am not on any birth control, and actually me and my hubby are trying to make a baby.  Lucky enough for me he is a very understanding gentleman, and doesnt make a deal out of it.  I would just like to know if anyone that has these similar symptoms was able to get pregnant. Thank you