Could it be perimenopause?
Hi! I’m 35F. So mid March I started having what I thought was a UTI (I have a history of UTI’s with urgency burning and frequency). I did an at home test that was negative and a pH test and it was high which suggested BV. I was treated with Flagyl. The meds did not help symptoms at all. I followed up with another OB/Gyn and she did an exam and swabbed for all the vaginal tests, all which came back negative. She did notice a red irritated spot on my inner labia which she said could be from dryness but wasn’t completely sure because the rest of my vulva looked okay and I’m “too young” for perimenopause. She prescribed me vaginal estrogen to help heal that spot but told me to only use it 2 weeks then stop because I didn’t need it beyond that. I did a lot of digging and came across UTI symptoms and pelvic floor dysfunction. I have seen a pelvic PT 4x so far for hypertonic pelvis and have noticed a ton of improvement with symptoms already but I can’t completely kick the urgency feeling of my urethra after peeing. It’s not as severe as the urgency of a uti but it’s there enough to just notice it. I have zero bladder pain. I also had bad pms so started on oral contraceptives (combined pill- loryna) and I completely lost my libido and felt SO dry to the point that just wearing clothes I would feel slightly uncomfortable. I took that for about 7 weeks and just stopped because I’d rather deal with the cramps instead of dryness. I just started vaginal estrogen again because I still had it from my provider (I’m on day 2 of using it) - I guess my question is could this be perimenopause? Could my urethra irritation be due to hormonal issues? I’m hoping to notice improvement but I’ve read it can take a bit. I have an appt with a urogynecologist in a few weeks as well.