My ureaplasma journey - positive post
Hi everyone I just wanted to share my story in the hope it might help someone else.
STRAP IN - IT IS A LONG ONE
Firstly I’d like to disclaim that I by no means advise anyone to do what I did how I did it, HOWEVER I am so happy I did and I feel like I have this huge burden lifted. This subreddit may have saved my life. Thank you so so much for all your posts, for the bible, for being so forthcoming and honest about your experiences you have no idea how much it has helped me.
For background : I’m a heterosexual woman I’m 32, I’ve had a lot of sexual partners in my life, I’ve always kept up to date with my smears and STI screens. Last clear STI screen was before I met my now long term partner. im with my partner 7 years, we’ve had protected sex until we started ttc 5 months ago.
My symptoms started 2 years ago when I came back from travelling around the world for a 15 month period. My first symptom was extremely heavy yellowish discharge. I went for my smear test and my doctor was the one who pointed this out and tested me for bv. Well that was the start or another 2 years of hell. I won’t harp on about the personal struggles I faced directly as a result of this bacterial infection but I’ll share my main symptoms which were very heavy discharge (would have to change my underwear at least twice a day), yellow colour, strange smell (not foul just strange not my usual) sore and inflamed genitalia, frequent urination and the feeling of urgency.
I went to 3 different doctors 8 times about the same complaint. Same thing every time - vaginal swabs. Always came back clear always with strep B. I had doctors tell me to take at home STI tests, I had them insinuate my partner may have cheated, I’ve been treated absolutely appallingly by healthcare professionals. I spiralled so much at one point I almost convinced myself I had untreated STI from a previous relationship that may have developed into PID all the while my partner was trying to support me - partner who is totally asymptomatic and had a clear STI screen before we started our relationship - AS DID I! That’s how gaslit I was.
Eventually after googling symptoms (the one thing we shouldn’t do, right?) I came across this subreddit - about 3 months ago and OH MY GOD. It was like reading experiences that were my own.
I live in Ireland - a UK woman recommended getting a DAYE vaginal microbiome at home test kit. What harm could it do? Came back positive for UU and UP abnormal levels. WELL I COULD HAVE CRIED. An answer at long last. Contacted my doctor sent an email with the PDF lab results - no response. In the mean time I had an internal and external pelvic exam after going to my doctor with my MOTHER demanding one. Ultrasound all clear - THANK GOD. No response from doctor
Fuck it - I’m getting antibiotics - went into the bible here - first line of treatment 2 weeks doxy followed by 2g of azthromycin for good measure. 10 days doxy for my asymptomatic partner. Got them online from a pharmacy and personally documented symptoms and timeline of medication treatment.
Finished treatment 3 weeks ago. And I can not explain the difference this has made to my life. I have my life back. I no longer have genital inflammation or pain. I no longer have the urgency to pee. I’m not urinating as frequently (I drink about 3 litres of water a day so I do pee a lot). The only lingering symptom I have is the discharge is still not 100% back to normal BUT the smell is gone, less discharge, this month was the first cycle in 2 years where I had my normal cervical mucous around ovulation, the colour is still a bit off white but I am very optimistic (for the first time in a long time) that it will return to normal in time
I will be very honest - it’s been a journey. I was extremely obsessive about googling things that did not help. I’m still very obsessive over checking that symptoms have not returned. I do check my underwear during the day (I feel I have a lot of discharge but it’s dry when I check - not sure if nerve related or in my head). I also got a bladder infection after my treatment - I suspect I may have had an overgrowth of E. coli due to the doxycycline. That has since cleared up from - ANOTHER - course of antibiotics. I don’t want to see antibiotics for a long time BUT I am unbelievably grateful we have them and I will never view them the same again.
I just wanted to share my experience and most importantly I want to encourage people to advocate for themselves and listen to your body - YOU KNOW IT BETTER THAN ANYONE ELSE.
Have hope and faith because there is something positive on the horizon even if you cannot see it yet.
This subreddit literally saved me - I would have never got any of this information without it. I would have felt so alone and isolated in this experience without hearing all these other stories. I had no one to talk to or no one who understood because they’ve never even heard of Ureaplasma- a bacteria with no cell wall -
I’m awaiting a test of cure for us both as we’re 3 weeks post treatment.
If you feel totally hopeless just remember I had no doctor to help me, no gynaecologist to help me, nothing - had to sort it out on my own. This is a complete at utter failure on the healthcare I’m receiving in this country that I’d like to add I pay privately for every-time. Took it into my own hands decided the reward would outweigh the risk - glad I didn’t wait any longer. As I said I don’t recommend this but I’m pretty sure it’s worked for me