I have a "lady" question....

Ok ladies, icky question time. This weekend I got a yeast infection. I haven't had one in years but whatever, I went and got a monistat 1 dose thingy and hopefully took care of it. Anyway, here's the question, I'm usually get my period Sunday night/mon morning (I'm on the pill) but it's almost afternoon and nothing, not even a cramp. So I'm wondering if the yeast infection messed up my cycle possibly? Or maybe I'm just running a little late, not uncommon for me some months.

Another question related to the first part. Monistat is a 1 dose ovuole thingy, but how long after that should I be feeling better down there? It's still feeling a little irritated. It hasn't even been 24 hours but I was just wondering if it would still take a few days to get better or if it should be gone instantaneously.

Any suggestions?

ringnebula: How did you know about this yeast infection? have you got any urine test done? do you feel any thing unusual?

It will take time, no longer than a week for you to feel less irritated down below... Those things take forever. Also, is it persists past, I would say 7 to 8 days, with no relieve I would go to your doctor. They can prescribe you a medication that will heal it within a couple days. About your cycle, it shouldn't make it irregular, but the body does things to help itself heal. Your cycle may be later than normal just because of the infection. If you still haven't started by when you would on your later months, call your doctor and ask if that is a normal issue. They might want you to come in just to double check that your infection is actually an infection.

The one dose things never work for me, I always have to go at least 3 days, this time (yes, i have have one now too) i tried the seven dose, because i didn't take the diflucon pill.

If it doesn't clear up three days after the 1 dose, i'd go to your GYN and get a diflucon.  It works great, and is only 4 dollars at wal mart, which is way cheaper then the monistat.

good luck. i hope yours clears up soon (and mine too, sigh).



Also, i wouldn't think it would effect your period,  but you never know. I wouldn't worry about it if youre sometimes late .

i'd give it 72 hours to work, then call your MD.  if you self-diagnosed + are self-treating (that is, if you assumed from the symptoms that you had a yeast infection, and then bought the OTC Monistat to treat it), there's a good chance that it's not actually a yeast infection.  Approximately 2/3 - 3/4 of women who self-treat for yeast infections, who "know" they have one because they've had one before and their symptoms are similar to the first incidence, do not actually have one.  Of course, you could be in the 1/3 who are correct (the changes in vaginal ph prior to menstruation can make vaginal yeast infection more likely at this time).  But you should know that other conditions can produce similar symptoms (e.g. bacterial vaginosis, trichomoniasis).  So if it doesn't clear up in 3 days, it could be that either (1) it's not a yeast infection; or (2) it IS a yeast infection but you need something other than monistat for treatment.

In regards to taking Diflucan before the Monistat (or other topical suppositories) has a chance to work, probably not a great idea.  topical suppositories are very effective in most cases of vaginal yeast infection.  the problem with giving Diflucan as a first-line treatment to everyone (which is what many patients would like, since it's often [not always] a one-time dose, and it's easier and "less messy" than vaginal creams or suppositories like monistat) is that yeast (especially species other than c. albicans) get resistant to it, which results in higher doses being needed and eventually, the medication no longer working (e.g. you kill off the c. albicans with the Diflucan, which allows overgrowth of other, resistant candida species).  One person here and there taking an unnecessary medication that induces resistant yeast strains may not make a difference, but the cumulative effect of TONS of people doing it makes a huge difference - probably not for you, or most of the other women who just have an occasional yeast overgrowth in the vagina, but for the people who REALLY need diflucan (e.g. AIDS patients, patients who are immunosuppressed from cancer treatment, and others who have systemic candidiasis).  Basically, if you can treat the vaginal yeast infection without resorting to Diflucan (which the vast majority of women can), I would ask you to give up the very small benefit of taking Diflucan (its primary benefit being convenience) in order to preserve a much larger benefit (that is, potentially life-saving treatment) for others.  If the Monistat doesn't work, the Diflucan (and other second-line treatments) will still be around :-)

Safina: the symptoms of vaginal yeast infections are generally not subtle!  itching, burning, more discharge (generally non-foul-smelling; may smell 'sweet') than usual, cottage-cheese like discharge [although it varies from woman to woman], etc.  a urine test would be useless to diagnose a vaginal yeast infection - for one thing, the infection is in the vagina, not the urinary tract.  it is NATURAL for there to be yeast in the vagina; the infection is simply when the yeast get "out of control" (which is often the result of various changes in the vaginal environment).  generally, with a first-time yeast infection, a woman suddenly starts having uncomfortable symptoms (which most women do not see as subtle), sees her doctor, and he diagnoses the cause as fungal (as opposed to bacterial, protozoan, non-infectious...) by physical examination and looking under a microscope.  if you have symptoms of a vaginal yeast infection, see your doctor and he should be able to know if you do.  if you have no symptoms, then there's no test you need to take.  various yeasts, including candida, are part of healthy vaginal flora. 

Things to help PREVENT yeast infections: yogurt often (maybe 6 oz everyday, the kind with live bacteria in them) and also, I know it isnt summer time but if you swim and stay around with your wet swimsuit on, this initiates the PERFECT breeding ground for bacteria (warm, moist areas), so change that wet suit immediately!

i cannot stand monistat. it burns off/kills EVERYTHING, not just the candida. :(

i prefer the prescription pill form (it's cheaper, too).

if anything, eating a clove of raw garlic might help.

blood is slightly acidic so your period might kill it too.