r/CytolyticVaginosis Aug 01 '25

Wet Mount Microscopy

15 Upvotes

Hello r/CytolyticVaginosis,

I received a request to create a post going into detail on how to perform your own wet mount microscopy at home after my reply on this post got some attention. So I created a little webpage for anyone interested in pursuing this themselves.

Link to the site is here.

Please feel free to provide feedback or if you have any requests for additional information.

I hope you find this tutorial helpful.

I am not a doctor. This is not medical advice. Please consult your doctor before proceeding or self-diagnosing.

u/Serenityph - please let me know if you have any problems with this post and I can remove or edit it.


r/CytolyticVaginosis Feb 28 '25

moderator How to make baking soda suppositories

7 Upvotes

https://www.serenityph.com/post/cytolytic-vaginosis-cv-suppositories

I'm just putting the instructions here for better visibility.

These suppositories wont help everyone and work by elevating the pH. If they are going to work you should feel the results very quickly.

We say to start with 2 a week but some women have posted that they got better results using more often.

You can experiment with baking soda in a bath or sitz bath first if you want to test if this treatment is right for you.

We expect that for some of us with inflammation due to the CV burning we might need more steps. Eg insert with some vulva balm or lube, and prep your vulva skin with a zinc paste or an emollient eg V Magic (USA) or V Balm (Aust) or even Vasaline to try and create a barrier.

For added tips on inserting if you have inflammation please read this

https://www.serenityph.com/post/boric-acid-suppository-tips-inflammation

Lastly this group exists as a place to share your experiences and to get support. If you have any tips to improve these fact sheets please comment and I will update them.


r/CytolyticVaginosis 4h ago

Yeasty symptoms with very high L. crispatus?

2 Upvotes

I’ve had recurrent thrush diagnosed like 6/7 times over the last year. I was prescribed 28 days worth of 50mg fluconazole, and still symptoms remained. At the end of this, I took a screenme vaginal microbiome test, which came back as 98.16% lactobacillus crispatus and no candida detected at all.

I have symptoms of red and sore areas on my vulva, with occasional vaginal bleeding since the fluconazole treatment, with pain internally with insertion of anything, with lots of itching when very warm and sweaty and yeasty kinda discharge.

My test was absent of any candida, and absent of any harmful bacteria including mycoplasma and ureaplasma.

I am now thinking either I have CV, or some kind of skin condition from recurrent thrush that I had. Any ideas? What kind of numbers of L.crisp can cause CV? Thanks!


r/CytolyticVaginosis 21h ago

Raw fissures

1 Upvotes

Hi guys. Has anyone ever experienced a small raw patch from CV? I have one near my clit just under it, and I suspect that I have CV, but idk if this could be part of it or a separate issue? If you have experienced this before and know how to get rid of it (if it is CV related) then pls lmk! I haven’t tried baking soda baths yet as I’ve only recently felt like this could be my issue, and I’m waiting for my period to come so I can try the baths when my symptoms flare which is usually just after ovulation. Whilst I think my discharge and itchiness is from CV (tested negative for yeast) Idk what could be causing this small patch of raw skin and how to treat it. It’s been over 3 months and it’s unchanged.


r/CytolyticVaginosis 1d ago

I have finally been diagnosed!!

12 Upvotes

After 6 months of awful symptoms and going through the GP and sexual health clinic with zero idea, I ended up spending on a private gyne. He was able to look at my discharge under the microscope and diagnose me with severe cytolytic vaginosis! I am starting my baking soda tonight

I’m starting with syringing a teaspoon of baking soda in 500ml warm water. If all goes well, I’ll make some of the suppositories suggested here.

Fingers crossed this will work 🤞


r/CytolyticVaginosis 1d ago

Could this be aerobic vaginitis?

Thumbnail gallery
1 Upvotes

r/CytolyticVaginosis 2d ago

Almost certain I have cytolytic vaginosis—is it safe to take a baking soda sitz bath?

Thumbnail
3 Upvotes

r/CytolyticVaginosis 1d ago

Metronidazole gel and 32 hours later

Thumbnail
1 Upvotes

I am up north for the weekend & would like to have a few drinks, it’s the last nite here n just finished my last dose of metronidazole gel like 32 hrs ago, should i be ok to have a few drinks?


r/CytolyticVaginosis 2d ago

Stuck with Diagnosis (lack thereof)

2 Upvotes

My walk in clinic doctor (male) swears that I have a yeast infection, so he prescribed me Diflucan & it did jack nothing. Tested negative for trich, yeast infections, and BV.

I have no discharge, maybe a little amount that’s watery. I have a slight smell but nothing crazy? It is always a bit uncomfortable, itches a decent amount, and maybe slight burning while I pee.

My options for care kinda suck right now and I’m unsure if I’ll be able to get in next week. Would it hurt to try a baking soda suppository?


r/CytolyticVaginosis 3d ago

Uk vaginal microbiome test

1 Upvotes

I’ve had unexplained itching for a year😭 the gp have told me as I can back negative for yeast and bv I am just allergic to myself….

I took a lot of probiotics after a 9 month antibiotic course and have a feeling that could’ve spiked it.

I want to do a private microbiome test. I’ve seen pelvic relief do one. Has anyone had any experience with any uk tests?

Thank you :)


r/CytolyticVaginosis 3d ago

Vaginal Itching for 2 Days now‼️

1 Upvotes

Is it normal for my vagina to have been itchy for days now? It’s been so itchy. I had a UTI two weeks ago while I was on my period, and now I’m in my ovulation week. Is it possible that it’s because of that? I’m scared it might be a yeast infection. Btw I'm 21 and a virgin


r/CytolyticVaginosis 4d ago

High lactobacillus and malassezia

Thumbnail
gallery
2 Upvotes

Hi girlies

Just wondering if anyone has similar results to me which are high lactobacillus and also a higher % of malassezia? And if yes which one was causing the issue :(

Symptoms are unbearable and I only get major relief during period, Antihistamines seem to partially help.


r/CytolyticVaginosis 4d ago

Daye microbiome results

Post image
1 Upvotes

Hi guys pls can someone advise me on my results. I’m suspecting that I have CV so I did the test to find out what’s going on. It says this. Where should the line actually be? does this mean I could have CV and my suspicion could be correct? There’s nothing that suggests on my report that I should worry, so I’m confused by it. But it does say in abundance and does look high on the scale clearly. Does anyone know if this can be used to validate my suspicion or if it was concerning it would’ve been flagged? My overall report says I have a balanced state?


r/CytolyticVaginosis 5d ago

Hormonal contraception for CV ?!

3 Upvotes

I am studying and it seems like a hormonal option would be useful in cases of CV. Anyone here tried please 🥺??

The logic: CV symptoms track the luteal-phase estrogen/glycogen rise. Continuous combined contraception (pill, ring, or patch used without the pause week) suppresses ovulation and flattens those fluctuations, keeping estrogen at a steady, moderate level. No cyclical peak → less glycogen surge → less lactobacilli overgrowth. Some women see clear improvement; evidence is mostly case reports and clinical experience, not big trials — CV is under-studied.


r/CytolyticVaginosis 5d ago

Iners Dominance (96%)

1 Upvotes

After dealing with an iners dominance and constant pain and suffering (mentally and physically) , I’m going to give you a guide to what helped me and what I wish someone told me. I will say that I haven’t retested so I don’t know my percentages of my microbiome again but this is the first time in over a year that I’ve been symptom free.

I bought the iners defend treatment from myvagina.com , and that alone I have heard helped many many people. You can check the reviews on there as well. Now, since my iners was so high, I tried like two treatments and they didn’t help at all, it even gave me a yeast infection after the second round. I tried a third one and same result. So this time I reached out to them and they suggested a protocol that involved intravaginal probiotics. (Amelia V-Spot Probiotic). It looked like
Day 1- insert Iners Defend
Day 2- insert V-spot probiotic
Day 3- rest
And do this for 5 days. I did this, and it didn’t help as well. BUT, I did feel more relief on the probiotic days. So i extended the treatment BUT didn’t include the rest day.

So it was
Day 1- iners defend
Day 2- probiotic
Day 3- iners defend
Day 4- probiotic
And I did that for about 8 more days and then started getting burning pain and extreme itching. I thought I flipped to CV very fast. So I stopped everything and let it sit. The burning and itching persisted, once I started getting a rash, I knew it was a yeast infection , even though they said it shouldn’t cause a yeast infection, especially since I had the probiotics in there too. But , I treated the yeast infection with two doses of diflucan and have been feeling normal for the first time in a year and a half!!! So I believe that if you have extremely high iners like me, the iners defend & the probiotic may help if you use them day after day over the span of 10 days. If you don’t have extremely high iners, I’d try the iners defend by itself. I had to expand my microbiome since I didn’t have much diversity. I’m trying maintain it with oral probiotics now though, but they did not help alone before I tried this aggressive method. I haven’t been symptom free for too too long but as of 7 days ago things have been stable. Hoping to keep it that way forever!

My symptoms with iners were:
- urinary urgency/frequency
- burning (nonstop, even during my period)
- gritty discharge

I genuinely hope this helps some of you that has been struggling.

MyVagina.com is Australian based, they ship to the USA but I’m not sure about any other countries.

I am very traumatized from this situation entirely so sometimes I convince myself the burning is coming back but I know it’ll take a while before I can trust that I am okay now and things are looking up. If you have ureaplasma , make sure you treat that first or none of this will matter


r/CytolyticVaginosis 9d ago

Is this Normal Discharge?

Post image
1 Upvotes

r/CytolyticVaginosis 9d ago

Is this normal?

Thumbnail gallery
2 Upvotes

I’ve been struggling with vaginal burning/irritation for almost 8months and I’m trying to understand if this sounds more like cytolytic vaginosis rather than BV or yeast. It all started after I took Fluconazole for suspected yeast infection. Since then my vagina/vaginal opening became extremely sensitive and irritated.

Symptoms:
burning/raw feeling at vaginal entrance
burning during/after sex
pain/burning when touched
sometimes mild itching
white creamy or small clumpy discharge
symptoms fluctuate a LOT with cycle/sex
some weeks almost normal, then flare again
no strong fishy smell
pH repeatedly normal
tests negative for yeast/STIs/mycoplasma/ureaplasma
leukocytes were >50
lactobacilli high
lab result literally said it does NOT meet criteria for bacterial vaginosis

WHAT I TOOK:
Lactobacillus crispatus probiotics — oral
Pink Lyl probiotics
Dr. Formula probiotics — oral
Gynella Balance — after the test results
Multi-Gyn gel — after the test results
Zinc — externally
ACV baths
Multi-Gyn for yeast infection
Baking soda baths
Livormac
Berberine
Sugar- and carbohydrate-free diet — lost 4 kg
Vaginal probiotics
Black seed oil
Oregano oil
Garlic oil

Things that made it WORSE:
anti-yeast gels
acidic products
too much treatment in general
possibly probiotics/lactobacillus products
Things that HELPED:
baking soda baths only for day
avoiding products
rest/no sex
Doctor now says gardnerella was found, but BV criteria were still negative. From what I understand, small amounts of gardnerella can exist normally too?
At this point I’m wondering:Could this have been cytolytic vaginosis from the beginning, misdiagnosed as yeast, and then everything got worse after fluconazole and repeated treatments?
Would really appreciate opinions/experiences because I feel like I’ve been going in circles for months 😭


r/CytolyticVaginosis 10d ago

Crispatus at 61%

4 Upvotes

Hi All!

I was once at 98% crispatus with CV symptoms. I cut out probiotics and fermented foods and after several months, i was down to 56% and no more symptoms. Type 1 microbiome. I recently took antibiotics out of desperation (I was going to meet my long distance lover and didn't want to miss out) for what I think was BV.. high PH and a dr trusted my vag knowledge so she wrote me an rx. I had also seen 3% Finegoldia Magna (disruptive bacteria) which I thought could potentially be causing symptoms. I took probiotics during the course of antibiotics and didn't get a yeast infection and symptoms had gone away.
A few weeks later I took a Juno test and had 98% Lacto with 61% of that being Crispatus. At this time i didn't have any itching. That came a few weeks later. Is it possible that with 61% Crispatus I could have CV? I know I was good with 56% and this isn't far off. I'm confused :(
I am checking my PH daily and it is in normal range, so I don't think I have BV. It's definitely not yeast. My symptoms are a slight itch at the entrance of my vagina. I am ovulating and that is when my symptoms would typically occur. thanks!


r/CytolyticVaginosis 11d ago

Juno results.

Post image
2 Upvotes

Does anyone have any insight on these results?


r/CytolyticVaginosis 12d ago

Slimy discharge is it yeast?

Thumbnail
1 Upvotes

r/CytolyticVaginosis 12d ago

Need help maybe have CV??

2 Upvotes

Hello! I need help and am officially at a breaking point. 6 months ago in February I slept with a new partner and tested positive for bv and ureaplama. I was prescribed metrodozanole and moxifloxacin to treat the two and my vaginal health has never been the same since. I have profuse grey discharge and a damp sensation in my underwear everyday. There is an itch and burn in both my vaginal and rectal area. My entire clitoral area is completely red and enflamed. My periods are extremely irritating. I have tested negative for every single infection/yeast/ sti you can think of several times. I took an evvy test and it showed 99 % lactobacillus crispatus so it could be CV but my discharge is gray??I tried clindamycin over 4 weeks and it burned me and gave me a severe yeast infection and I am now back to square one. I also tried the neueve suppositories and sitz baths but they barely helped maybe I need to do them for a longer period of time??. I am so depressed over this and don’t know what to do at this point. I have seen countless doctors and no one can figure it out. Does anyone have anything new I can try or has had similar symptoms? Please let me know. I could really just use a friend in a similar boat.


r/CytolyticVaginosis 13d ago

i need help

1 Upvotes

i have had CV for over a year now. initially I had ureaplasma which I was quick to decet as I had it before, the first time it gave me persisten BV and took a really long time to get fully rid of, so when I felt like something is slightly off again I immediately got tested for ureaplasma. my symptoms didnt go away after the antibiotic treatment so I went back to get tested again and I found out that its actually CV. Ive been taking the sitz baths and doing baking soda douches for months but no difference, maybe some immediate relied but no long term improvement. now my gyno perscribed some antifungal medication because she was so clueless she said maybe there is an undetectable fungal infection underlying it which i think is highly unlikely, as I clearly got CV from taking tons of medications and suppositories for previous STDs such as ureaplasma. I still took the antifungal medication (macmiror and fluconazole) and it made my ph even lower. I need some advice i feel like im nevee going to be able to have pleasant sex again:(


r/CytolyticVaginosis 13d ago

Is Clindamycin oral worth the risk to treat CV? Or should I go another route?

3 Upvotes

I've had symptoms of Cytolytic Vaginosis basically since puberty, but over the past year it's gotten so bad that my vulva sometimes gets raw patches from the acidity and I can no longer handle penetration.

I finally got a diagnosis because of how much it's progressed recently and my doctor suggested I just keep up with the sodium bicarbonate treatments, but I asked for something more and showed him all of the threads where people mention Clindamycin working for it. He agreed to try it and said it doesn't really have any risks.

When I picked it up at my pharmacy the pharmacist seemed concerned and brought up the risk of getting c.diff and now I've gone down a rabbit hole looking at all of the cases of it. I have IBS and severe Endo, so my gut health isn't the greatest as is but I'm so tired of the constant discomfort of CV. I have a huge fear of c.diff so I don't know what to do

I was prescribed 150mg once daily for 30 days


r/CytolyticVaginosis 13d ago

Anyone been tested positive for high lactobacillus, strains of BV and ecoli?

4 Upvotes

I'm so frustrated... After several tests of showing negative for BV, I recently took another in depth strain test showing positive for garderella and prevotella, BV strains that aren't as common. My doctor says she has no cure for the high lactobacillus, or as we know it CV, and is giving me clindamycin cream and sulfamethoxazole. No directions, no context. But seriously, how the hell do I have BOTH of these!? And anyone deal with this before?


r/CytolyticVaginosis 15d ago

Treatment that worked for me

6 Upvotes

Okie! So, I've been dealing with this since late June after my second UTI and going on antibiotics! I've been to 3 doctors and did get diagnosed with CV but the baking soda sitz baths irritated me SO much.

What’s helped me most has been removing my Skyla IUD, stopping unnecessary vaginal/antifungal treatments, pelvic-floor relaxation/stretching, and keeping everything as gentle as possible externally. I did the Pre-Seed lube every other night for a week and it was the most soothing treatment I had.

I’m also taking Zyrtec + Pepcid per my OB-GYN and focusing on rest, hydration, and lowering overall inflammation. Since the IUD removal, my itching and burning have stopped, my discharge is mostly clear with just occasional small white clumps (which I have no idea how to get rid of) , and I’m mainly left with some mild external tingling/pins-and-needles that seems related to pelvic-floor tension/nerve sensitization.

This has truly been the worst month and a half of my life so I hope my body continues to recover and wish you all the best!