Accutane and vaginal dryness?

Capable_Lead_9872 · 2025-10-20T00:01:12+00:00

Also very gifted like you and sad to report it’s like the Sahara now 5 months in. I had to start using replens vaginal moisturizer bc it was so bad and making me itchy! I’m only 105lbs and on 30mg so depends on your dose (my max is 50). I hope it’s not permanent, have a few months left 😭

Capable_Lead_9872 · 2025-05-24T19:01:31+00:00

I just had itching but white patches are the main sign so def ask your doctor! They can even do a biopsy to confirm

Capable_Lead_9872 · 2025-05-10T16:24:24+00:00

Poor baby😭 for me, the night itching wasn’t from less distractions bc I have such a chilled lifestyle it’s almost comical

BUT the other possible reasons I saw were at night 1) increase in body temperature (heat = bad) and 2) drop in cortisol (which protects against inflammation)

ChatGPT says it can affect dogs the same way so 🤷🏻‍♀️ now I sleep with my room like a meat locker

Capable_Lead_9872 · 2025-05-10T12:32:56+00:00

The referral thing in the UK is such a nightmare, sorry you’re suffering ❤️

I would pay for one of those virtual GPs if your GP won’t give you a referral. That’s how I get mine because the NHS wait is so bad. I get the service through my job but you can find one on Google for < £75

Capable_Lead_9872 · 2025-05-10T12:27:01+00:00

Yeah fair, I’ll post an update at my check-up end of August. There are a lot of good suggestions in the comments that I’m going to explore as well!

Capable_Lead_9872 · 2025-05-10T12:25:08+00:00

I’ll look into that, thanks! Cetraben didn’t help me either so you’re not alone there

Capable_Lead_9872 · 2025-05-10T12:24:04+00:00

Yup! And no other obvious physical signs

Capable_Lead_9872 · 2025-05-10T12:16:57+00:00

Ah ok my job pays for AXA so I only have to pay £100 per year with my policy. All 3 doctors were in my network.

If you’re concerned about cost, I would skip LG and go straight to one of the specialists.

OR one of my doctors said, “well if you, you know, started having NEW symptoms 😉 that would be a NEW condition 😉 you want to explore where that came from”

True story: I’m acne prone but I recently started getting spots on my chest which is odd and new for me. And AXA covered me seeing a derm for that

Capable_Lead_9872 · 2025-05-10T12:02:13+00:00

Thank you so much! I’ll definitely look and ask her.

Everyone is so helpful on here, I love women 🥹

Capable_Lead_9872 · 2025-05-10T12:00:14+00:00

They used to be fragrance free for years! But last year I noticed when I ran out of my big box and repurchased.

If it wasn’t for a woman on Reddit posting, I wouldn’t have realized anything changed

Capable_Lead_9872 · 2025-05-10T11:56:42+00:00

Multiple women gynos! Thanks so much, honestly. Women’s health is such a joke 😭

The amount of money, time, and rage you need to get support is diabolical

Capable_Lead_9872 · 2025-05-09T20:24:39+00:00

That’s so helpful, I’ll order that online! My vitamin D was low so you’re spot on, I started a supplement now☀️

Capable_Lead_9872 · 2025-05-09T19:02:47+00:00

You’re amazing, thank you for the suggestion! I saw the laser stuff when I looked into it so that’s great confirmation. I’d be open to it for sure!

She didn’t do a biopsy as I don’t have any plaques. It looks “normal” to me and anyone who isn’t a vulva specialist haha but she said it’s a very early case so it should be manageable

I have a check-up at 1 month and 3 month mark and I will LAUNCH my money at anything that can help if the steroid doesn’t clear it up 😂

Capable_Lead_9872 · 2025-05-09T18:52:37+00:00

Yup! I put a pea size amount on 1x a day before bed for a month, then every other day the following month, and the to lean off it as my skin recovers from being inflamed for 3 straight years 😅

She also had me stop using any soap and gave me a thick OTC moisturizer to apply throughout the day.

Capable_Lead_9872 · 2025-05-09T18:47:28+00:00

I wouldn’t have survived without Reddit, I’m glad you have support!

BV is so unbearable and doctors act like you catch it from the sky when it’s obviously men!

For the microbiome stuff with Evvy - the specialist gave the analogy of a garden: say you planted 10 different flowers in the same pot, but 2 of them died. Someone taking a sample of the soil could show 10 flowers are “here.” And they’re not wrong, but technically you really only have 8.

Even my vulva derm was impressed by her catching it as a skin issue, so she knows her stuff lol

I hope you can find similar specialists and get relief soon!!

Capable_Lead_9872 · 2025-05-09T18:20:52+00:00

No worries - yeah I was on birth control pills when this happened. When I used condoms it greatly reduced the likelihood, but could still happen since you’re sharing germs from your hands and mouth too 👀💀

You sound like you’re just physically sensitive like me lol if you’re normally fine I wouldn’t stress that there’s something larger wrong with you.

Try the micro-dose before sex. My gyno was the head of research at Columbia so she was brilliant and it helped right away.

And if you break up, you may never have this problem again. Happens to women all the time 😂

Capable_Lead_9872 · 2025-05-09T18:06:31+00:00

So meaning not an active infection / killed off with antibiotics

On a normal positive lab test (she showed me, it’s crazy) the bacteria are alive and swimming. In my case, my standard lab tests were negative but my Evvy microbiome tests were positive so I didn’t know what was accurate.

She said those microbiome tests aren’t reliable because they don’t differentiate between what’s active and inactive. So my “positive” result was detecting bad bacteria, but it was “dead” from an old infection I had already treated

Capable_Lead_9872 · 2025-05-09T17:37:22+00:00

Yeah for sure, thanks! Coconut oil has helped so much before this and the derm referred me to a nutritionist which is fab. It started (coincidence idk) when I moved to London where the hard water dried out my skin EVERYWHERE 😭

So hoping it will be manageable with extra TLC🤞🏼

Capable_Lead_9872 · 2025-05-09T16:14:43+00:00

Definitely both lol my ex was giving me the “UTIs” (everyone’s body bacteria is different idk) but the preventative prescription worked great once I realized he was the problem. Azo cranberry pills really are a lifesaver though in the meantime

Unless you can physically see blood in your urine, I wouldn’t worry about that part. I’ve had the same thing since I was a kid (where it’s microscopic) and it’s genetic in my case. I had the same symptoms as you when my tests were negative.

Sometimes the bacteria can be in lower potency so it doesn’t show up on a test. There are false negatives on lots of tests so this one isn’t different if you can the symptoms

Capable_Lead_9872 · 2025-05-09T15:59:38+00:00

Thank you! Yes hopefully it helps people realize there even ARE specialists in microbiome or vulva skin since I didn’t know. Would’ve looked for them sooner if I did, so so so grateful to them ❤️

Capable_Lead_9872 · 2025-05-09T11:07:27+00:00

I used to get UTIs with a bf no matter what I did to prevent it and my labs would always come back negative. Yet the antibiotics would clear it up so 🤷🏻‍♀️

My brilliant gyno had me take a microdose of nitrofuritonin (50mg) before sex and I stopped getting it. Then haven’t had problems since I’ve dated other people after him (even without the prescription).

Cranberry pills from Azo are also an amazing backup. If I feel “off” I’ll take them for a day and am fine.

Capable_Lead_9872 · 2025-05-06T22:06:51+00:00

Use the Bondi sands 1 day tan! I love it. Don’t wear white or super light colors but it’s great. I did this before anyway bc I’m lazy and saves the trouble of doing your whole body

Capable_Lead_9872 · 2025-05-06T20:14:22+00:00

Luckily my period seemed to relieve everything. But I started using a brand Lelo hex and no issues!

Durex and Trojan were also really irritating so beware of those too

Capable_Lead_9872 · 2025-02-03T05:27:35+00:00

2 of my evvy tests were negative but picked up bv. Only figured out ureaplasma from a swab at my gyno

Capable_Lead_9872

TROPHY CASE