r/WomensHealth

Hi everyone, I’m looking for some insight into a recurring issue I’ve been having. I’ve been married for less than a year, and sex has become quite painful and frustrating.

Almost every time we have intercourse, I experience bleeding and a sharp burning sensation when I pee immediately after. It feels like I’m getting micro-tears, likely because I’m struggling with natural lubrication.

I am trying to narrow down the cause and I have two main suspects:

First, his shaving. My husband shaves completely down there. When the hair starts growing back, it’s very prickly and sharp. Could this "stubble" effect be physically tearing my skin during friction?

Second, the lubricant. We use a water-based lubricant to help with the dryness. We put it on him, and in me. Is this not enough?

I’m confused because I recently had one session that felt amazing and was totally painless, yet I still bled afterward.

Has anyone else experienced tearing or bleeding specifically due to a partner's shaving habits? Also, are there specific ingredients in water-based lubes I should be avoiding, or should I switch to something else entirely?

Any advice on how to overcome this would be greatly appreciated.

I went to the chiropractor wednesday and we discussed my chronic lower left abdominal pain and how no one seems worried about it. He tried some pressure point therapy to the spot where I was having the cramps and dude, worst mistake of my life. I was in so much pain afterwards, nausea, literally shitting my brains out for 3 hours after, *which he did warn me about*.

Thursday comes and I have a 12 hour shift and I'm still in pain, like all day. And similar to gas pain but it wasnt. It was my lower left, radiating across the lower middle and up the middle. Thursday night was the worse, so friday I called out sick and went to urgent care, went over the chiropractor appointment then for the hell of it told them my ongoing issue with the same spot that my doctors aren't doing anything about.

So they palpate my abdomen, everywhere hurts and they're just like yeah I'm just going to send you to the ER for an emergency CT scan because abdominal pain is so vague and it could be a number of things and told me to tell them about my history, so I'm like ok.

I get to the ER, the nurse is taking my vitals and I'm going over everything I told urgent care and she was super nice. Then I get called in, the doctor eventually comes over and does her exam and we talk about my history again and she asked about endo and all that, she was like appalled my doctors havent done anything, , like *ME TOO??* and was like I could do a CT scan or ultrasound, said why either was better, we went with CT scan with contrast, which btw *not a fun feeling*.

Eventually get the results, I have *two* things going on. I have pelvic congestion syndrome which explains *EVERYTHING*, the bloating, the cramping, the abnormal bleeding. And I have thickening of my small and large bowel walls, so I have to get a colonoscopy too.

A few months back I had the worse appointment of my life with the surgeon at my GYNOB for a consultation. She did not listen to me whatsoever, kept cutting me off. I’m trying to get a hysterectomy because the pain has just been so bad and consistent. I’ve always had bad periods.

I stopped the depo I was on for 13+ years because it clashed with one of my oral medication, and miraculously my migraines stopped at that time. So I’m trying to explain to her the location of the cramps and I get “well there’s a lot of nerves in that area”. Then tried to discuss options for pain or some sort of management, we talk about tube tying, and putting me back on hormonal b/c for pain and I tell her about my migraines, and I get “well were you diagnosed by a neurologist for these?” Nope. And she says, “ok we’ll call them headaches then” like hello??, whatever. I’m not going to argue.

And I pretty much got “well what’s worse the headaches or the cramping”

Also having urinary issues along with all this, get referred to urologist, AUS and UA is normal.

So I find out I have pelvic congestion syndrome and all I can think of is the surgeon asking “headaches or cramps”. Like fuck you dude. I know I’m not crazy.

I have endometriosis and reoccurring ovarian cysts - I listened to a podcast where someone mentioned the AIP diet can be helpful for endo. Has anyone tried it?

…. This is TMI but doctors aren’t answering my questions and aren’t helping. I’m early 40’s and bleed during sex. I’ve been to my OB doctor multiple times. They say everything looks normal and that I’m fine. Pap tests are always clean. Blood tests don’t show anything abnormal. I’m not in pain or hurting. What is wrong with me?? Is this normal after 40? Has anyone experienced this??

HELP!

Is it normal to go to the dermatologist for vaginal issues?

I’ve been to the gynecologist multiple times and it seems like the problem I’m having is on the outside.

I think it could be eczema or contact dermatitis.

Or I’m dry/skin is thin because I keep tearing during sex I have tried everything using uberlube right now. It’s helping. But the stinging after sex is horrible I feel it more on the back of my whole closer to my butt.

Since November, when I started dating my boyfriend, I’ve been dealing with recurring swelling episodes in my labia. At first, the swelling was only on one side, but after about three occurrences, it started affecting both sides.

Each time this has happened, I’ve been prescribed antibiotics. Now I’m currently on a 90-day course of antibiotics to try to reduce infection, but it feels like my doctors aren’t entirely sure what’s causing the issue and are hoping this will help.

I’m still experiencing stinging and significant pain after sex. My doctors have said I may be getting micro-tears. At one point, I thought it could be from accidentally cutting my labia while shaving (I have longer labia), but the symptoms have continued even after that healed.

I was also tested for a yeast infection while on antibiotics, and they found yeast externally. I used a cream for that and have a follow-up appointment to see if it’s resolved. However, I don’t think that’s the root cause, since I didn’t have a yeast infection when these symptoms first started.

At this point, I feel stuck and unsure of what’s actually causing these ongoing symptoms.

I take oral birth control

Don’t use condoms

23 years old

Use free and clear detergent

Wear cotton underwear

Use dove soap and lightly

Use uberlube

On 90 day antibiotics

19F I was diagnosed with chlamydia in January which was the start of all of this. My symptoms never went away but my test came back negative a month ago and then a week ago. I then got a whole panel done, i mean everything. To list my tests that all came back negative/normal range: mycoplasma and ureaplasma, CBC and DIFF Sysmex, HIV-1/2, syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, BV, vaginitis, urine culture (3 day), urine microscopic, and urinalysis dip with reflex.

Some things that were off were 21-35 white blood cells, and moderate leukocyte and epithelial cells.

I got diagnosed with PID after all of this and a VERY VERY painful pelvic exam with swab insertion. Even the gyno jumped at my reaction and kept apologizing - i’ve broken 2 leg bones and that pelvic pain was almost the same as that injury. I cried during my pelvic exam.

Now i’m 1 week into doxycycline 2 a day, metronidazole 2 a day, and got a Rocephin shot - and I have no symptoms cleared and have started spotting —> important to note i’m on depo provera for 4 years now so i don’t think it’s a period.

Current symptoms are swollen bladder, pressure on my urethra, and cramping in my sides.

Please help me. Do I get an ultrasound now? It’s been 4 months of this pain and swelling and i’m only 19, i want my life back and have learned my lesson on practicing safe sex

This is just an elder daughter vent... you can ignore it if you want. And if you indeed read it... sorry to spoil your mood.

Like the title says. I (22F) is eldest daughter of my mother who is the youngest daughter in her family and my father is the eldest son in his family. I won’t exaggerate when I say this... I am mentally cooked and not now... since so early in life because supposedly this is a deadly combo where the eldest daughter looses herself and became an adult even when she is just 14. I don't hate my family but I don't love them dearly as well (except my younger sister... she is my life). I am fed up acting like grown up everytime and considering everyone's feeling. Growing up as obedient kid who is not allowed to take her stand as it is considered "talking back", who gets scolded for slightest disappointment, who has been made to treat my sibling like second mother than just an elder sister... I am fed up. Of my life. Of everything.

I am so fed up that even wanting to tell them that I am not well and I apparently have some heart issues... feels exhausting. I don't want to tell. I don't want to go through dismissal, then over worried stares, then talks like you are making me scared... I don't want to. I don't want to make anyone worried. I am contemplating how to tell them and for 2 days I am not able to tell because I don't want to. I rather would prefer to go alone and handle everything myself alone (yes, becoming independent for almost everything than relying on them is a side effect of all this) but I am not earning yet, so, financially I am still relying on them. This is the worst thing. Even with health insurance— for preliminary checks I would need money and I don't have enough money to afford it and we literally stay together. How will I secretly do all this?

Moreover, if some heart related issues did come up... this is will be second biggest surgey. First being right side ovary removal due to cyst 3 years back. Even that time I didn't tell them the symptoms. They wondered (doctors and parents When I got diagnosed) how can I get such a big cyst without prior symptoms. I didn't tell them then this isn't sudden. I was having major back pain and I literally searched about ovarian cyst a few months before surgery and cyst it was. This time as well I just know what symptoms are indicating towards and again... I am not telling. I am worried this is will again end as something major.

And you know what the biggest dilemma is? If I really want to tell them about this. Heart condition worsen will end up with me no more in this world. And I am so done with everything around me that this isn't even looking a bad option. Should I just not tell them? Maybe I will finally get permanent relief from all this mental overload. The only thing stopping me is my sister. We have a huge age gap and we are very close. I am super worried about her. I just now my death will break her bad. Just today we were talking about something going away and she said just you don't go away from me. I mean if I die I wouldn't know how she is feeling... but I don't want to ruin her childhood. Maybe once she grows up, I will finally give in. I don't know why I am venting here. My post even might get delete. I am just so fucked up in mind and body right now that I am not thinking straight. I hate it. I hate everything.

So as the title says over the weekend I lost my virginity to my long time bf, it was also his first time. For reference he about 6.5 inches and like 4.5 inches circumference. He is obviously the first person I have been with and also I don't really use toys so I didn't have any real reference for size if this is big or not.

It was so painful when we tried. He worse what is supposed to be a thin condom that is good for heat transfer and we used lots of water based lubes. We tried missionary, cowgirl and reverse cowgirl, spooning, doggy but didn't get very far in any position. It hurt so bad near my entrance that I couldn't enjoy it at all or feel anything else, it took hours of slow persistence and I managed to take most of it.

I let him go at it properly so he could finsh even though it hurt very badly and when he did that it also hurt deeper inside, where ever he was hitting at the back and also when it dragged along my walls inside it didn't feel good at all.

We tried again the next day in case it would be better but it was even worse and I made him stop basically right away.

I waited two days after that and it wasn't quite as bad but still very painful to where I made him quickly stop.

I don't understand why my body won't just work. Everything online says that it shouldn't be this way and no matter what breathing exercises I did to relax my pelvic floor or how much foreplay we did and lube we used it just didn't make it better.

It made me feel so awful, even though my boyfriend has been so sweet and careful and helpful about it. I got so overwhelmed and emotional about it that I cried while we were both undressed still.

I would really appreciate hearing from others who have had similar experiences and might know how to overcome this.

I will be speaking to my doctor to find a solution as well, as soon as I can book in my next appointment.

until then I will stay away from penetrative sex to be careful and not risk hurting myself.

Hi guys i’m a 20(f) i found out i had bv back in the beginning of march and i got the medicine for it (7 day metro) i finished it and i still had the uti symptoms of the bv (burning urination & the feeling of having to pee after i just did) i don’t really have the burning anymore it just shows up now and then but the feeling of incompete emptying is still there. i also tested negative for all sti’s & uti. Anybody have any advice on how i can fix this or what it could possibly be ??

NOT MEDICAL ADVICE!!!

Im not diagnosing anyone nor is this medical advice. I just wanted to share my story here in case others can relate or have similar experiences since when it happened I hadn’t seen anything similar to my own experience.

So back in Nov 2025, I started having chronic pain and bloating downstairs to the point of vomiting and I kept getting sick. It came with discharge and extreme discomfort. I had a marina IUD for 3 years at that point so nothing I read contributed it to that. My symptoms stayed and persisted the last 5 months as followed:

> chronic BV and/or yeast infections

> pain during intercourse

> mood swings

> low s*x drive

> chronic sickness (flu like symptoms, nausea, migraines, fatigue)

> chronic bloating (literally always had a little pouch)

> felt my IUD during runs

> cramping almost everyday

> very occasional spotting

As I kept seeing doctor after doctor I was treated for the acute symptoms and told that the bigger picture was probably stress. (Go figure) Im a grad student so honestly I kinda agreed for a while until the symptoms kept happening during every holiday break as well.

Flash forward to last week, I get an ultrasound to make sure my IUD hadn’t embedded and thankfully it had not. However given all the symptoms I asked to have it removed for my sanity. Well as the dr goes to remove it he struggles and struggles until he exclaims, “wow that was really up there that must have hurt.” Apparently it was so high up he almost couldn’t fish it out… and ya apparently that is a painful experience (who woulda thought, obviously not me…)

…. Now that it’s gone I feel like a different person. There is no longer a bowling ball in my abdomen and my body feels lighter. I haven’t had any cramping nearly as bad as before. There are still some lingering effects but overall I feel completely different. So ya I come here to share my story so maybe I can feel less crazy or someone else can feel less crazy too. Reddit threads seemed to be the only place I could find similar experiences to my own while I was looking for help and while this exact scenario wasn’t out there, I found other threads that helped me link my issues to my IUD and not just stress. Again not medical diagnoses just stories from women that helped me think about my own symptoms.

Hopefully one day we will be reading these things in medical journals instead of reddit threads. <3

I’ve had a bartholin cysts for about the past year and a half. It would fluctuate in size depending on arousal but for the most part would shrink back down to blueberry sized and didn’t really bother me other than aesthetically so I never went to the doctor about it until recently. Out of nowhere it grew in size and remained grape sized long enough for me to go to the doctor. They drained it and gave me some antibiotics but now it’s been a little over a week since then and the cyst is still there? It’s significantly smaller but now it’s kind of a firmer lump where the cyst used to be. I was expecting the area to return back to its normal pre-cyst state but I’m not sure since there’s like no information on Bartholin cysts out there. I’m also kinda struggling to understand how exactly draining it is going to “fix it” since isn’t the whole thing with Bartholin cysts that the glands blocked somehow so it can’t drain as it’s supposed to. Idk it’s frustrating cause they don’t know what Bartholin cysts glands get block or how to resolve or prevent the blockage and all the treatment options are just “pop the cyst” in different fonts instead of addressing why there’s a cyst at all. I’m already expecting it too come back and having to get it drained like once a year which is so exhausting to think about.

I don't even know if this belongs here so I'm sorry if not. Normally I start feeling worse day by day. Today it started as boredom, then confusion and now I feel like the biggest failure who ever walked the earth. My pmdd is pretty bad in general but only maybe 2 days before my period starts. Now I'm looking at a 7+ days of agony. This morning I was fine, now I'm hella depressed and tired and don't wanna see or hear anyone ever again. I can't believe my hormones can shift so quickly.

I never actually talked to my doctor about it because I'm sure it'd be either antidepressants or "we all go through it, you'll be fine". Yeah I'll be fine for maybe 4 days every month. This is ridiculous.

Does anyone take any supplements? Natural or whatever, that actually works? I don't wanna go from planning a next haircut to feeling like offing myself in the same day.

My struggles: F(38 yrs old)

My periods are getting closer together, currently I’m at 20 days between, I bleed through the Ultra size tampons within an hour or two, I’m bloated, my abdomen is a constantly a little tender & feeling full, sometimes I get crampy after eating, and I’ve gained 10 lbs in 3 months, all this without changing anything in my diet or lifestyle.

I have Hypothyroidism, and am on the road to Hashimotos… it’s in my family, I know it’s coming. I had a physical in the fall, and my TPO had risen enough that my Dr approved increasing my Levothyroxine… well my TPO has gone down, my TSH, T3 and T4 are all in optimal areas… insulin is fine, cholesterol is higher (which Dr thinks is related to my TPO being higher and because of family history)… no diabetes, no food sensitivities/allergies… yes, I have watched for patterns…

My testosterone and progesterone are fine… I just had ultrasounds on my thyroid & pelvis… everything is fine… no growths, no enlargements, no thickness…

Dos anybody have any experience or ideas? I’m in tears and frustrated because I was thinking PCOS, Endomentriosis, I even considered tumors, all the things, hoping for an ANSWER. And nothing. Why does womens health have to be so intricate and include so many side quests? I know I’m not alone. I just needed to vent because my radiology report was clear and while I am grateful for that, I am disappointed…

as mentioned in title suggest some good remedies that effectively works

So I have no idea of these things are related or if it's just coincidence. But currently my period is 10 days late, which used to be pretty normal for me, but lately the app I use has been pretty consistent with tracking correctly. I also know I'm not pregnant, as I'm not sexually active and haven't been for over two years.

Along with this, I've been having a bad flare up of stomach problems. Like, stabbing pain that comes and goes. It gets to the point where even drinking water is causing pain. In the last two weeks I had one four day streak where it was okay and that was it. Constipation is also a big struggle.

I know a doctor trip would be ideal, as stomach problems have been a long term issue for me, but I can't afford that right now, so it'll have to wait. However, the flare up of stomach pain (different pain than usual) and the late period after being pretty consistent, I'm wondering if there's something else it could be that I haven't considered?

for context my period is 5 days late, and i have been an absolute wreck since my period is usually regular, almost to the day every cycle. I have no idea why but i wanted some advice and maybe some reassurance for why its late. i started exercising pretty well in the last month and have been pushing myself, as well as maintaining a pretty random (and shit) diet as most uni students do. i'm pretty underweight but thats never been a problem. the main thing is, i had sex about 20 days ago, with a condom that never broke or slipped off, and i made sure to keep any of the boyfriends fluids away from down there. the past few days ive been pretty much fine, (physically) with a bit of boob tenderness with very mild cramping yesterday. can someone help me figure out what is going on??

I had keyhole laproscopic surgery where they pumped gas in you. It’s been 4

Months and my diaphragm and abdominal still hurts I guess it really upset my

Nerves I don’t know what to do it’s painful no matter what.

Laying down least pain but even then I’m still in pain

Hi, this might be a TMI post.

I started the vaginal cream a few months ago. At that time I stopped my oral HRT, but a month later I started it back up. Ever since then I've been having white discharge. But the weird thing is where it is. It's in the front in the clitoral area. It looks like a splat of lotion. I sometimes see white discharge coming from the actual vagina too.

I used to think the discharge had migrated to the front from my vagina, but now I don't think so because the area between there and the vagina is always clear.

I've been to the doctor a couple of times and always test negative for yeast or BV. Google doesn't help. I've had my partner refrain from performing oral sex out of precaution, but could this somehow be normal discharge?

I don’t feel like an average women…

PCOS is the literal devil….. I feel like my body is functioning like a man’s body… all weight in belly, lots of facial hair, fat face, no hips, wide fat neck….. and to make matters worse, my mom always talk about how my thick neck is due to my high testosterone making me have man features ….. (she knows nothing about my testosterone) but I already feel less of a women sometimes cus I’m not small petite or danity, I’m big and tall… and I’m very self conscious about my neck/chin…. I got 2 rounds of lipo back in 2021 and it still didn’t help .. infact I feel more saggy… anyways… I just hate this shit… idk if PCOS can evern turn u into a male or trans man.. (I have nothing against trans people btw but I’m just saying in a cis women wanting to present as such)

Hey guys,

About 6 weeks ago I suffered from a ruptured cyst that haemorrhaged. On the first day that it happened I was in so much pain that I physically couldn’t move, I was bedridden and couldn’t eat or sleep without taking Panadol. Mind you, I usually get ovulation pain and so I thought this was something that would go away on its on. 3 days past and I the pain wasn’t reducing and I started to feel pain in my chest and shoulder. It was getting harder to breathe and sleep. So I decided to go to my local GP and they referred me to get an ultrasound.

After my ultrasound they told me I had to go straight to ER and so I went. I was there for 24 hours before they discharged me and said I was recovering well and my body was handling it well. Bloods came back fine and I was finally moving well without too much pain. (It’s been 5 days since initial rupture).

Just asking, how long does it take to recover? I’m still feeling quite faint and fatigued, sometimes nausea too. It worsens coming up to my period and it’s hard to walk for long periods.