HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

Question for the ladies

Support Forums
>
Ulcerative Colitis
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 4/10/2015 3:27 AM (GMT 0)
I am so embarrassed to even ask this but do any of you queef a lot? My sister was saying how she never queefs as much as I do so I decided to google it. Well, one cause is a fistula! I had no idea and now I feel sick to my stomach about it. I am calling my doctor tomorrow and am already dreading it. I dont know all the symptoms of a fistula but I know it is more common in Crohn's patients.

Please tell me I am not the only one who farts a lot out of her vagina. Also, I should mention that it has no smell and I have no pain.
Posted 4/10/2015 3:33 AM (GMT 0)
Does it happen just randomly? I have before but only during sex and not every time. Like too much air gets in between and it happens.
Posted 4/10/2015 3:42 AM (GMT 0)
It only happens to me if I am doing crazy weird stretching. It doesn't just happen out of the blue. That is an embarrassing question lol. I would think if you get regular obgyn check ups, you would know if you had a fistula?
Posted 4/10/2015 3:54 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks guys. I havent been to a gyne since 2011- had a very painful pap smear and havent gone back. I am not sexually active so I never really needed a reason to see her anyway.

It happens usually when im going from laying down or sitting to standing. It happens a lot when im lifting weights or doing yoga.
If i even press on my abdomen, i will queef!
Posted 4/10/2015 4:33 AM (GMT 0)
I can relate to your feeling about not wanting to return to a particular gyn! Some of them are real no-nothings & rough with exams besides. However, UC females should get annual gyn check-ups because our meds can affect those organs, too. Plus, if you read Bess's thread RE "vaginal problems with UC", one member posted there about an auto-immune disorder called Lichen Sclerosus that we need to be aware of because it causes internal & external tissue changes and definitely requires timely Dx/treatment when it occurs. Then, of course, the RV fistula possibility ... not fun. But we get only 1 body in this life so it makes sense to check out the parts likely to go bad on us. / Old Hat (34 yrs with left-sided UC; presently in remission taking brandname Colazal)
Posted 4/10/2015 7:37 PM (GMT 0)
Oh my goodness. This reply is off topic from the question, but I want to quickly respond to the comment above. Thank you so much for bringing up Lichen Sclerosus. If only I had read a comment like this years and years ago.

After many years of problems in that area ranging from irritation, itching, or discomfort on the skin to pain during sex and gyn exams, I have just been diagnosed with lichen sclerosus. Previous doctors dismissed my complaints, chalking it up to yeast infections or not being stretched enough. I went many, many years being told "nothing is wrong" and being treated poorly by gyns who did not understand. My relationship during those years was strained because I had no treatment to my pain. I just want to put a PSA here in case anyone down the road may happen to read this and relate to my story...please look into Lichen Sclerosus. I do not know the link between lichen sclerosus and UC, and I am not saying that is the answer to all problems...but us UC gals are more likely to get autoimmune conditions and I can only hope someone could get relief before I did. The length of misdiagnosis has permanently altered my skin.

And to anyone, if the time is ever appropriate, pass this info along to others. Awareness is key!
Posted 4/10/2015 8:30 PM (GMT 0)
old hat, yeah, i definitely should go back!! i talked to my GI today and he wants to do a scope because he thinks it could be a fistula. i am not looking forward to it at all but i havent had one since 2012. i'd rather at least see if something's wrong and also see if my current treatment plan has improved my UC.

emilee, i have never heard of lichen sclerosus. i am glad you got a diagnosis though!
Posted 4/10/2015 11:21 PM (GMT 0)
Hmm, I've only done that during intense sex and usually when changing sex positions and that only happened when I was younger way before CD and it didn't happen a whole lot either even if we basically replicated the same type of sex it didn't always happen.

It certainly hasn't happened under any other circumstances with the exception of when I developed my Recto-vaginal fistulas for obvious reasons, but it didn't feel the same the way it did when I was younger....it happens when air gets trapped sometimes while having sex as I described, not generally from regular tamer sex at least not in my experience anyway.

Glad you're planning to get it checked out, I'll keep fingers and toes crossed it's not an RV fistula!!
Posted 4/10/2015 11:57 PM (GMT 0)
pb4, what did your fistulas feel like? i have no idea what to look for. i did a self check in the mirror and everything looks fine. my anus isn't swollen, no hemmies, no random openings.
Posted 4/11/2015 12:46 AM (GMT 0)
Ya I couldn't see any difference from just looking at it when I had mine...it felt awful cuz it scared me, it wasn't like the little sex "queef" lol but more like a fart that comes out of your butt and I could feel the air passing it through it very noticeably it wasn't discreet by any means and it didn't only happen when I had to pass gas but it would sometimes just leak air out randomly and it was frustrating and equally embarrassing and there wasn't anything I could do to stop it, even while I wore a feminine pad if I put pressure on the pad to try and stop the air from leaking out it didn't do me any good.

I was just thankful that I never ended up passing any stools from my vagina cuz I was constipated and those hard poops would have killed I'm sure...I did notice an off odor, normally my gina has no odor but during that fistula time it had a sickly smell kind of like ammonia but not as strong as ammonia...do you notice any change in odor down there? I could even smell it in my pee after I peed in the toilet.
Posted 4/11/2015 1:30 AM (GMT 0)
pb4, thanks for your detailed response!!! this helps me a lot. i actually just went pee and held the toilet paper up to my nose. no smell at all. i dont have any discharge either. in fact, i haven't ovulated or had a period in years so the area is always very dry. i usually rub coconut oil or a&d ointment down there because i tend to get itchy from the dryness.
Posted 4/11/2015 1:35 AM (GMT 0)
Oh, why haven't you had a period in years? I didn't get anymore of a discharge than usual while I had my fistula (I think it's completely healed but got an MRI done last month so waiting to see GI in May for the results which I'm hoping will confirm my feeling that it's healed up. It was just feeling the air pass through and that odor that I never had in my life that led me to believe I had a fistula.
Posted 4/11/2015 1:51 AM (GMT 0)
my cycle stopped after i was diagnosed with left sided UC in jan 2011. i did have a short and very crampy period in sept 2013 but that was the last one. i honestly don't know how to get it back. some of my doctors think it has been from malnourishment, low body weight, or the imuran/6mp i've been on.

i hope you have good results. you deserve it!! have you been doing better on low fodmaps? i've definitely found my trigger foods since starting that diet. i dont know where i'd be without chia seeds though. i love those suckers!
Posted 4/11/2015 1:59 AM (GMT 0)
OH wow, sorry to hear that, as much as I hate my periods every month no matter how sick I've been I always got them...and you're so young!! Do you still get yearly check ups done to make sure it's not related to something causing them to stop?

Thanks, I'm expecting good results based on how things down there have been feeling for a while now though I'm always prepared for bad news cuz I'm just use to that now lol. Yes a little better on the FODMAP, today is day 5, I'm still having frequency but at least I'm not crazy constipated anymore, I'll be seeing my dietitian at the end of this month for my follow up, I sure don't like having to cook 3 meals a day though lol, never really ever done that since I was never a breakfast eater through a large majority of my life but it is what it is I guess and I've at least gotten an appetite just before I saw her initially so she was glad to hear that...thanks for asking :)
Posted 4/11/2015 2:40 AM (GMT 0)
yeah, i was never too disappointed about the period being gone since i've needed so many iron infusions and blood transfusions. i figure at least my body is smart enough to not give up period blood when i cant. honestly, i dont even see a pcp or gynecologist at all. my gi doc is my main doctor but i only seem him about 2-3x per year. i did see an endocrinologist last year and she said my hormone levels were that of a post menopausal women. she wanted me on progesterone pills but i never took them. i'm scared of aggrevating my UC and you know any random thing can do that. i just finished up my 25th iron infusion so i hope that will last me a little while. i am tempted to get a port if i can't get a handle on it.

ahh yes. you have to cook everything!!! the amount of dishes is depressing haha the guidelines are so tough and i kept having to look at them for the first two weeks just because i'd forget them. the food list is just enormous and hard to keep track of.
Posted 4/11/2015 3:51 AM (GMT 0)
Oh that's really sad that your body isn't functioning the way it should for your age, very depressing but ya I suppose no woman would miss their period unless of course they were trying to get pregnant and wanted them for that reason...I was hoping that when I entered menopause that all my symptoms would go away but that probably wouldn't happen with my luck lol!

Yeah I didn't even think about how overwhelming it would be with following it so closely and there being so many foods that are allowed that I haven't even eaten in my life, it's nice there's a lot of options but I sure do miss my garlic hahaha and yeah all those dishes for just one person is insane for sure lol!

I hope that whatever is causing you that vaginal gas isn't anything serious, I can't remember exactly but when I first got the symptom of it I googled to see if anything besides an RV fistula could cause it (and besides sex) and I'm sure there was something but sorry I totally forget what it was so maybe try doing a google search to put your mind at ease but like you said if there's no other symptoms (smell/discharge) then it's likely not anything serious...fingers crossed for ya!
Posted 4/11/2015 12:00 PM (GMT 0)
Hey Joanna, I went through a scare like this not too long after my takedown... Long story short, I definitely do NOT have an RV fistula (I've been checked for it six ways to Sunday and my doctors prob think I'm obsessed) -- the only doc who had a reasonable explanation was my GYN who is just a regular GYN, she said that a lot of women complain about passing air more often after childbirth, she thinks it is from the shifting of organs around in the pelvis you can develop pockets of air. Obviously you haven't had surgery or given birth, but knowing everything you've been through I would not be at *all* surprised if that's what's going on with you. It's very encouraging that you have no discharge or pain.

I really really encourage you to go see a GYN, it's important (albeit unpleasant). Do you have any bone density issues (e.g. from pred)? I know I do, and having the "hormone levels of a post menopausal woman" will NOT help with that. Please take care of yourself!
Posted 4/11/2015 6:58 PM (GMT 0)
thanks pb4. garlic was hard for me too! i have to make my pesto without it now and i'm happy to say it's still delcious. also, my mom found a good site on vaginal farting. i think it was actually on dr. oz. haha apparently, some women just do it more than others.

pluot, you lucked out then!! i am hoping you are right. i sometimes (ok, always) have the mindset "if something can go wrong, it will go wrong."

yeah, i plan on making an appointment after i see my gi doctor in may and get my scope. i was diagnosed with osteoporosis when i was 24 which is no big surprise. the endocrinologist told me how hard it would be to build my bone density back up without a period.
Posted 4/11/2015 7:19 PM (GMT 0)
Well I'm hoping when my dietitian starts my re-introduction of foods that garlic won't be on my no no list lol...ya good old Dr. Oz eh well as long as you feel it's nothing and since you pay attention to what's going on with your body I'm sure that you will know when to get anything that's troubling checked out.
Posted 6/28/2018 6:42 AM (GMT 0)
Bacon girl, it’s been a while, but I have the same problem! I constantly randomly release air from my vagina and it’s not smelt or painful but just embarrassing! It sounds like I’m farting and sometimes it lasts for several seconds. Did you ever see your doctor and get an explanation?
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply