Gyno-riffic

Yesterday I went to the gyno for my annual. I really like my doctor. Yes, she has her flaws--like pushing me to take brand name bc pills that cost three times as much, sometimes being so exuberant I don't have time to ask my embarrassing question, and talking so loudly that you can hear her say "VAGINA" on the other side of the door. But I like her.

I've been examined by male doctors before, and while it was a medical touch, there was a certain care for what they did that signalled "This is a special region. A sexual region. I'm taking care not to violate that." She just dives right in. She has this bubbly voice with odd inflections, so when she says "vagina" it's like va-giii-na, with the g-i a slightly different pitch than the rest of the word. She's great. And this time, I barely even noticed how casual she was with the whole speculum, breast examination, etc. Because that's how I felt about it too.

The other (bodily function) part of the story was that I have had a YI for the past two and a half months that I was trying to will into going away. It actually did go away when I got my period, because of the change in Ph, but came right back a week later. Because YIs and BV are really just an imbalance of naturally occurring organisms, and when I get them, I get them again and again and again, I usually try to stick through the pain and itching. And sometimes it works. After trying all the home remedies (yogurt, garlic, tea tree oil), I am convinced that eating a clove of raw garlic twice a day really does help. They say you can smell garlic coming out your pores, so the scent alone proves that it is permeating all the different areas of your body. Just don't do it on an empty stomach or you will feel nauseous. I'm also too cheap to treat them with a $15 cream every single time I get an infection, so I was thrilled that when my doctor gave me the fluconazole it only cost $3.18. For two pills! (apparently one doesn't work so well anymore, the fungi have built up drug resistance). I have never had such a cheap presciption before. Even at our college health center I think it was $10 or $15 for ONE PILL of fluconazole. Plus she gave me two refills, so I think I'll fill one to bring on my Costa Rica trip, just in case. I feel like I hit the medicine lottery.