Jenni
Has your husband been cultured to make certain that HE is not passing this back and forth to you? What about the possibility of having a culture (both of you) after you both have completed a course of treatment to be sure that the bacteria is indeed gone? Hang in there - I too have had years like that. One thing that I finally did find out with my doctor's help is that I secrete oxalate crystals in my urine. They are very sharp edged like little knives and cause cuts and irritation. I now think that a lot of times I thought I had yeast/bacteria, it was actually from oxalate. They commonly refer to this as "vulvodynia" which is a generic term meaning pain in the vulva. My doctor thought of it after I went in and said what you wrote "this is ruining my life (sex life too) and maybe I am crazy." He told me that a lot of women are told that it is in their heads when in fact oxalate crystals are the cause of the pain/discomfort. Anyway - I now take potassium citrate in water (prescription, kind of like Gatorade) a couple times a day - it prevents crystal formation and is used for kidney stone patients also. I am so much better and don't have pain, etc. Also, there is a lot of info out there on diet control of these crystals - beans, tomatoes, and other substances contain high amounts of oxalate. Tho' I don't have myself on a strict diet, sometimes when I eat a lot of these things, I have to up my amount of potassium citrate. All I did to have the crystals found was to take every bit of my urine for 24 hours (separate samples of each voiding) to my clinic, where they looked under a microscope. A pain, but only 24 hours. That is important, because I secreted different amounts at different times of day, and not all samples contained crystals. Maybe this info will help you or someone else. I have found lots of info on the internet using "vulvodynia", "oxalate", and "urinary health". Good luck!!!