Thread: New Here, Need Advice Group B Strep Nighmare- Not Pregnant

I joined this group to say I too suffer from Group B strep and am not Pregnant. I am going through at the moment to find a way to manage this issue as well as to keep it in check. My Gyno has said I am low in iron, so I have boosted that up as he believes my immune system could be shot so that's why I keep getting recurrent Strep infections around the week before my cycle.

I believe that my Gyno will be sending me to an infectious disease doc to work out why the antibiotics arent working. I am sick of taking them. What am I doing wrong? What questions should I be asking the gyno?

Calebsmama - What is a compounding Phamacist? What do they look after? Any help will be appreciated in relation on how you beat this.

Originally Posted by rad1012

Hi CalebsMama, I just joined this group to post this to you after I googled group b strep while not pregnant and seeing your post. Please look into a book called It's my ovaries Stupid by Dr. Vliet. She is an amazing Dr. who really understands womens issues. I am 44 years old and when in my 20's I also suffered from these mystery "infections" It is miserable,and I have much advice. First, find a compounding phamacist. They can make you up boric acid vaginal suppositories.You may have to call around to find a compounding phamacy but it will be so worth it! Plus the compounding pharmacist can help you. I use one as soon as I get any little itch and it will fix your problem I swear it. The first time I used them I did one suppository each night for seven days and now only when needed. I too got my problems monthly and after years realized it would happen at the time my body was low on estrogen, the week leading up to my period. Also at the first sign of problem take probiotics in the morning and another dose right before bed on an empty stomach. I use a brand called Jarrow it is very good. Find a good natural health food store or buy it on-line. I use the 3.4 billion dose and I take two at a time. Your body needs this good bacteria to help you fight off the strep taking over. Antibiotics will only make you worse. I'm out of room! Best wishes to you! Hang in there

Sorry I was meant to ask Rad1012 about what the compounding pham and what can they do? when you said to ask for boric acid vaginal suppositories, what are they, I've never heard of them and can they be found in Australia?

Originally Posted by Jayci

I joined this group to say I too suffer from Group B strep and am not Pregnant. I am going through at the moment to find a way to manage this issue as well as to keep it in check. My Gyno has said I am low in iron, so I have boosted that up as he believes my immune system could be shot so that's why I keep getting recurrent Strep infections around the week before my cycle.

I believe that my Gyno will be sending me to an infectious disease doc to work out why the antibiotics arent working. I am sick of taking them. What am I doing wrong? What questions should I be asking the gyno?

Calebsmama - What is a compounding Phamacist? What do they look after? Any help will be appreciated in relation on how you beat this.

Does having strep b contribute to infertility?

hi everyone -

i noticed a few people had planned to see infectious disease doctors about their strep b - what was the outcome of those visits?

also, is this causing painful intercourse for anyone?

i've been struggling with this for several years now and am at my wits' end... any additional info would be very appreciated!

I'm 26 and I was first informed of having Group B Strep last year. I had terrible itching and discomfort - completely different from a yeast infection. I was giving antibiotics to help reduce the bacteria growth. It definitely helped but now for the past 5 or 6 months it keeps coming back once a month right around my period ( just like someone else had mentioned). This has most definitely affected my sexual relationship with my fiance. I get severe pain during intercourse and it also seems to affect him, causing him redness and pain for the following week or so.

For myself, what I usually do is use the external cream that comes with Canesten because that soothes the itch and I also eat natural yogurt. I tend to get mild reactions to dairy products so hearing that there are probiotic pills is excellent, especially since I woke up this morning with the same signs.

I'm going to get some pills today and I'll post my recovery later on.
It's extremely frustrating that all the websites out there deal with pregnancies, while I am no where near to being pregnant and I deal with this on a monthly basis.

Wow. I have been dealing with the same infection for 4 months now. I thought I was the only person. Has anything new been discovered? My doctor keeps putting me on antibiotics, amoxacillan, and that clears it up for about 2 -4 days and then it is back in full force. Please let me know what you find out.

Sincerly
Hannah

I started to get the symptoms about 5 or 6 days before my period started and usually I take natural yogurt for all the probiotics that it has. Since it doesn't have that much in one serving and I can't eat too much dairy, I thought I would try the natural pills.
I bought "Inno-Vité" brand probiotic pills - DDS Plus - they have L. acidophilus DDS-1 and B. Bifidum FOS. I've been taking 2 pills in the morning and then 2 at night (2 pills have 5 billion colony forming units, as per the description on the back of the bottle) and I have to say that within 10-15min I feel better!!! They usually last all day, although there are times that I notice it. I also keep using the Canesten external cream that comes with the yeast infection kits. That really soothes the itching. I'm going to keep up with these pills during my period because I've noticed in the past that before my period I get the Group B Strep symptoms and then after I may have a yeast infection.
I'm hoping that this is going to make my life a bit easier and that next month I'll be able to start with the pills sooner and maybe prevent this from starting all together.
I'll make sure to post any updates!

I have been suffering with BV since I was a teenager. It would start and then go away. I went to the GYN and she suggested that I take acidophilus. For years I was taking the acidophilus and eatind yogurt and I did not have a flare-up. I ran out of the acidophilus and never replaced it and that is when the flare-ups began.

Now reading the threads, I remembered the acidophilus. When I was told about Strep B by my doctor he did not do a good job of explaining what it was and what my options were. I am going to the store to buy acidophilus and probiotic yogurt.

I thought there was something wrong with me. This has really hurt my relationship with my boyfriend. It is difficult and embarassing to tell him monther after month that you don't want to have sex because of the discomfort. I am glad to find out that I am not the only one suffering.