Thread: chronic bacterial vaginosis

It's off-putting to go to a Dr and get prescribed anti-biotic for BV when it doesn't work, and then it dawns on you that you know more about this singular health issue than them, and will continue to expand and educate ourselves regarding this, until we qualify for a Nobel prize.
Sounds feminist, but - if there was a mystery disease that affected men by making fishstink and dryness come from their penis there would be a lot bigger interest in this topic.

And if anyone tells me again how to wipe myself when I go to the toilet, I don't know - i kinda stop listening right at that second and think about something else, because it's belittling and patronising. I was potty trained at 2yrs old so that gives me 36 years experience of wiping my vag/bottom.

Still waiting for my molkosan delivery...

Does anyone think that this has anything to do with the ph level inside the whole body? I still want to get to the root of this BV thing, why it happens to some and not others etc.

I like how you put it, Detective Sarah!! And I agree, we are being patronized by the medical profession. I spent 2 years trying all their stupid ideas... changing underwear to cotton grannie panies, laundry detergents, no sex, sex with condoms, sex without condoms, different soaps, and putting up with the humiliating remarks about my wiping techniques. It was terrible. All I can say, is that I am very thankful now that I no longer get this aweful and embarrassing "disease"... I reccomend everyone get cryotherapy... It worked for me, when absolutely EVERYTHING else failed. This could be the answer for many, if not all chronic bacterial vaginosis suffers. I wish all of you the best of luck with this.

Detective Sarah,

Yeah, I agree about the rampant patronizing from doctors, both male and female ones. I complained to a doctor at a sex clinic the other day, about how demoralizing it is having this smell during sex, and how it was really affecting my sex life with my BF (though he is very supportive). She seemed surprised by the fact that it could affect my sexual life. What gives?

Anyhoo, I had an experience recently that I'd like to pass on to the women here. But before I do here's a little background on my bv (I'll be as brief as possible on this):

-At age fifteen had a case of bv (garderella vaginosis back then). I had just become sexually active. Took a round of Flagyl and it was gone.
-Age 27 I had another round of it, but this time was distinctly more "foul" and obvious to me and my boyfriend at the time. Again, the flagyl rid me of it.
-Last November it appeared again (I'm 39). I let it "run its course" because I had heard bv sometimes just goes away. I had been working on a healthy lifestyle for some years and liked to avoid antibiotics. I always used condoms during sex except with one or two relationships that became long-term. Well, the symptoms DID seem to disappear for 2 or 3 weeks, but then came back.
I have been dealing with the bv recurrences ever since. I tried: Betadine douches, vaginal yogurt, Flagyl, flagyl, then flagyl again (to with the organic living - I can't stand smelling!) until I just gave up and decided to let it run its course again. I do not like going beyond a reasonable amount of remedying - I feel like I'm forcing things.

After stumbling upon this thread, I began to try to think more creatively and intuitively about possibly curing myself. I decided to put off thinking about the cause of my bv until a later time. I focused on reading all the wonderful womens' experiences and suggestions in this forum. I went to bed for about 3 days, sometimes reading the forum from my bed! Seriously. I took time off work. I seemed like I was obsessed, and I kinda was, but it was comforting and not so negative-feeling.

I decided I would find some Primadophilus or the Femdophilus and buy some hydrogen peroxide as a complement for treatment ASAP. Eventually I would also buy some PH strips (very good idea, I would have never known of these). I would no longer do flagyl unless I really really was backed into a corner.

While in bed, I thought "in the meantime, I'll just pop a vitamin C up there, because I have nothing to lose and it can't do any harm." I had read about 2 or 3 different women in this forum who it worked wonders for. So I just grabbed my normal daily 500mg vitamin C (Quest brand) tablet and inserted up the V and forgot about it. I watched a movie. A few hours later, I was in the kitchen getting a drink and suddenly felt a twinge of an orgasmic-y sensation inside my vagina! I stopped and waited. Then again there it was, faint but distinct. It is strange on its own, I know, but even more so for me because I only get orgasmic clitorally (sp.). So here I was in the kitchen feeling sexually really good from my vaginal walls from what could only be the C tablet I'd put in there.

Well, my bv is completely GONE. The morning after the C insert, a puffy orange discharge came out (the tablets are orange) with no smell. My normal discharge, whose quality I was beginning to forget, is back. I no longer feel the need to shop around for any products, at least not yet. BV may come back, I know, and I am mentally prepared for if it does. But when I felt that orgasmic tingling after popping the Vitamin C the other day, I "felt" that something was right, things were getting happier inside. Like maybe my vagina was saying thanks...?

Will keep you all posted on any developments. What a great forum this is - I am sending the link and my Vitamin C experience (in a shorter format :/) to the sex clinic.

Oh and p.s., I do think that bv has to do with the body's ph and other factors as well. Looks like my vagina needed some ascorbic acid, I guess...!

**Quickly gets a vit C and waits for something to happen**
hahahahahaaa!
that's awesome.

Well I just read my earlier post and boy was it a long one! Well, I'm just really eager to impart as much as I can to this thread, about my own personal background with bv and my success in getting rid of it (even if only temporarily). Even repetitive info can be good so we can see patterns and maybe a light will go on for someone reading who suffers from this madness.

I actually forgot to mention something in that previous post: I had sex, no condom, with my bf yesterday and it was all clear. No symptoms. Things seem completely back to normal at this time. I almost forgot how to have sex without trying to finish it as quickly as possible! That may sound funny and if someone laughs, I'm glad. But in my earlier post I didn't really convey how my confidence was crumbling and how the depression was creeping in as a result of losing my sex life (I've struggled with lifelong depression, and BV is not exactly a cherry on the cake, as y'all can imagine). I feel it's important for doctors to get on this huge issue and listen to the damage and stress that BV causes. More docs need to stumble upon this thread, actually.

One last thing (for now!): my boyfriend told me recently that starting many months ago when my BV started to be almost constant, he would feel a "tingly", prickly, raw sensation on his penis after our sex. At first he attributed it to trimming/ shaving his area but soon started to wonder. He has always trimmed and shaved a bit down there and knew that couldn't be the issue on his entire shaft. So anyway, he reported that over the last month or two the sensation got less and then stopped altogether. Hmmm. I am thinking an alkaline vagina can cause this sensation for a man's penis.
Also, I have recently gone through a full month of vaginal bleeding, first time ever. I am going for an ultrasound next week to check for fibroids and such (a whole other basket of fries I won't get into here)....maybe my excessive bleeding "washed away" some of the bad bacteria? My bv symptoms did seem somewhat lighter after I finally stopped bleeding.

Just some more to think about. I'm happy to answer any question or comment in the thread or even private msg., by the way. Anything to help! Thanks

BV is very complicated... As we all have experienced, and have heard others testimonials from this site. I have no idea, nor do any of the dozen doctors I saw, what caused my BV, but I will say that in my particular experience, BV was brought on by my periods. They would clear up with antibiotics, but as soon as I started bleeding, it would start all over again. It wasn't even just "period blood" that would bring them on, it was any form of bleeding.. like when I would get a pap smear, and would spot slighty afterwords... I ALWAYS got another BV infection. No one would believe me. As I previously stated, it wasn't until I took matters into my own hands and got on DEPO to stop the periods from coming that my "symptoms" disapeared. But as soon as I got off DEPO- 1-2 years later, It came back FULL FORCE. At last, I found someone willing to try anything, and thats when the doc suggested trying cryotherapy.. which worked for me. Its so crazy to hear everyones testimonies... I had no idea so many people suffered from this. The Doctors all acted like this is such a rare problem, and thats why no one seemed to know anything about it. I wish this forum had been around when I was suffering from BV so bad... I remember how aweful it felt to have no one understand what I was going through. I feel terrible for all you ladies, and I hope all of you find a solution that works for you.

take flagyl 250mg three times a day, for 5 days, then every other day for three weeks. please avoid any caffiene, dark colas and most of all allow the thing to breath. drink pleanty of orange juice, grape juice, cranberry juice.
prior to sex, was his thing first. avoid beer, wine, wine coolers and mixed drinks.