Hello all,

This is pretty embarassing but I'm pretty desparate to get opinions on what might be going on.
WARNING: Very private details ahead. I figure I should write it all down in case something is significant.


First some brief info: I'm female, 26, in overall good health, exercise regularly, eat fairly well (except for sweets), and am not taking any meds aside from birth control (OTC-lo). I don't know whether any of this is connected, but my hunch is that these problems are related somehow.

I had my first urinary tract infection around 11/04. Not a big deal, took antibiotics, and it was taken care of.

Then I got 2 UTI's within the first 2 months of getting married (6/05) and having sex for the first time. Chalked it up to that and the fact that I'd had sex in my swimming pool, and the chemical levels may have been a little off. Antibiotics again knocked them out. I took cranberry supplements for a while to prevent further occurrences.

Fast forward to this year...no longer taking the supplement (only a multi-vitamin most days of the week). Around 2/06, I was diagnosed with cervicitis...inflamed cervix... and given a z-pac antibiotic, which took care of it. No reason given by the doctor; she said it sometimes happens randomly.

I come back from Florida and lots of ocean swimming, and in late 3/06, I'm told I have bacterial vaginosis. Possibly from the ocean water (huh?), possibly from all the heat and humidity (note to doctor: I live in TEXAS, where it's hot nearly all the time). Anyhow, I'm given Flagyl, which I hate because it makes me feel physically sick, but it takes away the vaginosis...temporarily. No sooner do I start having sex again that the symptoms return. The nurse tells me that my husband should have been prescribed the antibiotic too, and that we were probably reinfecting each other. Why the doctor (gynocologist) didn't mention this initially, no one knows. So we both take the Flagyl, both feel sick, but both experience relief from our symptoms.

I get my wisdom teeth pulled in 5/06, which turned out to be a pretty major procedure. I was practically dead for a week and had to get IV fluids after the first few days because I couldn't keep anything down. Was given 2 steroid pills after the procedure, which apparently caused oral thrush and then -- you guessed it! -- vaginal thrush as well. (Although that one only occured after I started having sex again.) The gyn diagnosed it as a yeast infection, even though I didn't have the classic yeast infection symptoms, and gave me that 1-dose medication (can't remember the name). Symptoms disappeared after a few days.

It's now nearly 2 months later, and I'm again miserable. It feels like the same thing as every other time (namely, itching) but this time I haven't seen a doctor because my health insurance is in transition. I'm not very optimistic about going anyway, since I'm getting tired of the take-a-pill, come-back-for-another-pill-when-symptoms-reappear routine. I'm beginning to think something is really wrong. This time I don't know what to blame it on. Yes, I went swimming in a pool recently, but the chemical levels were fine. The symptoms only appeared after having sex twice in a one day and once the day before. Yes, it was our 1-year anniversary, and now we're BOTH itching.
I don't know what the problem is. I can rule out an STD for sure. Do I have candida, and all the sugary stuff I eat is making it worse? Could it be a, um, logistical problem between my husband and I? (It sounds silly, but he is very large, and it can hurt a little at times.) Is there something I can be doing nutritionally to prevent or remedy this?
I am all ears.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

J

Hi Jenn,

I've had the same problem for the last few years. Numberous yeast infections, uti's and bv. I've tried everything and spent a small fortune buying over the counter treatments. Not douching, wearing cotton underwear and eating my daily yogurt did nothing. My Dr suggested Yeast Detox but that didn't help either. He cant figure out what causes the infections. I've found a new product that has helped. Its call Rephresh, a vaginal gel. I use every 3 to 4 days and it has helped dramatically cut down on infections. You can find at Wal-mart and CVS. Hope this helps.

Shell,
Thank you so much for that information! I will definitely try that. I also posted on a homeopathy forum, and it was suggested that I try basically all the things you mentioned...acidophilus, yeast cleanser, etc. Today I bought some acidophillus supplements, a yeast cleanse, and sulphur tabs (supposed to help the itch). Will see how those do and also check on what you mentioned. Thanks again!

First of all, using those vaginal cleansers are only going to be doing what the pills were doing... killing the bacteria, but not determining the cause. The first thing you need to do is analyze your habits, which you have done failry well. I also had a period of my life where I had frequent yeast infections and BV. You must understand the causes of these infections.

First of all, urinary tract infections generally occur when you have physically introduced bacteria into the UT. This usually happens by touching that area without washing your hands, sex, or using sex toys that are not clean. Occasionally UTIs occur on their own.

Yeast is naturally occuring in the body and is balanced by other chemicals in your body. Every woman has yeast. When you get a yeast infection, there is an overabundance of yeast. This is caused by excessive heat and moisture which causes the yeast to multiply, stress which causes your natural balancing chemicals to not work, antibiotics which also throw off your chemical balance, douching or using cleansers that cause an imbalance of the good chemicals, and also repeated introductions of new bacteria through contact.

Bacterial Vaginosis is a bacterial infection that is transferred through contact. This could mean contact from your hand, toys, penis, toilet seats, underwear, dirty water, you name it. High stress can also make you more susceptable to the growth of BV.

Knowing all of that, the common factor in all three is contact. So ask yourself this... could you be spreading infection by masterbation, touching yourself for other reasons souch as shaving (shavers can contain a LOT of bacteria), are you using wash rags (they can also contain bacteria), and are you making sure that both you and your partner wash your hands and private areas before sex???

I suggest trying ALL of these things to prevent contact infection...

-- ALWAYS wash your hands AND private areas before sex with soap (do not get the soap inside the vagina).
-- ALWAYS make sure the other person has thoroughly washed his hands and private areas.
-- ALWAYS wash any toys used for sex with soap.
-- If you are using any sort of lubrication, make sure you are not contaminating the bottle or tube by continuosly touching it during sex.
-- Be sure to regularly clean your toilets and bath tub (if you take baths) with a cleaner containing Bleach to kill all bacteria.
-- If you use a public restroom, place tissue on the toilet seat before sitting down or squat on the toilet.
-- Always wear clean underwear.

I suggest these things to avoid increasing your risk of bacteria growth...

-- Wear breathable clothing and underwear such as cotton. Tight clothing will cut off airflow and cause excessive heat and moisture.
-- Do not use douche or vaginal cleansers because they destroy the natural chemical balance which is necessary to control bacterial levels. This will make your problem worse.
-- Do not take bubble baths or sit in water containing soap. The soap throws off the natural chemical balance.
-- Avoid excessive stress.
-- Antibiotics cause yeast infections. Keep that in mind.
-- Cranberries are known to contain an acid that helps kill bad bacteria in the Urinary Tract. So taking those was a good idea.

You may also want to keep in mind that you do not have to go to the doctor for yeast infections. They are extremely common and can be safely treated with over-the-counter medications such as Monistat or Vagisil. They are very effective and inexpensive. A lot of them also come with a cream that relieves itching.

If you think you have BV (no itching, but a fishy odor), then you might ask your doctor to give you a different medication. Let him/her know that the one you had taken before makes you sick.

When I took preventive measures like the ones I listed, my bouts of infections stopped. Don't feel bad because many women go through the same things.

I also just got the news that I have a BV. Thank you Jessica for giving lots of good advice about how to proceed. I would not want to have to deal with this over and over...I am still uncomfortable and have itching and burning. Just started on Flagl and am hoping for the best. Thanks again.

Still itching in midwest,
Rose-I

"You may also want to keep in mind that you do not have to go to the doctor for yeast infections. They are extremely common and can be safely treated with over-the-counter medications such as Monistat or Vagisil. They are very effective and inexpensive. A lot of them also come with a cream that relieves itching."


I feel the need to pipe in here. The over-the-counter yeast meds are evil. If you are having problems with recurring infections, these are definitely not the meds to use. Besides the actual med in monistat, the base cream contains chemicals that will irritate your already tender tissues. If not right now, they will some time in the future.

BV is not always caused by introduction of bacteria. Many times, it's just an over growth of the normal bacteria that lives in the vagina. If your ph is too high, the bacteria are going to multiply and cause symptoms.


A few more tips from a past sufferer. Never use soap to clean your genitals. Don't use scented sanitary products. The chemicals in the Always brand pads are known to cause reactions, they continue to make them anyway. No thongs, they are a bacterial highway.

Watch your diet if you are prone to yeast infections. Splurging on sugar or alcohol can set you up for an infection. Also, some women find they are sensitive to gluten. Might be worth keeping track of what you eat.

Keep in mind, you may not be experiencing a YI or BV. If you get repeat infections, you really should have a culture done to determine whether or not you really do have an infection. If you treat without diagnosis more painful problems can occur. If you do use over the counter meds, make sure to use the 7 day treatment and not the shorter ones. The concentration of med in the shorter ones are also known to cause severe painful reactions.

Most importantly, start keeping track of what you do, what you eat and when your symptoms started, what symptoms you are experiencing, what treatments you used, how well they worked or didn't work. Most likely you are going to end up being the one to figure out what is causing these to reoccur. I would also avoid sex in a pool. Even if the chemicals are correct, those chemicals kill bacteria. You need a healthy population of bacteria in your vagina to keep things on an even keel.

Good to hear someone put out there the fact that bv is actually an overgrowth of a bacteria normally found in the vagina because the ph is out of wack....
I was always taught and have read several places that a girl needs to empty her bladder after sex. In other words if you pee it will flush out whatever might have been shoved up there. I've never had a urinary tract infection.
However I am suffering bad from alternating bv and yeast infections. I had sex for the first time several months ago when I got married and also tried tampons for the first time and it has been nothing but trouble since then. I refused to take the antibiotic the dr gave me for bv knowing that it can cause a yeast infection...I finally gave in and it did give me a yeast infection. So just got the yeast infection cleared up and it looks like the bv is back. :-( We have a sex free marriage now because of some sad issues...but even not having sex doesn't seem to be helping me. I'm taking an oral probiotic and eating lots of yogurt and I was using yogurt topically and just nothing is helping. However the yeast infection was so bad that it spread to my behind and I had it in my nose and feet and also oral thrush and so I'm wondering if maybe I have candida internally or something from using an antibiotic. I'm really depressed. I used meds on everything external and rinsed my mouth with hydrogen peroxide and it seemed to go away but now my mouth looks kinda funny again. At this point I'm just feeling like who the heck cares since I don't really need to be squeaky clean anymore anyway. Maybe eventually my body will regain control.