chronic bacterial vaginosis

**Angelhalo052010** · 01-08-2009 11:40 AM

Originally Posted by tosha26

I am in the process of reading this thread, and wanted to say that I too have suffered from chronic BV for the past 4 years. However, i feel lucky because my only sympton has ever been discharge. I am so sorry to hear what some of you are going through.
I bought fem-dophilus today, so we will see how that goes.
I also wanted to let you ladies know that apparently L reuteri is the same thing as L-fermentum. I can provide some links if you want to further investigate this.

You are right... I ordered fem-dophilus and primadophilus reuteri and just got them today and both bottles have the exact same bacteria. I thought I was getting 3 different types of but nope L reuteri is the same as the L fermentum. I have taken the primadophilus reuteri before but they didn't help, but have never the fem-dophilus I dont think anyway. I am going to take the two different kinds together anyway. It can't hurt.

Are you sure you have BV and not just normal discharge? I know discharge is normal and all woman have different amounts and I thought as long as it doesn't have a bad smell then it was normal.

**tosha26** · 01-08-2009 12:06 PM

Originally Posted by Angelhalo052010

You are right... I ordered fem-dophilus and primadophilus reuteri and just got them today and both bottles have the exact same bacteria. I thought I was getting 3 different types of but nope L reuteri is the same as the L fermentum. I have taken the primadophilus reuteri before but they didn't help, but have never the fem-dophilus I dont think anyway. I am going to take the two different kinds together anyway. It can't hurt.

Are you sure you have BV and not just normal discharge? I know discharge is normal and all woman have different amounts and I thought as long as it doesn't have a bad smell then it was normal.

Hello Angel,
I hope the fem-d works for us!!!
Yep, pretty positive it is BV. Got diagnosed in August and did my first round of metro which eliminated the problem for several weeks. then wham back again! I do have the vad smell afte sex but it is just not constant.

**Angelhalo052010** · 01-08-2009 12:38 PM

Originally Posted by tosha26

Hello Angel,
I hope the fem-d works for us!!!
Yep, pretty positive it is BV. Got diagnosed in August and did my first round of metro which eliminated the problem for several weeks. then wham back again! I do have the vad smell afte sex but it is just not constant.

I hope it works too. A lot of woman say probiotics help them but I have been taking probiotics for about 2 years now, all different types, and they haven't worked... I'm keeping my hopes up though. If I don't see any improvement with the fem-dophlus and the lactose sugar/molkosan i ordered (haven't received yet) then my next step is to go back to the doctor and ask her about the cryotherapy that someone on here said cured them for 2 years. I have never heard of the cryotherapy for BV and I don't even know if my doctor would do it but I have nothing else to lose by asking about it. I have had BV also for over 4 years and it sucks.

**Lara Croft** · 01-09-2009 06:02 PM

Originally Posted by momtotwins

Hi everyone,
Just a little history first. I have had BV for about 6 months now. I've never had a discharge, just the HORRIBLE smell. Like a lot of you, I have a VERY understanding boyfriend that deals with it. I have tried just about everything... acidophilus, folic acid, peroxide douche, yogurt, bio-fem, you name it...I've tried it. I'm a natural kind of girl anyway, so I try to do everything without chemicals or drugs.
I've been on here lurking for the last 6 months. I read and read hoping for something new to pop up. Well, I read about the milk sugar and wanted to give it a try. So I searched and searched and found some in my town. I raced there like a crazy person!!! LOL! I've only done it for two days now, but so far so good! I will def. keep everyone updated. I've also ordered the molkosan. It should be here in a few days.
I am so excited about something FINALLY working. I'm tired of getting out of the shower and being able to smell myself five minutes later. My kids have even said something(you know how honest 4 year olds can be).
I would like to see more people posting their results. I waited to order these things because I didn't see many people posting their success. So I challenge those people who have tried things to PLEASE let everyone know. We all need support and hope dealing with this problem.
The milk sugar is by the company NOW. It was about $5 for 1 lb. I found it at a health food store.

Hi everyone

Well I had tried Flagyl, betadine douching, yogurt suppositories and acidophilus supplements (it turns out these supplements would not have been uch use anyway) for about one year to no avail. I found this forum and read every single entry on this thread. With all the info I had discovered here, I decided I would try to find the lactose (preferably Molkosan) and try a little bit of hydrogen peroxide douching as my next course of self-treatment. They seemed to be a consistently successful treatment for many of the women here, and I was grateful to have found the information.

As I contemplated where to find the best lactose powder, I thought that I'd try something to tie me over in the meantime. I just popped a vitamin C tablet into my vagina (you can read about my experience a few pages back) thinking "it can't hurt." I had read about a few women who had had some success with this. Well, ever since that day I have not had another bout of BV symptoms. There has not been a trace of anything I (or my partner) have noticed. NOTHING!

I am back to myself again, normal creamy white odorless discharge, normal sex life!

I know that some vaginas can be sensitive to the ascorbic acids in vitamin C tablets, and I thought there might be a bit of stinging, but there was not for me. Besides, I didn't think it could be as damaging as boric acid could be. Maybe there are different brands of vitamin C for different people? Also, it only took one tablet for me. Maybe it would take a longer course for someone else, I don't know. I am just saying that I had been suffering from the horrible fishy smell and occasional hot, watery discharge that are the classic symptoms of BV, for almost a year. I had been diagnosed and I had been looked at with disdain by many doctors. I had dreaded the endless rounds of antibiotics and the prospect of lifelong worrying and self consciousness. Now, I am symptom-free.

I should mention, I had a couple of past episodes of BV years ago (called "gardnerella" back then) which were easily treated with Flagyl at that time. But this last experience with BV had been resistant to the Flagyl.

Of course, most of us are painfully aware that Flagyl only goes so far to help, and eventually it does not help at all!

I hope that someone can benefit from vitamin c therapy for their BV. I hope it is not just a "repressor" of the symptoms and that I am cured of it now. I just don't know. What I DO know is that I have not changed my diet (although I have a pretty healthy lifestyle), I have not changed my hygeine (very good all along) and I have had two sex partners in the past year. It was ONLY the C tablet that stopped all my symptoms.

I wish I knew why!

I will keep this forum posted of any changes/recurrences in the future. I also have a bit of info on my blog here on the site.

Thanks for all the info ladies, and good luck to everyone.

**Kiara** · 01-10-2009 05:33 AM

Hi everyone

This is my first and hopefully last time having BV. I was prescribed Flagyl oral tablets and Metrogel vaginal. My question is:

Am I supposed to use them both at the same time? I believe they are the same thing in different forms so wouldn't I just need to use one?

Thanks!

**Angelhalo052010** · 01-10-2009 10:36 AM

Originally Posted by Kiara

Hi everyone

This is my first and hopefully last time having BV. I was prescribed Flagyl oral tablets and Metrogel vaginal. My question is:

Am I supposed to use them both at the same time? I believe they are the same thing in different forms so wouldn't I just need to use one?

Thanks!

Yes, use them both at the same time. I have read that doctors prescribe both for resistant cases. They have never prescribed me both at the same time, which I am thinking they should have because I have tried them separately and they did not work. Let us know if it works for you.

**Another Sarah** · 01-10-2009 03:25 PM

I have ordered some Lady Balance lactose tablets to try. Just using up the last of my RePHresh at the moment. I also have plenty of vitamin c powder and empty capsules, so... I'm ready to try anything!

Will report back on my results.

**blueblue** · 01-11-2009 01:01 PM

Hello everyone.
I couldn't read the forum from the beginning but I'd like to help.
I struggled with BV for 3 years.
Excessive, yellow, smelly... I was starting to think that I'd never be able to get rid of it.
But I did eventually

Last year I went through hundreds of forums and tried everything I've read which ended with disappointment.
Now I'd like to share how I did it in forums and this is the first one I'm starting with.
I've gone through all sexual disease tests which came up negative.
I've been to many many gync.s.. who told me my discharge was normal..
And that made me hate the doctors because it was obvious that something was wrong, I was changing daily pads 10 times a day!!!
Here is what I've tried:
Achidophilus (both orally & vaginally), boric acid (vaginally), tea tree oil (vaginally), yoghurt (vaginally), hydrogen peroxide (vaginally) many antibiotics and vaginal creams and stuff I cannot remember right now.

Here's what worked for me:
VITAMIN E SOFTGELS..
I'm not gonna tell you how but I discovered it in a funny way.
I started taking a softgel of 400 IU twice daily..
After a few days I felt the difference

For the first time!! I was so happy that I was gonna cry

Cause I've read in forums that some women were struggling with this for 10 years or so.. I thought I'll be one of them (I'm 29 )
I used the vitamin this way for 3-4 months.
I sometimes tried to cut it to half, but then I saw discharge is increasing again.
After 3-4 months I cut it to half and things were fine
Then I started to take it once in two days or less...
I arranged the dosage according to my discharge amount..
It was like a dream!!!!
It has been 1 year since I started vitamin E, now I don't need to take it that often..I can go without it for weeks and weeks... But I take it again time to time I don't wanna drop it yet I'm in love with them

**Little** · 01-11-2009 01:22 PM

You're not supposed to take Vitamin E 400IU capsules a day without consulting your doctor first, much less twice a day! Google it. It's a fat-soluble vitamin, so it stays in your body and you CAN overdose.
My doctor prescribed me 400IU of Vit E a day, but it was making me constantly nauseous so I had to stop. I googled the side effects since it was one of the things I had changed lately, and the nausea stopped when I stopped taking it. Vitamins can be great but they can also be dangerous, so make sure you know what you're doing. I guess if I were suffering so much from BV I wouldn't mind nausea, but it really affected my quality of life so if you start feeling nauseous, stop for a while.

**Ashers** · 01-11-2009 04:40 PM

I have been suffering from this chronic BV for over one year now. I have read many of your posts and I feel better knowing there are more things I can try.

I have tried apple cider vinegar douche, garlic, yogurt, and way too many refills of the metro-gel vaginally.

My main concern is that I am on the metrogel now and I am also on my period. Is it safe to take the metro-gel while I am on my period?

Also, for the person who does the lactose/whey vaginally, do you still do that while you're on your period?

Help!!!! I am desperate and I really want this to go away. Im starting to think this is more than just chronic bv even though I test free of any std's.