[lafemelle]

Also, have either of you ladies (or anyone else reading this thread) tried to insert probiotics vaginally; or inserted yogurt? I take acidophilus pills, but I'm considering inserting it...just not sure about it. Seems like it'd be messy and gross. But heck, if it'd help, I'd do it. I guess I could also make an acidophilus douche which might be less messy, but I think it'd be more helpful at the source for a longer period of time.

I tried inserting the probiotics vaginally (I don't feel safe trying yogurt because it all still contains sugar and it sounds like it's asking for more trouble...). All that happened was they dissolved in my vagina and leaked out as sort of a sand-textured paste, and they irritated my vagina like you can't believe. I'm so jealous of the women that never even have to contemplate trying something like that!

[amelillo13]

I tried inserting the probiotics vaginally (I don't feel safe trying yogurt because it all still contains sugar and it sounds like it's asking for more trouble...). All that happened was they dissolved in my vagina and leaked out as sort of a sand-textured paste, and they irritated my vagina like you can't believe. I'm so jealous of the women that never even have to contemplate trying something like that!

Yeah, I'm scared of trying it in case it does lead to more irritation. I don't see my doctor until the end of the month though and I just don't know what to do. I hate this helpless feeling.

[Sarah001]

I didn't find Acidophilus capsules irritating but they didn't help either. I read a post somewhere by a woman who said she opened the capsule and smeared it onto a tampon and used it this way which also helped her avoid discharge touching the skin but I don't know if that's the answer for any of us.

[lafemelle]

I didn't find Acidophilus capsules irritating but they didn't help either. I read a post somewhere by a woman who said she opened the capsule and smeared it onto a tampon and used it this way which also helped her avoid discharge touching the skin but I don't know if that's the answer for any of us.

I went through a several-month period where I tried all the "natural" remedies involving putting things in my vagina that would supposedly cure me, and overall I'm pretty sure it just made things worse for me in the long run. I don't regret trying all of it because at least I can say, "nope, that didn't work," and it'll never eat away at my curiosity...but I know I did the opposite of helping myself. It's really discouraging.

[Sarah001]

I agree, I've just done that with various creams, ointments, things inserted inside etc and it's so upsetting when things that work for others have no effect but like you say you have to try them to find that out. The last natural approach I'm trying is coconut oil which I'm currently waiting to be delivered and then I think I've covered them all with no help. I do have to use a bit of vaseline several times a day however to keep the skin from chafing and getting worse.

I can't remember if either of you mentioned having a biopsy done? I'm due to see a dermatologist as soon as my appointment comes through and suspect I'll end up having a biopsy done of my sore skin but I can't recall if either of ou have had one on the sore areas?

[amelillo13]

I agree, I've just done that with various creams, ointments, things inserted inside etc and it's so upsetting when things that work for others have no effect but like you say you have to try them to find that out. The last natural approach I'm trying is coconut oil which I'm currently waiting to be delivered and then I think I've covered them all with no help. I do have to use a bit of vaseline several times a day however to keep the skin from chafing and getting worse.

I can't remember if either of you mentioned having a biopsy done? I'm due to see a dermatologist as soon as my appointment comes through and suspect I'll end up having a biopsy done of my sore skin but I can't recall if either of ou have had one on the sore areas?

My doctor said he's considering doing a biopsy, but at this point feels it is a bacterial problem, so he doesn't want to put me through the pain if it won't help with a diagnosis/is unnecessary. If everything keeps coming back without growth though, I'll strongly consider it. I rather rule as much out as I can and just use process of elimination to figure out what the heck is going on.

My doc also said that the next time I see him (on the 24th of this month) that he wants to start re-doing all the tests. So, new swabs, new ultrasound, etc. Ugh. However, he said he'd check my past cultures and see if he checked for less common things that could cause BV, like Strep A + B, and I want him to check ureaplasma/mycoplasma as well. I hope one of these comes back with something. Even if this can't be cured right away, and I doubt it will since it's been so long, I just rather KNOW what's causing it. It'd help so much with my mental state to just know.

[Sarah001]

The GU consultant did offer to redo all my tests but I just didn't think anything would have changed so declined. Wouldn't strep and things like that show on a culture though? Surely if they were present in abundance they would grow on a culture and be obvious? I may be wrong of course, I assumed my culture swab would cover that kind of bacteria so I never really enquired about it further.

I'm absolutely dreading the biopsy and I haven't even got a date for it yet but I'm like you I just want to know what the cause is so I can deal with it.

[amelillo13]

From what I understand, when a culture is sent out, most labs just test for the things that are usually the culprit. Things like candida, probably gardnerella. However, some bacteria (and glabrata yeast, I think) require special circumstances in order to grow. Some cultures have to be incubated and such in order to provide the right kind of environment for the bacteria to flourish, since not all are the same and can just grow out in a petri dish. Each lab is a little different with what they look for I think, but if the doctor tells them to look for a certain pathogen, then they either do it differently, or do additional things to try and find it.

I could be wrong, but I think it's kind of like allergy testing, if you've ever had that done. They pretty much test you for all the common allergens, and they only do out of the ordinary tests if you ask them to or your doctor feels it needs to be done due to symptoms.

Also, I wanted to add that in addition to whatever the general culture is, I also had a specific anaerobic and aerobic culture sent out to try and grow out either of those sort of organisms. Sometimes there are false negatives, but something is bound to show up eventually. I recall reading a post, maybe on this forum, maybe on another, of a woman that had like 10+ swabs done. They could never find anything and then one day out of the blue, something actually grew out and they knew what had been causing her symptoms and could treat it accordingly.

[lafemelle]

I can't remember if either of you mentioned having a biopsy done? I'm due to see a dermatologist as soon as my appointment comes through and suspect I'll end up having a biopsy done of my sore skin but I can't recall if either of ou have had one on the sore areas?

Yes Sarah, I've had a biopsy done. What they found in mine is that I have VIN1 (vulvar dysplasia), but level 1 dysplasia is usually unproblematic and all they need to do is watch it in the future to make sure it doesn't progress into vulvar cancer--meaning, they found something with the biopsy but it's not what is responsible for my symptoms.

Amelillo, I have been wondering about the culture thing for a LONG time now and you really answered a lot of my questions in that last post! This gives me a little bit of hope, that maybe I should demand to have specific cultures done (for instance, I've always been a little curious about the mycoplasma/ureaplasma thing). But since you seem to know a lot about this whole topic, maybe you can clue me in: if they have to do a specific test to find if it's a certain kind of bacteria, is the treatment any different than the types of antibiotics they've been giving us ladies all along? I've read that for most vaginal bacterial infections it's usually flagyl or doxycycline used to treat them, so if we've been given antibiotics for, say, BV--wouldn't they clear up any other kind of bacterial infection?

[amelillo13]

Yes Sarah, I've had a biopsy done. What they found in mine is that I have VIN1 (vulvar dysplasia), but level 1 dysplasia is usually unproblematic and all they need to do is watch it in the future to make sure it doesn't progress into vulvar cancer--meaning, they found something with the biopsy but it's not what is responsible for my symptoms.

Amelillo, I have been wondering about the culture thing for a LONG time now and you really answered a lot of my questions in that last post! This gives me a little bit of hope, that maybe I should demand to have specific cultures done (for instance, I've always been a little curious about the mycoplasma/ureaplasma thing). But since you seem to know a lot about this whole topic, maybe you can clue me in: if they have to do a specific test to find if it's a certain kind of bacteria, is the treatment any different than the types of antibiotics they've been giving us ladies all along? I've read that for most vaginal bacterial infections it's usually flagyl or doxycycline used to treat them, so if we've been given antibiotics for, say, BV--wouldn't they clear up any other kind of bacterial infection?

Unfortunately, yes, I think most of these infections are treated with flagyl/doxy/clindamycin/ezithromycn, etc. A lot of those are resistant to treatment and may require long-term antibiotics or alternative medicines. I've read that getting the medicine in IV form is supposed to be more helpful, though I've only dealt with creams and pills and the creams seem to help more than the pills.

I'll ask my doctor more about it when I see him and relay the information, because I am not 100% sure about all that.

When you both tried usually the acidophilus vaginally, what kind was it? Any particular brand? I bought these acidophilus capsules from the health food store that have a bunch of strains, and I'm wondering if I can just insert them as is or what. I was reading a website where multiple women said that douching with hydrogen peroxide (to kill the bad bacteria) immediately followed by using acidophilus vaginally (replenishing good bacteria) actually cured the problem for a lot of them. I'm thinking about trying it, obviously after I meet with my doctor and run it by him after testing.