[viola]

Hi again chalupamom, Yes, I went today. I had a biopsy, just a slight pinch, didn't hurt much, then scrapings. That did hurt, I'm a little sore now but I'm fine. She said that hopefully we can grow yeast but it's going to take at least 10 days. I will start my meds tomarrow, I actually was enjoying being off medications for the 12 days prior to my culture today, and enjoying all foods and sweets, I haven't eaten sugar or anything with sugar in 1 yr. and 4 months!!!!!!!!! I just ate chocolate cake with chocolate shavings and whip cream......omg so good. You see, I have avoided all sugar except xylitol for all this time because sugar feeds yeast!!!!!!! plus so many other things. Anyway, these 12 days, I really have survived and eaten sugar things and am not much worse!! Imagine that. Anyway, yes, you've heard of Dr. Crandell. That's her. She's brilliant and I ordered her packet which is a lifetime worth of material on yeast, it's totally overwhelming. I have taken in small doses, but have phone consultations with her like every month or 2 weeks. She is far more advanced than the doctors and I'm a complicated case. Well chalupamom, maybe you will be fine now? You've been on diflo for a month? Did you change your diet in any way? Hopefully it won't come back.

[chalupamom]

hey viola. i've been wondering how a biopsy would be. glad to hear it's not too bad. my "situation" has been going on since september. at first my doc. thought it was just contact vulvitis. then it was a yeast infection with discharge. i tried terazol for three nights. it seemed to take care of the discharge but i was still really red and raw like i had a sunburn. then he said that the hydrocortisone i was using damaged the skin on my labia minora and i had to use estrace for two weeks. then i had another yeast infection, (or the same one that didn't go away) and tried one 150mg diflucan. that didn't work. meanwhile i was in so much pain and had a really bad burning sensation. i changed doctors and she put me on 6 doses of diflucan which seemed to work at first, but then the infection came back. now i am on a month worth of diflucan, tried the douches and gentian violet etc... i even saw a dermatologist and he had NO idea what was wrong with me. he said it could possibly be lichen sclerosus. but he wasn't sure. i don't have any symptoms of that though.
during this whole time i have tried to eat NO sugar (and lost 25lbs!), tried drinking diluted raw apple cider vinegar, tried consuming coconut oil, plain yogurt smoothies, i am taking probiotics, garlic and cranberry supplements and a multivitamin. i have bought several ebooks, which ended up being huge rip offs, and this has taken a tremendous toll on me mentally, so i am seeing a therapist. i thought i had vulvadynia, but i am actually feeling better as long as the yeast is under control. like i said yesterday i felt the best i have felt since september. today, a little bit of the burning sensation is back, but otherwise i look normal "down there." this really sucks. my first yeast infection and it doesn't want to go away. i have again started eating sweets because not eating them didn't seem to make any difference in the way i was feeling, and it isn't getting worse due to my eating habits. oh well... i feel like this is a waiting game to see how each therapy works!!

[viola]

Wow, you sound like me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have done all those things too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !! I took my 1st doses of medications last night, double whammy!!!! 200 diflocan and 250 Lamisol. This double oral is like the next step if just one didn't really do the job. Dab of cocunut oil before bed, and I was great, no itch whatsoever!!!!! Let's hope this will work. You sound like me though, with being allergic to the creams... they have a lot of additives that can really burn the vagina. I went through all!! Teraconozole cream for one month, then, hmmmmm the topical creams Lotrisome, (had to stop all) Nystatin ointment, and Dr. Crandell said to use Nystatin dry tabs for the vaginia, there are no irritants in there to harm or burn. Those didn't bother me at all. The Nystatin is not nearly as strong as the Teraconozole though. Look, your problem is burning. I would really investigate further, like find another gyno? who knows??? Hydrocortezone will make you feel better, but Dr. Crandell says it makes the yeast worse, and if you have to use it, use with the orals, not by itself. A gynocologist should help you diagnose lichen schlerosis buy you said you didn't have the symtoms....... hmmmmm. Yeah, I love the sweets too, but I am on heavy medication now and don't want to make it work harder so I'm going to cut back. What do you use for sugar? I like xylitol the best. and it's antifungal as well. Wait, what dosage of diflocan are you on? Your still taking it now? I am on 200 a day. (I was on 100 before.)

[viola]

Hey chalupamom, I just read someones review on the product, Phem Dophilus (womens probiotic) and this person said it cured her continued yeast infections (it was on the Amazon reviews) It was sure convincing. iT was the only thing that worked. If it were only that simple??? I mean it sounds great to repopulate with the good bacteria, but still, I've tried taking those products with NO difference. I tool ReNew Life 50 Billion Womens criticle care, and it literally did nothing. I drink kefir and eat yogurt and take a good probiotic plus a lactobicillus, but stilll same.............................................. ............... Nothing has made the difference for me. You've tried those things?

[chalupamom]

hey viola. right now i am on 50mg diflucan a day, and i just took my last dose last night! i STILL have that discharge, but now all the external symptoms are pretty much gone. yesterday i had almost no burning (yeah!) and i felt really good. however, i am a nervous wreck now because the last time i stopped the diflucan about a week later i had a bad "flare up" and the whole process started over again. first i get really bad external redness/irritation on my labia minora (the whole sunburn thing.) then it starts to swell/ burn and i have little prickly sensations. that last for about two weeks. then i have to wait for that to go away very painful and it sucks! however, this time i feel really good, but i have also been on the diflucan much longer. i never really substituted any sugar, i just didn't eat anything that was sweet, or even had simple carbs. but once i started feeling better, i slowly began eating sugar again. i have kinda gotten out of control again, so i have to get a handle on it. i am really hoping this is the end of all this , but the discharge is still there and hasn't changed during all these months. it really freaks me out. yesterday i thought it was finally gone, but this morning it was back with a vengeance. i am going to call my doc again and have her check it out and make sure that the yeast isn't coming back.
the only probiotics i have tried are an oral supplement and something called yeast gard, which is a douche with peroxide, some types of acids and it comes with a packet of probiotics to add. it is supposed to lower the ph. and add the good bacteria at the same time. you are supposed to use it everyday for seven days or until symptoms go away. it is really nice and doesn't sting at all. i didn't use it that much though.
anyway, if this isn't gone the next thing she wants me to try is boric acid suppositories. there has to be SOMETHING out there that can get rid of this!!

[viola]

Hmmmmm, well keep me posted. I found that it was worse the few days I was off my meds, then slowly got better. You never know. You could be on a stronger dose of diflocan. 50 mgs. isn't much at all. geez, I was on 150, then 100, now 200 mgs.
If you end up doing the Boric Acid, (which I did for months) you can buy it and do this yourself, it's so cheap. Go to a mom and pop pharmacey, better yet, call pharmacys in your area, and ask if they have it. If they do, it's cheap, a powder in a bottle. Go to the health food store and get capsules, (clear gel) I fogot the size, like 00 size? have to check further. there are different sizes, you could ask your pharmacist. The pharmacist told me how to do the capsules.......Fold a piece of paper into 4. open it up, and it makes a sort of bed where the poweder can sink down into the corner that was folded. Open up your Boric Acid, pour into the paper, open up the capsules, take a 1/2 and press down into the powder to PACK IT DOWN TIGHT. get in as much as you can, and slip the other 1/2 of the capsule on. And there ya go..... (I did this with a dust mask on since the stuff is dangerous and I wouldnd't want to inhale it, (not dangerous for vaginal use though so don't worry about that. OK, you can insert 1 at bedtime. If it's bad, insert in the morning too. It will cause a LOT of discharge, so always wear a pad. (clear) It will definately stop the itch.

[missbutterfly]

Take probiotics and use probiotic inserts keep up with it that will keep the yeast away. I use

ecovag makes a vaginal suppository you insert

and

renewlife makes a vaginal probiotic you take by mouth


I no longer take diflucan or need monistat my answer was in the inserts and mouth probiotics. By doing both it seemed to over power the yeast and kill it off and keep it at bay.

[chalupamom]

missbutterfly, how long have you used ecovag? i just stopped taking the diflucan and now have my period i am worried about when it's over how things will be. i am taking an oral probiotic, garlic, cranberry and multivitamin. ecovag website looks promising. is it effective for you? being that this is my first yeast infection, i would really like to avoid them in the future have you had problems with yeast before? this really sucks. i am feeling better, but i have also been on diflucan for a month.
viola, did the boric acid make you feel better? i have no itching, never had, just pain. right now i am pretty good, but if it starts up again the doc wants to try the boric acid. but can't do anything for at least a week!

[missbutterfly]

Ive never gone to boric acid treatments just i was on diflucan and tons of monistat and finally went on the probiotic treatments to prevent it all and no problems ever sense so to each there own you can only try. Id rather do probiotics than medication any day thats me though. I noticed my yeast infections were correlated with my periods, due to pads or tampons no matter how often I changed it out, I think just the hormonal and wet blood being there caused them for me. So around my period I start my probiotics hard.

[Jayci]

Hiya
I've had your issue and it took me years to work up the courage to go to the gyno. I can only say try and swap pills and see if they help. My gyno mentioned to me that I can not tollerate (my body) combined pills and the Oestrogen hormone can attract yeast which is where my problem was. Once she removed me from the combined pills and put the Implanon in - no yeast.

I've tried the yeast creams, acidoliphis and cutting out sugar previously, it use to help but it would always come back about the same time every time. My thrush was linked to my cycle, and its a known condition called cyclinical thrush.

Sarah001 - My gyno mentioned to me that tampons are the cleanest things to use and that pads should not be worn as the heat from them can cause a great environment for thrush to thrive in.

I hope this helps.

Please message me if you need to talk further.