[miffed23]

WHAT A REFRESHING RELIEF reading all your posts!!

I too have been suffering BV, and it concerns me that there had got to be some kind of link to BV and hysterectomy / miscarriage / surgery...as i had a miscarriage and from then on have had BV. Im assumming that the surgery etc upsets the bacterial levels within the vagina??

Thank you especially to those that have provided natural remedies, as its quite obvious that antibiotics do not work!! They help, but dont cure.

Best wishes to all, hopefully one day there will be a one tablet cure, as it is such a common occurance.

[rae_eng]

yes

I really think that there is a connection between this and surgery. mine didnt start until after a partial hysterectomy. but i dont understand, why no one can really get answers from doctors.

[sarahg]

My final update, it's week 13 and Thank God I am still free of BV. I have not even missed a day where I have not taken the tablets though I stopped taking cranberry juice a few weeks ago. Im on my 3rd bottle of femdophilus and have dropped from 2 tablets a day to 1 as reccomended. I have to be honest I was scared to drop to one tablet but its been a few days and i still feel normal. If i get the odd itch or discomfort i use biofem gel too. though i have not had to use it for over 5 weeks now, God-willing I have got rid of this monster. This is first time in 10 years in the last 3 months I have felt and smelt normal. I have lost too much because of this awful condition. I hope I stay that normal now and I hope you all find relief.

to Marsha11: yes you are right the L acidophillus taken orally does not inhabit your vagina, you need a strain that can cross the intestinal tract to your gynea regions and this is available.

[katty1]

Bio-fem And Bv Related Issues

Hi ladies - firstly may i thank you all for such informative and helpful posts on BV.

A brief history ...age 39, never taken contraceptive pill, using condoms for most of the time i have been in sexual relationship. My problems began in Jan 2005 when i was with my now ex boyfriend ...developed what i thought was bad UTI it was treated constantly with antibiotics up to Dec 2007/2008 when i was hospitalized for PID, in all i had BV, Chlamydia plus of course PID (which of course would have been caused by the untreated STI) although throughout that time leading up to my hospitalization i was taking antibiotics i was not given doxycycline which would have delt with the chlamydia. After my treatment for PID i had several months approx 8 of severe thrush or yeast infection to cope with i took many courses of oral fluconazole some months it would alternate between the yeast infection to BV which was treated and cleared with Dalacin 2% cream . I was in extreme pain as you could imagine swollen very sore and my vagina was ulcerated the PID medication did help that clear up ...

Focusing now on BV which i have had approx three or four time SINCE my problems began back in Jan 05 (ive never suffered with this problem before in my life or even a simple yeast infection since 05).. along the way to getting back to the general good health im in now amazing really considering how ill i was im still having regular periods exactly every 28 days and seems to be generally near the dot of ten thirty in the evening. Pelvic pain free - considering some of the information given about long term effects of PID and i didnt have to have a laperoscopy (even though i had an overian cyst at the same time as all the other things ) i say this because im still hoping i can concieve naturally. After speaking to many drs - consultants private hospital appointments and NHS and at PAP test appointments reagrding BV ! in some of the posts i read its mentioning the benefits of douching ...while im certainly not disputing the fact that some ladies who have douched regularly have said that it has helped them and indeed seemed to of cleared the BV along with sother things medication ect. I realize that different drs consultants have different advice ect and it seems to be conflicting as in the UK its advised as far as im aware but definately so from drs and nurses in A and E department , urologists, obsgye , surgeons, ect not to douche why i say this is because before being admitted to hospital i had many visits to accident and emergency with this terible vaginal pain discharge/odour ect that was where i i given my treatment for PID (ofloxacin and metronidazole) and they found BV i questioned on the douching issue and was told dfefinately not to as it was dangerous and can actually cause problems and BV and that it disturbing the balance and washing away the natural lubrication of the vagina upsetting the balance and can push bacteria upwards causing problems ect . in general as far as im aware just from questioning female friends without vaginal problems BV ect and some with (general simple yeast infections) they dont douche as without me telling them the advice i was given ect thier opinion was it was "dangerous" or they thought it could lead to problems. Please im not in any way disputing the fact it has not helped any ladies who has and does do this regularly but the thing im concerned about its the possiblity for anyone who does douche that it could be contributing to BV or could be putting any ladies reading at risk of infection such as PID ect ...i would be interested to know how anyone feels about this ...agin im just passing the information of UK drs a and e staff ect ...what they told me ect perhaps i should of had the subject header "to douche or not to douche...that is the question !"
To get back to what id really lke to mention and would be so interested to know if any ladies have experienced the same thing im also a BIO-FEM fan at the beginning of my problems i was advised to use aci-jel which is now not available so i switched to this i use two products from the range Bio-fem instant moisturizer and bio-fem instant active gel intavaginally . *IF* i was going to get BV i have found it happens at the end of my period towards or immediately after my period which im at that stage now as i type ...im not noticing symptoms of BV ever since i have had these problems back in 05 i seem to get a swelling of the vaginal tissues a burning sensation around the outer lips labia and across the urethra it is painful and swollen as though its just on the very verge or the edge of tipping over the balance if you take my meaning looking very red and angry (not itchy) but painful also sore on the inside its almost as though your expecting to see yeast infection discharge or get the familar symptom odour of BV. this is where fiofem helps i was very sore 24 hours ago an application of active gel i just inserted an index finger amount not with the applicater as i thought my cervix would still be open just more of a lubrication factor and i also applied the instant moisturizer to the outer lips over the urethra ect ...fantastic relief redness soreness gone !!! what can i say . But the ONLY drawback or problem i notice with just the instant moisurizer for the outside is afterwashing with lactacyd which is very good and applying this several hours later and ONLY on the area wher i have appled the instant moisturizer which if you notice seems to set a little like eggwhite or a sort of clear film (not white or powdery) it seems to REACT with vaginal tissue thus causing a fishy odour which in turn could seem or be mimicing the symptoms of BV itself !!! i have tested this out at variousd stages of the months over a number of months when im positive without any application of bio-fem either inside or on the external vaginal tissue inside labia ect) positive there is no BV present i have applied just the moisturizer and a couple of hours later there is a strong fishy odour ONLY where i have applied this not coming from inside of vagina upon washing away this film of biofem this odour has gone the next day withoutany application of biofem moisturizer NO ODOUR or smell mimicking BV... my point is ladies ...is it possible that anyone using particularly th vaginal moisturizer it dosent seem to happen with the instant relief stuff think that they have BV when in actual fact it could be the reaction that the moisturizer has with vaginal skin contact causing a similar odour ??? i have used the moisturizer tonight whilst giving relief of the burning which could be a comination of chaffing from a sanitary towel or hormonal changes afer period. it is doing the job but as i say there is that odour which developes with it . Forthat reason i would not use the moisturizer if i was leaving the house only at home as it is definately mimicking symptoms of BV ... I would be really interested to know of any ladies who think that the same thing has occured .
Sorry for such a long winded post but just one or two more things i know for some ladies posting it seems to be a constant never ending battle with this BV and i really do sympathize im sure that now ive had it a few times i will get it again and it seems to be something we have to live with . For those worried about partners/husbands reactions , feelings as we are highly aware of what wesmell like when we have this and have the natural worry of partners thinking does it smell offensive to them as we THINK we are finding ourselves to smell offensive !! i onece read a rather blunt but sensible comment on a problem page years ago ...i recall it to this day ...a lady worried she had BV and worried about her sex life she wanted to constantly bathe the angony aunt replied ..."the vagina is a reproductive organ !...not a rose garden !! i thought thats was a harsh comment to a the lady concerned but then agin i thought ..thats correct ...after all if we think to aourselves imagine smelling of "nothing" in the vaginal area it is normal to have that slight fishy odour and its that odour and has been since the beginning of time that men find so arousing about the female body !

thank you for reading my post and thankyou all for such informative advice . Katty x

[izzygirl]

chronic bv

i am 34 have been dealing w/ bv for 6 1/2 yrs. it started 1/2 way tru my last pregnancy, i've tried everything from clindamycin pills,creams,flagyl, boric acid vaginal inserts and the list goes on i recently this past jan. had surgery to burn off the lining to my uteris in hopes it would stop my periods and ultimately stop the bv NOT it did not work ,my periods went from 7 days of HARD bleeding to 3days, 2 spotting ,1 hard day of bleeding (thats a plus). i am dealing w/ this again have to go back to dr. thurs. and he already said if the surgery didnt work he has no idea where to go from here. i deal w/ this atleast 2-3 times a mnth and it seems to be getting worse, this is the worst bout i've ever had burnimg,itching swelling,it has gotten so bad i'm starting to crack/bleed. i've been tessted for every std known to man all negative.PLEASE HELP any suggestion are appreciated,i'm at my wits end. thanks iizygirl

[Ginger_Ark]

Update after Dr's visit

I went to see my Dr. today, & I couldn't have asked for a better visit.

After having been on oral probiotics L. Rhumnosus & Reuteri since Saturday, my pH level had dropped from 5.5 to 4.5 -- near normal!

I told the Dr. about the Atobium vaginae. She hadn't heard of this before but was extremely interested. She took the medical study/article that I had brought with me.

I told her what all I had learned about probiotics specific to the vaginal tract & discussed the probiotic treatments with her. She was extremely open to this.

So here is the plan that my doctor & I have come up with:

• She will do some research on her own to find out if there is an identified antibiotic that targets this Atobium vaginae without killing Lactobacillus. If she finds one, she will order the PCR test for me (this is the more complicated test than the gram stain).
• I will continue taking the NW Prodophilus Reuteri three times a day.
• I will mix the NW P. Reuteri powder with plain yogurt & insert it vaginally every other day.
• She is going to talk to her compounding pharmacist & see if there is a more convenient delivery mechanism for the probiotics, though we both doubt it, since it's necessary for the cultures to be live.
• I am going to periodically do my own pH screen as I am doing the treatment.
• If all goes well, after a couple of months I will drop down to 1 oral probiotic/day & increase it for the week before my period.

I fell better already! I am so thrilled to have found a doctor that takes me seriously & treats me like I have a brain. She took all my research, plus my 4 pages that I had written about my findings (basically a version of what I've typed here), & was very impressed. She said that if this works she may be able to start helping all her other patients with chronic BV.

Good luck to everyone else. I hope my information has been helpful. I will give updates on my progress.

[LadyLane]

BV and Yeast

Wow! Ginger I cannot believe all the intense work you've been doing to get to the root of the issue, but I am kind of the same way when it comes to finding out what is wrong with my body and why this is happening.

I've been back and forth with periodic BV and yeast for the last year. It was pretty much yeast each month before my period, so I started taking the pill again to try to get my hormones to calm down. That's doing fine, but whenever my husband and I have oral sex or regular sex, I get one or the other. In Feb I had BV after intercourse, and just last week, three days after we had oral sex, I had to go back and was told it was yeast. We now use latex-free condoms for sex. He gave me a one-dose cream which I ******ly forgot to write down the name of, it was a pink box, started with Gyno-...

Anyway, after reading all of the stories of these other women and realizing I don't have as big of a problem as others, I still have decided to start taking the Fem Dophilus, which was mentioned in Prevention magazine, which my parents get and is a good publication. I also ordered BioFem and tea tree suppositories from an English pharmacy. I don't understand why it isn't available in the states, but if it helps it will be worth it.

And here I am, one week after treatment, itchy again. I really feel that because my doc doesn't send out a swab to the lab he is misdiagnosing me. I think I have a strep B infection and he is completely missing the boat.

I'm going in my own direction and I'll see if these things can help keep my pH in check.

[acadialost]

Pain due to Vaginosis?

I have had chronic problems for the past four years, one of them being BV. Ordinarily it is confined to itching, irritation, odour, and discharge (the normal fun stuff) but lately I have been having pain while having sex. It is definitely not getting any better even though my other symptoms don't seem to be any worse. Does anyone else have this problem or should I be concerned that this might be something more serious? I am in a committed relationship and I was tested thoroughly for any infections before I started sleeping with him but of course you never know what other people bring to the table...he wasn't the type to have unprotected sex before we were together so i'm not overly concerned HOWEVER if this pain in unusual or worrisome than I need to do some more investigating to figure out why it hurts and what I need to do about it. Anyway, thanks for any/all advice anyone out there might have.

[depressedcherie]

I might have it too

I recently thought I have yeast infection, I went to my doctor and he tested for everything. everything was negative, thank god. but i still have the itching, a little swelling, and discharge(no odor). I'm going back thursday morning, so he could give something else.

He prescribe some cream and tridamax 500mg(hope I spelled it right), but it didn't do much. it's so annoying, I dn't know how to deal with it. I keep thinking I have some kind of disease. maybe i got from my bf, he works outdoors, but he always wash his hands, and uses those germs free things. but, maybe he forgot to wash his hands or something. Not sure what would cause it.

[LadyLane]

Loving Fem-Dophilus!!!

Well I started Fem-Dophilus the day I last posted, and guess what? I have been FINE ever since! Now I have my period, but I began taking two Fem-D a day because I thought the yeast was coming back, and honestly, 48 hours later I felt like my normal self.

Today I received the Bio-Fem and the Tea Tree suppositories in the mail. So once my period is finished, and I start my pill again, if I feel like I'm getting any BV symptoms, I will start using the Bio-Fem. I'm also planning on using it after my hubby and I have sex, to see if it can help with what seems to be an aversion that my body has to his body fluids lately!!