[BVcure4u]

Talk to pharmasist. They will tell you the truth. Yes you and hubby need to be treated. Men can store the bacteria. If you notice a fishy smell after sex, it is not just from you. Tell your Dr that many Dr's are now prescribing and treating
the partner. Tell them to do their research. Swith Dr's if you need to.

[Gatorgirl22]

I used to have the same problem for many months and the doctor said it was most likely a chronic case of bacterial vaginosis. He gave me Metrogel and it would go away but then come right back. I didn't want to keep using Metrogel so I tried a more homeopathic approach and started douching with 1/5 cup of distilled water and 1/5 cup of peroxide once a day and upped my folic acid intake. It actually got remarkably better, however, when I would stop the douching it would come back. I finally realized that this is a ph balance issue and that maybe my water intake during the day wasn't sufficient enough to keep my vaginal ph as it should be. I started drinking 4-5 bottles (the 16.9 fl oz size) of water a day and saw an immediate improvement. I even stopped the douching altogether and am now just making sure I drink the 4-5 bottles of water a day and that alone has taken the problem away completely.

[Healthylife]

Natural remedies are always best as your system is inclined to not reject them. I followed the common advice I saw on 10 different forums on this of hydrogen peroxide application and acidophilus (found in probiotic yogurts or pills). This is day 2 and am amazed the BV is totally gone. Still a bit of discharge but I read that's normal and will go away but that yucky fishy smell is gone and it actually smells pretty good down there

Recipe to fight and possibly terminate BV:

-Eat 2 capsules of acidophilus (make sure it has a lot of strains and Esp. "L. Casei") a day
- take about 1/3 cup of boiled water and cool it off (just put it in fridge for 15 mins) and add 1/3 cup hydrogen peroxide. Now what I did because I didn't have an applicator was I soaked a tampon in the solution and inserted that in my vagina. What this will dooms create an acidic environment for the good bacteria (the ones in your probiotic capsules meaning the acidophilus ) to grow the bad bacteria which is causing the smells don't survive in acidic environment they need alkaline environments.
- I also took one of the acidophilus capsules and opened it and after removing the tampon inserted the capsule just a little and contorted my body so the powder would go into my vaginal cavity. This will cause good bacteria growth in there. Remember these capsules have live bacteria so they multiply and don't be scared those bacteria already exist in you even in your digestive tract but it's just a matter if having enough of them. Some people just put plain yogurt up there but make sure it's probiotic yogurt. Not all yogurt has live cultures. But I think it's enough to eat the capsules and to apply a bit of the powder slight in the vaginal cavity
- Cranberry juice also helps to fight infections. So I am drinking that as well.

So I have only did all the above once and noticed a significant difference in just one day. I don't know how I got BV. I'm not sexually active and extremely clean. I even wash with water after I go to the washroom. Im very particular about smells and never had any smells down there so I instantly noticed the change and started researching. Ladies the above remedy worked for me and a lot of women so try it before harsh pharmaceuticals. BV is not very risky and can really happen to anyone so don't worry you are not alone.

* Note the Probiotics have to be from a reputable company to ensure that they actually have live culture and it wasn't all killed off at time of manufacture. Make sure there's about 5 to 6 Billion active cells at time of manufacture and all strains.
* Acidophilus bacteria allow for the system to maintain an acidic environment in the gut and vagina so that other bacteria will not be able to grow. Most bacteria can't survive acidic conditions. So basically the Acidophilus will cause an environment that will kill off the bad bacteria that are causing the smell (which is usually from the metabolic biproducts) .

[caramel504]

Hi ladies!!! I haven't posted in awhile, but I'm still dealing with BV. It seems to come at least once a month. A few months ago I had it twice in the same month. I refuse to do any type of remedy that involves inserting anything into my vagina. I think it will only make things worse in the long run, though the treatment may work at the time. I have been researching bv like crazy and have come across studies that show women who suffer from recurrent bv may have a vitamin d deficiency. I said it wouldn't hurt to give it a go, plus vitamin d is very inexpensive. I did a flagyl treatment, then began my vit d regimen. Well, I've been taking 4000 iu's of vit d every day. It's been a month and no bv, actually, I don't have much of an odor coming from my vagina at all. Everything actually smells normal. Maybe this is something that more of you all should look into. I even researched one site, and a woman said she had a vitamin d deficiency and her doctor put her on a once a week 50,000 iu dosage of vitamin d. This had nothing to do with bv, but if vitamin d may help, then maybe that high of a dosage (administered by doctor ONLY) may be the answer to dealing with our bv. So far so good, hopefully I can stay bv free, for awhile anyway.

[SosoTired]

Hi ladies!!! I haven't posted in awhile, but I'm still dealing with BV. It seems to come at least once a month. A few months ago I had it twice in the same month. I refuse to do any type of remedy that involves inserting anything into my vagina. I think it will only make things worse in the long run, though the treatment may work at the time. I have been researching bv like crazy and have come across studies that show women who suffer from recurrent bv may have a vitamin d deficiency. I said it wouldn't hurt to give it a go, plus vitamin d is very inexpensive. I did a flagyl treatment, then began my vit d regimen. Well, I've been taking 4000 iu's of vit d every day. It's been a month and no bv, actually, I don't have much of an odor coming from my vagina at all. Everything actually smells normal. Maybe this is something that more of you all should look into. I even researched one site, and a woman said she had a vitamin d deficiency and her doctor put her on a once a week 50,000 iu dosage of vitamin d. This had nothing to do with bv, but if vitamin d may help, then maybe that high of a dosage (administered by doctor ONLY) may be the answer to dealing with our bv. So far so good, hopefully I can stay bv free, for awhile anyway.

Ya know this is interesting fact. As I don't and have not drank regular whole milk (which is suppose to give us vitamin D) for majority of my life. Unless it in cereal ...Even when I do my lab test, my calcium is usually low. Hmmm I think you've given me serious food for thought.

I'm new to this board. I've been suffereing with BV for about 3 years now. It usually comes from well pretty much anything. I've gotten BV after sex, my period, using the an irritating soap. I've tried the antibiotics no such luck.. I've tried the VH essentials bv treatment (boric acid treatment) that just makes my period come and worsens the symptoms. I've tried peroxide, temperary fix. I've tried folic acid and just a probiotic, it worked once and stopped. Now, I've been using garlic, eh it lessings the discharge, I did notice fewer clue cells on my slide. (I'm a lab tech so I pretty much well yeah ya know) ..I've completely changed my diet. It helps a little. The only thing at home .. i've done that actually showed some type of lasting effect. Was Using Aloe Vera juice diluted in water. Soaked on a tampon and inserted for a few hours. The problem is, i'm a it needs to work right now type of girl and if it doesn't I won't stick too it. I'm thinking about calling my doctor or just going to a free clinic to get a prescription. And from there continue to take my Fem-D and start a vitamin D regimen. I'm going to figure this out this year... I really do think that the vitamin D theory might be my issue. I will research this. Thanks!

[caramel504]

Ya know this is interesting fact. As I don't and have not drank regular whole milk (which is suppose to give us vitamin D) for majority of my life. Unless it in cereal ...Even when I do my lab test, my calcium is usually low. Hmmm I think you've given me serious food for thought.

I'm new to this board. I've been suffereing with BV for about 3 years now. It usually comes from well pretty much anything. I've gotten BV after sex, my period, using the an irritating soap. I've tried the antibiotics no such luck.. I've tried the VH essentials bv treatment (boric acid treatment) that just makes my period come and worsens the symptoms. I've tried peroxide, temperary fix. I've tried folic acid and just a probiotic, it worked once and stopped. Now, I've been using garlic, eh it lessings the discharge, I did notice fewer clue cells on my slide. (I'm a lab tech so I pretty much well yeah ya know) ..I've completely changed my diet. It helps a little. The only thing at home .. i've done that actually showed some type of lasting effect. Was Using Aloe Vera juice diluted in water. Soaked on a tampon and inserted for a few hours. The problem is, i'm a it needs to work right now type of girl and if it doesn't I won't stick too it. I'm thinking about calling my doctor or just going to a free clinic to get a prescription. And from there continue to take my Fem-D and start a vitamin D regimen. I'm going to figure this out this year... I really do think that the vitamin D theory might be my issue. I will research this. Thanks!

I'm like that too!!! I literally get bv from ANYTHING. I had a CAT scan done, the same night I got the most severe bv infection I've ever had in my life. I feel the dye triggered it. Doctors and actually people on other boards told me I was crazy for thinking a CAT scan could cause bv to kick up. But at the time I'd been bv free for 5 months. So the dye had a lot to do with it. I also got bv the same night as having an IV hooked up to me. I could feel it and taste it when the nurses did an IV flush. Whatever they use it that flush is some powerful stuff, cause I had the taste of it all in my mouth. Yep, that same night I got bv. I had been bv free for 3 months prior to that day. As I sit back and think about it, this problem MAY NOT be in our vaginas or the bacteria in our gut.

After getting a couple instances of the worse bv in my life from something as simple as medicine or dye entered into my body, I am starting to think the cause for bv is a lack of something in our bodies. Vitamin d perhaps? This also makes me wonder.....I began developing bv back in Feb 2009. I stopped drinking milk in Nov 2008, I switched to soy and haven't gone back to drinking cow's milk since. I also would try my hardest to stay out the sun. I hate the heat and the brightness of the sun, so I would try to stay out of it as much as possible. I got literally NEXT TO NO vitamin d in my body. That's the time when I first developed bv. I had never even heard of it before. Any change in my body would trigger bv. If my boyfriend ejacualted in me, I got bv. NOT TO MENTION, I was regularly douching back then, so that didn't help my cause either. But I had douched since high school, with no bv. I had sex since my early 20s, with no bv. But BAM, soon as all the vitamin d consumption in my body ceased, I developed bv.

I am trying this vitamin d regimen on my own right now. I am taking it in small amounts. I'm going to see if maybe this helps before I talk to the doctor. Actually ladies, I HATE talking to my doctor about anything that has to do with bv. He looks at me like I'm crazy, blames sex without a condom, and throws a prescription at me. I actually have been having abnormal paps since I started getting bv. I haven't had one single normal pap since my bv infections started. I've had a couple colposcopys and they all say nothing is wrong with me, but it still comes back abnormal. I honestly feel that these abnormal paps are happening from my constant bv infections. My cervix and vagina can never heal because my bv just comes right back before they have the chance. I tried to tell my doctor my feelings about this and he just says NO IT'S NOT POSSIBLE!!! He doesn't even try to hear me out. He just tells me to make sure I always use a condom with my boyfriend to prevent any of this, and I tell him that I can't use a condom when I'm ready to have kids. So he says well just come back to get your flagyl treatment. This is why I'm nervous about talking to him when it comes to this vit d thing. It's so frustrating!!! The doctors don't care or try to help. This is why I think the studies that are still new, and saying it could be caused by vit d deficiency, may have some legs to stand on.

[caramel504]

Sorry, this is my continuation, sorry, I hit post too fast:

The problem may seriously lie in a lack of vit d. Even if tests comes back saying our vit levels are fine, maybe we need MORE THAN NORMAL to help prevent bv SPECIFICALLY. Many of the women on here have taken folic acid, vitamin b, vitamin b-12, vitamin c......with no prevail. I know that a lack of a certain vitamin is a major influence in our bodies. I am not allowed to have vitamin k because my blood has to stay thin. I'm on Coumadin which blocks vitamin k in my body, and this keeps my blood thin and prevents it from clotting. So vitamin consumption plays a major role in the operation of our bodies, my vitamin k deficiency proves that. I am seriously done with all the remedies that involve sticking things in my vagina, probiotics (because they only provide temporary relief and once you stop taking it the bv will come back), bacterias, yogurt, etc. I'm trying this vitamin intake to see it it helps. I mean, so far so good. My vagina has that healthy smell like it would when I'd take Femanol; just a normal, healthy odor. It's been like this for a month, coming from having bv every month prior. This has been this first time in months where I've been bv free for 30 days. We shall see!!!

[Smiffy]

Hello ladies,

I'm new on here but I'm horrified to work out that for the first time in my life, I have contracted what I think is BV and I've had it for 14 months now.

I've done the same as everyone else on this forum, wipes, suppliments, antibiotics, gy-ne-tren, folic acid, vitamins, boric, H202 and they all work really well... until I stop using them.

I'm so horrified, I am doing all of this in the secrecy of work bathrooms as I simply can't even tell my husband whats wrong as the symptoms are so humiliating. I can't speak to my good friends, as, while they'd be understanding, unless they'd actually suffered from it, they'd think it was just gross!

My morning mantra is now: 40bil. Acidophilus lact(oblah...), 2000iu folic acid, douche with H202. I drink LOADS of water daily and have reduced my sugar intake to (as humanly possible) zero.

I shower once a day, I've used normal soap, sensitive soap, normal shower gel, nothing but water, not washing at all.

I've not had sex at all (this is the worst bit - I can't explain to my husband).

Interestingly enough, this mantra (pills and douching) keeps everything running normally and I'm quite happy to do this for the rest of my life if it works, sometimes you just have to do this until medicine improves but - I'd rather not!

I've suffered from thrush pretty much from the first time I had sex (15 years) but the use of the Canasten pessary always worked within a day, job done. This, I hoped, would be the same scenario for BV but I'm devistated to see that some women have suffered for decades with this problem and I've had it over a year.

So, after reading this forum, I'm going to add some large doses of Vitamin D.

I'm really happy that I can spout off in this forum as I really feel very alone in my quest for a cure. Any other useful advice will be gladly received and I'm willing to try anything.

Thanks so much everyone, I really hope we all cure it one day.

Smiffy xxx

[stacyJ83]

Do I have BV?

Three weeks ago I went to the ER for severe vaginal itching, redness, very raw and painful. They tested me for everything and of course would only tell me I did NOT have herpes or any other STD, they didnt test for BV or YI. They gave me Flagyl just in case, and in the past 3 weeks it's gotten a little better, but now that my meds are done, it's starting to get worse again. This itching, pain, and swelling makes me want to die. I have 3 children and it's awful just trying to do the daily things to take care of them. Now I have back pain, not sure if it's because I'm not sleeping well or maybe the infection spreading.

I've tried the peroxide and water douche and it BURNED like , and I've been eating greek yogurt which is supposed to have the most live cultures in it. I'm taking garlic pills as well. I now have contracted a cold or something from my kids being sick so now I have that to deal with too. I have had yeast infections before and NEVER had BV. This is the most painful thing I've ever been through, and my poor husband is dying because I can't even think of having sex right now.

I dont have insurance, and the doctor at the health department told me antibiotics was the only thing she could give me. But I know that kills ALL the bacteria, and won't help at all for a cure. I really hope by reading your posts I can find something that works for me, I hate seeing you ladies have been battling this for months and even years!!!

[ItsASecret]

But I know that kills ALL the bacteria, and won't help at all for a cure.

The drugs do not discriminate so yes there will be killing of a lot of good and bad bacteria in the vagina being removed. The thing is, people do not know about or do know about and yet refuse to understand a lot of the time is bacteria grow very very quickly...technically exponentially. As soon as one is gone there will be another in its place about 20minutes later. It is not a kill and never recover scenario with the normal good bacteria. The normal flora bacteria will always come back, always. The reason the antibiotics need to be continued is to make sure that the bad bacteria do not keep coming back. They are not going to be there unless they are given the opportunity to-ie not washing down there, pH changes, ion changes and so on. If all the original foreign 'bad' bacteria are gone because of the antibiotics they cannot grow back. There is no 'template' bacteria to divide from and the infection is gone. On the other hand the normal bacteria will always come back, they are prone to that environment and always find their way back in. So while there will absolutely be a decline in normal 'good' bacteria at first with antibiotic use they are not gone forever. The antibiotics are made to remove the bad ones, those plus the immune system do a very good job with regular infections.