[Bella10]

Hi all, I called my gyn today for the culture results and everything came back normal- No BV!!! Yay I was so happy I could cry! Anyway we'll see how long this lasts. I go back 2/20 for a pap smear so she will do another culture to follow up and then I guess I'll take it from there.

[mg86]

Mg86: Yeast arrest is the same thing as making your own boric acid capsules but much more expensive! When I went on my honeymoon in September, I took the yeast arrest for fear I might get in trouble in an airport taking a bottle of boric acid. I found that the yeast arrest worked just as well as making my own capsules, but it actually had a downside over plain boric acid...the capsules are green! I think they are green from the herbs, etc. in them but the discharge they caused stained my underwear. When I make my own capsules, the discharge is clear. I really don't want green stuff leaking out of me!

Hey sassy - yeah, I wanted to make my own but I decided to try the pre-made ones first. I used the first one last night and yeah, this morning there was a bunch of greenish stuff. LOL..it wasn't even like discharge but like herbs coming out? Not sure if that was supposed to happen. I put it in as far as I could...it sure would be helpful if they provided something to insert it with. Oh well!!

[sassy]

Mg86: Yeast arrest is the same thing as making your own boric acid capsules but much more expensive! When I went on my honeymoon in September, I took the yeast arrest for fear I might get in trouble in an airport taking a bottle of boric acid. I found that the yeast arrest worked just as well as making my own capsules, but it actually had a downside over plain boric acid...the capsules are green! I think they are green from the herbs, etc. in them but the discharge they caused stained my underwear. When I make my own capsules, the discharge is clear. I really don't want green stuff leaking out of me!

[mg86]

Hi everyone
Just wanted to give an update...I decided to go ahead and try Yeast Arrest...just arrived in the mail today...I have read lots of people having success with it, but the only downside is if you stop using it, it comes back. Just a WEEK relief would be great...I sometimes read on here that people went 2 or 3 months without BV and that sounds like paradise. I have had a non-stop infection. The main ingredient in Yeast Arrest is boric acid so I'm hoping it will help. I don't really have a lot of money to be throwing around on this stuff, but it is only a 2 week supply, so I will probably buy more.

The instructions say for a persistent infection: insert one capsule in the morning and one at night for 2 weeks. If it has responded but is still persistent, continue for another 2 weeks, and after that 4 days out of the month (during menstruation) for 4 months. That is not so bad.. I guess!! I'm a little worried about the weird melted pill herb boric acid smell, and also a little worried about the "leakage", but I'm single so at least I don't have to worry about anyone else seeing it...LOL

Hope everyone is doing well, BELLA I hope your culture comes back negative!! good luck!

[Bella10]

[quote name='yme30' date='Jan 30 2008, 03:34 PM' post='186893']
Hi Bella that is real good news for you and I hope that thursday turns out to be good news as well. How are u feeling, is your mind at ease a bit or are u still a little worried?

Hi YME, I am at ease in the fact that she said I look infection free but I am still worried about the culture coming back positive because that is what happened last month. But last fri I ended 10 days of flagyl so I am hoping that maybe that cleared the infection. I'm calling after work tomorrow because if I call on my lunch break and she says I still have it I don't think I can handle going back to work for the rest of the day. As it was I started crying in the Dr's office trying to explain the frustration of this. I don't know everyone I talk to is like "its common its no big deal". If they think it is no big deal I wish I can swap this with them hahahaha I also took two acidopoulous pills a day on the meds and I am continuing to do so so maybe that helped? If she says I don't have it tomorrow I am continuing to take them. I also bought the fem-d pills and have them sitting in my fridge but for some reason I am nervous to take them I don't know why. My Dr really thinks that I am having recurrent BV because I came of the pill. I have had this the last year and a half since I came off but now I am back on and the Dr said it will take 2-3 months for the hormones to really absorb in my system. I asked her to draw blood to test my hormones but she refused :-( She said they would def be normal. So we'll see.

How are you feeling? Are you finished with the amoxo? Did you go back to the Dr?

[yme30]

Hi all just got back from the gyn and she examined me, said my ph is 4.0, said everything looks good and no signs of infection. She took a culture and the results will be back Thurs afternoon so keep your fingers crossed. Last month I had no symptoms and my culture came back positive for Gardernella bacteria so we'll see.

Hi Bella that is real good news for you and I hope that thursday turns out to be good news as well. How are u feeling, is your mind at ease a bit or are u still a little worried?

Hi Sprinkles I hope u post some funnies real soon

Konphusion I read about PID and it scares me because I have battled with BV for a long time but every year my pap comes back normal so I dont know if that is an indicator that I dont have it or not. I would like to have kids some day and I just hope that something like PID doesn't cause infertility.

Congrats to everyone on there recent success and for everyone else including me we just gotta hang in there and hopefully this whole BV stigma will soon pass. Bye everyone

[jewelscando]

I'm so sorry that some of your are not having any luck with the Tea Tree Oil. But this is just a fine example of what works for me, may not work for you and vice versa.

I don't have the problem with the "turpentine" smell, so, maybe you should try a different brand??? Also, I think you can order them online as well. I can relate to the smell, but it's not so bad to where I can't stand it. And I have no signs of the B.V. what so ever. I don't have periods either, so, there couldn't be any spotting for me.

All I can suggest is you keep trying. But whatever you try, give it time to work. Because if you shove a bunch of stuff up there, you won't be able to pin point what's working, and what's not.

Also, Debi, Boric Acid is just another form to help control the B.V. You can read about it on Lori's blog, or go through the posts. It's not a cure. It just helps with the horrible smell of B.V.

DO NOT USE IT, if you are alergic to any sulfer type products.

Good Luck everyone!

[debi]

There are so many things we have to deal with! Personally, What is this boric acid for smell? WOW! Can anyone explain this to me?

[Bella10]

Hi all just got back from the gyn and she examined me, said my ph is 4.0, said everything looks good and no signs of infection. She took a culture and the results will be back Thurs afternoon so keep your fingers crossed. Last month I had no symptoms and my culture came back positive for Gardernella bacteria so we'll see.

[kristen]

thanks for the tips guys i think i will head to the drug store and see what i can find first, i'm very curious what the ph of my vagina is. just seems if a had another definitive answer to something it would give me a for sure thing i need to work on. meanwhile i should be getting all my stuff from rockwell like tomorrow or so... wish me luck i'm jumping off the cliff of "jamming stuff up there"

[konphusion26]

Anybody ever ended up with PID (pelvic inflammatory disease) from BV? I've been reading alot about that and untreated bv. Maybe I'm a hypochondriac (sp?)... Any thoughts on PID?

[CanCan]

These are the other test kits for BV off of Lori's blog.

[ http://www.fem-v.com/ ]

[ http://vagisilkit.com/kit2/index.shtml ]

And here is the link to Lori's blog, if any of you want to read it for yourself:
[ http://www.bust.com/lounge/index.php?autom...;blogid=11& ]

[CanCan]

i just read it again you meant you tested the sylk, is there a test for the ph of the cooch that i can get at the store?

I just looked at Lor's blog, and she has this listed to test ph:

[ http://www.drugstore.com/products/prod.asp...Y-PLST-0-SEARCH ]

I think there is another one too, I have heard of it and will look for it later. Sometimes it is hard to do the ph test because if you are really dry down there, like I am, it is hard to get enough liquid to put on the strip of paper! They are called 'AlkaMax Alkaline Booster pH Test Papers'.

[CanCan]

You need to decrease the pH from alkaline levels to acidic levels. Ideally, the vaginal pH should be about 4.5. I use SYLK lubricant (available online), which has a pH of 4.7, which is the best on the market. (I tested the pH myself, and it is 4.7.) Most lubricants' pHs are over 5, which isn't acidic enough to provide a hospitable environment for the good lactobacilli.
It is the semen, to be more specific (rather than the sperm itself), that increases one's vaginal pH. If condoms are out of the question for you, try loading up the vagina with SYLK before & after intercourse!

Maggie-the-Chem Professor

I have been using SYLK for a three months now, and I use it before and after sex. I use it every day at night before bedtime, whether or not I am having sex. I think out of all the lubricants out there, so far it is the best one.

I don't use condoms with my boyfriend, because I find it gives me too much friction which is bad for me. But if anyone out there is going to use them, just be careful because some lubes and/or spermicides may have Nonoxynol-9 or other chemicals when can kill off the benefical bacteria in your vagina. Actually, may even irritate mucous membranes in certain people. Which can exacerbate the BV or even make us susceptible to other infections. SYLK is not a bactericide.

[CarrieBradshaw]

I'm still doing the boric/tto regularly, but I'm really getting tired of shoving shit up there all the time....SO, I'm ordering the fem-dophilus from Vitacost. They seem to have the cheapest prices, plus, they take Paypal.

I'll let y'all know how it goes.

--Quiet--

I ordered mine from iherb.com recently and it was super cheap (14 dollars I think) and it came in 4 days in this styrofoam container thing wrapped in ice packs -- definitely still cold! I recommend them! Good luck!! I'm with ya too - I hate jamming stuff up there that wasn't meant to go up there!!!!!!

[konphusion26]

Okay I dont think the TTO is agreeing with my lady bits. Maybe I'm allergic to it. I think its too strong for me, even just a few drops and diluting it with a lil water before inserting. I'm telling you gals, its making me cramp like a son of a b**** , and i've even been spotting the last few days. Its in no way shape or form time for my period. I'm so confused and frustrated. Oh and by the way, it did nothing for my odor at all. So now I smell like turpentine and spoiled buttermilk. Lovely aroma!! I messed around and knocked over half the bottle the other night in the bathroom (i'm a clutz)- so now not only does my kitty smell like turpentine, so does my bathroom! GAAAAAAH!!! Guess its back to the drawing board. I really don't know what else to do yall. I'm with you on that one Quiet, I'm sick of shoving crap in there and sick of wearing panty liners. I should invest stock into Carefree!

BY THE WAY: Just ordered some Fem-Dophilus and some black cohosh (for homones) today from Swansonvitamins.com Got the whole order pretty cheap too!! yall should check it out.

[quietmadness]

I'm still doing the boric/tto regularly, but I'm really getting tired of shoving shit up there all the time....SO, I'm ordering the fem-dophilus from Vitacost. They seem to have the cheapest prices, plus, they take Paypal.

I'll let y'all know how it goes.

--Quiet--

[CarrieBradshaw]

Carrie - how is the fem-d going?? I am probably going to get some more this weekend. I want to try inserting them again but that one weird smell I had this week makes me think twice..Maybe it is worth it..at least there was no BV smell then..LOL

The FemD is going well. I'm pairing it with regular Acidophilus tablets as well. Still no BV......I'm also doing more preventative stuff like wearing no undies at home/to bed, wearing only cotton undies, no thongs, and I'm trying to wear only cotton workout clothes ( Which sucks because the spandex capris are so freaking cute!). Anyways, things are going well. I plan to just keeping taking the FemD and Acidophilus pills forever. Expensive.

I've been reading The V Book a lot as it was recommended on here. I kind of forgot what my natural discharge was like. I think I've been jaded by all this BV crap and any ounce of wetness I feel I think "Oh crap! The BV is back!" I think I've become overly-sensitive to how it feels down there. Hopefully that will pass with time. Anyways, back to my original point, I was reading in the V Book about how discharge is supposed to look/feel and how it increases and decreases during our cycle. I was kinda scared this weekend cuz I had an increase in discharge, but according to the V Book, days 14-16 are the highest days for discharge (which is where I was at! ). It's still all clear, slightly white-ish sometimes (nothing like BV blinding white though) so I'm pretty happy. I'm feeling pretty darn healthy.

I kind of wonder if FemD increases your natural discharge or not? Just because of all the good bacteria you got going on in there. LOL.

Have a great day everyone!

[kristen]

i checked out the sylk online, its more expensive that i thought it would be specially if i have to "load my vagina" as you said. i guess not to bad compared to other lubes and such. i just never had to use that stuff before always been on the sloppy wet side myself, well not anymore. But anyway if it works then it will be well worth it i'm going to order some in a couple days.

[mfc10]

i just read it again you meant you tested the sylk, is there a test for the ph of the cooch that i can get at the store?

You are right; I tested the Sylk in my lab at college. I believe you can buy pH paper at some pharmacies; if not, it can be purchased online. There are also "dipstick"-like pH things you can get online. I think there's a testing kit out now in drugstores that tests pH to determine whether one's infection is more likely to be BV than yeast. Anyone know the brand?
The Sylk is also condom-compatible. I love it!!

Maggie