[swt simplicity]

Hey everyone! I've browsing this board for a while reading all the different responses. I've decided to try killing the bacteria and then replacing it with the good, so I'm going to go w the FEM/Boric acid combo. No I don't want fries with that

I ordered fem-dophilus (sp?) today, and now I'm wondering about the boric acid pills inserted vaginally. Can anyone give me specific instructions on how to make them, and exactly what website you brought the boric acid from? A link to the BA would be amazing too! Its scary when you type it in on amazon because all you see is "pesticide-boric acid" ekk shiver!!

Thanks so much,

Shannon

The Fem-Dophilus and boric acid combination may come with a hitch since the boric acid kills the yeast and bacteria that it comes into contact with, thus killing the beneficial bacteria that is repopulating the vaginal flora. Clinical trials show women who simply take the Fem-Dophilus orally for 28 days (without the help of antibiotics) showed a "significant increase in vaginal lactobacilli" (source). If you still plan on going through with this method, what you need to do is scoop the boric acid powder into "00" gelatin capsules. Store them at room temperature. Insert the boric acid capsules at bedtime only for two weeks. Don't use them when your menstruating. I'd suggest not engaging in sexual activity until the two week period is over since the boric acid could burn you and your partner. I actually found boric acid at my local Rite-Aid. Some pharmacies do carry boric acid. Pharmacies also carry gelatin capsules. I've never tried asking for them since I have a significant amount of gelatin capsules sitting in my bedroom drawer. I wouldn't be surprised if they wouldn't sell them to customers.

Yes, you can purchase the boric acid and capsules from Amazon. Don't buy the boric acid that says "roach killer" on it. You should opt for the smallest container since you don't need much at all, I doubt you'd go through the whole bottle or at least you shouldn't need to. A small 4 oz bottle by Preffered Plus would be good. As far as the gelatin capsules, I got the really cheap ones, "00" 250 capsules by NOW FOODS. Now that I think of it, both of those items are sitting unused in my bedroom drawer. Keep us updated about how this treatment works for you.

[shannon26]

Hey everyone! I've browsing this board for a while reading all the different responses. I've decided to try killing the bacteria and then replacing it with the good, so I'm going to go w the FEM/Boric acid combo. No I don't want fries with that

I ordered fem-dophilus (sp?) today, and now I'm wondering about the boric acid pills inserted vaginally. Can anyone give me specific instructions on how to make them, and exactly what website you brought the boric acid from? A link to the BA would be amazing too! Its scary when you type it in on amazon because all you see is "pesticide-boric acid" ekk shiver!!

Thanks so much,

Shannon

[mfc10]

Regarding Nystatin...I have used it (prescribed by my gyn.) both orally & vaginally for yeast infections. If I recall correctly, it is effective against more than just Candida Albicans. They give it to babies for yeast infections, plus it is an old, well-used medication. I trust it & never had adverse side-effects.
Maggie C.

[vibra]

Haha My medication hasn't been working as effective as it used to, and your'e right, it seems to have gained some sort of immunity.

[vibra]

My god, I didn't realize how popular this bacteria is. It is embarssing. I gotta try what canadiat is doing.


ma in tesol bachelor of business administration degree

[melinda7]

Very true, they can alter themselves to survive the medication and then start the process all over again until they become totally resistant to anything. That angers me so. I hope thats not my case.

It's annoying. It may not be your case. A lot of YI are self limiting unless there are other factors like diabetes, being overweight, use of steroid type drugs, or a lot of antibiotic usage -- not just one course.

Swt

I looked up Nystatin and it says there are more side effects. I didn't realize it was ketoconazole. I never took that one so I don't personally know about the side effects.

[swt simplicity]

My tongue is always white as well. Yeah, bread converts into sugar so it's hard to say.

Nystatin sounds like the one to start with then. I did look it up. It *seems* like it has less side effects than diflucan. Do you think that's true? I'll have to bring it up to my dr.

Yes, I do think Nystatin has less side effects than Diflucan. But, just to be on the safe side, you should ask your doctor or gynecologist for their opinion. I don't hear about Nystatin being prescribed for vaginal infections anymore, so I'm not too sure. It could very well not work as well as Diflucan in your case.

Swt, sorry but I just cant afford it and I don't know which brand is better, room temperature at the local Walmart or the one stored in the cooler at the health food store either way I tried both, too expensive and didn't work in the past.

As for my yeast infection I was told I had almost a week ago by my the P.A. I see a slight, slight change. There is still discharge and the smell is still there, so tomorrow I have to call the P.A. for another refill of the Diflucan I knew this was gonna happen. I am so disgusted. I have even went on a mini diet: Water, organic baby spinach, organic broccoli and all natural turkey slices and, avocados, and organic garlic. OY!!!!!!!

When it comes to probiotics, you just want to make sure the brand your picking has some form of certification. USP certification and GMP certification are two really good certifications for nutritional supplements. As far as refrigerated or freeze-dried, both are viable as long as they are handled properly. Even freeze dried probiotics perish if stored over a certain temperature (usually room temperature). The fact that you say probiotics didn't work for you in the past, it could mean a lot of things. Did they stop working, or did they not ever work at all? If they stopped working, you probably built up a tolerance to them. If they never worked, maybe your problem isn't a lack of bacteria, but something else. Maybe the brands you chose aren't compatible with your flora or strong enough ... the possibilities are endless.

It's great that your eating organic, keep up the good work. But, if you plan on going on a diet for a few weeks or a month, it's kind of pointless. Whether it's today, tomorrow, or a decade from now, what you eat is always going to impact your health. Eating healthy is just a lifestyle choice that you will have to adopt rather than something you do in the short-term. I did mention the candida/yeast-free diet and low-FODMAP diet, but those aren't like weight-loss or fad diets. The yeast-free diet and low-FODMAP diets are pretty intense, similar to how a diabetic has to permanently stay on a sugar-free diet, or someone with Celiac Disease can't eat anything with gluten in it. People that go on the low-FODMAP diet often have disorders like Fructose Mal-absorption or Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth and they have to stay on that diet to maintain their digestive health. If they get off of it, or eat something they shouldn't, they can get very sick, so they don't have much of a choice. Hopefully I didn't give you the wrong idea by saying the word "diet". These diets are permanent for the people that they work for.

Have you been re-cultured to be sure the yeast is still there? You should be sure to express to your doctor that your concerned about building a resistance to the Diflucan. Maybe your doctor can lay out a special treatment plan for you like my vulvo-vaginal specialist did for me, rather than giving you repeated doses of antibiotics, which will probably stop working for you overtime.

[yme30]

I've done the candida diet for years and it doesn't work at all. I think its use is limited unless you take other measures to get rid of it. I don't think it just dies when the food supply is cut off. Yeast is smart and one of the oldest organisms around. It mutates and adapts. It's not that easy.

No, I've never tried Nystatin, but I've heard of it. How does it carry less risks?

Very true, they can alter themselves to survive the medication and then start the process all over again until they become totally resistant to anything. That angers me so. I hope thats not my case.

[yme30]

Do you plan on taking the Diflucan with a probiotic. I know you mentioned before that they don't help but you never know.

Good luck!

Swt, sorry but I just cant afford it and I don't know which brand is better, room temperature at the local Walmart or the one stored in the cooler at the health food store either way I tried both, too expensive and didn't work in the past.

As for my yeast infection I was told I had almost a week ago by my the P.A. I see a slight, slight change. There is still discharge and the smell is still there, so tomorrow I have to call the P.A. for another refill of the Diflucan I knew this was gonna happen. I am so disgusted. I have even went on a mini diet: Water, organic baby spinach, organic broccoli and all natural turkey slices and, avocados, and organic garlic. OY!!!!!!!

[melinda7]

Yeah, the diet doesn't work for everyone. Bread would always give my tongue a white coating that couldn't get scrubbed off. Then again, I never thought I had a yeast overgrowth. I've gotten tongue cultures and everything comes back fine. I stop eating bread and the tongue coating doesn't come back. Since there's usually sugar and yeast in bread, it's hard to really know for sure which one is causing the coating.

Nystatin is a narrow spectrum antifungal. Narrow spectrum antifungals target specific organisms rather than a bunch of organisms. Broad spectrum antifungals taken over a long period of time can cause resistant yeasts.

My tongue is always white as well. Yeah, bread converts into sugar so it's hard to say.

Nystatin sounds like the one to start with then. I did look it up. It *seems* like it has less side effects than diflucan. Do you think that's true? I'll have to bring it up to my dr.

[swt simplicity]

I've done the candida diet for years and it doesn't work at all. I think its use is limited unless you take other measures to get rid of it. I don't think it just dies when the food supply is cut off. Yeast is smart and one of the oldest organisms around. It mutates and adapts. It's not that easy.

No, I've never tried Nystatin, but I've heard of it. How does it carry less risks?

Yeah, the diet doesn't work for everyone. Bread would always give my tongue a white coating that couldn't get scrubbed off. Then again, I never thought I had a yeast overgrowth. I've gotten tongue cultures and everything comes back fine. I stop eating bread and the tongue coating doesn't come back. Since there's usually sugar and yeast in bread, it's hard to really know for sure which one is causing the coating.

Nystatin is a narrow spectrum antifungal. Narrow spectrum antifungals target specific organisms rather than a bunch of organisms. Broad spectrum antifungals taken over a long period of time can cause resistant yeasts.

[melinda7]

That's unfortunate. I can imagine it would be difficult to overcome a yeast overgrowth if the yeasts food supply isn't cut off. Similar to how a person that's lactose intolerant won't get relief until they cut out lactose. Hopefully the Diflucan works for you. Have you tried Nystatin? It's narrow spectrum and kills a specific yeast and won't carry as many risks. Then again, it depends what type of yeast or yeasts your fighting.

I've done the candida diet for years and it doesn't work at all. I think its use is limited unless you take other measures to get rid of it. I don't think it just dies when the food supply is cut off. Yeast is smart and one of the oldest organisms around. It mutates and adapts. It's not that easy.

No, I've never tried Nystatin, but I've heard of it. How does it carry less risks?

[swt simplicity]

It's hard to tell what flares my symptoms.

It's really hard for me to not lose weight if I don't eat carbs. Veggies and proteins make me so lean on their own. A lot probably comes down to metabolism and hormones. Not That my hormones are out of whack, because they aren't, I have normal levels for all, but I think that factors into how foods affect your body weight a lot.

I am also thinking that candida is at the root of a lot of my health problems.
I am getting very tired of the candida and really think I want to do the long-term diflucan and see if that works.

That's unfortunate. I can imagine it would be difficult to overcome a yeast overgrowth if the yeasts food supply isn't cut off. Similar to how a person that's lactose intolerant won't get relief until they cut out lactose. Hopefully the Diflucan works for you. Have you tried Nystatin? It's narrow spectrum and kills a specific yeast and won't carry as many risks. Then again, it depends what type of yeast or yeasts your fighting.

[melinda7]

The medical community kind of rejects the yeast connection theory. But the more I think about it, the more I realize the symptoms that are associated with "yeast overgrowth" are similar to the symptoms that people would experience if they were suffering from a digestive disorder like Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth or Fructose Malabsorption. Being gassy and bloated after eating something containing refined carbohydrates and sugar cause symptoms in people with SIBO and Fructo-Mal.

You can still eat carbohydrates for the most part; it depends what diet your referring to though. People with Fructo-Mal can eat foods with wheat but it should be gluten-free and sugar-free. The anti-candida diet is somewhat similar. I'm really petite and slender and I'm doing good. Maybe your not getting enough calories into your diet to sustain a healthy weight. You can get most of your food at specialty stores and health food stores and not have to worry so much about counting how many grams of sugar you just ate. I always found myself counting how many grams of sugar I was eating when I was trying to stay on the diet through eating regular foods.

Does eating fruits flare up your symptoms?

It's hard to tell what flares my symptoms.

It's really hard for me to not lose weight if I don't eat carbs. Veggies and proteins make me so lean on their own. A lot probably comes down to metabolism and hormones. Not That my hormones are out of whack, because they aren't, I have normal levels for all, but I think that factors into how foods affect your body weight a lot.

I am also thinking that candida is at the root of a lot of my health problems.





I am getting very tired of the candida and really think I want to do the long-term diflucan and see if that works.

[swt simplicity]

wish me luck guys, pray for me, I will be doing the same for you guys.

Do you plan on taking the Diflucan with a probiotic. I know you mentioned before that they don't help but you never know.

Good luck!

[swt simplicity]

I had a cyst on my ovary and I had small (very small) uterine fibroid.

I can't cut out all sugar or I become very rail thin and sickly looking since I am already thin and drop weight very quickly. I have heard sugar is bad for it and it makes sense since it feeds yeast which kills the good bacteria.

I don't eat sweets but I need some sugars in my diet, bc I can't go on a no carb (at all) diet since I get so skinny and I also become hypoglyccemic. I need to eat complex carbs or I seriously can't function.
The more I think about my health the more I'm convinced it all goes back to candida and all the antibiotics (many many years of continuous use) that ruined my flora and killed all the good bacteria. That's the stem of all vaginal issues, really. Replacing it is very difficult and damn near impossible.

The medical community kind of rejects the yeast connection theory. But the more I think about it, the more I realize the symptoms that are associated with "yeast overgrowth" are similar to the symptoms that people would experience if they were suffering from a digestive disorder like Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth or Fructose Malabsorption. Being gassy and bloated after eating something containing refined carbohydrates and sugar cause symptoms in people with SIBO and Fructo-Mal.

You can still eat carbohydrates for the most part; it depends what diet your referring to though. People with Fructo-Mal can eat foods with wheat but it should be gluten-free and sugar-free. The anti-candida diet is somewhat similar. I'm really petite and slender and I'm doing good. Maybe your not getting enough calories into your diet to sustain a healthy weight. You can get most of your food at specialty stores and health food stores and not have to worry so much about counting how many grams of sugar you just ate. I always found myself counting how many grams of sugar I was eating when I was trying to stay on the diet through eating regular foods.

Does eating fruits flare up your symptoms?

[melinda7]

Yes. The extended course of boric acid suppositories killed the non-albican yeast. I wasn't prescribed antifungals because my vulvo-vaginal specialist felt confident about the boric acid doing the job which thankfully it did . The only time I ever took an antibiotic of any kind was because my general practitioner wasn't sure of what infection I had and she gave me three pills of Flagyl to take (I trusted her enough to take the Flagyl even though she didn't diagnose me with anything). That was the only occasion that I've ever taken antibiotics. I don't fit the profile of someone that would develop a resistant infection. I guess I can blame my allergies, eczema, and digestive issues, and inflammation on the fact that I was never breastfeed (due to being very sick as an infant and my mother also being sick). My mom and my general practitioner actually said if I was breast feed as an infant I probably wouldn't have eczema or allergies, or at least not as bad. After knowing of all the good things that come from being breastfeed (especially on it's beneficial effects on the intestinal flora), that news didn't surprise me.

That's good that BA worked for you!

[melinda7]

Malinda I pray to God this is the end of the road for me with these various infections. I don't drink or smoke but I love cokes like people love drinking at new years eve. I have to change my diet I know, I am going to start taking baby steps for the New Year.

Yes I have been polluted with antibiotics all year long and it never occurred to me until just now, that going back for refills was doing my body harm, thats why they never worked because I never really needed them. Oh my its all coming together. BUT:

If it is yeast why no irritation, no itchy va-jay-jay, and why the musty smell. Yeast is suppose to cause irritation and a yeasty odor my odor is quite stinky with no irritation at all.

Also many times I've watched two twenty dollar bills turn into a few dollars and some change messing with probiotics, its sooooooooooooo expensive I just simply cant afford it. I've tried all types over the years: Cold, room temperature, millions live and billions live and I used every little capsule and never had any luck.

My only hope right now is to get a good multi-vitamin make friends with drinking water, get some fiber in my system and latch on to the baby organic spinach they sell at the Walmart for about a week, besides I can stand to lose 15-20lbs. Also if this smell and discharge leaves me in a week I am so tossing out those birth control pills. I haven't started them yet either, she hasn't come yet hope she stays away a little while longer but I doubt it. Bye everyone.

You need to stop the cokes. They're all sugar and that's bad for YI and BV both.

I almost never get irritation. I also don't present like I have YI but when they do the culture it comes back off the charts. Don't know why.

I agree with the $$ on probiotics and all the false claims. I am so skeptical now. I am now again starting probiotics and I bet I wasted my money. If it doesn't work I will most likely end up doing a prolonged course of diflucan per dr's orders and hope that works.


Diabetics get them all the time bc they can't metabolize sugars, so sugar is connected.

The BCP's may help you. It's trial and error.

[swt simplicity]

Did it ever go away? Did they try to knock it out with antifungals? I know they can be misused but I think they are useful to a certain extent. It's then a matter of repopulating the good bacteria.

Yes. The extended course of boric acid suppositories killed the non-albican yeast. I wasn't prescribed antifungals because my vulvo-vaginal specialist felt confident about the boric acid doing the job which thankfully it did . The only time I ever took an antibiotic of any kind was because my general practitioner wasn't sure of what infection I had and she gave me three pills of Flagyl to take (I trusted her enough to take the Flagyl even though she didn't diagnose me with anything). That was the only occasion that I've ever taken antibiotics. I don't fit the profile of someone that would develop a resistant infection. I guess I can blame my allergies, eczema, and digestive issues, and inflammation on the fact that I was never breastfeed (due to being very sick as an infant and my mother also being sick). My mom and my general practitioner actually said if I was breast feed as an infant I probably wouldn't have eczema or allergies, or at least not as bad. After knowing of all the good things that come from being breastfeed (especially on it's beneficial effects on the intestinal flora), that news didn't surprise me.

[yme30]

Yeast. Were you on a lot of antibiotics in the past? I also have this as I am seeing we three have the same symptoms. I, like you, never really get irritation.

I was literally on antiobiotics my entire adult life starting at 18, but even before that I was on them regularly. Horrible. So hard to get rid of yeast and bring back the good bacteria. Definitely start taking probiotics. A good one. Otherwise it will most likely come back. Cut out sugar and carbs as much as you can. Stay away from alcohol.

Maybe you're one of the lucky ones who will have it go away. It would depend on how bad you have messed up your stomach and how much good bacteria you have left. YI is not bacterial, but lack of bacteria. How severe you have it would depend on whether you have other symptoms of candida that are more systemic.

Estrogen in birth control pills could make it worse. BCP's cause YI's in many women. But it could also help, especially if you have high testosterone or high estrogen.

But you do need to be on probiotics.

Malinda I pray to God this is the end of the road for me with these various infections. I don't drink or smoke but I love cokes like people love drinking at new years eve. I have to change my diet I know, I am going to start taking baby steps for the New Year.

Yes I have been polluted with antibiotics all year long and it never occurred to me until just now, that going back for refills was doing my body harm, thats why they never worked because I never really needed them. Oh my its all coming together. BUT:

If it is yeast why no irritation, no itchy va-jay-jay, and why the musty smell. Yeast is suppose to cause irritation and a yeasty odor my odor is quite stinky with no irritation at all.

Also many times I've watched two twenty dollar bills turn into a few dollars and some change messing with probiotics, its sooooooooooooo expensive I just simply cant afford it. I've tried all types over the years: Cold, room temperature, millions live and billions live and I used every little capsule and never had any luck.

My only hope right now is to get a good multi-vitamin make friends with drinking water, get some fiber in my system and latch on to the baby organic spinach they sell at the Walmart for about a week, besides I can stand to lose 15-20lbs. Also if this smell and discharge leaves me in a week I am so tossing out those birth control pills. I haven't started them yet either, she hasn't come yet hope she stays away a little while longer but I doubt it. Bye everyone.