[ilovehim]

Yesterday I went out on a date, and my VAGINA was itching the whole time!...OMG but that's not all, it started burning too. I'm not even sure I have BV or YEAST anymore. I'm clueless as to what type of 'bugs' are causing my crotch-rot. I need answers soon...

I ran out of Zoloft last night...=\

[lori]

wow i cant believe all that i am reading. i am so confused about all of this. i am 30 years old currently with BV and it has been reoccuring for at least two years. i didnt realize that strep infection causes bv. i had group b strep with both of my deliveries and had to have penicillin in an iv. i am also currently pregnant with my third baby. i am very concerned about bv because of the effects it can have on baby. lets see since ive been pregnant,11wks, ive had bv 3 times. first clindess, then keflex????never heard of that being effective. then i was still having symptoms and they said i was fine after looking under a microscope. i did a urine sample the day i was there at the doctor. the office called me the next day and said i had gardnerella in my urine and gave me metrogel. first of if it is strep how do they test for it and second how fo they treat it?????? can anyone help me????????

Hello Katt! Welcome.

Strep infection doesn't cause BV - it's just *another* form of vaginitis. We've just learned that it may be caused by the antibiotics we take for BV. The symptoms are - as far as we know - a "creamy" white discharge that doesn't smell (like BV), or itches (like yeast).

We're all just learning about this, too. It's all new info.

Testing for group B strep during pregnancy is, I believe, routine. Since you've been dianosed with it, you've obviously been tested. And since you've had it before, you're probably going to get IV antibiotics again for your next delivery. As long as the doctor is aware of that situation, and you get to the hospital in time, I think you'll be fine. You might want to consult the pregnancy thread for more specific info.

[kattkiddy]

wow i cant believe all that i am reading. i am so confused about all of this. i am 30 years old currently with BV and it has been reoccuring for at least two years. i didnt realize that strep infection causes bv. i had group b strep with both of my deliveries and had to have penicillin in an iv. i am also currently pregnant with my third baby. i am very concerned about bv because of the effects it can have on baby. lets see since ive been pregnant,11wks, ive had bv 3 times. first clindess, then keflex????never heard of that being effective. then i was still having symptoms and they said i was fine after looking under a microscope. i did a urine sample the day i was there at the doctor. the office called me the next day and said i had gardnerella in my urine and gave me metrogel. first of if it is strep how do they test for it and second how fo they treat it?????? can anyone help me????????

[anitsirhc]

Hibiclense
===========
“Hibiclense douche: This is the standard of care for GBS treatment in
many European countries (that have infant mortality rates better than
ours). At the beginning of labor, you douche with chlorhexidine
gluconate (brand name: Hibiclense). This product is available over the
counter at the drugstore.”

I use Hibiclens to sterilize reusable equipment and I would never use it as a douche. To be perfectly honest, overdouching is responsible for a lot of bv. If I were any of you, I wouldn't use Hibiclens or any strong antibacterial soap on my body, because that's exactly the kind of thing that encourages bacterial overgrowth just as using too many antibiotics has created antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria. And douching (while it seems logical) disturbs the natural vaginal flora. The fact that I have rarely douched but am very clean is probably one reason I've only had bv twice in my life.

p.s. Doctors use gentian violet to remove genital warts so I'm not sure I'd use it on myself.

thanks! i wasn't going to try it i just didn't even know what it was so i figured i'd ask.

[CanCan]

It is important to teach women how to douche properly. The bathtub
with a towel to lie on is a good place to do it. She can put some
pillows under her hips to elevate them. Make sure the tip of the
douche is NOT inserted into the cervix. Have her undo the douche clip
until the air is out of the line and reclip. As she slowly lets the
fluid out, she should hold her labia closed with the fingers of one
hand. This allows the vaginal tissues to expand and the fluid to wash
over all the mucosa. As she holds her labia closed, her vaginal mucosa
will balloon out. Some fluid will run out anyway, but keeping as much
in as possible for at least a few minutes is recommended.

Thanks for all the information on gentian violet. I am too scared to try the douching though. I have had bad experiences with it. My suggestion is that if anyone is going to try it, please do not use regular tap water. There is a reason why we chlorinate and fluorinate it. It's so we kill bacteria in it. So, I think using it as a douche would also kill all our friendly vaginal bacteria. Please run to the grocery store, and buy distilled water.

[cinderflower]

Hibiclense
===========
“Hibiclense douche: This is the standard of care for GBS treatment in
many European countries (that have infant mortality rates better than
ours). At the beginning of labor, you douche with chlorhexidine
gluconate (brand name: Hibiclense). This product is available over the
counter at the drugstore.”




I use Hibiclens to sterilize reusable equipment and I would never use it as a douche. To be perfectly honest, overdouching is responsible for a lot of bv. If I were any of you, I wouldn't use Hibiclens or any strong antibacterial soap on my body, because that's exactly the kind of thing that encourages bacterial overgrowth just as using too many antibiotics has created antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria. And douching (while it seems logical) disturbs the natural vaginal flora. The fact that I have rarely douched but am very clean is probably one reason I've only had bv twice in my life.

p.s. Doctors use gentian violet to remove genital warts so I'm not sure I'd use it on myself.

[anitsirhc]

Gentian Violet
==============
This is an old but effective remedy. Before all the modern remedies
for yeast infection, Gentian Violet was used, and can still be
obtained at some pharmacies. Warning – it will turn your skin
(temporarily) and your underwear (permanently) purple!
“…another possibly irritating, but effective treatment is the
application to the vaginal walls of gentian violet using a long cotton
swab once daily for 14 days.”






“I handle GBS by giving women information on it regarding the risks,
treatment, etc. and leave it up to them whether to culture or not. If
they choose to culture, I do it at about 35 weeks. If the culture is
positive, I give them the choice of herbal protocol and reculturing in
two weeks to make sure the herbs worked. Or they can take antibiotics
orally when labor starts.

The herbal protocol I recommend is as follows (it works for GBS,
trichamonas, or chlamydia):
Add 1/2 teaspoon goldenseal tincture to 2 cups body temperature spring
water. Add this to a douche bag and douche once a day for a week. Also
take 500 mg. golden seal (or 1/4 tsp. tincture) orally TID. Then, use
a lactobacillus implant daily for 2 weeks (a gelatin capsule of high
quality lactobacillus inserted vaginally once or twice a day works
well).

It is important to teach women how to douche properly. The bathtub
with a towel to lie on is a good place to do it. She can put some
pillows under her hips to elevate them. Make sure the tip of the
douche is NOT inserted into the cervix. Have her undo the douche clip
until the air is out of the line and reclip. As she slowly lets the
fluid out, she should hold her labia closed with the fingers of one
hand. This allows the vaginal tissues to expand and the fluid to wash
over all the mucosa. As she holds her labia closed, her vaginal mucosa
will balloon out. Some fluid will run out anyway, but keeping as much
in as possible for at least a few minutes is recommended.

Be sure to reculture after the two weeks are up to make sure the GBS
is gone. Then occasional douching, oral goldenseal tincture, and
vaginal acidophillus is recommended so she doesn't recolonize. I don't
have a definite routine on that.”

i'm doing research and just posting things that i find that may be helpful

[anitsirhc]

Hibiclense
===========
“Hibiclense douche: This is the standard of care for GBS treatment in
many European countries (that have infant mortality rates better than
ours). At the beginning of labor, you douche with chlorhexidine
gluconate (brand name: Hibiclense). This product is available over the
counter at the drugstore.”

has anyone heard of that before??

[anitsirhc]

Hello, Ladies .....I must say that even though it seems to me that many of us(I myself have had many ill informed doctors) have been and or dealing with ill informed doctors...At least we are getting this information out in the open and passing it along basically exposing the real truth about clindamycin. I too was prescribed it more than once by my doctor. More power to us to be informed and stay informed...

i just wish i could have been more informed before she gave it to me. now whenever i get a prescription for ANYTHING i do research about it online first. and i just wish i did that before all this happened, but i guess you learn from your mistakes. it's just very frustrating.

and what are the symptoms of strep vaginitis? do doctors not even know when we have it? like are they diagnosing us with bv when really we have strep??? or is it not the same at all...

[bvgirl]

Hello, Ladies .....I must say that even though it seems to me that many of us(I myself have had many ill informed doctors) have been and or dealing with ill informed doctors...At least we are getting this information out in the open and passing it along basically exposing the real truth about clindamycin. I too was prescribed it more than once by my doctor. More power to us to be informed and stay informed...

[lori]

Okay, now that I'm convinced Clindamycin is in fact evil ... have any of you read this book?

http://www.amazon.com/Book-Doctors-Complet...9742&sr=1-1

I was doing some further research on strep vaginitis, and on pp.240-241 (click on "Search Inside" and type in "strep" - I can't provide a direct link) of this book it says that Clindamycin causes the overgrowth! The previous link by CanCan said it can be caused by flagyl and clindamycin cream (e.g., clindesse), but not Clindamycin oral.

Bah, so confusing.

Anyway, I remember at least one member in this thread (from many pages back) who said that the doctor checked their discharge and found a whole lot of white blood cells, but not a lot of of the usual bacteria, and the doctor didn't know what the hell it was - well, according to this book, it's strep vaginitis! It can't really be diagnosed by a culture, because healthy people can have it. And you need to treat it with 10 days of amoxicillin. 10 days! Which causes yeast infections!

I don't know why there's so little info. on strep vaginitis out there, and why we didn't all know about it. According to this book, it's not very dangerous (thank goodness for that) but it does need to be treated.

I went ahead and ordered this book for myself. I thought it would be a good reference. Just wanted to share what I learned.

[anitsirhc]

Have any of you tried any of these products? I have not seen many of them on Lori's blog, so I am curious to know if anyone hasx tried any of these, and if so, what has/has not worked?

http://www.rockwellnutrition.com/BV+Protoc...+12)~~1208.html

i linked that site a while ago. i'm using yeast arrest right now, i was thinking about trying the things suggested on that site but there's just too many and they're too expensive. so i'm just using yeast arrest and fem dophilus. which seems to be working so far.

all this reading about clindesse is making me really upset. the first time i was diagnosed with bv my doctor gave me clindesse. and then i went back cause i had a yeast infection but she told me it wasn't a yeast infection (even though it was which i found out when i went back a 3rd time) but she said i still had the bv, without even checking by the way, so she gave me another clindesse. so i used it 2 times in a row. i feel like crying. it makes me so upset that i've been dealing with this almost a year and it could have been gone by now but it's not because of a stupid doctor that didn't know what she was doing. that doctor was gone by the 4th time i went back there anyway, she probably got fired.

[babs]

Have any of you tried any of these products? I have not seen many of them on Lori's blog, so I am curious to know if anyone hasx tried any of these, and if so, what has/has not worked?

http://www.rockwellnutrition.com/BV+Protoc...+12)~~1208.html

[cinderflower]

girls, girls, relax.

vaginitis = the inflammation
vaginosis = the condition

vaginitis can be caused by vaginosis, or an std like chlamydia or trichomoniasis or gonorrhea, or some other things. the vaginosis is a subcategory which has its own subcategories of causes.

the following website clarifies the difference relatively well, but skip down to the bv heading to read about treatments, etc.

http://depts.washington.edu/nnptc/core_tra...initis_2004.pdf

[Italianwife88]

Gosh I'm really scared now. I don't know what to think or what to do, hell i don't even know what I have anymore. Am I wasting my time and money on something I dont have? A two month regiment and then no results will be completely disappointing... I've been on boric acid for a week now but still have smell. no discharge. I'm waiting for my period to end to see what happens, it's hard to tell when I'm on my period whats going on and what is what. I'm scared that I'll lose my liver and die now...

is it osis or itis? *sigh* or just estrogen?

[arj75]

I will find out Thursday whether I need treated with hormones (estrogen) or both my partner and I with an antibotic that I have never been on, nor has he been treated ever for this. I was wrongly diagnosed and I have a very STRONG feeling that most of us here have been as well.....A wiff test?

This bullshit was caused by insurance companies not wanting doctors to do any cultures. And dumbass doctors.!!

I have already been tested for STD's by the way. NONE.

The doctor I choose has "been around the block" and back a few times. I'm confident he knows what he's talking about.

Hopefully, it hasn't got so severe that it can be managed..or I will be getting myself an attorney. If it's hormonal, I'm sure it might take a while to get it balanced out. Hopefully, it hasn't caused any liver damage.

[arj75]

It's kind of like saying 'a bluejay is a bird, but not all birds are blue jays'. There are numerous types of vaginitis: yeast infections, bacterial vaginosis, trichomoniasis (vaginitis caused by trichomonas vaginalis, a protozoan), chlamydia. And whatever else.... I'm sure there are numerous other ones. So he's not really saying anything. He's just saying he doesn't know what kind of vaginitis you have. He is telling you that you don't have bacterial vaginosis, but he actually hasn't told you what you have yet. I guess he did testing on you, and is waiting for those test results to come back?

I will find out Thursday whether I need treated with hormones (estrogen) or both my partner and I with an antibotic that I have never been on, nor has he been treated ever for this. I was wrongly diagnosed and I have a very STRONG feeling that most of us here have been as well.....A wiff test?

This bullshit was caused by insurance companies not wanting doctors to do any cultures. And dumbass doctors.!!

[CanCan]

Good afternoon everyone,

This is just an idea....but it would be nice if we all made a "blog" and listed what we have tried..for how long...what symtoms you experience..how long you have dealing with bv..tell a joke..tell something about yourself..That way when any of us have time to do research..we have references to look at.. Sassy have you or Jewels ever tried "b" injections? If so, for how long?

This is probably a good idea. To document everything in a concise way. But don't know how to do a 'blog'. Didn't Lori do a blog already? Can't we somehow link it, or put it together as a page of that blog?

[CanCan]

The Clindesse was my first round of treatment and only made my symptoms worse. This explains why. It gave me the E. Coli over growth. I swear, the more I read about that stuff the more I hate it.

If you read the small print insert that comes in the Clindamycin box, you will see that the company (Clindesse for me) clearly states that success rate for using their cream. It's hard to understand their jargon, because we aren't doctors, but the bottom line is that the numbers are all low. The company is going to put their highest and best numbers in their literature. The 3 charts state the 'Efficacy of Clindesse', and none of the numbers of percentage cure go over 64.3%. Cure in tests range from 29.5% to 64.3%. That means that all of us clearly were not in that range. We were not cured by it, so we were part of the 1/3 to 3/4's of all women that didn't kill it off - meaning that it would adapt and would grow back stronger. That is a pretty bad success rate.

What this really means is two things:
a) we are naive and trust doctors and pharmaceutical companies for no good reason.
b) if one of us figures out a cure, we should keep it under wraps, market it, sell it, and make a shit-load of money.

[CanCan]

Hello everyone,
My doctor finally called me back, and what he said I have is vaginitis not vagnosis? What the hell? I have the fish funk (just not right now). I did a little reading about it, and well, I'm even more scared....possible liver damage if left untreated??? I hope not. I go in to see him to go over my tests on thursday.

Please don't make me move to another board cause I have itis and not osis. lol

It's kind of like saying 'a bluejay is a bird, but not all birds are blue jays'. There are numerous types of vaginitis: yeast infections, bacterial vaginosis, trichomoniasis (vaginitis caused by trichomonas vaginalis, a protozoan), chlamydia. And whatever else.... I'm sure there are numerous other ones. So he's not really saying anything. He's just saying he doesn't know what kind of vaginitis you have. He is telling you that you don't have bacterial vaginosis, but he actually hasn't told you what you have yet. I guess he did testing on you, and is waiting for those test results to come back?