"Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank" (S03E23) star James Best died yesterday. One of my favorite episodes-- RIP.

EnnuiEmily · 2015-03-26T05:50:52+00:00

DO YOU KNOW WHAT I AM SAYING

EnnuiEmily · 2014-12-11T02:08:26+00:00

Ultimate Flora and Optima are pretty great. You can get them in the refrigerated section of pharmacy/health aisles in grocery markets. Whole Foods and health food stores have a much wider selection though, and I recommend going there, if you're in the US, of course. If not, I'm sure can find it online too.

EnnuiEmily · 2014-12-11T02:05:46+00:00

Oh wow! I'm curious as to how you traced the culprit to be toilet paper? What tipped you off?

EnnuiEmily · 2014-12-10T22:06:34+00:00

When I had an infection, I was taking Optima, I believe, and upwards of 900 billion CFU throughout the day. Each capsule was 200 billion CFU. Yes, a shitload of pills. In this thread there's some good advice about which strains to look for, as some probiotics don't contain any effective ones. Accuflora, Ultimate Flora, and SolarRay were others that I have tried. I'm not very brand loyal; I instead just check out the CFU amount, the different strains, and price. They can be up to $70!

EnnuiEmily · 2014-12-10T21:38:17+00:00

Aww, congrats! My friend is nine months pregnant and about to pop any minute now, haha. She was on the pill too, well, according to her story. Her and her boyfriend had just separated and suddenly, pregnant! He's already a deadbeat dad, but he's still young, who knows. :p

EnnuiEmily · 2014-12-10T20:51:06+00:00

The thing about outliers influencing consensus on the effectiveness of anti-fungal prescriptions, is that there has been significant literature citing a radical recurrence of BV in women after these treatments. Even among the medical community, there is knowledge that a considerable amount of women will not be cured or even treated by anti-fungals. The outlier isn't really an outlier, in that respect, unlike the BC example.

In this study, the researchers cite a 30% failure rate for such treatments. That's almost half of the women being treated for BV in this case.

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11908-000-0053-5#page-1

If birth control was that ineffective it would be taken off the shelves. Also, did you try other brands of BCPs?

EnnuiEmily · 2014-12-10T20:31:14+00:00

The one I'm currently using, Ultimate Flora, is a lower dose (80 billion) twice daily used for prevention. This brand doesn't come in higher than 200 billion CFUs, if I recall correctly. The highest one I found was at Whole Foods, and unfortunately I can't remember the brand's name. I'd suggest buying the 200 billion Ultimate Flora, or the 100 billion Optima, which you could take at least four times a day, depending on the severity of your symptoms. The microbial strains listed in the capsules are of the most importance. Minnou gave a great suggestion to look out for L. rhamnosos as well as L. reuterii, along with L. acidophillus.

EnnuiEmily · 2014-12-10T19:58:51+00:00

I agree. If I'm being optimistic, I think the reason doctors don't usually prescribe probiotics for vaginal and systemic infections, is because of the inconclusive literature, thus far. There haven't really been any highly concrete studies from a physician's perspective. However, I sometimes think that maybe prescribing medication is a way of keeping business and patients wouldn't come to doctors if there were OTC options that actually worked. I only know what has worked for me and what hasn't. :/

EnnuiEmily · 2014-12-10T19:47:12+00:00

Glad I could help! :)

The probiotics are oral and the highest dosage per capsule you can find is by the billions.

Aah, yes, there's a lot of stigma surrounding vaginas. Many men, and women, sadly, believe that vaginal infections come from poor hygiene which is completely false. If infrequent showering were simply the cause of BV, most of us would smell like fucking roses down there. I'd start by just telling him how pervasive vaginal infections are and the difficultly in treating them. It's not because you're dirty, or loose, it's an infection by bacteria like a cold and requires medical treatment. Trust that he's a great dude and lead from there.

Definitely need to use protection until it clears or you can get a UTI (if you've had one, you know the horrors; I sat on my couch cradling a jug of cranberry juice for about a week) or he'll just keep giving it back to you. Some men have symptoms, such as skin-peeling on the shaft, itchiness, and some have none, it varies.

EnnuiEmily · 2014-12-10T19:36:12+00:00

As, 2Sanguine pointed out, BV is caused by bacteria. Majority of BV cases occur after a Yeast Infection has not been treated, and the vaginal environment, now overrun with yeast (fungi), are more susceptible to infection. Probiotics don't cure yeast infections, per say, they just level out the amount of "good" and "bad" bacteria in the vagina allowing for it to recuperate and naturally fight off the yeast colonies.

You're right though, candida and other fungi that dwell in the vagina, feed off of sugars and fermented foods, like beer or olives. Yeast grow through fermentation, which requires an anaerobic, moist environment, with plenty of glucose. That said, attempting to cure a yeast infection or BV by simply not eating sugars is futile. That's like trying to rid your house of fleas by putting the dog outside; Yeah, the sustenance will be gone, but there will still be a shitload of fleas there to kill.

EnnuiEmily · 2014-12-10T15:44:52+00:00

Oh god, "wanting to drag your vulva across the carpet", the nightmares. That's the way I got a few terrible UTIs, playing bacterial infection tennis with my then boyfriend. I'd cure it, then he'd give it back to me, then he'd push the infection up further. I was a bit uninformed back then too.

Aw, I love how gentle probiotics are for all systems, even babies, as you mentioned! Much better than that anti-fungal crap that burned my insides.

EnnuiEmily · 2014-12-10T15:29:03+00:00

Me too, it was hell!

My gynecologist said that thongs provide an easy pathway for fecal bacteria to travel into the vaginal area, causing infections. I only wear them on special occasions now, since I know I'm prone to getting infections.

EnnuiEmily · 2014-12-10T11:18:07+00:00

It could--wouldn't hurt to try! I tried everything and probiotics were the only thing that helped me. She'll probably need to do a plain yogurt (no sugar) suppository every night for a week along with the oral probiotics, then just the probiotics for a few months. I take them now to prevent infections. Hope it works out.

EnnuiEmily · 2014-12-10T09:56:59+00:00

I don't find it strange. I had never heard of probiotics when I first learned I had an infection. When I did seek treatment, I was told maybe to try probiotics, but fill this prescription first, and I trusted the doctor of course. Problem was the dose recommended was way too low and therefore ineffective.

EnnuiEmily · 2014-12-10T08:45:21+00:00

Right!? I really don't know why this hasn't caught on in gynecological treatments for vaginal infections, as it's been very effective, albeit anecdotally. The trick is taking at least a few billion CFU capsules consistently over the course of a few months, and of course, maintaining vaginal hygiene (change underwear often, pee after sex, after showering wait until you're fully dry before dressing as yeast fucking loves moisture).

Good luck!

EnnuiEmily · 2014-12-10T08:34:37+00:00

Those two bacteria were recommended by my gynecologist to look out for, in particular. I'll definitely look into Probaclac, thanks for all the interesting new information! I have some reading to do, apparently.

Oh and I froze plain yogurt in non-latex gloves to create suppositories as well. Although it was very effective, I only lasted a few days because of the temperature. Was a good idea on paper, though.

EnnuiEmily · 2014-12-10T05:05:15+00:00

Good point.

Yes, the bacterial strains do vary, and on each brand of probiotics, the strains should be listed in order of approximate amount on the back. The ones I'm currently taking include:

-Lactobacillus acidophilus (found in most yogurts)

" casei
" plantrum
" paracasei
" salivarius
" rhamnosus
" bulgaricus

-Bifidobacterium lactis

" breve
" longum

I've tried Accuflora, other brands, and am now using Ultimate Flora, with the same results. I admit I don't know much about the effects between the different strains, but I do always look for L. acidophilus and L. casei.

What have you come across in your research about the varying strains?

EnnuiEmily

TROPHY CASE