J (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) on 12/10/2008
This has been an ongoing struggle for me and a current problem for the past 2 months. I had it before on enough occasions to know I didn't want to go to my GP who is useless on the issue. I was going to wait until I had cleared it up entirely before writing but I figure I might as well start a time line. This testimony is going to contain detailed descriptions of my symptoms and trials and tribulations of finding a "home remedy", so you have been warned. Please note that when I say "vadge" or "cooter", I actually mean "vagina".
Time: 3 months ago.
I wake up abruptly because I have to pee like nobody's business. It hurts when I pee. It looks all cloudy. It smells like I drank too much coffee, and a bit worse. "Great, a #*&!@'n bladder infection!"
Historically, this is always the pattern of events:
1. Get bladder infection--usually from having sex and not peeing after! DO IT EVERYTIME, LADIES! DO NOT STICK AROUND TO SNUGGLE! (if bacteria gets pushed up your bits, peeing after pushes/flushes it out).
2. Go to doctor all teary eyed, trying not to pee myself.
3. Get antibiotics that cause more vadge problems.
4. Get more antibiotics.
5. Get more vadge problems.
6. Cry a lot.
7. Decide to blame men for all my problems and ignore penis like it is the plague.
8. Things start to clear up on their own.
This cycle can take anywhere from a few weeks to many months.
So at first I try to treat it as I would a bladder infection, I drink unsweetened cranberry juice that tastes awful, I take cranberry pills, I drink whiskey to ease the pain and show up drunk at work, etc etc.
Eventually, the sensation of urinating molten lava starts to subside. Then I smell something funkier, and get a bit irritated around the whole area. It is half itchiness/ half pain. This is the start of BV. I want to point out this transition because I want to know if anyone else has very painful urination as a part of BV, or if I could have both. My theory is that it is the same bacteria.
At this time, (about 2 weeks from the initial peeing problems), I was using borax for household cleaning a lot. Borax is pretty awesome. I read that it could help BV and freshen my vadge too. I used it to wash myself in the shower with a big improvement in the stench department, so I took it from there.
I start shoving straight borax powder up my cooter and filling little capsules so that it gets right up there. This was probably as effective as peroxide for the smell, but it was much, much messier. It doesn't dissolve so now there's not only the BV discharge, but there's chunky laundry soap in it too. It was also drying, and unlike peroxide, it doesn't help restore any balance at all.
Because of the imbalance with borax, I shoved acidophilis capsules up there too. It didn't really work out. (gravity works). These blundering attempts went on for about 2-3 weeks. This is because they are actually partially effective. For the long-term however, it didn't look too promising.
Right now I am trying the H202 douche and I'm going to look for the folic acid supplements. The peroxide was such a blessing for me the first few days I used it. It does really help with discharge, irritation, and smell. I mostly use it straight based on what I read in a medical study. But tonight, it felt like someone had kicked me square in the vadge. I used it 3 days in a row full strength and it wasn't so painful at first. The medical study said 7 straight days I believe so I probably should have kept at it. For a few days I did nothing about it at all thinking it cleared up and now it seems to be worse and the peroxide is hard to use because of irritation from the BV. There is no smell right now, but there is a discharge that is like when I'm ovulating but scarier. I will update on my methods and success/failure with peroxide shortly. I am also switching to 1/2 water dilution method.
Other things I have noticed that I would love other people's opinions on (warning for frank discussion on sex and related issues):
1. We all know sex aggravates the problem. I think this is especially the case if the sex goes on for too long and I get really dry. I believe the lack of my own lubricant makes me far more susceptible to bacteria coming in (with or without a condom, but it is much worse without). Some types of lube disagree with me as well. The best one I ever used was actually oil-based, and shouldn't be used with latex condoms. Any recommendations? Similar observations? I heard good things about almond oil used as lube by a well known female sex doctor. Again, this shouldn't be used with condoms.
2. If I get semen inside me, you might as well just quarantine my junk in a tent for the next year. I heard that the vagina is naturally acidic and kills a lot of sperm. This is plausibly so that only the strongest sperm survive to impregnate you. I think these little guys want revenge from me, my long term boyfriend never understood.
3. My method of birth control is a copper IUD. When I get infections, reinfection is a bigger issue for me because bacteria can creep up the string/twine. Birth control pills also wrecked havoc on my sex life and I still got infections, and yes, with condoms too. I guess my point is, I strongly suggest an external use vibrator, I wont name names though. It really salvaged my self esteem.
I really, really appreciate everyone who wrote their personal experiences here so that we could all learn from them. I hope my experiences will be helpful to someone when I get this under control as well. Stay strong everyone, I know how awful this can make you feel about yourself. You are not alone. One day the medical profession will take this more seriously. Until then, I hope we all find a healthy way to manage on our own.
Replied By J (Toronto, Ontario) on 02/05/2009
When I first wrote back in December, I had tried borax, H202 and acidophilus (both internally and externally). Shortly after, I began taking folic acid which was present in a tablet marketed for "stress relief", which had different B vitamins as well. I felt I had to update because I think the status should be changed from "better but not cured" to "cured".
Ladies, when I was initially struggling with the smell and irritation, I wanted something that would give me relief IMMEDIATELY. The H202 certainly provided that, but it was only temporary. I was in no rush to run to the pharmacy to get folic acid because I had assumed that it was more of a preventative measure, and wouldn't have any immediate impact on my symptoms. I was wrong. When I took those multivitamins with folic acid in them (3-4 tablet = 1mg of folic acid in each), I swear my severe irritation dissipated significantly within 1-2 hours. The H202 had helped the odor and the next day, the folic acid seemed to prevent the smell and abnormal discharge from returning. I went out and bought a bottle of just folic acid -1mg tabs, and continued to take them with acidophilus for about a week or 2. I would take 2-3mg of folic acid and about 3-4 acidophilus capsules which were said to contain the following:
4 billion active cells at time of manufacture of the following:
lactobacillus rhamnosus - 80% 3.2billion
lactobacillus acidophilus-10% .04billion
Bifidobacterium longum- 5% .02billion
Bifidobacterium bifidum- 5% .02billion
Shortly after I started taking these supplements routinely, I had my period and afterward my symptoms were gone entirely. I have been symptom free and feeling great for over a month. I know some girls ask if they have to keep taking the supplements after the symptoms go away, and from my experience, I have not been taking them everyday or even regularly and my symptoms have not returned. I do try to take them whenever I remember because I believe they are great for your vaginal health, but personally I did not find that I was forced to continue taking them forever.
Other things to note are that I have not had intercourse in a while after getting better, this could be part of the reason for not relapsing yet as this was one of the most aggravating factors for me.
I also continued to have some issues with bouts of painful and urgent urination that was sometimes cloudy after my BV felt better. I cannot be certain, but I believe what wiped out this problem entirely for me was when I started to drink 2TBSP Apple Cider Vinegar with 2TBSP Molasses and 1TSP of Cayenne pepper combined together in hot water (in a very large mug) and drank like a tea. I don't know if the actual amounts are that important, my reasoning for those measurements were that it tasted the best to me that way. I have been drinking this every other day or so now, because the taste sort of grew on me. I drank it with a straw most of the time to avoid teeth sensitivities. I wanted to try taking these supplements after what I read on this site about how they are good for your overall health. I wasn't intentionally trying to help my bladder issues but I strongly believe it did. I also seemed to have a shorter period with a reduction in the severity of cramps (these were becoming problematic due to my copper IUD). I believe this is because of the iron and magnesium in the molasses. I was not using blackstrap molasses btw, it was the Crosby brand of "fancy" molasses that is common here in Canada. I will keep an eye out for the blackstrap stuff.
Thanks again to everyone who wrote here and the admins for having such a helpful site. I wish the best health for all of you.
EC: YEA reflected on your most recent post and BETTER BUT NOT CURED removed...
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