allabb
10-17-2006, 06:30 PM
I have been diagnosed with BV more than a few times! This is frustrating VERY frustrating! I went to my OBGYN today and she gave me an Rx for both my boyfriend and I. I think the reason I keep getting it is because he may have it. This time around I am freaking out because my lower vaginal area has a small tear (a little bigger than a paper cut) and a sore just below that. I also saw something that looked like two little pimples on my labia majora. My OBYN said that it was definitly not Herpes but did a culture and pap anyway! I'm waiting for the results on that. I have been tested for Herpes a few months ago and it was negative. I'm sure that this one will be too but I'm wondering if anyone else is having any of these symptoms along with the BV. I will also post again in a week or so once both my boyfriend and I have taken the prescription. Hopefully this will knock it out for both of us!!!
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GettingWellAgain
10-17-2006, 06:46 PM
I'm sorry that you are going through this--I also had recurrent BV and what finally cured it was using MetroGel and also in-between inserting acidophilus capsules into my vagina. Acidophilus is a probiotic that is traditionally used to help prevent yeast infections (and can be taken orally for bowel health), but it also helps balance out the pH of the vagina, therefore promoting a healthier environment and making it harder to get an infection. I hate to say it, but my first thought when you mentioned the tear in your vagina and what looked like a small pimple was HERPES. If you visit the herpes board which is IMMENSELY informative and helpful, you will find that many doctors are very uninformed about the symptoms of herpes. A herpes lesion does not have to be an open sore or a blister, and actually very often resembles a small papercut-like tear or a small pimple. Also, it is hard to accurately culture a sore that isn't open or oozing. I have HSV2 (genital herpes) and my culture AND my blood test came back negative. After reading up on the herpes board, I found that the only bloodtest that is truly accurate is the HerpeSelect test, which is a blood test. Since all I had were a couple VERY tiny pimple-looking bumps, all of my doctors said over and over, "That can't be herpes. It doesn't look like it at all." But, as it turns out, I definitely did have herpes. Not everyone has the flu-like symptoms that often accompany outbreaks, and 1 in 4 adults are infected with herpes and don't even know it. I sure hope that this isn't in fact what you have, but I thought that it wouldnt' hurt to mention these things to you, espcially since what you are experiencing is typical of herpes. Anyway, I hope your symptoms disappear soon, and again, I urge you to at least check out the herpes board.
~Katalina
~Katalina
Feel good
10-19-2006, 11:30 AM
I also had recurrent BV and what finally cured it was using MetroGel and also in-between inserting acidophilus capsules into my vagina. Acidophilus is a probiotic that is traditionally used to help prevent yeast infections (and can be taken orally for bowel health),
~Katalina[/QUOTE]
Hi Katalina can you tell me if the above are available over the counter or by prescription only?
Thanks
~Katalina[/QUOTE]
Hi Katalina can you tell me if the above are available over the counter or by prescription only?
Thanks
Sannah
10-19-2006, 02:20 PM
You can also eat yogurt. People say that it can't get from your mouth to your vagina but you put it in your body. It helped me. I always got vaginosis when I was pregnant.
GettingWellAgain
10-20-2006, 01:01 AM
Hello,
You can certainly buy acidophilus over the counter. Probiotics like acidophilus are sometimes sold in supermarkets, but you are sure to find a higher potency and better quality product in a natural foods store. Acidophilus is what is in yogurt when yogurt containers say, "Contains live and active cultures." You CAN just eat yogurt, but as healthy as yogurt is for you, it doesn't even come near to the potency of the acidophilus capsules--you would have to eat a lot of it to get the same effect. And if you ate a lot of yogurt, unless it is plain, you are getting a lot of sugar, as well, which isn't really good for you or your vaginal health. Anyway, read up on the net about acidophilus or probiotics--it's very interesting! Good luck!
~Katalina
You can certainly buy acidophilus over the counter. Probiotics like acidophilus are sometimes sold in supermarkets, but you are sure to find a higher potency and better quality product in a natural foods store. Acidophilus is what is in yogurt when yogurt containers say, "Contains live and active cultures." You CAN just eat yogurt, but as healthy as yogurt is for you, it doesn't even come near to the potency of the acidophilus capsules--you would have to eat a lot of it to get the same effect. And if you ate a lot of yogurt, unless it is plain, you are getting a lot of sugar, as well, which isn't really good for you or your vaginal health. Anyway, read up on the net about acidophilus or probiotics--it's very interesting! Good luck!
~Katalina
ahimsa
10-26-2006, 05:10 PM
Hello allabb and GettingWellAgain,
I am in a similar situation right now, having confusion about BV versus herpes. Here's my story: I believe I was exposed to herpes about 3 weeks ago, as I was with a new partner and he has since told me he has developed what has been initially diagnosed as a genital herpes OB. I've had some symptoms: genital irritation (a little stinging/itching), increased discharge, some abdominal and lower back discomfort, and a weird sciatica feeling that happened for the first time ever last week during intercourse (with my long term partner).
So I saw an OBGYN Monday. He said there were no visual signs consistent with herpes. I have two small pink bumps in the vulvar area, but he said they look like general irritation, not like herpes blisters. He took a herpes culture of them anyway and the results are pending. He also looked at my vaginal fluid under the microscope and said that I have BV - my good bacteria are too low and not-so-good bacteria are high, and that BV was most likely causing my symptoms. I started oral antibiotics the same day. This is my first ever BV diagnosis.
I am SO hoping that my symptoms are due to BV! I am encouraged that those two pink bumps haven't changed. If they were herpes blisters wouldn't they pop and scab? But what puzzles/concerns me is this: if I have BV badly enough to cause discomfort, wouldn't my discharge smell bad? It smells totally neutral! The only notable things about the discharge is that there is more than normal, it is more watery than normal, and it leaves kind of a milky looking crust in my underwear.
I'm 3+1/2 days into the antibiotics. So far the discharge hasn't changed, but the irritation might be subsiding, it's hard to tell.
What do you think - am I correct to be skeptical that only the BV is going on?
I am in a similar situation right now, having confusion about BV versus herpes. Here's my story: I believe I was exposed to herpes about 3 weeks ago, as I was with a new partner and he has since told me he has developed what has been initially diagnosed as a genital herpes OB. I've had some symptoms: genital irritation (a little stinging/itching), increased discharge, some abdominal and lower back discomfort, and a weird sciatica feeling that happened for the first time ever last week during intercourse (with my long term partner).
So I saw an OBGYN Monday. He said there were no visual signs consistent with herpes. I have two small pink bumps in the vulvar area, but he said they look like general irritation, not like herpes blisters. He took a herpes culture of them anyway and the results are pending. He also looked at my vaginal fluid under the microscope and said that I have BV - my good bacteria are too low and not-so-good bacteria are high, and that BV was most likely causing my symptoms. I started oral antibiotics the same day. This is my first ever BV diagnosis.
I am SO hoping that my symptoms are due to BV! I am encouraged that those two pink bumps haven't changed. If they were herpes blisters wouldn't they pop and scab? But what puzzles/concerns me is this: if I have BV badly enough to cause discomfort, wouldn't my discharge smell bad? It smells totally neutral! The only notable things about the discharge is that there is more than normal, it is more watery than normal, and it leaves kind of a milky looking crust in my underwear.
I'm 3+1/2 days into the antibiotics. So far the discharge hasn't changed, but the irritation might be subsiding, it's hard to tell.
What do you think - am I correct to be skeptical that only the BV is going on?