Let’s talk about a common problem that’s just a little bit icky: Bacterial Vaginosis. BV. Not exactly something we all like to sit and have a convo about! But yet, according to the CDC, 29% of women suffer from it, making it the most common vaginal infection in women 15-44. Funny how all you ever hear about is yeast, huh?
I was unlucky enough to start battling various vaginal infections this past year. [Side note: stress makes you susceptible to so many things…the months leading up to our separation wreaked havoc on my body.]
I started off with athlete’s foot in January thanks to my youngest getting a teeny ringworm spot – that is also the same fungus. This became jock itch despite my best efforts to treat it, which then spread, well, inside. Apple cider vinegar and other things were helpful on my feet, but it just kept coming back. Nothing made me run to a doctor faster, however, than a rash running up into my vagina. Yeah, it was definitely time to stop messing with it on my own! I took several rounds of antifungal prescription drugs, and used creams, and….nothing was really helping. It was awful. I changed my diet, followed a full antifungal plan…and still developed BV on top of it. I wanted to die. Thank goodness I wasn’t having sex anymore at this point, nor looking to date someone new…talk about embarrassing.
The yeast finally subsided over the long term, but the BV did not. Oral antibiotics and vaginal antibiotics got me nowhere. I did finally discover that you can use boric acid suppositories to increase the acidity of the vagina and promote a healthier bacterial balance (the vagina is usually an acidic environment.) This isn’t the most pleasant of options, but it did work temporarily.
It was nice to have some relief. Bacterial vaginosis is obnoxious — bc even if you don’t have a bad odor, you can have excessive cervical fluid. Like, wet underwear, feeling like your peeing little bits throughout the day. Oh yeah, fun stuff. Good times. But the boric acid didn’t really fix the problem either. Nor did the gyno office’s advice to use repHresh religiously after treatment with antibiotics. I didn’t like the ingredients in that stuff (things like petroleum products and parabens), but I was getting desperate. It’s a gel you insert in your vagina that keeps it moist and aids in pH maintenance. My body hated it, and it only made things worse. I tried several times to make sure I wasn’t crazy. I’m pretty sure it helped give me more bacterial vaginosis, faster. That went into the trash.
So what finally worked? PROBIOTICS!! I started researching all over the internet, and that was the one thing I had not tried. It just didn’t make sense to me that oral probiotics would help vaginal bacterial balance. I tried to find ones made to be taken vaginally but could not find any available in US anymore. I finally read reviews on Amazon, and went with one that seemed to most fit the bill: great reviews, high potency, and lots of lactobacillus, the preferred strains for the vagina. So I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best, bc it wasn’t cheap at CVS but I couldn’t wait another second to get rid of this bacterial vaginosis! (To help those probiotics do their job even better, check out my Free 7 Day Detox to jump start your gut health!)
Because I was experiencing symptoms again, I figured it made sense to do boric acid suppositories for a few nights until things seemed under control as I started the probiotics. I wanted to make it easier for them to work, and it made sense that killing off some of the bad bacteria would do that. And it did!!!! I did the boric acid for 3-4 more nights until I was experiencing less discharge. The instructions on the Renew Life Ultimate Flora Vaginal Support said to take it once a day, but I wasn’t playing around. I also had probiotics from repHresh to finish up, but they were less potent. I took 2-3 of those a day as well until they were gone, then just took the other one twice a day. A week went by, with no relapse. It’s now been over a month, and I can say things are SO much better. I ran out of the probiotics last week, and I was slowly seeing some discharge creep back — so I had a new bottle overnighted from Amazon! This is the best probiotic for BV, hands down.
***The price on the one above varies, so I now also recommend Renew Life Ultimate Flora Women’s Care 25 billion as a more affordable yet still potent option. You may, however, want to take 4 a day at first for more efficient results, since the other one has 50 billion count, and is much more concentrated.***
Be sure to continue taking the probiotics even after your symptoms go away. If you do, you will probably notice signs of infection coming back again. For those of us with a more chronic BV status, it is, unfortunately, a sign of a larger imbalance in our bodies.
Totally, sucks, I know! But with the probiotics in your toolbox, you are taking a step in the right direction. You have a way to control it finally!
So what else can be done?
Probiotics, however, are only a piece of the puzzle. They make a world of difference (boy was I thankful to get off all the prescription stuff that didn’t really work for long!) but there is more to gut health. In the end, without other changes, they are basically a band-aid (albeit it a very good one.)
What I really needed to do was change my gut.
Our gut really does rule our body. It is the center of our immune system, where we make the bulk of our serotonin (and strongly related to depression, etc.), and where we house an amazing array of bacteria that keep our body running smoothly and inflammation at bay!
For one reason or another, the probiotics weren’t really helping colonize in my digestive tract. The hope when you take probiotics is that they will start to change your gut environment so the right bacteria begin to flourish naturally, and even after months of taking them, I wasn’t any closer to that goal.
There is, however, more to gut health than just probiotics. Bacteria need the right environment to live and reproduce in AND they need things like bad bacteria, fungus, metals, and parasites removed in order to make a hospitable environment for the good bacteria. The goal? Homeostasis, where your body is set up to function properly once again.
Try my Free 7 Day Detox along with the probiotics for even better results. Those little bacteria in there are in charge of the show, and it’s to our benefit to keep them happy and in balance!
What my body really, really needed next was a full-on reset. I did it with an herbal adaptogen cleanse for 14 days. I was a little skeptical. Hopeful, of course, but I had tried so many things to make a difference already — could this really work?
Every morning and evening I drank a fiber drink mixed with a greens drink (and hey, it actually didn’t taste half bad) and took a couple of capsules filled with goodies like chlorophyll to stir up toxins and metals plus charcoal and bentonite to help remove them easier, and adaptogens to help things move along faster and clean things out a bit. And no, it didn’t leave me running for the toilet every 5 minutes, either (who has time for that?).
What I did notice within the first couple of days is I was suddenly sleeping better. Like, I hadn’t slept the night through in literally 15 years. Now, I’m out like a light and I don’t wake up til morning!! I started to feel more clarity and a bit more energy. 6 months out now, my food sensitivities have majorly decreased. I couldn’t eat onion or garlic without having major stomach pain all night long…and now I’m eating onion soup!! I’m continually working on a gentle detox plan (because my body is majorly messed up, dude) and I keep feeling better and better.
I do still take probiotics regularly, as everyone should, to maintain my health. We used to eat a lot more fermented foods and get our hands in the dirt more often (therefore taking in soil-based probiotics) so we had more exposure naturally to probiotics. I consider this a supplement I will take my whole life, though I do have several different ones that I rotate on various days to keep up a good array of good bacteria in my gut.
I have not had to go to the doctor for bacterial vaginosis in almost 2 years. I’m at a point now where if I notice any signs of imbalance, I take the Renew Life probiotics a couple times a day for a few days to nip it in the bud. I don’t find I have to do this often. I’ve taken my health into my own hands.
In the end, we are in charge of our own bodies and how we care for them. Choosing to make the changes to bring your body into balance is the most empowering option!
Want to learn more about the detox I did and how you can do it too? Click here!
Prefer to start with my Free 7 Day Detox? Click here!
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