Bacterial Vaginitis

Hi, doctor said i have bacterial vaginitis (clue cells). i took flagyl pills and betadine vaginal douce but after a week i started having the pain again. that means that is still have bv. how can i treat it? what would happen if i get pregnant?

thanks for your help.

[dochiru]

take co-trimoxazole...

[Jhnmarton]

I should agree with dochiru that you need systemic treatment, it may involve use of co-trimoxazole(Biseptol), metronidazole(local or systemic) and maybe other combined preparations, however the treatment should not be initiated without a doctors consultation.

Visit a doctor prior to taking any meds.

And lastly, during treatment for Vaginitis you should avoid all sexual contacts. So it is not probable that you will get pregnant during that time.

P.s. If you already are pregnant do not forget to tell this to your doctor.

[bernardettegatt]

Dear members,

thanks a lot for your reply as it was very helpful.  i cant understand the fact that i took the treatment (flagyl and betadine vaginal douce) and i still feel the pain.  maybe i needed more doze? or maybe i got the infection again becasue my husband was not treated? some say that if the other partner is not treated with antibiotics or clandimycin cream, i will get the infection again. maybe that's what happened.  

another doctor said that i might have IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) but i dont have any other symptoms of this except the pain in my lower abdominal.  mucus is fine - no smell and normal colour.  i got no irritation.

i did an ultrasound a few days ago and resulted that one ovary is a bit larger than the other one. doctor said that it might be becasue i took flagyl antibiotics or maybe i ovulated from that ovary.. i dont know what i have... i am not pregnant but i want to get pregnant soon and i am scared that if i dont treat this problem well, i do harm to the baby.  i feel very upset about this situation. should i go make another smear test and ultrasound?

thanks a lot for your help. i am new to this website and i am really surprised by the quick responses thanks xxx

[Jhnmarton]

Dear Bernardette,

According to what you have said the treatment with flagyl and betadine was ineffective, thus you need to change the meds in order to fight the bacteria which is causing the vaginitis. If it is the bacteria then you must as I said avoid sexual contact during treatment and secondly during the appointment with your doctor ask him if your husband should also be treated. the treatment should be appointed by the doctor, and yes sexual partners it normally only includes local preparations like creams(clindamycin cream) or antiseptic gels.

I do not think that you need another ultrasound, however you need to confront your doctor with the new symptoms and do a pap smear before initiating treatment, if it will be normal then the pain is caused by something else. And then additional examination may be needed.

For future references in cases of bacterial vaginitis always after finishing the treatment a second pap smear should be done in order to see if the condition was cured or to determine if the therapy should be prolonged. The second pap smear is normally done within 2-3 days after you take the last pill.

I hope that the info was helpful.
Best wishes, John.

[Jhnmarton]

* and yes for sexual partners it normally
sorry for the mistake)

[bernardettegatt]

Thank you very much John.. your comment is very helpful and i will take your advice. i started another course of antibiotics today. i will do another smear test after i finish my last pill. i hope it will be fine as i want to plan kids!! thanks again.

regards,
ben

[Jhnmarton]

Not a problem at all)

Which antibiotic did your doctor prescribe you?

Of course it will be fine) Nothing can prevent that)

Regards, John.

[bernardettegatt]

Hi John,

Doctor prescribed me Metronidazole (400g three times a day). I started taking them two days ago. today i felt back pain and got an irritation outside my vagina.. i still feel a bit of pain in my lower abdominal. I am not sure if the back pain is caused from the high heels i wear everyday. i hope this is not related to BV. i have a feeling that i did not have an ovulation this time. i had no discharge and i am very dry. i am so worried as i want to start planning kids next month!  

Thanks again for your concern

[Jhnmarton]

It is a little strange as Flagyl is also metronidazole, I though that the doctor would change the drug. In which dosage have you taken flagyl(first treatment)? And which was the dosing schedule for it?

Have you mentioned to your doctor that you have already been treated for BV? Which were the results of your last pap smear?

My suggestion at the current time would be to stick to the treatment and if by tomorrow back pain and irritation increases. Then visit your doctor.

Please do not worry, as anxiety will not help in your situation.
Waiting for your reply.

[bernardettegatt]

Hello John

here is my story...

Last year i was feeling a bit pain in my lower abdominal. when i did the smear test, gyno said that every thing was normal.  Smear test resulted normal.  but i think that in order to detect if there is BV or not, one must do a high vaginal swab not only smear test.  so gynae only did smear test.

a year after (this april) i went to my gp and tests resulted that i have bacterial Vaginosis – Clue Cells

On 26th march 2010 started taking Flagyl tablets (400mg) 2 times daily with Betadine Vaginal Douche for 10 days.  On 31st march 2010 finished taking Flagyl tablets. All pain gone.

But on 15th march 2010 started feeling pain again. Went to my Gyno and concluded (without doing any tests) that infection is still there.  She Prescripted  me metrondizazole tablets (400mg - 1 every eight hours).  

Pain was still there so while i was still on medication, on 26th April i went to another gyno.  i had a bad irritation, vagina was red and itchy. had pain on my left side of my abdominal and back pain.  she didnt do any tests and she said that i better finish my medication and then do the tests after. but she noticed that the discharge was funghal. antiobiotics caused me a funghal infection. usually i do not drink any water but yesterday i drank 5 litres!!!!!!!!.  Water helps reduce infection

i did an ultra sound. my overies where ok, kidneys ok, bladder ok. all seemed ok. but gyno have seen a lot of gas. maybe the pain in my left side was from there. its imp to know that at the moment i am very very very stressed and gyno said that i might have IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome), this is very common in females especially in stressed times.  after 2 days, the pain in my back and left side had gone.

i will be finishing metronidazole today. in the mean time i am applying daktarine cream on my vagina and using gyno dactarine suppositories for the funghal infection. irritation is still there. so i also used travogen creme - maybe it is more effective than the daktarine creme.  i will go to gyno again next week to do a pap smear and a high vaginal swab to see if infection is still there.

i am wearing 100 percent cotton panties, sleep without panties on, drink a lot of water.. hope this helps.  my husband is treated with clindamycin creme (for BV) and daktarine creme (for funghal infection). this is becasue if he is not treated, we ll reinfect ourselves.

Sorry i was long but i had to explain everything. today i feel much better. pain reduced a lot but i am worried that after some more day, it will come back again especially when i have intercourse with my husband - i am afraid i will get infected again.

Thank for your reply. (are you a doctor? you know the subject very well) thanks for your support.

Ben

[Jhnmarton]

Dear Bernardett,

Firstly regarding your treatment. If you have had BV a year ago it would have expressed itself a lot earlier, also it is not a critical thing as in many women BV goes asymptomatic without having an effect on overall health.

Secondly the current treatment which you are having seams to cover all of the possible reinfections, so you should not worry, about them. As soon as you finish taking all of the drugs, you should be infection free. I think it is very good that you have started antifungal treatment because in many cases a secondary(fungal) infection may appear in prolonged treatments with antibiotics.

Regarding both creams - Daktarin and Travogen they are nearly on the same level of effectiveness, however I should worn you that the suppositories take from 1-2 weeks to work and after the initial symptoms have been resolved it should be used for at least 1 week (preferably 2 weeks). In order to eliminate the fungal infection completely.

Also do not worry about the intercourse with your husband, if he has been treated and you had no intercourse during the treatment, then it is highly unlikely that reinfection will occur.

Lastly, no I'm not a doctor. I have a degree in pharmaceutical technology, and from there I do have certain knowledge on the subject, however it is not as vast as in a professional doctor.

Hope you get better soon. And do not worry you will get healthy and everything will be OK!)
Regards, John

P.s. Just remembered, If you want to plan kids soon, ask your doctor at which point after the treatment it will be possible, as I know that metronidazole is contraindicated for administration during pregnancy or breastfeeding.

[bernardettegatt]

Hi John,

thanks again for your reply. You expressed yourself very clear..  Yes i will ask my gyno when i should start planning kids.  I hope that all the medication i took did not effect my fertility. i read on the internet that Betadine and antibiotics reduce fertility :((

i have to say too that at times i did not take metronidazole every eight hours. for instance today, i took one at 9 am and another one at 7pm because i forgot it at home. hope it still works.  i will do the tests next week and let you know the results.  

thanks again for your perfect explanation!!!

[Jhnmarton]

Dear Bernardette,

It is completely ok) If you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to ask.

Regards, John)

[bernardettegatt]

Hi John

thanks again for your coperation.  you were of great help. thanks
:))))
Regards
Ben

[bernardettegatt]

Hi John,

I am writing again to keep you posted about my condition.... after i finished metronidazole, i waited for 3 days and did a high vaginal swab and a smear test. all results were ok. no more bacterial vaginosis and no more yeast infection. but today i started feeling back pain again and lower abdominal pain. i dont know if this is linked to sex as i had an intercourse (with a contraception) with my husband yesterday. i dont know if i have the infection again or maybe it is linked to something else. sometimes i think that i might have IBS or maybe i should do a colonoscopy. what do you think i should do? i cant understand how this pain came back again...

thanks and regards,
Ben

[Jhnmarton]

Ok so its not vaginosis. That is a good thing.

Regarding the pain - can you describe it? Does it hurt when you wake up in the morning more or less? Is the pain tolerable? Is it sharp or dull? and etc. Where is it localized?
Anything you can tell about it.
Do you have any other symptoms except pain? For example diarrhea?

Colonoscopy might be good to determine IBS. But what does your doctor say about the pain? Have you talked to him?

Another thing if the intercourse was rough then it might cause the pain. You can wait for a few days and when the pain will pass check if after sex the pain will return. However I do think it is highly unlikely.

That is about all I can currently suggest.
Regards, John)

[bernardettegatt]

hi John,

just to let you know that i did the smear test and high vaginal swab before i started feeling the pain again. i did the tests 3 days after i finished the metronidazole. when i did the tests, i wasnt feeling any pain. i just did them to make sure that the infection is over.

i feel the pain right in the centre of my abdominal but in the very lower part. it is not sharp pain but very dull. in fact, yesterday i felt back pain as well but today my back is not hurting me. and the pain in my abdominal is very very dull today. yesterday was a bit more. in the night i sleep very well. in fact i dont feel any pain while asleep. pain is very tolerant and mild but i know that it is there and it is caused from something !!

i am going to the gynae this week to speak with her and on saturday i have an appointment with another doctor who specializes on the internal body. in this way i will have another opinion.  

i dont think that the pain is caused because i had an intercourse, but i am thinking that it could be that after the intercourse, i am infected again. maybe the infection is back. i am not so sure about this because we used a condom. a good idea might be to have a vaginal swab again to make sure that the infection is not there 100 percent.

what do you think about this?

thanks again John. i really really appreciate

ben