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horrible yeast infection

I have had about 4 yeast infections in the past year and a half. This one seems the most brutal. My entire vagina is swollen and red. It itches and burns to the  point that i cant sleep. I just took diflucan two days ago so im waiting for some relief. I  use the topical but it doesnt seem to do anyhting, maybe just irritate me more. Can anyone suggest anything else.
also bare with me because i have posted about this before but i am always freaked out about herpes. My doctor has reassured me a million times i dont have it...and has taken a culture of a cut i got during one of my previous yeast infections, which came back negative. I just always freak out any time anything weird happens down there. i have no cuts or blisters or sores just an extremely red and swollen labia. Does this sound pretty normal for a yeast infection. and what can i do to help it. Thanks ladies!!
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Avatar universal
You might have a yeast overgrowth in your gut. Research Candida overgrowth. There are natural remedies like dietary changes and caprylic acid supplements.
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To help ease symptoms, I take a luke warm bath with apple cider vinegar and tea tree oil. Just fill your bathtub up 2-3 inches with luke warm water, add 1 cup of apple cider vinegar and about 10 drops of tea tree oil. It will stink your bathroom up to high heavens but it feels so nice and soothing on an angry vajayjay.
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oh by the way I took a 1 time pill and it still hasn't helped
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Hi, so i am on a strong antibiotic clyndomycin (idk how to spell to) and iv'e developed an terrible YI it started out with a little sore and then it developed a scab looking thing or discharge. Then my whole libia swelled up to the point where it lookes like two swollen libias. and around the white part its red, It is extremely itchy and hurts so much. :( like when i walk it rubs against and i can't sit cause it hurts I'm on probiotics I've eaten garlic, drunk cranberry juice, if anything its gotten worse (I've only had it since saturday though) and am on pro biotics pleassse help I'm in zoo much pain right now and I'm very squeamish about doing anything down there that might hurt it.anything I can do????????????? please help me...................... good luck to all you guys out there that feel the same way!!
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Avatar universal
Hey ladies,

The thing that I have found that works the best for me is Boric acid suppositories. I am providing a link (it's a little hippie dippie, but you'll get the gist of it). Your OBGYN doctor can prescribe them to you if you have some kind of compounding pharmacy in your town. This will be a pharmacy that is capable of making their own treatments on site (just Google it or ask your doctor).

I used to use the over the counter meds, but they stopped working for me and I didn't want to have to constantly put all that weird stuff down there. I also tried anti fungal pills, but they make me feel sick. I found this cure online and asked my doctor about it. She said it works for lots of women and is less dangerous than other treatments. She will give you directions, so don't worry!

For me it has worked every time. I actually just got my first yeast infection in about two years and I'm calling in some of these puppies right now!

Best of luck!
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Avatar universal
I am diabetic and I get yeast infections about 2 or 3 times a year. It usually happens when my blood glucose levels run high. I also tend to get them after I have taken penicillin for usually a tooth infection. Garlic inserted into the vagina helps me but only if it is done as soon as I notice any sort of discomfort or irritation.

I currently have a yeast infection now and this is the second time it has been this bad. I am swollen and really red, can barley walk and or sit comfortably. I took the Monistat 1 yesterday and it seems to have gotten worse. I am going to give it a day or two to see if it improves but I am definitely going to try the yoghurt and acidophilus tablets.
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Avatar universal
I have had chronic issues for quite a while now.  a few things have really helped.

1) I take 6-8 probiotics a day. http://www.vitacost.com/productResults.aspx?ntk=products&ss=1&NttSR=1&Ntt=probiotic%2015-35
2) I eat a ton of garlic and take garlic pills
3) grapefruit seen extract every day.
4) adding coconut oil to my diet.  
5) cut back on sugar like crazy
6) cut out as much gluten as possible.  
7) when I feel one coming on I take a clove of garlic and slit it a couple times and insert it vaginally to help kill the yeast.  

I have gone 6 months without having to take meds which is amazing.  
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I forgot to mention about the MONKEY BALM is NOT to be used for areas in or around the eyes or mouth.
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Avatar universal
WHITE MONKEY HOLDING PEACH BALM aka MONKEY BALM. You can find this at ANY Asian grocery markets for less than $2.00. It's similar to the TIGER BALM that you can find at most drug stores except it isn't nearly as thick which makes it feel way more clean & comfortable. When you apply it on, you will feel the hot & cold sensation. But I'm telling you it WORKS INSTANTLY!!!

It's made with all natural ingredients so it is safe.

I learned about this while traveling in a small country called Cambodia. They have killer mosquito bites! They told me they use it for everything that has to do with itching, swelling, pain, cuts, headaches, nausea, etc. It WORKS!!! And it doesn't irritate you like most of the other over the counter products.

I wish that I can just give you the product to try! I know how horrible it is! I feel like I have the worst irritation. I feel so helpless every time it occurs which is usually before my period.

Please let me know if it works for you.

Good luck!
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Avatar universal
how do you get your doctar to prescribe nystatin? I've been on antibiotics for almost 3 yrs, have had cortisteroid injections, and prednisone 7day pack, for some itchy rash on my scalp. From reading and research, i'm prone to yeast infection, and i believe it could be on my scalp, but have been to different DR's, and even a dermatologist, and none will ev en listen to me when i mention yeast overgrowth on my scalp. It's frustrating! All they want to do is keep prescribing antibiotics and steroids. Even the local lab (GAmma labs) here in my town won't perform lab tests without a DR's order.
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i am 16 an i have a yeast, and im going through the same thing you are, but the yeast medication made me feel worse and it makes me have to pee alot
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I need ur help I've gone the dr about some vaginal issues. Was diagnosed with bv was put on meds that wouldn't cause yeast yet the itiching and burning I used a&d oitment and now there seems to be yeast what should I do not sure if the a& d oitment caused the yeast
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I'm having the EXACT same problem! I don't know what to do!!
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as far as using to help your yeast infection you found that vinegar worked ? it didnt burn like hell?
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Several meds can bring down tour inmune system or unbalance the ph down there....  That happens to me alot, also stay away from all scented toilet tissue or soaps, I hope this helps ;)
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ok so ive had about 4 yeast infections in a year and i have PCOS so i do not get my period normally i recently was on birth control for 5 months but discontiuned because i hate taking them and ever since ive stopped talking them 2 months later i have a yeast infection and all of you are talking about getting your yeast infections before your periods n i dont even get mine normally! i dont know if i should go to the doctor but i hate having them like there not really bad but i hate the itching n i feel its so sensitive down there. one thing i have noticed to is when i shave down there i feel like it is really sensitive down and always wet which i know it not good! what should i do???
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Avatar universal
I have read all of the posts on this thread, because last summer I started getting yeast infections for the first time. Since then, I have had almost 8. Every time my doctor called in a pill, sometimes the one that would have to be taken a week later, but the symptoms would last longer. I had tests done with my doctors, then with an OB GYN where the book "Yeast connections" was recommended to me. My OB GYN told me about this woman that would get a yeast infection every Saturday. Turns out, Fridays she would eat dinner over her parents house and the amount of acidity in the wine and spaghetti (they were Italian) would give her the yeast infections. I bought the book and I will start reading it because most doctors don't exactly know the certain cause as to why we get them. Reading it may help you understand why. It was also brought to my attention that if diabetes runs in the family, yeast infections are a symptom of having diabetes. Also, because your body is always adjusting, (for those of you that don't use condoms) I was told that I could be allergic to semen. Now, I have never let my boyfriend "finish" inside me, so I didn't think that was the case. But when I started using condoms again, the yeast infections seemed to slow down.
As for the symptoms, i feel for all of you. I currently have one and it is terribly itchy to the point where it was unbearable. I put plain, low-fat yogurt on a pad ( I was too swollen for a tampon that it made me bleed and would not go in all the way). It stopped the itching almost immediately. I tried eating yogurt and that didn't work, so I resorted to putting it right onto the area. Sleeping under wear less didn't help me because my pants would rub and made it more itchy so I stuck with cotton undies. I will try and cut out sugar to see if that helps and also look into the acidophilus pills because the reoccurring yeast infections are driving me nuts.
Good luck ladies, and thanks for all the helpful ideas!
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Avatar universal
I have a yeast infection almost once a month the past three months I'm 19 and have no idea why they keep coming I'm not pregnant never have been I've been to the doctor each time I've had one I can't go right away I have to work but want the itching & irritation to STOP I can't handle it having to walk around all night.
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Avatar universal
I have had chronic yeast infections over the past 9 months.  Usually right after my fiance drinks quite a few beers and after using KY or other Approved Lubricants.  It appears that either I am having some kind of reaction to his yeast consumption (beer) and lubricants during sex.  Either one of these or both combined is causing my internal environment to be extremely upset.  

We experimented for 1 month where he did not consume beer as well as stopped using lubricant and amazingly, I was perfectly fine.

Experiment ladies.  See what's causing your issues.  Please post.
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Avatar universal
I just read an article about vitamin B-complex. In it they discuss about Biotin and that foods that have Biotin are: Avocado, eggs, liver, pork salmon and yeast. I have had gut infested yeast for the past several years and my doctor has been wondering on how I came down with this condition. This caused another problem known as the "Leaky Gut." As I read the article, I began to wonder if my taking Biotin for preventive maintenance for hair loss. For possibly a few years I was consuming 1,000 mcg twice per day. I did not think that it would cause any problems since Biotin is water soluble. Recently my holistic MD put me on FLUCONAZOLE for 32 days. It reduced the symptoms which included severe itching and skin peeling below my finger nails which included discharges (I still have a bit in that area), foggy head, anxieties, irritability, sleeping disorder and fatigue. Humans have yeast in their GI system and the good flora keeps it in check. But stress makes our bodies acidic which diminishes the good guys (flora) in our gut and prepares the environment for yeast overgrowth. Now I am wondering if I was feeding the yeast by consuming too much Biotin. And I have a strong feeling that I may be right on the money. So I am going to stop taking Biotin for a while and see if I can get rid of this. By the way ladies, I am a man.
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Avatar universal
get a removable showerhead and rinse out three times in the beginning of your shower and again at the end with coolish not hot water.
works everytime.
Yogurt doesnt work everytime but this goes. its natural and removes the bacteria right away so your body has a chance to catch up.
plus a removable shower head is nice for other reasons too
LOL
instant soothing when you are rinsed and fresh.
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Avatar universal
I had a truly horrid YI about three years ago, because I left it untreated (I didn't realise what it was). It was my first sexual experience in a very long time and I assumed that (as sad as it sounds) I had just done it wrong. I never had visible yeast or much in the way of itching ... it was all about how swollen and painful it was. Those are the symptoms I get from it. By the time I finally went to emerg, they initially thought it was herpes, but later confirmed that no, it was just a ragingly awful yeast infection.

I tend to get one or two a year, sometimes the over the counter stuff helps, but I always need to get Fluconazole lately because with the lack of 'normal' symptoms I don't notice it right away.

Luckily I've got a doctor who is willing to help me figure out what works and what doesn't (and it won't necessarily work for everyone -- different people, different yeast infections). The one thing he's always stressed to me is to not wear tampons during a YI because it can annoy the area even more, and like many have mentioned, nothing perfumed at all. I just wish I'd found a way to make the pain and the ugh feeling go away ... I've tried the acidopholous (sp?), yoghurt, heck, even the garlic treatments ... pretty much everything I've seen here ... so far nothing has worked, which is why I'm still awake in pain rather than sleeping. :(
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Avatar universal
Hey ladies I have suffered with reoccurring yeast infections for about 6 years and unfortunately doctors don't really know enough about this stuff, if you get more than one a year its systematic. Your infection could be from taking a lot of antibiotics killing off all the good bacteria or you may have food sensitivities you don't even know about, yeast infections start in your gut, there is an imbalance, you prob dont have enough good bacteria to keep the yeasts away and unhealthy diets of processed foods and even natural sugars feeds the yeast, the yeasts crowd the get and poor out into the vagina this is why the creams only help short term. You need to find a creditable doctor at a natural place, I went to Born Clinic, I found out I have food sensitivities  to yeast, wheat, all dairy, crab, so I have to eliminate these food for 4 months and go on a very strick diet, NO SUGARS at all of any kind, you also need to take some really high quality probiotics and Nystatin should be prescribed, I had literalIy no good bacteria in my gut, I also had a stool sample that showed may yeasts and a Candida test done that came up positive, they check your iga and igg levels (immune system) this shows if it has been going on a while. The biggest thing is to find out what is causing it. Also I switched to unsented everything!! You could have an issue with hormones too and high perfumed toiletries, laundry soap, sopa etc. This is the best website for what I have learned www.yeastinfectionadvisor.com, this guy knows his stuff!
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Avatar universal
Hi all,

Read the Complete Candida Yeast Guidebook. I've been following the dietary recommendations and rotating natural anti-fungals: oil of oregano, probiotics including acidophilius and s. boullardi, garlic, caprylic acid, grapefruit seed extract, and I take flax oil every day. I've just started taking Candizyme every night. I also take cranberry pills every day because bladder infections and yeast infections are connected.

Apparently, yeast can become resistant to antifungals of any kind--this happened to me. Repeatedly taking Monistat, etc will hurt you in the long run.

According to the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (breakingtheviciouscycle.com) you should make your own yogurt rather than use commercial yogurts.

The ayurvedic herb Triphala is helpful when taken internally and when boiled with water and used as a douche.

I have started soaking every day which has been tremendously helpful. I rotate apple cider vinegar, the contents of 2 acidophilus pills, and grapfruit seed extract. I'm going to try garlic pills as well.

Prescription for Nutritional Healing has helpful recommendations for urinary, candida, and fungal infections. Read all of these articles and keep trying the recommendations until something works for you.

Don't give up! This condition can be healed, as long as you are exceptionally persistent.
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