Vaginal Strep in a Non Pregnant Woman

[PeachesGZ]

Hi,  I had been having lots of itching, burning and a brownish discharge for two weeks after a fun sex filled weekend with a boyfriend whom I only see every two months or so.  This happens often and I have always treated it as a possible yeast infeciton.  This time it didn't go away and so I saw my ob/gyn.  She took a culture and found strep B, which has nothing to do with Strep A that creates strep throat.  She said she could give me antibiotics to make it go away but then I would get a yeast infeciton from the antibiotics and then we'd have to use another cream etc.  She said just to let it ride it's course.  Now it's been three and ahalf weeks and it's better but not all healed.  Does anyone have any ideas about treating this or preventing this?  Every article on the internet has to do with Strep B in prenatal women (when it is very dangerous for the baby) and nothing about Strep B for regular women in their 40's like me :)  Thanks, I'd love to hear from anyone who has ever been treated for this disease or any doctors out there.

[Doityoself]

OMG... WHAT WOULD WE DO WITHOUT COMPUTERS????? THESE DOCTORS DO NOT KNOW SH*T... about GBS I WENT TO THE DR FOR OVER 3YRS...I was orignially treated for BV but I noticed a funky musty smell.. a few hourt after I had showered which was not normal... at first I went off on my partner assuming he was cheating.. admitly i had anal sex with no condom...and then vaginal sex.. nasty right... well I was in my 20's so it was okay to be a dumb n nasty a** anyway finally recently recently being within the last week after getting... the ol pat on the back from Dr.'s saying that they could not smell anything.. and taking that crappie...white chalkie pill for BV and having the funk of a 1000 years return..while im on the biotic...i went crazy.. seriously I wanted to kill myself y couldnt I just have herps or gono... dude y do I have to STANK!!!!!!! I am going to try to CUT OUT SUGER AND DOUCHE WITH PORIXDE if that does not wk I will try bleach... I cant take it.. over all I do believe that we need to watch the yeast..i.e. suger and porixde kills everything remember we have good bacteria as well so I dont want to make that a routine but... then again... DONT LISTEN TO YOUR DR.... I just tried to Porixde today and it knocked it out so far... Im not taking the rest of the pills because I am afraid of not having a live when Im 50...

[NeedAnswerss]

I ahve been dealing with this since my first C-Section in 2004.  I had no idea what it was until last year when I tested positive for GBS.  I found an OB who said she knew a ton about it and would help me to live a happy pain free life.  She gave me Clindamycin 300mg to take for a week to clear it and another set to take after sex each time.  It did the job for a while but it is not only sex.. it is going to the Gym, some pools, sex, sports so sweat is the key thing here.  I went back to her yesteday in tears saying is there something I can take each day to help?  Her answer.....PROZAC!!!  This must be in your head because GBS does not cause pain!  WHAT???  Burning and itching all the time is pain to me I stay in bed on days and think if only I could sit on hot coles to kill this...don't tell me thats not pain.  I am only 34 and so sad to think I have to love with this forever :(

[sfbaywoman]

Hi All, I've been dealing with GBS vaginitis for a few years.  A garlic cure helped me once.  I'm wondering if any of you have had fertility problems.  I recently had two chemical pregnancies and just wondered if it might be related to my GBS vaginitis.   I recently tried a 2 and 1/2 week course of 1000 mg per day Keflex but as usual, symptoms came right back after the antibiotics stopped.  I think I will try the Allicin combined with other supplements people have suggested above, plus the garlic protocol, which I found here:

http://www.gentlebirth.org/archives/gbsCohain.html

I tried this once for a relapse (after a course of antibiotics) and it actually worked, but the next time I tried it it did not work as well.  Wondering if combining with some of the supplements (bee propolis etc) to boost immune system might be good, plus Allicin.  

Would love to hear of others' experience with garlic vaginally --how long did you use it,  did you "nick" it to release the juices-- and whether successful or not .  

One very interesting article I found said that " Lactobacillus plantarum has shown the strongest activity against GBS strains. " Here is the full abstract  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20873488

So maybe best to try to get probiotics that have that strain of Lactobacillis.   Have any of you tried using probiotics vaginally?  Was it successful?  Which brands?

[Beaupeep]

I have been battling this for four months now.  I had a severe asthma attack in May and was put on cortisone inhalers and steroid pills for a month.  Two weeks after finishing the treatment I came down with UTI (e.coli) for which I was given antibiotics.  Three weeks after that I was diagnosed with Strep B (algalactaie) in my urinary tract.  Judging by how horrendous I felt (back pain, extreme nausea, fatigue) I imagine it was elsewhere in my body too.  The gyn prescribed another round of antibiotics plus an antibiotic cream to insert in my vagina.  Then about three weeks ago I felt another UTI coming on, called the gyn and he had me come in.  This time he did a swab of my uterus and also outside of my vagina where the worst itching was.  The results were strep B in my vagina now.  My husband (nor I) can't even touch me now, I feel absolutely raw.  So I was given another round of amoxicillin for three days and then after that started myself on boric acid suppositories 1 capsule twice a day and the pharmacist gave me a spray of rosewater to squirt on every time I urinate or when I feel the itch coming on.  I am feeling better after 10 days of the boric acid and three days of the rosewater but not great.  I still feel raw and itchy at times.  Am I on the right track?  I see that I really must cut sugar out, I am practically addicted to it.  But at this point I am pretty desperate.

[1941beech]

Try Bifidophilus Flora Force by Natures Sunshine.  After only two days of inserting the capsules in the vagina overnight all of my GBS symptoms were gone.  I had suffered from GBS for many years and this product finally provided some relief.  It has the probiotic Casei that they have used in Italy to help resolve vaginal imbalance problems in women.

[claire12310]

My main symptom currently from strep B vaginal infection is extremely painful sex. Having taken amoxicillin for 10 days (high dose twice a day) which didn't work, then bactrim ds (double strength) for another 10days, I still cannot have sex without a lot of pain. My doctor cannot understand why the strep B isn't going away and just swabbed me again but I know the culture will still show Strep B. I have previously had the other symptoms of discharge, itching, stinging etc., but those seem under control. It's possible that hormonal changes are a contributing factor since I'm just starting menopause, but desperate to get my sex life back with my husband of 33 years! Any comments and ideas will be appreciated.