Candida Glabrata/ burning vag and mouth after antibotics

Hi Cindy, during my use of boric acid I was being swabbed regularly and I was told I had little normal flora throughout the treatment even though encouragingly the growth of glabrata was diminishing with every round.. before my third round I had no normal flora thats why I decided to take acidophilus orally but to also place it there directly one a day for during the the last round..so I would use
the boric acid at night and then empty a capsule on a panty liner every morning for the 14 days ...after boric acid finished I continued it for another few days and then stopped when I was swabbed again I had normal levels.. and I was clear from glabrata.. I didnt find it irritating no.. but thats why its important to ask your doctor to enquire what your flora levels are like ... from what I understand your good flora keeps your ph in check.. I didnt use the ph strips because I had it tested from swab but I think its a good idea.. are you still testing positive for the glabrata?
I have heard of femdophillus but I couldnt source them here, I think they are a good idea to take anyway, I still take a good probiotic because its good for your gut and I feel more and more is being written now about gut health and how it can affect all of our body when we dont have enough good bacteria... so my thinking is it can only be good for you..
(D...)

D
Do you take the probiotic and also an acidophilus? I'm waiting on a culture. I haven't tested positive, but I do have the symptoms--uncomfortable burning, little discharge (which seems to be getting better with the acidiphilous) and not the usual yeast symptoms. I did have a strong antibiotic-Levaquin (a fluroquinolone) for 10 days. I will never ever take a fluorquinolone again--too many side effects. I think the ph strips would be a good idea too. The doctor just put me on Boric Acid since I didn't want to take a medicine. It was sort of a coincidence. IT really helps. I wish I had been taking acidophilus with it. You were on a strict diet too I think--no wheat, no gluten, no dairy. So you don't think yogurt would help? Cindy

Hi D,
I am so glad you are providing this information because for me it has been really really helpful. I started with heavy growth. I did 14 days boric acid, 3 days break with a swab. Growth came back as moderate. I did another 14 days, 3 days break with a swab, growth came back as “few”. I am currently almost done with round 3. I added the acidophilus (I have just been inserting them vaginally) I am PRAYING it is gone after this BUT, through this third round I have noticed much more discharge (it kind of looks the same as the infection discharge but it’s really hard to tell). Symptoms are a little worse too I think (again, hard to tell). Do you think the amount of discharge has anything to do with the amount of growth? Sorry if this is too personal but did you notice if the symptoms were worse during certain times in your cycle or after sex? Lastly, in your opinion was the diet a huge factor in beating it? I eat a very low sugar diet overall but still eat a little bit of dairy, some wheat and fruit occasionally. I mostly cut out sugar, simple carbs liked baked goods, and alcohol.
Karen

Karen and D
I have been waiting several weeks for a culture. Can you get results with a swab immediately? I'm not familiar with a swab. What is the difference between a swab and a culture. Karen, I have been off the boric acid a few days and started taking the acidophilus and noticed the burning has gone down and so has the discharge. I don't know if it's related yet since I've only done it a couple of days. Thanks. Cindy

Karen and D
I posted over an hour ago and I don’t see it, so I hope I’m not posting twice. I am waiting on a culture that I did over three weeks ago. What is the difference between a culture and a swab, and I’m guessing results from a swab come back fairly quickly. I have burning and discharge after I stopped the boric acid. But I noticed that when I take the acidophilus orally I have less burning and discharge. Since I’ve only done it a couple of days, I’m not sure yet if the lessening of the symptoms are related to taking the acidophilus. I am going to try the vaginal ph tests and see if they work and help me to know if I’m getting my vaginal ph balanced. D. What probiotic are you taking? I have been taking Orthobiotics but I want to try another one. Thanks to both of you for sharing. Cindy

I think it’s also important to mention, if you have any unprotected sex, oral or otherwise- make sure your partner is also treated- this can be passed back and forth.

Hi Karen and Cindy,
I am so glad to be of help, if what I post even helps one other woman that will make me happy. I am not saying that it will 100% cure everyone of this but rather I am trying to explain what worked for me.. remember I had been through a year of ineffective treatments including being hospitalised on a drip for two weeks getting a ridiculous high dose so I wouldnt become redistant to the treatment which affected me severely with no impact on the growth, the only thing reduced the growth over that year was the boric acid but because it didnt eradicate it completely after one treatment it was deemed unsuccessful and when I was left with no other option than being admitted to hospital again for iv of amphotericin b I took the decision to try boric acid again and do it my way, but I did do it under a doctors supervision and while getting regular swabs , and as I saw the growth reducing with every round of boric acid and swab it gave me the encouragement to keep going..I was killing this b****r off slowly.but surely until it was gone.. a clear swab ..a thing I thought id never see again.. and thats what I wanted to pass on to you.. that even if it doesnt work first time or even second it can work and remember for some women it works after one round.. karen I havent done a lot of reading up on ph levels but I do know in the vagina its normally somewhere between 3 and 4 in a normal vagina and different things can raise or lower it.. definitely sperm has a higher ph and so does menstrual blood so yes I do feel more irritated after sex or during a period, even now when its gone but it settles again, presumably when the ph settles again..I do think diet and lifestyle played a part.. cutting out sugars etc..I went on a very.severe diet and cut out sugar, wheat, dairy etc and lost a lot of weight but ive added small amounts of everything back in now as I do believe in the long term its not healthy to have such a strict diet.. the paelo diet is supposed to be good for people with candida, the one thing I did give up and never went back to was white bread because I feel better in general if I dont eat it.. I did feel at times the discharge was worse than others but then during a normal cycle we have fluctations in discharge anyway..
People used to say to me ..is it working ? Do you feel any better.and I honestly didnt know what I was feeling and what was normal anymore..but you have to take encouragement that with every swab the growth is lighter..
To Cindy from what I understand a swab result will normally come back quickly as it
will just show its positive for candida.heavy, moderate etc they then take your swab and the continue to grow(culture) your sample to identify the species etc. But here they.dont culture further than the initial swab unless theres a problem ie the candida isnt going away or they suspect its not normal albican candida and sometimes they culture to see what antifungal will kill it.
From what ive learned from others it depends what country your in and what kind of lab its sent to and how advanced their testing is,how.quick it comes back, mine even when cultured would be back within a week..
Hope this helps girls x
(D...)
And I agree with previous poster dont have unprotected sex while you continue to have candida infection...

Thanks so much D with your help. I really appreciate it. Cindy

Your welcome Cindy, maybe give a ring and chase up your results if you haven't already.. and I forgot to answer you, I used quest acidophilus plus.. which is 2 billion bacteria per capsule and it also contains L casei and L rhamnousous the latter also a good bacteria for the vagina apparently..but I dont think the brand matters too much .. x
(D...)

Jacqles,
You may not be looking at this site any more. You say you had a 30 day fungal culture. I think that's what I have too. I'm in the U.S. Did you get your culture in the U.S. Thanks.

Hi Cindy,
When I said swab, I meant culture. Same thing. Sorry for the confusion! After I get the swab done for the culture, I get my results back in 3 to 5 days with the growth level. I think it’s quick because I see a doctor at a research hospital that has a lab in house.
Interesting about the burning and the achidophilus. Two days left on the boric acid for me so we’ll see what happens! Thanks!
Karen

Hi Karen I replied to you earlier... I hope you got to see the post..
The very best of luck with your next swab..
Keep us updated..
(D...)

Hi D,
Thanks for the information. The fact that the growth is going down with each swab is definitely encouraging. I am trying not to focus on the discharge too much. It’s definitely hard to tell some days if it is better! I will have done 3, 14 day rounds in a couple of days and will definitely let you know what my next culture shows! Did you by chance ever try amphotericin b or flucytosine together administered vaginally? This was the next thing my doctor wanted to try if the boric acid doesn’t fully kill it after this round. He seemed concerned about using boric acid for too long since there is not much data on whether it can become toxic. I literally do not know what I would do without this forum right now:)
Karen

Hi Karen, no I didnt try the two combined but I certainly would have done it apparently has a 100% success rate.. it unfortunately was not available to me in this Country.. The only option left for me was ampho b by iv and.my argument was.it needed to be treated locally and vaginally not through iv thats why I had no choice but to go back to the boric acid because I wasnt willing to take the iv again..but at least you have that option if this does not work... with me using several rounds of the boric acid the doctor was happy for me to proceed because I felt well and on examination I.was showing no irritation etc...
Best of luck again
(D...)

Karen,
Maybe this will get the job done. I was wondering about the amphotericin and flucytosine vaginally too. I know there can be serious side effects if administered with an IV. Karen, are you in the U.S. If so how did you find a research hospital that did this kind of work? Thanks Cindy