I know, gross. A post on girly-infections RIGHT after an Oreo cupcake post?? Ha! That’s my favorite thing about writing this blog, is I can post on anything I want. And, right now I want to get all nasty and personal. These blasted infections show no mercy, and neither do I. Say goodbye to your appetite. Maybe you’ll thank me. Cupcakes are evil.
* Warning – This post may fall under the category of T.M.I. (too much information). You may just want to come back tomorrow 🙂 I realize this post isn’t for everyone.
Lots of you know, thanks to Jessica spilling the beans (just teasin, it was okay with me), that ever since I got married, I started getting chronic badder infections. After I gave birth to baby #1, I have been plagued by chronic yeast infections, on top of the bladder infections. And by chronic, I mean, there are probably 7 days out of every month where I’m not dealing with one, the other, or both at the same time. It has literally been the source of an immense amount of frustration, tears, money, and time in the doctors office. It frustrates the husband, because…well, I’m not really available. Which, in turn, adds to the frustration for me. Being pregnant, on and off again, has jumbled my hormones around, sometimes making things better, other times worse.
After 11 years of this madness, I am actually at a point right now where they happen more like once every month…sometimes I can go a little longer. Which is actually HEAVEN, to me. To get several weeks off is such a blessing.
As you can imagine, I have taken a whole ton of antibiotics and anti-yeast pills in the last 11 years. A ton!! So, surprise, surprise…my immunities towards them have built up and it takes a couple weeks worth of pills, or more, to get rid of one dumb infection.
Anyway, the point I’m trying to get to is that I have finally found a couple things that will NOT cure the bad infections I get, but if I can catch them right at the start of the infection (right when I start to notice the first symptoms), then I can often clear it up, before it gets worse. That was a huge sentence. Believe me, I have spent the last 11 years researching this crap and living with it, I have tried dozens and dozens of things, only to be disappointed. I’ve done cranberry, tea tree oil, steroid ointments, AZO Yeast, multiple prescriptions, no sugar, more yogurt, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on. I have narrowed it down to just a few that actually help. I’m hoping that if you have similar problems, these can help you too.
Okay, let’s start with the yeast infections:
On a whim, I decided to type “chronic yeast infections” into an Amazon search…just to see if there were any products that people loved. I was doubtful that anything would come up, but it did! Femdophilus was highly reviewed, so I spent a lot of time looking into it. It contains two patented probiotic strains that have been proven to colonize and protect the vaginal tract. So, it’s a probiotic, but not just any…it’s specifically for women. Reviewers, right and left, were claiming how it cured them of their minor infections and helped them with their chronic yeast infections. Um, of course I was going to try it. I wouldn’t pass up anything that might help. So, long story short, this stuff helps SO much! I’m not kidding. I attribute it to the lessening of my infections. Thus, I love it and would totally marry it, if it was legal.
I take one every day, for preventative measures. Then if I notice an infection starting, I’ll take two a day, twice a day, and it will usually dissipate. There’s been a few times, when I get too caught up in my busy life to notice that I’ve got an infection coming, then it’s too late. I’ll get it, full blown/horrible, and the Femdophilus, alone, isn’t enough to cure it. At that point, I have to combine the Femdophilus with the prescription, Diflucan. So, so far…it’s been a miracle product for me, better than all the other natural and prescription crap I’ve tried. I just have to remember to take it daily.
Oh, it’s actually a bit expensive, I think. $27 bucks for 60 capsules, and I go through it like crazy. But, for me, it’s worth it. It can be bought on Amazon. If you have a Whole Foods Market, I would suggest finding it there, in the medicine refrigerator. That way there is less time for it to warm up, and potentially lose it’s effectiveness. (It’s supposed to be kept refrigerated.) However, I have bought it from Amazon every time, with the free 2 day shipping, and everything seems fine.
On to bladder infections (or, UTIs)…
My chronic bladder infections finally subsided when I did a 3 month stint of constant antibiotics. I am still really prone to them, but now I have a little more control. (It has been said that this method of curing my bladder infections, is what led to the chronic yeast infections. Who knows.) The easiest way for me to avoid bladder infections is to never introduce anything new to my…nether regions. I stay away from additives to my baths, new soaps, and all lubrications, except for Cetaphil lotion (suggested by my doctor, a Vaginal Infections Specialist.) I can usually always pin point the exact cause of a bladder infections, and it was because I was dumb and not careful. Or, my husband convinced me that this new lubrication wouldn’t hurt me. Cetaphil lotion just isn’t that sexual, ya know? I’m still bitter 🙂
Anyway, blah, blah, blah…all the antibiotics I have taken previously have made it so I need a ton of them to get rid of my infection. Annoying, and expensive. However, I have also stumbled upon something that, if used at the first sign of infection, has been able to rid it. And, again…I’ve tried it all.
My friend (hi, Kara!) convinced me to buy an essential oil kit. To be honest, I’ve tried several of them for different ailments, and can’t tell that they do anything at all. However, I was struggling with this bladder infection (the one I blame on my husband), and had already been through three weeks of antibiotics. The infection was almost gone, but I could still feel it lingering. I knew it would just fester and get worse again. So, Kara’s sweet voice rang in my head and I decided to start putting some drops of Oregano Oil into some veggie caps to swallow. Oregano has been shown to kill off infections. Okay, so this oil actually worked. I had to do it every day, twice a day for over a week, but finally it got rid of that lingering infection. I knew it was working because whenever I skipped a day of taking it, I could feel the infection again. When I did take it, I couldn’t feel anything. Eventually, it was gone.
SO, I have my doubts that it would kill one of my full blown infections, but I’m pretty confident that it would clear up the beginnings of an infection. Its also pretty pricey, but about as much as I spend on my antibiotics, and obviously better for your body. P.S. If you want to try some of these oils for yourself, email Kara at [email protected].
There is another natural product, D-Mannose Powder, that reviewers swear helps prevent and beat minor UTIs. You just put a teaspoon in your water daily, or twice daily. I tried it, at length, and it didn’t seem to help me. However, for the gal who only gets occasional infections, it may help perfectly. Lots of people love it.
Lastly, another product that I have used in conjunction with the Femdophilus, for yeast infections, and the Oregano oil, for bladder infections, is Grapefruit Seed Extract. It has also shown a tremendous ability to kill infections. So, I put 10 to 15 drops on a veggie cap (if you drink it, it tastes like skunk), and swallow it down. People use Grapefruit Seed Extract to sanitize fruit, purify water, cure sinus infections, and so on. So, I use my two favorites, and add this with it. I like to give those infections no where to run!
I hope this post is totally irrelevant to you. But, if it is, I hope these products will help you too!
That’s all. Back to Thanksgiving ideas tomorrow. 🙂
Hello Mariel. I suffered 15 years of chronic bladder infections, some of which were a-symptomatic. On one occasion, it was misdiagnosed, the wrong antibiotic was prescribed and I went the weekend in severe back pain. Monday I went to work and a colleague took one look at me and said she was taking me to hospital. I just wanted to go home and go to bed, but she insisted on taking me to hospital. They recognized something was wrong immediately on arrival and I went into septic shock. I was in hospital for a week and they said I was very lucky she made me go to hospital as many people die from septic shock in the waiting room of hospitals, as sepsis is often not picked up right away.
A friend introduced me to ginger and lemon and I have never looked back. I buy a piece of ginger root and slice it into quarter inch rounds. I use about five or six in a tea pot and slice a fresh lemon in half and squeeze half into the pot, then slice the other half into about four slices and put them into the pot as well. I use a larger tea pot, not just the small two cup one. I fill it with boiling water and let it steep. Then I have one cup with a little honey to sweeten it. I will have another cup later in the day, always warm. If you have one or two cups a day, you will never have a bladder infection. Anyone I have ever told to try this, has had positive results. My Urologist looked at me like I had four heads.
I took my 16 year old Granddaughter downtown once and she went to the washroom and came out sobbing in pain because she could not urinate without the burning pain. We found a bottle of lemoade, I think Minute Maid and I made her drink it down. She did and was fine. The next two days she drank a homemade lemon tea, made with fresh lemon and sliced lemon rounds, steeped with boiling water. She did not like ginger so we eliminated it because I believe the lemon is the most helpful component. Give it a try and let me know how it works. I have been UTI free for years.
Junith
That’s a great suggestion. Thanks for taking the time to share, Junith!