I checked the memories, and they answered my first question but now I have more. lol

has any one had any experience with nature's bounty probiotic acidophilus capsules for digestive health for treating yeast infections?

if so, how long do I take them and how far up do they go when inserted vaginally?

one more,
if taken by mouth by a male,
would it clear up a light infection? and how long should he take them?
or would just the creams work?

um, I should also probably mention that I've had this one yeast infection for like 5 or 6 years. @_@
I've tried to treat it, but the over the counter stuff doesn't work
(it dried me out REALLY bad and made my inner vagina(lol) all irritated)
and I tried the stuff the gynos give you but was only able to take one pill of the  6 month medication she gave me
(though, I think it was for mult. yeast infections not just one I've had forever and ever) so I figured to try those pills and maybe douching with the duluded apple cider vinigar stuff I found in the memories.

sorry I know real little about this stuff. @_@

 I searched for this, and did not see anything posted. 
Here is my story:
I was put on Yaz almost 3 years ago, and my PA suspected I had PCOS. A couple months ago, I started noticing that my periods were getting longer/heavier, my face was breaking out,  and I was growing facial hair. I thought it was appropriate to see a doctor (I usually see a PA) to change my hbc, and ask questions about PCOS. Basically... the doctor's appointment went HORRIBLY. She switched my hbc, but was very judgmental, and did not inform me of what she was changing it to (thank goodness I am a nursing student, and am somewhat competent in the healthcare field and medications! I later found out that it is now Alesse.) 

So here are my two major questions:
1.Has anyone experienced depression while taking Yaz? During my time on Yaz, I became very depressed and irritable, had insane cravings for sugar, and gained weight (about 40 pounds). The DO said I just needed counseling, but I stopped taking the pack mid cycle (bad, I know.. but the insane period that followed was no where near as bas as feeling like I don't ever want to wake up again!) and I already feel better, my face cleared up almost over night, and I have lost 7 pounds without making any changes to my diet/lifestyle-- it has been about 3 weeks since I stopped the Yaz. This leads me to believe that it was the Yaz making me depressed. Has anyone else felt this way?
2. Any experiences with Alesse? 
Thanks, VPers!!!!!

ETA: With Yaz, I also has ZERO sex drive, and pain during sex. I never had pain during sex before taking Yaz, and I know it is not an STI. Has anyone had this, and how long did it take to go away if you stopped taking Yaz?

So- I kicked that nasty yeast infection i posted about ealier.- and this question isn't exactly womens health.  but hopefully you ladies can help me anyway.

But I've developed some athletes foot in the webs of my toes- would Boric acid help that- if so how do i apply it?

(Using the search function, I've tried to find anything similar to my question, but have not)

I've been plagued over the last couple of years by very dry and cracking skin at the top of my vulva, appearing like a continuation of the creases between labia majora and minora. The skin splits and flakes for no apparent reason.

I have been trimming away the hair in that area for easier access and gently cleaning it often. Normally I would apply some vaseline and it would go away. However, over the last few weeks it has been constant with a LOT of itching (keeping me awake at night- as bad as a Y.I.!). I've tried using Polysporin but that seems to make it worse. Due to recurring Y.I., I prefer not to use lotions around my vaginal area. It definitely isn't an STI, in any case.

I'm wondering if any of you are familiar with this and know a solution! Thank you :)

I want to try an at home permanent hair removal system. I have heard of 3 that are on the market Tria Beauty, Silk'n, and no!no! All 3 use different things to remove the hair and I don't know which one would be better. Has anyone ever used any of these products? Do they really work? Any info would be really helpful :) Thanks.

http://www.triabeauty.com/

http://www.silkn.com/

http://www.my-no-no.com/

I want to try an at home permanent hair removal system. I have heard of 3 that are on the market Tria Beauty, Silk'n, and no!no! All 3 use different things to remove the hair and I don't know which one would be better. Has anyone ever used any of these products? Do they really work? Any info would be really helpful :) Thanks.

http://www.triabeauty.com/

http://www.silkn.com/

http://www.my-no-no.com/

So my periods have been way off since having my son almost 14 months ago. They just never seem to come on time. My shortest cycle was 14 days and my longest has been 65 days. So I finally made an appointment with my GYN. She said that they could be off due to stress from having a baby but still wanted to check me for PCOS.

So here is my question. For those of you who have taken Provera How long did it take you to get your period on it? Problem is that my GYN office only does Ultrasounds ( that are non OB ) on Wednesdays and she said that I had to be 3-5 days into my cycle. I am trying to figure out when to take it. They rushed me out of the office before I could ask. The nurse said to take it now  and the pharmasist ( who was a guy and didn't know much ) said to start tomorrow. Should I got with the nurses advice and take it now or wait a day or two? My biggest fear is that my period is going to start right away.

I am scared to death of being diagnosed with PCOS.

Over the summer I had about three consecutive months where I experienced spotting in between my periods. The worst month of it, I spotted almost every day in between the end of my last period and the beginning of my next. I was freaking out over what could be wrong, but luckily you lovely ladies assured me that this could be perfectly normal. I intended to go to the doctor, but after the three crazy months of almost nonstop spotting, for the past 2 months I've only been experiencing a little bit of spotting around the time I'm ovulating, which is pretty normal for me.

( Cut because I ended up writing an essay )

Thanks for being so amazing, I love this community so much! It's so nice that there's a place where women can come to talk about our bodies openly and realize that we're not alone in many of the things we experience, they're just unfortunately taboo to talk about anywhere else. :)

So, my fiance asked me the other day "are you satisfied?" And I told him the truth, "no." And it's not that he's a bad lover, it's more me. Like yesterday, I wanted to have sex, I was aroused, but when he touched me, I felt nothing and it crushed me. I cried for a long time afterwards because of it. However, he's extremely supportive. He has encouraged me to masturbate more often both to decrease stress (which will help) and to maybe increase my drive (which will also help).


My biggest problem is that I am unsure of how to talk to him about sex now. I used to be so open and willing to discuss anything. Now I feel uncomfortable and insecure. This insecurity about discussing sex happened right after I had an abortion, and it just hasn't gone away. I have discussed what happened surrounding the abortion in therapy to make peace with it, but I guess something didn't come out? Maybe it's a hormonal backlash?

I think my best bet though is to try to just start talking to him again. But I'm not sure how without hurting his feelings. I don't know how to give him direction. Like sometimes he will be massaging me, down there, and he's really rough (like he presses too hard) and it's uncomfortable, but I don't want to tell him "hey, you're pressing too hard" because I feel like it ruins the mood. Plus I have issues with getting wet and orgasm issues. I can orgasm from a vibe, but I get like "stage fright" if I use it with him. I feel like I have to put on a show and it freaks me out.

Any ideas that might help the overall situation?

I have I-Tunes gift cards :) and am looking for some good hardcore folky Khaleeji songs. Any suggestions? Any suggestions for youtube vids, dancers/teachers, or research articles as well?

Thanks!

Cross posted to "bellydancers", "bellydancing", "folkloricdance", and my journal.

Hey everyone,

I've got some questions about BV. I've been using a menstrual cup for almost a year now and I love it. But I THINK I may have noticed some changes in my vagina, though I can't be sure, since I don't really keep a journal about these things and I can be a little paranoid about my sexual health. FWIW, I'm on the pill and in a monogamous relationship.

Anyway, occasionally I'll have a significant amount of discharge. Like yesterday, the crotch of my black underwear was significantly stained white. One time a few months ago, I was standing in the kitchen and felt a "PLOP" down the side of my leg (ick). It's always white/clear - never yellow or green - and many other times my discharge seems pretty normal in its quantity. As far as smell - sometimes my vagina smells a little "fishier" and sometimes it smells like garlic - but never is it a strong smell. I notice it on my hands after using the Diva cup or after masturbating. With BV related odor - is it like, a smell that bowls you over? I've had some periods of irritation (towards the end of my period I often get irritation in my vag/vulva if I'm not careful about avoiding soap when using the Diva Cup), but it always goes away and generally, day to day, I experience no irritation.

I guess the bottom line is that these symptoms are really intermittent and never really severe, but I was wondering nonetheless if this sounded like it could be BV. Anyone who's had BV - any insights?

Thanks a lot everyone! And Happy New Year. :)

This is an embarrasing question..my butt is really itchy, red, dry skin for the past few weeks. I've googled it and looked in the memories in this community. Came up with nothing other than Google telling me to use Hydrocortizone ointment, of which I've bought two different kinds over the counter and they have helped none. I've tried soaking in Epsom salt, but after thinking I realized salt drys you out! I use wipes when I go to the bathroom. I wear cotton underwear all the time time! I'm driving myself crazy by itching!! Please help.

Just a random question.
I am on Yaz, and have been for about a year and a half. In the last half a year me and my gyno have decided that it would be beneficial for me to stop taking the placebos at the end of the month and just generally not bleed. This is due to my mother's growth  near her uterus because of a thick mucus wall (or something equally as strange) plus that I've had ridiculous cramps every month since the day I got my period. Anyways, I was enitially a little nervous, but it works out great.

First, I can't recall exactly what she said but I decided maybe it would be best if I took the placebos every few months and let all that stored up blood out. But when I tried to do that I found that I just kept bleeding. It would be a week after I've started the real pills again and I would still be solidly bleeding. Is that how it's supposed to work? If I was on a pill designed for only bleeding a few times a year (such as Seasonique), would I still bleed like a stuck pig?

Second, I had a yeast infection. Not odd for me. I was prescribed antibiotics and took them the full 10 days. I've heard this happens and I read up on it, and I knew my birth control was probably not going to work. Yes, I used a back-up method and what not.  And my period started, completely, like I had a feeling it would. But I bled for a month straight. I never stopped taking my pills, just the real pills, no placebos. Never missed any or anything. It was heavy as usual for about 2 weeks and then it was just light, but once a day, every day. I ruined so many pairs of underwear saying to myself "Today is the day it will stop. I'm sure I won't bleed today." I'm just wondering Why?

 My boyfriend and I have been having sex since about April and I've been on HBC (Loestrin 24), so we haven't used condoms much. However, the past couple of times I've slipped up and missed my pill, we have, but I have a question.

The lube on the condom seems to wear off really, really fast. Today, we were using just a regular Trojan lubricated condom and after about three minutes, it started getting really uncomfortable, like the lube had wore off or something? That's happened one other time, with a Trojan Twisted Pleasure, but I'm not sure if that's normal or not. Are you supposed to have lube handy when you use condoms or is this just something weird about my vagina environment? I'm just confused. Can anyone enlighten me?

(This is my first post but I'm a huge lurker :] ) 

So yesterday my friend was with me when I went to the pharmacy to pick up my BC prescription.  I am on the Generic brand of Alesse, I believe its called "Aviane".  Anyway, my buddy saw this and remarked that a couple of weeks ago his girlfriend was at the doctor and the doc told her that the generic birth control pills have a higher failure rate than the name brand.

The first thing I said was "Bullshit.  No one would be taking them if that was the truth." of course he said "Well thats what the doc told her".

It sorta pissed me off cause not only is that going with "Well if a doctor says it, it must be true" mentality, but after pondering it for a while, I wonder if that doctor is being paid by a drug company?

Anyway, what do you guys think of this?  I don't for a second believe that there is any truth to it.

I had a yeast infection recently, and was pissed that I had left my fluconazole (Diflucan) at my apartment near where I go to school, which is 2.5 hours away, as I'm home for the holidays.

Soo, I had to go the natural route. This is what helped:

-cutting out sugars, sweets, refined carbs (white bread, white sugar, etc). Yeast, like most fungi, feed off sugar.
-exercising regularly, which for me, meant running
-eating yogurt with live and active cultures
-showering daily and wearing cotton pants and panties (I do it anyway, but thought it worthy of mention)

I had been suffering from the YI for a week and within 1 or 2 days of following the above regimen, it totally disappeared.

Hope it helps someone without access to their YI meds! For some reason the gentian violet or yogurt suppositories don't really work for me.

hi, i've been reading this community for a long time and you guys have helped me so much! i've looked through the tags for info about this problem but i haven't quite found what i'm looking for. so hopefully you guys can help me out.

( under here )

I suspect that I get hemorrhoids or fissures or something - general mild butt irritation.  It comes and goes.  I would feel more comfortable asking my gynecologist about it at my next annual exam, considering my junk is all right there in her face anyway... is this not done?  Asking butt questions?  I mean, some gynecologists slip a finger in there, so I don't think it would be too unusual to ask that kind of question.  What do you think?
Thanks!

My next depo shot is supposed to be between December 30th and January 13th. I was dumb and scheduled an appointment with the gyno for tomorrow (December 29th). Will I still be able to get the shot or will I have to reschedule to fit in the two week time period? Will getting the shot a day early harm me or make it ineffective?

Thank you!