I just wanted to start this topic because I believe it's extremely important for post-op girls! Get probiotics!
I went for months getting UI infections, yeast infections, colds, and just generally being sick all of the time. I kept going on the anti-biotics, and then the yeast infection drugs... it ended up being an endless cycle. And, with UI infections, I found that my urinary tract took a long time to heal and I'd get urine leaks. I'd also find with the yeast infections (or, what I like to call -- welcome to womanhood infections. LOL) there would be some discharge.
My doctor told me to eat yogurt, and I tried -- but, then medications, infections, etc, the cycle was pretty bad. Yougurt helped somewhat, but didn't seem to have enough power. I'd also try to drink cranberry juice, which got expensive to always buy and drink.
I asked my pharmacist about what I could do, 'cause I just couldn't keep up with the onslaught of infections and keeping them at bay. She suggested taking a womens probiotic. She pointed me out to one that had 5 times the amount of probiotics in it than a cup of yogurt, and it had several strains that helped with vaginal health and UI health. It also contained cranberry extract, which also helps with the unitary track. So, I picked up the bottle for about $10 bucks, and it lasts for about a month.
I noticed a difference in a few days, and then it got better and better form then on in. I haven't gotten any infections at all and I haven't leaked a drop of urine (that is very embarrassing in public when that happens, or when you have to go to the store and look at bit thick protective pads).
My vaginal health improved greatly. No yeast infections, it doesn't get strange odours from bad bacteria trying to run the place -- it's great!
I also found that with it being much healthier down there, there's been some extra healing. It look better down there, actually. I've even found dilation to be much more easier and comfortable (no pain or soreness after!). I also self-lube a whole lot better.
My over all immune system has gotten better, actually. I'm not constantly fighting a cold like usual, which is great! It's nice not to fell sick and drained all of the time.
Anyway, I thought I would mention this. Even if things are going good down there, it doesn't help to have your probiotics, it great for your vaginal and urinary tract. Eat yogurt. And cranberry and blue berry juice are supposed to also work as a preventative. There's lot of good probiotic pills out there that work well, and they can give your body a much needed boost, especially with after having surgery and 2-3 months after your vaginal flora is starting to get established.
Now, before someone decides that they know me and say that maybe I just didn't "clean" enough down there -- I did. I took good care of myself. I cleaned all of the time, actually. But, cleaning isn't always enough (and sometimes too much cleaning can actually cause problems).
In fact, you need the good bacteria. That's what I learned in all of this, and the good bacteria is really important. I had other post-ops tell me to just keep cleaning my self like crazy, and to douche like crazy -- while, cleaning yourself is a good thing, and recommended, over doing wash way too much of our protective and beneficial flora (good bacteria). Douching you should only do when your doctor says. Right after surgery, yes, and up to the point that your surgeon recommends. After that, you only go by what your doctor says. For me, who's now a year post-op, douching isn't recommended unless my doctor said to do it.
Anti-biotics also upset the balance down there. This year I was on anti-biotics 4 times! Every month from Jan-April. The doctors only gave it to me when things got very bad, and they got bad enough for me to be on anti-biotics. Sometimes it as an infection down under, and sometimes it was a chest infection, or other infections. At the end of it, my vagina and intestinal flora was messed up, and I just kept getting into the cycle of infection that would affect my entire body and make it easy for me to catch another bug.
Once I started taking the probiotics, my stomach felt better. I didn't get bloated like I used to. And, I actually lost weight! No colds, no infections anywhere. I feel better. It's amazing!
This also helps 'cause I've been having nerve issues (not related to good bacteria) and those nerve issues on top of being sick really made my life miserable. But, now I feel better with a better immune system and also nerve medication that helps treat that area.
And, I can't tell you how great it feels to wear panties without always having to wear a pad, having ebarassing moments in public, and so on. The doctors at first just kept telling me to do kegel exercises (which are good, also, try to do them), but ignored the urinary and vaginal flora part. I would exercise those kegels like crazy, only to have minor results and disappointment. Once I started the probiotics, with in a week no problems. No pads. No having to go into the adult diper part of the store! I was so depressed with the leaking issue going on and off, and having my doctor with no real solutions, I was almost to the point of self-extinction. I felt completely lost and my self-esteem dropped. But, now it's gone and life has opened up again!
Anyway, that's my promotion for pro-biotics. Get them. If your post-op, women's probiotics with cranberry extract are amazing! Yogurt is great, but if your body is over welmed with bad bacteria, yogurt doesn't have enough to give you the boost you need sometimes. The probiotic pills can really make a difference in the balance of good vs bad bacteria. My pills hve 5 billion active cells (5 different strains), and at the start, I took it 3 times a day. that's 15 billion active cells a day. 100 g of yougurt has maybe (depending on the brand) 1 billion. So, you'd have to take 1500g (1.5 L -- I think that's about 52 ounces of yogurt a day.. I don't know how to convert Canadian to US measurements very well). Anyway, that equals about 3 tubs of yougurt a day! In individual servings (those little cups you use for lunch) it equals ab out 15 cups a day. Or, you can take 1 pill 3 times a day. After the good bacteria is established, however, I find that you can cut back to two and then 1 pill a day for maintenance.
Anyway, good stuff. Sorry for the long post!
