How much water do you drink & do you do the observe the alkalkine/PH levels of your urine?

Beverly, you don't have bladder problems?? OMG you are so lucky. That is what drives me up the wall and back again.

During the day - since I ran out of Estradiol (didn't like it anyway) I've been using the Carlson's suppositories and they are working well - no spasms, urge or chapped feelings in the vagina but now when I lie down to go to bed I get the urge/frequency to urinate so bad it brings me to tears.

ro, no, so far I don't. Fingers crossed it will be one problem I can avoid. Because several women have been suffering with them I had been searching for the name of a med another woman had mentioned who had terrible urinary problems, but I had the wrong woman! I finally found the correct names. The woman was Shirley and the med was Trimethoprim. Haven't seen her post since so am assuming it finally cured her problem. I just googled : it is an antibiotic used for urinary and ear bacterial infections. Maybe it will work for you.

Thanks very much for the tip.

Frankly, I'm not much of a pill taker due to the side effects.

Antibiotics are something I avoid for that reason unless its absolutely essential.

Very kind of you to look it up for me, though.

Wouldn't treating PH from the inside out be more beneficial? Have you tried drinking cider vinegar? People do for various problems; I haven't. Until I buy PH strips I won't try the vinegar. I read a book on autoimmune problems and the author stressed poor PH levels being responsible for almost all disease as it weakens our resistance. As no doctors ever discuss diet (other than dieticians for weight or diabetes) that's something we have to figure out on our own apparently.

Doctors only know about drugs.

yes i take apple cider vinegar. doctors in the UK may be different then as ive had discussions about diet for a variety of things and they dont always prescribe a drug if something else may help each to their own i suppose as i was just sharing what had helped me.

should say im the same person as wardrobe mistress - i seem to have two accounts. this is an old one from when i had a new hip

Doctors on this side of the pond definitely have a different approach. I would love if they had knowledge of food's affect on the body, but it's as though they never heard of it. Here it is considered "alternative" and not covered by insurance either. I can get a total of $150 worth of acupuncture, chiropractic or gym membership covered by insurance and even that has been newly granted. With MDs here it's one pill or another. Older people tend to take immense amounts. I think I'll go to the drugstore right now to buy the PH strips before I forget again!

That's $150 for a year.

we really dont know how lucky we are with our NHS - though we do have long waits and some things are rationed. But essentially its free at the point of use . To be fair not all GPs are up on diet etc ive possibly been lucky and im from an NHS background so am fairly proactive with my health.

Not only do we not have free care the Trump administration announced today it is challenging the legality of the entire Affordable Care Act. With nothing to replace it, of course. It's like we have mad cow disease over here.

I went to three pharmacies. No one had PH strips, just keto strips. The latest fad, I guess.

i got my ph strips from the well known online retailer. our health care is free at point of delivery but we pay via our taxes. the only experience of US health care is from family whose granddaughter was born with and subsequently died from a congenital condition. it cost over $1,000,000 and the parents lost their house .

Thanks, but I was able to order from walmart last night. They don't have them in the store so ordering was necessary. Your family member's story is one of many tragic ones. You can rest assured none that are fighting the ACA are people in that sort of position. We are rapidly becoming the United Selfish & Brainless States of America.

Wardrobe, I've ordered the PH strips which I understand work for measuring urine levels. How do you measure vaginal levels if overall body PH is supposed to be around 7? Do you use the same strips?

you would think so yes - but the wife - childs mother (im related to the father) is from a Republican family and refused to sign up for Obama care! as for america being brainless - we here are right behind you with Brexit nonsense. have a good day

So true, Beverly, doctors don't discuss diet - its a shame.

Do you follow Dr Mercola? He's very good and light years ahead of the rest of them but he's not an MD - I think he's a naturopath. I love the comments on his site - they are so knowledgeable.

Acidity causes so many problems but then you don't want to be too alkaline either.

Well said, Beverly. I'm sure that the terrible political insanity that has beset the USA is a big part of my anxiety.

sounds a bit gross but you just stick a strip in your vagina for a second take out and compare to the colour chart

Wondered if it were that simple or if the strips wouldn't work or tear apart. Also wondering if there is a difference in quality between brands. I've ordered 100ct box but saw a 100 ct box of a different brand at a vitamin store today for more than twice the price. (BTW, there's nothing gross about testing your vaginal PH. Sounds like more of us should be doing it. We women need to start appreciating our bodies more....especially when they're working! )

Do you test your PH regularly? If you do, do you change your diet according to the levels?

I sometimes test but now I can pretty much tell when its acidic

P.S. Regarding my starting a conversation out of turn. I never heard that before - unusual.

i dont know about brand quality sorry. i dont test often - tend not to think about it if i dont have to. i can tell if vagina is too alkaline as i get the burning feeling and need to wee more - so i have bath and put drop of tea tree oil in or the regular vinegar . Always worked for me. diet wise im not a meat eater and stick to sourdough bread. also take a quality probiotic every day

I get the burning when I'm too acidic - alkaline is good for me.

catrin, so rather than have to control your diet you deal with it pretty much topically? That sounds a lot easier than achieving it through food. From what I have been reading it seems as though you would have to eat only vegetables, fruits, nuts & legumes to be alkaline as all protein, dairy and grains are acidic.

When I was in my twenties I started to have vag problems. My gyn at the time had me try douching with vinegar. Also inserts of something called possibly acidgel. He even suggested I may be reacting to semen, which I now know is alkaline. Nothing worked other than flagyl because the imbalance would eventually pave the way for non-specific bacteria. Maybe I should have joined a nunnery!

lol im not obsessive about what i eat but i do eat organically when i can and take the probiotic liquid. i dont eat any red meat, very little chicken (only organic) but i do eat lots of fish, fruit, vegetables etc. i take everything in moderation basically. i NEVER use washing powder to wash underwear and usually shower not baths (unless im doing the vinegar/tea tree routine. i only ever wear white cotton knickers. but other than that yes i treat if i need to. i use Ovestin cream x2 a week. coming from an academic/health background ive always taken responsibility for my own health and try to keep up with current thinking and im fond of alternatives rather than prescribed tablets if at all possible. my GP is supportive of this. this regime works for me: ive been following it for about 7 years

What we each are doing is quite similar. I do eat some meat, but trying to limit it to grass fed when possible. When I see what people have piled up in their grocery carts I seriously wonder, however, if I am that much healthier than they are. According to the latest health advice those folks should be dead! I've even been growing my own vegetables the last couple of years. Have been drinking kefir daily for several years and it has been a godsend for intestinal issues. I use dye and fragrance free detergent but always have used half the suggested amount if that and also only shower. I rarely take medications, hence my avoiding hormones (for too long it appears). My sole focus since being diagnosed last spring is to get this damn LS under control. I'm definitely afraid of what the future may bring as the last several months have brought issues I didn't have prior.

indeed thats how i feel. always kept to the script (though i do like my wine) i had never heard of VA before i got it the menopause is vile. i used to think the same about hormones but ive done lots of reading since i was prescribed Ovestin - i dont think you get that brand of Estriol on prescription over there?? - -and to be honest i couldnt manage without it. getting older sucks eh? I had my right hip replaced in 2015 and im sure the left needs doing. kept fit all my life - see where im going with this???? i found out i was born with a hip condition but even so.... whereabouts in the US are you?

At the moment I am in FL, but am soon headed for New England. Am happy to say my hips are functioning, but my brain and nether regions, not so much.

My new insurance co will cover Estrace. I got a tube of that, but am still using the very end of a compounded estradiol with the "kinder" base cream. As even that creates soreness I'm a bit reluctant to start with the Estrace. Once I am back in N.E. I will hopefully be able to find the compounded estriol I managed to misplace.

Think you are correct about Ovestin, but the compounded version should be the closest to it. Don't think there is any brand name estriol cream here. Fortunately my gyn was very willing to prescribe it, saying "they're crazy about it in Europe". Here maybe we're just plain crazy.

thankfully the Ovestin comes ready mixed so to speak. for me it was a god send. odd to bed now have an early start tomorrow. good luck with the hunt for the cream. never been to Florida but have been to bits of new england - long time ago now . Good night