Probiotic nightmare!

[JuicyLu]

Hello, I finally got the results of my EMMA test and I have been prescribed a course of antibiotics followed by vaginal probiotics. No issue with the antibiotics but NONE of the ones on the list the clinic gave me are available in the UK!! Other than the CanesFlor one, which takes 5 weeks (the others are about 1 week treatments). This is now jeopardising my imminent FET 😩 Has anyone had any experience of being treated with probiotics and managed to get any of these? List below in the pic - thanks so much xx

[Millbanks]

I used the Biomed V but I think they may have labelled it wrongly. Pic below. I ordered it online in the UK and it arrived quickly. Xx

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[JuicyLu in reply to Millbanks]

Thanks! I found that and am currently checking it with igenomix as it looks like it has all the right strains. Can I ask you if you used it as a vaginal suppository rather than a tablet, and how long you were told to take it for please? Many thanks xx

[Millbanks in reply to JuicyLu]

Sure! I used it vaginally from FET prep to transfer then started orally after that. Just continued with a BFP. Xx

[JuicyLu in reply to Millbanks]

That’s so helpful, thanks - so that’s about 3 weeks then? I wondered about using it at the same time as utrogestan pessaries (rather a lot ‘going on’!) but I guess ok to have them both by the sound of it. They’ve told me I need them as I had no lactobacillus in my sample (‘good’ bacteria) and too much gardnella (which is a ‘bad’ bacteria). I’ve had the antibiotics for the bad one, but need to get the ‘good’ ones back. Presumably you were in a similar situation when you took these? (apologies for fishing for info, it’s just the clinic aren’t being that helpful so I’m trying to work out what to do). Congratulations on your BFP xxx

[Millbanks in reply to JuicyLu]

So I did cyclogest in the back and the probiotics in the front 😬 but I don’t think it should matter…My EMMA showed that my levels were ok but my clinic recommended a probiotic anyway as a precaution. I also spoke to a fertility nutritionist who also said they were a good idea 👍🏼

Thank you! It was our 6th transfer so completely over the moon although petrified about the viability scan. It’s never straightforward!

Good luck with yours xx

[JuicyLu in reply to Millbanks]

Thank you so much for this info - wishing you all the best with everything xx

[Millbanks in reply to JuicyLu]

You’re very welcome! Good luck xx

[AuroraXen in reply to Millbanks]

Just came upon this whilst searching for threads on pessaries! Is it OK to take these Invivo pills vaginally rather than orally then Millbanks? I've been searching about them and can't see anything about how to take the capsules! Do they leave any weird residue or anything or we're you perfectly happy taking them inside the vaginally rather than orally? Xx

[Millbanks in reply to AuroraXen]

Hello! Yes! I think they are better vaginally (according to the nutritionist I saw) but only until transfer, then switch to orally 👍🏼❤️No weird residue, they pretty much dissolve straight away xx

[AuroraXen in reply to Millbanks]

Thank you! I haven't done an EMMA or anything but have read a lot about different approaches to probiotics so figured why not?! 🤷‍♀️😂 xx

[PaulaDag in reply to Millbanks]

Hi Millbanks,

I've just heard back form Mel Brown with my Invivo vaginal microbiome results and she's recommended antibiotics and a few different probiotics, one of them is Invivo Bio Me Femme V. Did you take others as well? I had low lactobacillius (good bacteria I think) and high ureaplasma which is bad bacteria.

I have been told to get Symprove liquid, Invivo Bio Femme, Optibac and Canestan for a varying different times either orally or vaginaially or topically. Seems a lot 😩

Which antibiotics did you take? I'm waiting for my GP to call back to hopefully prescribe xx

Hope you're doing well - not long now, bet you can't wait xx

[Millbanks in reply to PaulaDag]

Hey lovely, That’s good to have some things to work on.

So I took the bio me and canesten too. They seemed to do the trick 👍🏼

Although hard to know as I didn’t retest….

I’m so excited now. It feels like it’s been so long to get here, not just 39 weeks… xx

[PaulaDag in reply to Millbanks]

Thanks Millbanks. How long did you take bio me and canesten and did you also take antibiotic, if so which one? I'm trying to get my GP to prescribe antibiotics based off the Invivo test results but they might want me to have a urine test 😥.

Yeah its been a long journey hasn't it, you're an example of how all the efforts are hopefully worth it. Good luck for when it finally happens xx 🍼👶

[Millbanks in reply to PaulaDag]

I took the bio me for months, the canesten was just 7 days I think. I didn’t have antibiotics though xx

[D38813]

I can’t recall which ones I took but I had antibiotics for about 10 days followed by canesflor for 7 days. I’m now pregnant with twins after 5 failed transfers. Don’t worry about the FET. You may have just found the reason you’re not yet pregnant. Good luck x

[JuicyLu in reply to D38813]

Thanks so much - that’s interesting that you didn’t finish the full 10 capsules… the clinic just keep saying I need to finish the course! Congratulations on your pregnancy- Do you mind me asking was this without IVF then after your antibiotics and probiotics?Apparently I had no lactobacillus in my EMMA sample and lots of gardnella, which is very bad 😩 xx

[D38813 in reply to JuicyLu]

My mistake. It was for 10 days. I kept begging my clinic to let me cut the time down but they wouldn’t. This was with IVF.

[JuicyLu in reply to D38813]

Interesting though - was it 10 days in a row? My issue is that the packet says 6 capsules, then 1 per week for 4 weeks (so 5 weeks all together). I asked about taking them all in a row and they just kept saying to do what it says on the box 🙄x

[Nuszkahope]

I don’t live in the UK but in my country they did not have the meds from the list. I just asked in the pharmacy and bought some probiotics. I don’t know your results but mine were slightly raised and the doctor advised against antibiotics. He said it will do more harm than good. I took the probiotic for 2 weeks and got pregnant after that. Good luck x

[JuicyLu in reply to Nuszkahope]

Thanks for this. Unfortunately the route of getting specific ones made up from the pharmacy doesn’t seem to be an option in the UK, and when I asked the clinic they just repeated getting one from the list. But I’m asking about another one that someone has told me about to see if it’s suitable.I did wonder about the antibiotics but I had some ‘bad’ bacteria that required it apparently 🙄 I definitely need the probiotics now to get things back to where they should be. Congrats on your pregnancy xx

[SUMMERTIME02]

I'm going through this now! ive been prescribed antibiotics and canesflor for 5 weeks i took a career break and the delay in my treatment is such a stress!!

[JuicyLu in reply to SUMMERTIME02]

Sorry to hear that - I totally get it. Did the clinic give you a list (like mine - see pic in my original post)? Or just say Canesflor?The others are available from Europe but may take a couple of weeks to arrive. Might be worth considering, especially if you haven’t started the antibiotics yet. If I’d have known in advance i would have ordered earlier. When I re-did my EMMA test (which I wanted to do it to check the infection had gone) I had probiotics in already which was a big help xx

[SUMMERTIME02 in reply to JuicyLu]

They just told me to get Canesflor, i've got them today and it looks as if I'll have it completed in time before my next months period. However, i just realised it means i would need to use it during this months period. can i do that? or would i need to be off my period when using it

[JuicyLu in reply to SUMMERTIME02]

Yeah, I had this problem. It seems like a flaw in the product to me because over a 5 week period people are going to have a period at some point! I asked and couldn’t get an answer out of the makers of CanesFlor so I insisted my clinic check with Igenomix (the lab who analysed my EMMa test and gave me the list of probiotics). The initial dose is every day and my clinic said that if I was going to start my period during that time, wait until it’s over to start. This would mean you’d not be done with it by the time of your next period, although as it’s one a week by then it may be easier to dodge your next period. I’d advise you to check with your clinic what they want you to do about your period and, assuming you wait until after but wanted to start your FET at the following period, if they are ok with you taking the final pessary during the start of the FET.

I was really frustrated that Canesflor is 5 weeks, as all the others on my list were 7-10 days course.

This is why in the end I used one of the others, which I managed to get online and came in a couple of weeks. I still ended up delaying my FET though as I’d had to wait ages for the result of the EMMA. It was so frustrating so I really sympathise xx

[JuicyLu in reply to SUMMERTIME02]

Also - in case it helps, the one I ended up taking was Muvagyn which I got from an online pharmacy in Europe x

[SUMMERTIME02 in reply to JuicyLu]

thank you so much! you've been very helpful! im going to get back in touch with my clinic and see what they say. xx

[SUMMERTIME02 in reply to JuicyLu]

I hope you dont mind me coming back to you on this. After a lot of back and forth my clinic has allowed me to take muvagyn instead (thanks btw!) I noticed the website shows it has 10 capsules but its a 8 day course as per the instructions. Did you take all 10 or just 8? X

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[JuicyLu]

No problem. That’s the box that I got and I know I took every capsule. I assumed it was 10 (I still have the empty box and it says 10 on it) - I hadn’t realised the instructions might be different! Basically I took every capsule that was in the box - whatever that was.Sorry this is so confusing for you - I remember the whole thing turned into a drama for me, but all was ok in the end xx