Since I recently discovered at what an amazing job probiotics do in curing two major problems i'd dealt with my whole life - urinary tract infections and athlete's foot (which you can read about here) - I couldn't help wondering if probiotics might help with that other issue I seemed to have had in my lifetime: infertility. If you would like to read more about how an overgrowth of yeast can cause complications for a growing baby... click here.
Although I am happy to say that I have been able to get pregnant and feel that I have learned certain things that definitely have helped my fertility and ability to get pregnant (aerobic exercise, eating "fertile foods" like yams, and taking supplements), I have definitely decided to keep taking probiotics to increase my chances of conception (and to keep that damn athlete's foot from coming back!!!)
When I was a teenager I took a LOT of antibiotics for acne; mostly tetracycline and erythromycin. It never really worked for long, so I took several rounds of it at different stages of my teenagehood, and I eventually moved on to the Nuclear Drug of All Drugs: Accutane. But I believe I still may be experiencing the side effects of both. Vaginal dryness (and poor quality cervical mucus) from the Accutane (I still have dry eyes, and terrible vision because of it) and a messed up digestive tract which I believe is partly because of the Tetracycline.
I never really considered myself to have a bad digestive tract, because I basically have the intestines of a goat. I can eat just about anything and not get sick. Seriously. I don't get stomach aches. I'm really regular (thanks in part to the veggie shakes I make with my NutriBullet).
Now I am wondering if tetracycline may have been a factor with my unexplained infertility. I was once told (over 15 years ago) that I had a case of BV (bacterial vaginosis). Because I always used condoms, I suspect I was one of those people who just might not have enough good bacteria in their system - so the bad bacteria can take over! You can read more about BV here. I don't believe I've had it in the last 10 years, but the underlying reasons for me having developed it (not enough good bacteria to kill the bad bacteria) may have still existed.
Here is an interesting article about how probiotics may actually help increase your fertility:
http://www.holisticprimarycare.net/topics/topics-a-g/digestive-health/1351-can-probiotics-influence-fertility-its-conceivable
http://www.holisticprimarycare.net/topics/topics-a-g/digestive-health/1351-can-probiotics-influence-fertility-its-conceivable
The kind of probiotics I've been taking (which completely cleared up my athlete's foot when NOTHING ELSE was working), are by Nature's Bounty. I got mine when it was on sale at Costco.
To my knowledge, there are no known side effects to taking probiotics. So I recommend you just go ahead and take them, if it can't hurt!
If you are suffering from any kind of condition, I would recommend you google the condition + "probiotics" and see what comes up. There may be other people that have reported that Probiotics can really help!
This is the exact brand I take. I recommend this to everyone... trust me ladies, you do not want to be without this supplement! And it really could help your unborn baby, too. Please read this post for more about that.
This is the exact brand I take. I recommend this to everyone... trust me ladies, you do not want to be without this supplement! And it really could help your unborn baby, too. Please read this post for more about that.
EB
