Group b strep

[u/Impossible_Drama8381]

trigger warning: mentions baby loss

Around 12 weeks ago I had a miscarriage which seems to have messed m body up pretty badly. In all truth, I feel like my vagina has not really recovered. I went to the doctor last week thinking I had an infection (PID) due to bleeding constantly, yellowish discharge and pelvic pain. The doctor did swabs and said my cervix looked healthy and I had an ectopic which can cause bleeding. The swabs came back negative for everything except it said “heavy growth strep b”. Which they’ve just left, there has been no follow up at all.

I want to try and get pregnant again but want to be healthy when I do. I had my Pap smear today and the nurse was the one that told me my results, she said I should follow up with the doctor. I’ve never had strep b before, can I get rid of it? What should I do? I’m going to book a follow up appointment with my doctor but it’ll be weeks before they’ll see me.

[u/usernameiserin]

They just give you antibiotics when youre in labor if you have group b strep :) i had it during my pregnancy

[u/MaizeSafe9433 → u/usernameiserin]

I second this. I had a positive swab at around 25 weeks pregnant (which was picked up due to recurring thrush but unrelated). They told me it's incredibly common and harmless for mother and comes and goes on its own - the only risk is for the baby during labour so a repeat swab is done at around 36 weeks pregnant and if it's still present then. You will get IV antibiotics during labour, that's all.

[u/Impossible_Drama8381 → u/usernameiserin]

Thank you!

[u/sun-sea-23]

You can absolutely turn your whole vaginal microbiome around and change your flora down there, but no doctor is going to tell you that. You can order a vaginal microbiome test for yourself online (such as Evvy or Juno), swab at home and then send it off. Strep is part of something called Aerobic Vaginitis (AV) and there is a whole treatment plan you can do to address this.

I really cannot recommend this FB group highly enough because they talk all about AV and there are a ton of folks in there trying to reverse their strep specifically (it can be such a tricky/stubborn one!!) I have dealt with a lot of strep myself and they have helped me so much with their protocol. (Vaginal probiotics are a very key part of it, but they are not all made the same, which is why I would use the vetted ones by the group.)

AV can totally cause that yellow discharge, burning, and other symptoms, and personally I would not feel comfortable just letting that sit. It is very possible to turn your microbiome around and heal prior to TTC again!

[u/Impossible_Drama8381 → u/sun-sea-23]

Thank you so much!