long term use of boric acid

[chipie.livejournal.com]

Hello!

(I talk about naturopathy and homeopathy in this post.  I am aware of the controversial nature of these health practitioners and I have mixed feelings about them myself, but I don't want to get in a debate about this here please!)

So a few months ago I saw a naturopath for my recurrent yeast infections.  They recommended doing 60 days of boric acid (taking breaks for my period).  I was inserting the recommended dosage, 600 mg.  I just finished my 60 days last week.

Now I'm having kidney issues.  I feel that I've always had these issues, because I've always gotten this pain in my left side that would go away over night.  I got this again maybe 3 weeks ago, but it didn't got away for a couple of weeks.  I had an ultrasound and it turns out I have a bunch of cysts around my kidney, doubling the size of my kidney.  I just saw a urologist who said it could always potentially because my kidney that's all stretched out (or something) from not functioning properly.

I spoke to my homeopath this morning, and she freaked out about the boric acid because apparently chronic use can bring on kidney problems, including kidney failure.  She says this could happen if I had a cut in my vagina and the boric acid entered the blood stream.

Has any one heard of this?  I feel so stupid for not being more careful!  I was so desperate to get rid of the yeast infections I didn't even research this one my one (which is so unlike me).  I really hope I didn't cause myself kidney failure.

I didn't mention the boric acid to the urologist I saw because I mentioned it once to another doctor and he reacted very negatively (without actually saying anything useful), but I will mention it next time I see her.

Any thoughts?  Thank you so much!

Comments

[ravynwitch.livejournal.com]

From the brief research I've done, it does appear that there is a link between boric acid and kidney problems. Most studies appear to indicate it occurs more often with oral consumption or inhalation, but the link is definitely there.
At this point, the best thing you can do is be upfront with your doctors. They may react poorly, but they need to know all possible risk factors. It's also possible the acid simply aggravated an existing condition, or it may not be linked at all.
I assume you will be continuing to see doctors to deal with the cysts, etc, and I think it would be worth asking "what could have caused this?" before you mention the boric acid use. It would be horrible if other causes/risk factors were ignored because they simple conclude it was the fault of the boric acid.
Hope some of that was helpful to you!

[chipie.livejournal.com]

Yes, I will definitely be continuing to see the doctor! I have a few tests to do before I get a proper diagnosis. I guess a diagnosis will give a few potential causes (so far the urologist felt that I had probably had this kidney issue since birth). I will definitely speak to her about the boric acid.

Thanks for the suggestions on how to speak to them about the boric acid, that's a good idea.

Thank you!

[operatic-diva.livejournal.com]

I agree with being upfront- even if you think they will react negatively, they can make a more informed decision if you indulge all treatments you've undergone.

I learnt that the hard way.

[darlahood.livejournal.com]

In addition to the boric acid suppositories, did the naturopath recommend supplements to help control systemic candida overgrowth?

Personally, I think that a 7 day regimine of boric acid is enough to control most reoccurring yeast. Anything more than that is not giving your body enough time to regulate the vagina's own beneficial bacteria and secretions.

[chipie.livejournal.com]

I used to boric acid for 7 days as well as for 14 days (the pharmacist recommended that length of time) in the past, but I kept getting yeast infections, so that's why the longer term treatment was recommended.

The naturopath recommended probiotics, is that what you meant? Or were you thinking of something else?

Thank you!

[darlahood.livejournal.com]

For systemic yeast and candida overgrowth, *only* taking probiotics is really just a drop in the bucket :-/

About ten years ago (I'm 33) I had yeast infections constantly. I did a LOT of research to clear it up, and this was before I knew about Boric Acid, too, so I cured myself completely nutritionally.

Here's what I would recommend:
10-20 Billion probiotic cultures/day. Florastor is a great brand, but pricey. See what the health food store offers; good probiotics are refrigerated.
1000mg Vitamin C with Bioflavonoids/day
Grapefruit Seed Extract
Caprylic Acid supplement
Garlic supplement
Pau D'arco tea

Eliminate sugar, refined white flour, and dairy (other than beneficial yogurt or kefir) from your diet. No pizza and beer :( :(

Do you take antibiotics? Take your probiotics and supplements at an OPPOSITE time of day than your abx.

Take all your underwear and wash them with bleach and hot water and hang them in the sun to dry. Natural light does wonders for killing bacteria. If you can't wash with hot water or don't want to bleach, boil your underwear.

Do you take baths? Bleach your tub or scrub it out with Comet.

Do you have athlete's foot as well? Wash your socks separately from your panties.

Other things to consider... do you use condoms as birth control? Could you possibly have a latex allergy? Could you be allergic to your partner?

Have you ever had your blood sugar tested? Undiagnosed diabetes is known to present with persistent yeast. (Don't mean to scare you here, just putting it out there for consideration.)

I know some of my suggestions may seem kind of "out there" but when your vaginal environment is as compromised as yours has been, it's a good idea to think outside the box. Candida is lingering in your genitourinary and digestive tracts and it will take a little while to get things normalized. Your whole body, routine, and diet needs to be examined. Boric Acid is a great way to cure yeast, but it's not the ONLY way.

Please let me know if you have questions about what I've written. Goddess Bless...

[chipie.livejournal.com]

Thank you so so much for taking the time to write out this message. I really appreciate it!

Did you do this suddenly? (Take all the probiotics, change your diet.) It sounds like it worked? How long did it take to see the changes? Did you keep it up once you stopped getting yeast infections?

Also, just out of curiosity, how did your yeast infections start? I had never had any and then I started getting them all the time (after getting a Mirena IUD put in). That's why I've been hesitant to change my diet, it seems so hard (mostly the sugar thing: I don't drink beer and I already mainly eat whole grains) and my diet was working fine before... But I guess I should suck it up and try.

I don't take antibiotics, have athlete's foot, or have much intercourse (I also have vulvodynia so it's painful).

I was aware of the potential diabetes link, but I haven't had my blood sugar tested. Oddly enough, although I've seen lots of doctors, none of them have recommended that test. I guess I don't have any other symptoms. I should get it done though.

I am curious about the reasoning behind taking those supplements. I can obviously do my own research about them, so feel free to ignore that question, but if you happen to have a link handy with an explanation or something, I'd love to read more about this!

Thank you so much!

[chipie.livejournal.com]

Oh, and one question I forgot: why do you recommend cutting out dairy completely (other than yogourt)?

Thank you!

[misspaigeb.livejournal.com]

Sixty days does seem like kind of a long time to get rid of a regular yeast infection. Usually a couple of days or a week seems to be enough, at least based on reading here.

It IS a legitimate way to treat such problems, though, and from what I understand the risk is pretty low unless you're ingesting it.

[chipie.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I had tried using the boric acid for shorter time periods, but I kept getting yeast infections, so that's why the longer course was recommended.

Thank you!

[patchworkorange]

60 days of continual use is a ridiculously long time. In my opinion, boric acid is best for bacterial vaginosis, and not so good for chronic yeast necessarily.

Yeast overgrowth is normally not caused by or a cause of a pH imbalance like vaginosis is, but boric acid can be used in the very beginning with good results, for 7-10 days usually.

Probiotics are better, yogurt is great. Garlic inserted is good. Good luck!

[chipie.livejournal.com]

Yes, I had tried all of these things, many many times. The infections kept coming back. (They were diagnosed properly.) That's why they suggested a longer term, as a potential solution when nothing else was working.

[barrelofrain.livejournal.com]

Does kidney disease run in your family? I ask because I have cysts on my kidneys, but it's from polycystic kidney disease, which is genetic and not caused by any medicines I've taken, etc. If you do have kidney disease, it's good to be mindful and try to protect your kidney function.

Additionally, you should have been able to give a urine sample to test your kidney function. Just because you have cysts does not mean you're in kidney failure, or even necessarily that it's in your future any time soon. The two markers that are generally checked to test kidney function are BUN (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/blood-urea-nitrogen/MY00373) and Creatinine clearance (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003610.htm).

[chipie.livejournal.com]

No, it doesn't run in my family. The urologist I saw did think that I had probably had this kidney issue since birth, but I hadn't mentioned the boric acid thing to her (I didn't realize it would be relevant at the time, and also doctors kind of scare me).

I'm being referred to a CT scan (to take a closer look at the cysts and see if they are really cysts), as well a a renogram (??) to test my kidney function.

But! It looks like my blood was tested for creatinine and it looks like it was normal (73 and the range listed is 45-90 mmol/L). My estimated GFR was also normal (85, expected range is above 59). So that's reassuring! (Obviously doesn't change the fact that I need to find out what's going on with my kidney, but still.) Do you know, if I had one kidney functioning, but not the other, would that still show up on a creatinine test?

Thanks you for your comment. It's really reassuring!

[barrelofrain.livejournal.com]

You can always call your doc and mention the boric acid thing to her. If you're nervous about bringing it up, you could possibly see if your GP can write a note about your recent treatment and fax it to the urologist. (That way, if the urologist thinks it was a bad idea, the GP will kind of have to be the one to explain why they recommended that course of treatment.)

GFR (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/007305.htm), as far as I understand from having family members with kidney disease, measures the amount that both kidneys are functioning (what they're clearing from the body all together). The site I linked to says, "Levels below 60 mL/min/1.73 m2 for 3 or more months are a sign of chronic kidney disease. A GFR result below 15 mL/min/1.73 m2 is a sign of kidney failure and requires immediate medical attention."

So, it sounds like your docs are being thorough to see what's going on with your kidney, but if your GFR is 85, it sounds like you are not in kidney failure, so I'm not sure that the boric acid was relevant in this case. On the other hand, if you have kidney disease, your docs may tell you to refrain from using boric acid in the future, but that would depend on the severity of the kidney disease. I have polycystic kidney disease, but right now, it's at a pretty early stage (it tends to get worse as you age), so right now, at age 27, I don't have to really worry about most warnings on medications and stuff. (Obviously, you'll want to follow your own doctor's advice about this.)

I've never had a renogram before, but my cysts were actually picked up when I had a CT scan of my back after an injury.

One thing to keep in mind is that blood pressure can affect your kidney function, so if I ever get a high reading that is unusual for me in a doctor's office, I'm supposed to call my kidney docs. It might be a good idea to ask your docs about this. (Here's a link about high blood pressure and kidney disease. (http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/kudiseases/pubs/highblood/))

I hope this is helpful and that you're feeling a bit more comfortable with what's going on. :)

[chipie.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much for this information! I feel a lot more comfortable as well as a lot more confident in my ability to discuss this with the doctor.

Thank you!

[teacupcake89.livejournal.com]

agreeing with the advice by darlahood

do you eat lots of sugar or hidden sugar foods/drinks? as sugar feeds yeast.

also, if you have a partner, has he/she been treated for a YI infection aswell? because its possible that you've been getting it back from partner even if has no symptoms.

seconding to make sure drs check every possible avenue beforehand, as the boric acid might not have caused the kidney problems.

have you tried apple cider vinegar washes/rinses? I think there are quite a few posts about dilution amounts and frequency here somewhere... :)

good luck and hugs :)

[chipie.livejournal.com]

I do have a sweet tooth, but my idea of eating a lot of sugar is having two cookies, so I don't think I'm doing too bad (and I don't drink any pop). However, it sounds like I might have to cut down on sugar anyway at this point, which is going to be hard.

My partner was treated for yeast quite a while ago, but we haven't really been having a lot of intercourse since (I have vulvodynia so it's painful), so I don't think we could have started passing it back and forth since. It might be worth his getting treated again just to see though.

I have no tried apple cider vinegar, maybe I will now that I'm avoiding boric acid until I know more about these kidney issues. Thank you!

Thanks a lot!