Grapefruit Seed Extract Questions...

[mollyclose]

Hello,

I've been battling thrush for the past seven months, since I had my dd. I have been taking oral GSE for the past month, and it has made such a difference...I have pain-free nursing for the first time EVER. Anyway, I was wondering if there was any diffrence between the pills and the liquid extract? I was taking pills until I ran out, and have been gagging down the liquid. Seems to have cleared it up better, but thinking that it might just be a coincidence? Any experiences with this? Also, can I continue to take GSE indefinitely (at least until done bfing)? If there's no harm done in continuing, I will just to avoid a recurrence of the thrush. Can't find any info about this, so I would appreciate any infor any of you mamas have. Thanks!

[jennmiller]

Good heavens! I can't believe you're able to gag that stuff down in water! Try mixing it in a shot glass full of OJ. You'll never notice it's there. If OJ isn't your thing, any citrus drink will do. Also, if you have recurring thrush, it's very likely you have a bacterial imbalance in your gut. As long as your babe isn't having a problem with the GSE, you could continue to take it for quite a while, but my suggestion would be to try to fix the flora imbalance you and your babe are likely to have. My favorite probiotics for adults are:
www.vsl3.com
http://www.renewlife.com/ultimate-fl...0-billion.html

My favorite for babes is:http://www.rockwellnutrition.com/HLC...le41_p_60.html

The danger with using GSE for a long period with yeast is that over time they could potentially become resistant to it. I've battled yeast for a long, long time and the VSL#3 was the only thing that finally got rid of it. My problem was serious, though, and I got the double strength version through my health insurance company. It's NOT cheap, but I absolutely had to do it. So, you should be able to find the Renew Life product at your local health food store. The VSL#3 will have to be purchased from a participating pharmacy. You can find one on their website. The two products are essentially the same price, but you get way more bang for your buck with the VSL#3 so it is definitely worth the hassle if the Renew Life doesn't work for you.

You may also want to do some investigating into how your intestinal flora population got so out of whack. Are you eating things you are actually allergic (or reactive) to and thus aren't digesting them properly so they are becoming food for yeast? Are you eating too much sugar and not enough greens? Just things to think about.

From someone who battled yeast repeatedly.....I really hope that helps!