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Can Adderall Cause Recurrent Vaginal Bacterial Infections? Taking Metro-Gel And RePhresh Probiotic Pills
Posted on
Tue, 4 Oct 2011
Medically reviewed by
Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team
Tue, 4 Oct 2011
Answered on
Sat, 9 Jun 2012
Last reviewed on
Question : I am currently taking Adderall XR and I have a problem with recurrent vaginal bacterial infections. Could the Adderall being changing the pH level and causing the infections? What should I do, tired of using Metro-Gel, just to have the infection come right back. Also I have started the RePhresh Probiotic pills everyday for the 3 months!
Hello and thanks for the query.
I am not familiar with any data or studies which have directly linked the use of medications like Adderall to vaginal bacterial infections. With that being said, it is certainly not unreasonable to consider the time course with what you have experienced these infections in relation to when you started taking the Adderall.
The only way to really prove this would be for you to discontinue taking the Adderall completely and then observe for your symptoms. If this is reasonable for you to try I think you should consider it very strongly. You might also consider discussing with your primary care provider possible alternative medications to Adderall. Over the last several years, new medications have been released which control symptoms of attention deficit disorder very well along the lines of Adderall.
Otherwise, in addition to taking oral probiotic supplements, you might consider also taking in a good amount of daily yogurt. Yogurt with active cultures has been shown to promote good vaginal environment which hopefully will prevent against recurrent infections.
The only other consideration which I would strongly consider would be, if you have had any new sexual partners or have changed the frequency with which you have any type of sexual intercourse in the last several months that this may also be playing a role. Sometimes we encourage women to shower or douche after having intercourse in order to prevent against bacterial infections and urinary infections.
Again I do not necessarily think there is a direct link of the Adderall to your symptoms but it would be worthwhile to consider a trial of discontinuing this medication to observe for symptomatic improvement.
I thank you again for submitting your question. I hope you found my response to be helpful and informative. If you have any additional concerns I would be happy to address them.
Regards.
I am not familiar with any data or studies which have directly linked the use of medications like Adderall to vaginal bacterial infections. With that being said, it is certainly not unreasonable to consider the time course with what you have experienced these infections in relation to when you started taking the Adderall.
The only way to really prove this would be for you to discontinue taking the Adderall completely and then observe for your symptoms. If this is reasonable for you to try I think you should consider it very strongly. You might also consider discussing with your primary care provider possible alternative medications to Adderall. Over the last several years, new medications have been released which control symptoms of attention deficit disorder very well along the lines of Adderall.
Otherwise, in addition to taking oral probiotic supplements, you might consider also taking in a good amount of daily yogurt. Yogurt with active cultures has been shown to promote good vaginal environment which hopefully will prevent against recurrent infections.
The only other consideration which I would strongly consider would be, if you have had any new sexual partners or have changed the frequency with which you have any type of sexual intercourse in the last several months that this may also be playing a role. Sometimes we encourage women to shower or douche after having intercourse in order to prevent against bacterial infections and urinary infections.
Again I do not necessarily think there is a direct link of the Adderall to your symptoms but it would be worthwhile to consider a trial of discontinuing this medication to observe for symptomatic improvement.
I thank you again for submitting your question. I hope you found my response to be helpful and informative. If you have any additional concerns I would be happy to address them.
Regards.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Jyoti Patil
Answered by
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