As someone who relies heavily on probiotics for my everyday health, I was excited to see that Azo, a trusted and respected women’s health care brand, was newly apart of this HC sponsors. So, in case you don’t know, a probiotic is a microorganism that is “good bacteria”, in which it provides digestive help, and other various supports. Azo’s new Complete Feminine Balance claims to “Restore[s] the natural balance of good bacteria and yeast”, “…maintain a healthy Ph”, and “Support natural defenses to protect vaginal health”. This is achieved through using INTELLIFLORA, a combination of four organisms that are common within “healthy” women. Azo recommends taking one capsule daily, and you get a 30 days’ supply in one bottle. I’m not going to lie, most probiotics that I have taken recommend 2 capsules daily, so I was hesitant about the impact that this would have on my health. So, since I was curious, I decided that I should try it out for seven days and see if I like it. The bottle claims that you will start seeing its full effect within seven days, so I put it to the test.
For day one I decided, that since I was already taking a probiotic, I should give myself 24 hours to get it out of my system, this would allow for the new probiotic to have a clean slate. I was taking a three in one probiotic, prebiotic, and cranberry supplement, this capsule had to be taken twice daily to achieve the full effect. Azo sells other types of supplements with all these characteristics, but they aren’t combined, they are all sold separately. I rely heavily on good probiotics since I have Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), my Ph is always out of whack, and supplements like these help a lot with some of the symptoms of PCOS. Anyway, for my first time taking it, I didn’t see any immediate changes, but I wasn’t expecting any being that it was day one, and probiotics have to build in your system.
Day three and four I noticed I had less stomach pain after eating. Having PCOS affects your digestive system making it hard to digest carbs and fiber. Since your body is working harder to break these down, it can cause horrible stomach cramps and pain. After taking this probiotic for a couple days, I wasn’t feeling these symptoms as much. This was surprising to me when I was on the other probiotic, I was still experiencing pain, but when I switched to Azo, I wasn’t, even though I was taking significantly less supplement.
Day five and six I broke out in acne. Now, this may not be a direct result of the probiotic, it could very well be the result of finals week. I do have to be very careful with what I take because another symptom of PCOS is acne, and this can be triggered by the smallest things. When I started my other probiotic, I do remember breaking out at first due to the change in bacteria in my body. Being that Azo’s formula was stronger than what I was taking before, I was expecting to see a few pimples during the first week.
So here we are on day seven, most of my acne has started to go away, and I feel pretty good. I will say, I do feel like it took my body a long time to adjust to this supplement, but again this could be from PCOS. I didn’t see anything crazy on day seven other than I started to smell better. Having a Ph imbalance can cause you to smell like BO, and the goal of a probiotic is to get this under control. With my other supplement, this worked pretty well, depending on what I did during the day. But with Azo, I never smelt bad, and honestly, this may just be because of the great formula.
So, after my seven-day challenge, I have to say I was pleasantly surprised to see such a good amount of change to my Ph balance. Although the formula is great, I do have some concerns with the overall price and accessibility. The product is retailed for roughly $25 for a 30-day supply, the other probiotic I was taking was only $8 for a 60-day supply. Now, some people need specific things in their supplements and look for great quality to achieve this. However, being a college student with literally no money, $25 a month is a bit steep for a dietary supplement. If cost wasn’t a factor, I would 100% switch to Azo, but since I don’t have that kind of money for right now, there are some decent and good alternatives. If you do have the money, and you rely greatly on probiotics, you should use this product, I think it is very well made, and it does not disappoint.
If you’re not sure about how it will work for you, I challenge you to try it for seven days and see if you start to notice anything different. Don’t forget to always consult your doctor before starting any new dietary supplement.