Persistent Yeast Infection in Pregnancy

[mataji4]

I am prone to yeast infections. I'm 14 weeks pregnant and have had a yeast infection for more than a month. I have tried all the natural things (tea tree, acidophilus suppositories, yogurt, vinegar) but I can't eliminate fruit and bread from my diet as my diet is SO limited due to nausea and general food intolerance- I just need to eat what I can right now.

Any ideas?? I really do need to get this gone. I haven't had sex forever and ever, and I'm so tired of feeling itchy and irritable!!

(I'm asking here b/c you are all so smart! And b/c I'm doing my own pregnancy care...sometimes need help : )

[chase_mommy]

Garlic has done the trick for me. I just peel a clove and insert at night then remove (well.. it actually falls out ) during my morning pee. If its a really nasty one I slice the skin of the clove to make it more potent. I can usually tell by the next day if it needs to be stronger or not. I never had to treat myself longer than 3 days.

I have also heard that you can take GSE diluted in water then soak a tampon in it and insert. I, personally, have never done this. However, I do use it on DD (diluted) for her external yest rashes and it works really well. I don't know if it is ok to use tampons or not when your pregnant? I do know that GSE is safe to use during pregnancy.

I hope you get better soon. I hate those dang yeast rashes. They are a total PITA! Oh- make sure your DH/P doesn't have a yeast rash. My DH caught it from me and I didn't know it, I got reinfected like 3 times before I thought to check him out...

[kltroy]

I'm prone to yeast infections too, and get one like clockwork with every pregnancy. Sometimes twice. While I generally try natural remedies for most things, with yeast infections I just suck it up and get the 3-day stuff from the drug store. I've never had good luck with anything else, and IMHO 3 days of the drugs beats 2 weeks of whatever you're throwing at it any day. Probably not the answer you're looking for, but they invented the stuff for a reason.

[mataji4]

At this point I'll do anything!! Is the over the counter stuff safe in pregnancy though??

I have tried garlic already, lots of nights of garlic.

[mwherbs]

go get a diagnosis, it may be something else, there are some reports that half the women who think they have a yeast infection actually don't.

how much sunlight do you get? do you have good vitamin D levels, the reason I ask it that long term persistent infections are usually related to poor immunity, the simplest would be something like low vitamin D levels or possibly chronic anemia , the others are things are more serious like diabetes or autoimmune disorders...

something you can try---

30 ml of hydrogen peroxide 1 application a day for a week only any more than that have been associated with too much distruption of flora and worsening infections-

peroxide is formed by certain strains of lactobacillus so this treatment is mimicing a natural mechanism and may put your body on track-

[mataji4]

Thank you for your responses.

I am going to the doc Friday to talk with her about doing some prenatal appts with me...I hope it goes well, and I will ask her about making an appt to diagnose.

[HisBeautifulWife]

The only thing that worked for me was a high dose of probiotics. The little 2 billion capsules I had weren't cutting it. I had to start taking the 30 billion and then it cleared up.

[PreggieUBA2C]

I was just posting about this on the TF forum for myself. It is very strange for me to have this and I've had it for over a week, alongside a cold I'm not getting rid of. I have such constant coughing fits at night that I've been sleeping only 3 1/2 hrs, which of course lowers my immunity. This cold virus is really effective though- thriving actually.

I have been taking 24 billion cell probiotics and yogurt and fermented foods, so lots of probiotics, but they don't seem to have any effect. I have also been eating very low carb because I have an aversion to sweet anything, which is why I was so perplexed about having this YI, but I guess the ph of the vagina can change so much that yeast that normally lives there just goes wild because the body is also depositing more sugars there than when not pg. I have had a lessening of symptoms as the cold gets a bit better, even though it is still pretty bad, but nothing else seems to change things.

I had 6 weeks of eating almost nothing because of nausea, and I've been eating normally now for 6 weeks, but that fasting probably ran my immune system way down, which explains both the YI and the cold.

I don't have any itching or burning or discomfort though, and I just remembered now (oops, I thought this was a first... preggie brain ) that my mw told me I had a YI when I was pg with ds1 7 years ago (the first time I'd ever had one that I knew of), and like this time, I had no obvious symptoms, but I was in the third trimester that time and it went away in a few days on its own.

I'm waiting out the cold to see what happens unless something changes and I have to do something about it before then.

[wrappedupmama]

Yeast infections should not keep reoccurring. I had yeast problems a few times before I got pregnant, then through my entire first pregnancy an 1 1/2 years post partum. Pills, creams, nothing worked. Then I used boric acid and it solved the problem completely. I haven't had a yeast problem in about 3 years and even through my whole next pregnancy. I unfortunately have the same stubborn yeast on my nipples and have been nursing in pain for more than 4 years. I can't wait till my little ones both wean so that I can use boric acid on my nipples. I won't dare do it while they are nursing since it is not safe to ingest. It is fine for vaginal use though. Here is a link to the CDC treatment for vaginal infections. http://www.cdc.gov/std/treatment/200...-discharge.htm Scroll down to the yeast area and it says that some stubborn strains of yeast work best when treated with boric acid. You can pick it up at a pharmacy without a prescription, it's not expensive.

[LHarris]

I've only had one yeast infection when not pregnant. This pregnancy I've had three - but we just figured out that DH was infected and re-infecting me. I have a mild one right now (the third this pregnancy) and I will be trying garlic tonight. It didn't work in my last pregnancy, but this one is mild, so maybe it will. But like others have said, I go for the OTC meds. However, being the third one in about 6 months, I don't wanna try that again if I don't have to.

[at_the_hip]

Discomfort can really be helped with witch hazel...it burns like crazy for a few seconds but SERIOUSLY relieves any irritation in those regions!!

[SaoirseC]

I tried everything in my last pregnancy- garlic, yogurt, probiotics, sugar/carb free diet, even monistat (burned like hell, but I used the full treatment)- nothing worked. I found this product online- Kolorex, I bought it on vitacost.com I don't know if the pills are safe for pregnancy, but I used the vaginal cream and it is the ONLY thing that made a difference!! Well, that and tea tree oil (youch!), but the tea tree oil didn't make a lasting difference, whereas this did. Good luck (hopefully you're over it by now, considering you posted this in january).

[Lady Mayapple]

I had this with my DD's pregnancy, and it turned out to be bacterial vaginitis, NOT a yeast infection. I used a clove of garlic wrapped in a piece of gauze with a few drops of tea tree oil. I put the garlic "in there" for about four or five nights and the infection disappeared. I notice that you've already tried this method...maybe use more of the tea tree oil? Either way, it might help to get a culture and find out exactly what kind of infection you're dealing with, and then move forward with your own treatments for it.

[peetred]

I second that you should make sure to treat DH as well.

Also, you may try the Brewers diet. You may find that when you are getting plenty of protein AND good bacteria (through yogurt or acidophilus) that it will help. It could be that you are also protein deficient.

-Drink plenty of water, generally to thirst is what your body needs. Always drink a glass of water if you feel hungry, tired, or run down, it could be that you are just thirsty.

Someone mentioned trying acidophilus with a much higher count instead of the 1-2 billion that is common.

The over the counter yeast infection treatment is certainly safe for pregnancy.

If things are still not clearing up It might be that it's not a yeast infection. It could be bacterial vaginosis or something similar.

[mataji4]

Treated months with boric acid, didn't treat husband, and it worked great! Haven't felt an itch since : )

[SaoirseC]

During my last pregnancy, my midwife recommended boric acid, but for non-pregnant women only. She said that a rinsing with hydrogen peroxide would be safe, but only effective if it's followed almost immediately with probiotic rinses for a few days. Personally, I'd stick with the hydrogen peroxide over boric acid. Boric acid is not actually that "natural", whereas hydrogen peroxide is produced in small amounts by beneficial bacteria.

[Starry-eyedMom]

Someone else mentioned it already, but Grapefruit Seed Extract works wonders! Can (and probably should) be used internally and externally. I'm using it now for thrush on nipples and it's clearing really fast (2nd day). I will keep taking orally as well for some time too.

Read this article for details on application:http://drjaygordon.com/breastfeeding/thrush.html

[gabbyraja]

I have had a lifetime of on and off yeast problems. Things I didn't even know were really yeast-caused, like my seborrheic dermatitis (a form of dandruff) on my head, or periodic weird skin rashes on my abdomen, legs, feet, etc. I have battled thrush every single day from the day my first son was born over 8 years ago. That's been my most persistent yeast to date. I'd had the most success with GSE, externally and internally, along with mega doses of probiotics daily, but it still only lessened the symptoms. I was never free for even a day.

Then I saw a homeopath who determined my problem was the mercury fillings in nearly every tooth of my mouth. She gave me Merc V and I enjoyed about 6 months of absolute freedom. I'd never known nursing could be so easy! Then my father died violently and suddenly the remedy stopped working. I spent hundreds of dollars trying other things, then the well ran dry and I quit. I went back to trying anything a doc could prescribe (fluconazole for 90 days straight before I saw relief for more than a couple of days, for instance). I hated that, and I'd read about Oil of Oregano. It works similarly to GSE, in that it is an all-around antimicrobial, but SO much better from what I've found. I take 3 capsules a day and manage to keep thrush at bay (even during pregnancy). Can't miss more than a day, though. When even that isn't quite enough, because I've "binged" on some form of sugar or been really stressed, etc., I add the probiotics back in pretty heavily. Does the trick every time, though for me it is definitely a maintenance drug I don't see myself getting out of until I'm done nursing at least.
ETA: I should mention that Kellymom doesn't advise the use of Oil of Oregano, during pregnancy or bfing. I use it because it was recommended as a last-ditch effort by my dr, it seems to be the only thing that works, and it has not caused cx problems in myself, but I'd encourage you to research before you decide if it's for you.

I'm still working w/a mercury-free dentist on removing/replacing my fillings one-by-one, but it's not really that safe while pg and/or bfing, and I'm NEVER not pg or bfing, so not a lot of progress has yet been made there. I only replace one if there is no other choice, as in I have a cavity/one of the old fillings is "leaking", etc.

Anyway, HTH somebody reading this thread.

[belchers1]

Originally Posted by wrappedupmama

I can't wait till my little ones both wean so that I can use boric acid on my nipples. I won't dare do it while they are nursing since it is not safe to ingest. It is fine for vaginal use though. Here is a link to the CDC treatment for vaginal infections. http://www.cdc.gov/std/treatment/200...-discharge.htm Scroll down to the yeast area and it says that some stubborn strains of yeast work best when treated with boric acid. You can pick it up at a pharmacy without a prescription, it's not expensive.

I was researching this, and it says not to use during pregnancy... Has anyone used it during pregnancy?

I have both ringworm and something going on down below (maybe yeast, maybe BV?)...