Help with Thrush! Im so misrable and in pain everyday.

[Monkey pants]

Baby is 4.5 months old and I feel like ive had thrush from day one (had to have ABX because pos Strep B).

I had thrush which lead to Mastitis which led to having to take antibiotics which led to REALLY terrible Thrush. One breast is flaky cracked and painful the other has round itchy spots. Im misrable and embarrased for my boobs and dont want partner near them. 

I am taking probiotics, tried Gentian Violet, Tea Tree Oil mixed with lanolin put on to breast, tring not to eat sugar, etc... I just discovered Caprilyic Acid (coconut oil) in pill form and Im going to try that in conjunciton with pro biotics. Has anyone tried Caprilic Acid with success?? 

I also got GSE and am washing towles, bras, etc but dont know how much to use. I put about 25 drops in the laundry...Is that enough? Do I need more? Should I apply topicaly?

This has got to end because I really cant go on with this pain. I dont want to stop nursing but Its been really really difficult latelty. I nursed my DD for 16mos and planned on going at least two years but Im in pain. HELP ME PLEASE!!

I feel like I could be getting Mastitis again and very scared. I have never felt so terrible when I got that. 

TIA.

[mamazee]

The one time I got thrush (only once with two kids! I feel very lucky) the only thing that solved it was when I finally went to the doctor and got the prescription stuff. It sounds like you're trying to avoid that, but if you're having serious pain you might want to consider it.

I used tea tree oil to disinfect stuff. And tried to stay braless as much as I felt comfortable to let lots of air get to my nipples.

[anjsmama]

Oh Mama  . I have had thrush and mastitis with DD (same age - will be turning 5 months Tuesday) and they are both so awful, especially mastitis. I know exactly what you mean when you say it was the worst thing you've felt. 

Have you had any success since making this post? I don't have any symptoms right now but DD has oral thrush, and a little bit of a yeast diaper rash. We have been without health insurance for 3 weeks (and we are until the 1st) so I couldn't even take her to the doctor if I wanted. Right now, I am taking Candida Cleanse (the supplement by Rainbow Light), acidophilus, and doing vinegar-water rinses on my nipples... I figure even if I don't have it, it's only a matter of time. 

I am letting DD have a little bit of the probiotics powder as well, rinsing her with the water/vinegar solution and giving her lots of diaper-free time. Before she laid down tonight, I didn't see any more redness on her bum. The patches in her mouth haven't gotten any worse but they haven't gotten better... at first it was just her upper lip, then upper lip and inner cheek, now it's half of her upper lip and one cheek but not the other... still nothing on her tongue. Can't figure out if I'm making progress?!

As for the mastitis fear - if your LO isn't nursing well because of it, you may want to consider expressing to avoid blocked ducts/mastitis. Mine felt really awful this morning, and I just cannot get mastitis again. I just expressed into a cup and froze it. Sometimes we use frozen milk for "breastmilk popsicles" anyway. 

Just wondering how it's going for you.... struggling here too!!

Also - where did you get the gentian violet?! I tried Kroger, Walmart, & Whole Foods today with no success.....

[PatioGardener]

I'd avoid tea tree oil on nipples. not good for baby to ingest.

have you read through jack newman's protocol?

[anjsmama]

I'm sure that was probably for the OP anyway, but I read the Jack Newman protocol when I personally had thrush (as far as yeast over growth on my breasts) and found it helpful (and of course I just read it again....) but I'm having a hard time finding anything that's particularly helpful with clearing poor DD's thrush in her mouth .. it seems this time I either don't have it (is that possible?) or I'm completely symptom free, anyway... but her white areas seem to be increasing daily, though admittedly not nearly so bad as some of the awful pictures I've seen online. I've found a couple good suggestions, like plain organic greek yogurt in the mouth, but they're just not age appropriate... (5 months tomorrow). Any suggestions??

Originally Posted by PatioGardener 

I'd avoid tea tree oil on nipples. not good for baby to ingest.

have you read through jack newman's protocol?

[HappyHappyMommy]

Originally Posted by Monkey pants 

Baby is 4.5 months old and I feel like ive had thrush from day one (had to have ABX because pos Strep B).

I had thrush which lead to Mastitis which led to having to take antibiotics which led to REALLY terrible Thrush. One breast is flaky cracked and painful the other has round itchy spots. Im misrable and embarrased for my boobs and dont want partner near them. 

I am taking probiotics, tried Gentian Violet, Tea Tree Oil mixed with lanolin put on to breast, tring not to eat sugar, etc... I just discovered Caprilyic Acid (coconut oil) in pill form and Im going to try that in conjunciton with pro biotics. Has anyone tried Caprilic Acid with success?? 

I also got GSE and am washing towles, bras, etc but dont know how much to use. I put about 25 drops in the laundry...Is that enough? Do I need more? Should I apply topicaly?

This has got to end because I really cant go on with this pain. I dont want to stop nursing but Its been really really difficult latelty. I nursed my DD for 16mos and planned on going at least two years but Im in pain. HELP ME PLEASE!!

I feel like I could be getting Mastitis again and very scared. I have never felt so terrible when I got that. 

TIA.

. I battled thrush for 2/3rd of the 30 months that I breastfed and my breasts looked like you are describing and it's awful. For me, medication and ESPECIALLY washing everything with vinegar was the key. The yeast was living on my bras, cloth pads, etc. (even after washing in hot water). Once I washed all of those in hot water and vinegar (while also on a course of Diflucan), it was the end of the yeast infection. Feel free to PM if you have questions or just want support.

I don't know if you're opposed to medication or not, but my case did require both medication. Ketoconazole (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0000780/) is sometimes prescribed when diflucan isn't working. You want to be pain free for a week on the drug before you stop. And I strongly recommend washing everything with vinegar again after you're pain free.

One more thing to consider on the thrush, you may want to check into whether any of what you are having is an allergic reaction to any of the treaments. I was perscribed APNO (all purpose nipple ointment) and turned out to be allergic to that and also had a reaction to Gentian Violet. (I tried GSE with no positive or negative effect.)

In terms of the mastitis, I too dealt with that and it's also horrible. I agree with the PP who suggested that if your LO is not nursing a lot to try expressing to avoid blocked ducts/mastitis. You can do that by hand or manual pump or an electric pump. What I found helpful was to put a heating pad or hot water bottle or warm cloth on my breasts (specifically where you think a blockage may be forming/formed) before trying to express. Then, while expressing, gently massaging the blockage seemed to help. I was discouraged the first time because it didn't seem to do anything, but after trying a few times over the course of a day or so, I began to see a difference.

I'll be thinking of you and sending good thoughts your way.

Originally Posted by anjsmama 

I'm sure that was probably for the OP anyway, but I read the Jack Newman protocol when I personally had thrush (as far as yeast over growth on my breasts) and found it helpful (and of course I just read it again....) but I'm having a hard time finding anything that's particularly helpful with clearing poor DD's thrush in her mouth .. it seems this time I either don't have it (is that possible?) or I'm completely symptom free, anyway... but her white areas seem to be increasing daily, though admittedly not nearly so bad as some of the awful pictures I've seen online. I've found a couple good suggestions, like plain organic greek yogurt in the mouth, but they're just not age appropriate... (5 months tomorrow). Any suggestions??

. I'm sorry to hear that your DD is having these difficulties. You may want to consider having your daughter checking because I thought my daughter had thrush (when I did) and it turned out she did not. I hope you can find something to help soon!

I'm sending good thoughts your way.
 

PS No idea what's going on with the fonts in this post. Oh well. ;-)

[PatioGardener]

Originally Posted by anjsmama 

I'm sure that was probably for the OP anyway, but I read the Jack Newman protocol when I personally had thrush (as far as yeast over growth on my breasts) and found it helpful (and of course I just read it again....) but I'm having a hard time finding anything that's particularly helpful with clearing poor DD's thrush in her mouth .. it seems this time I either don't have it (is that possible?) or I'm completely symptom free, anyway... but her white areas seem to be increasing daily, though admittedly not nearly so bad as some of the awful pictures I've seen online. I've found a couple good suggestions, like plain organic greek yogurt in the mouth, but they're just not age appropriate... (5 months tomorrow). Any suggestions??

gentian violet (applied to nipples once a day before breastfeeding) cleared up thrush for me and for my little one. I have heard that grapefruit seed extract works well too, but have no personal experience. This breastfeeding clinic handout looks really useful.

[1babysmom]

I have been battling systemic candida that has caused me to have issues with thrush for the last few years...while I've been tandem nursing, and at one point was nursing all three kids.  It's definitely been a battle.  But once I finally got on top of it (took a LOT of effort), it has stayed away ever since, and I've been able to keep it at bay if it seems to be starting to come back.  Here is what I had to do...it may seem overwhelming, but you can pick and choose. ;)  I really REALLY recommend working with your diet just as much as topically.

My Battles With Thrush

[anjsmama]

Thanks everyone. I did end up taking DD to the pedi as  the thrush seemed to get worse instead of better. She did actually recommend swabbing her mouth with yogurt despite her age. And now I'm doing vinegar rinses at diaper changes because she has a little bit of yeast there too :( Her ped also recommended tea tree oil for her rash. Shortly after I posted that I wasn't having any symptoms of thrush, I got them, so now I'm miserable with the burning/stinging and that weird dry/chomping feeling when I'm nursing. However DD's white spots seem to be clearing up now and she's nursing a lot more like normal..... The constant wiping and cleansing and topical applying and diet-watching (I did eliminate sugar and reduce fruit intake) is EXHAUSTING...... I hope this gets better soon! I keep glancing at the prescription her pedi wrote for us just in case..... I don't want to use antibiotics but this is tiring! 

[PatioGardener]

if you want to avoid cow milk/yogurt, you can get dairy free infant probiotics that would do the same thing.

Hope you feel better soon!