Battling Thrush Support Thread - Page 42

[kat3cats]

My ped and lactation consultant have had me and baby girl on fluconazole for over a month. They also told me to keep colloidal silver on my nipples (I've been doing it twice a day) and taking some probiotics. When the pain is REALLY bad, I'm putting lotrimin AF on there, seems to work very well 9ped recommended.) I have good days and bad days (today ain't too bad...)
None of the sterilizing seemed to help. The silver is a little pricey but it's working.

[zuzunel09]

I went to see a LLL leader due to horrible pain and burning during nursing (after we were having some success breastfeeding...the pain was sudden). She said I had ductal thrush, and described all of my symptoms. However, my OB claims he's never heard of ductal thrush and doesn't believe anything is wrong with me. My mom doesn't believe me either and thinks I'm just obsessing over one more non-existent ailment. My husband thinks I should just deal with it and take the antibiotics the OB gave me to shut me up. I feel like no one believes me! I don't want to stop nursing but I feel I have no support. I have to contemplate going back to work soon and I feel that my son and I have been robbed of this precious first month.

I've been doing gentian violet, the homemade version of apno, and GSE as well as boiling and washing everything; no relief yet but I just started 2 days ago.

I'm on an HMO so I can't go see any of the breastfeeding-friendly docs in the area (I've checked); could my son's ped possibly treat us for this? We see her on Tuesday and she may be more knowledgeable than my OB.

[AbigailGrace]

Originally Posted by zuzunel09

I went to see a LLL leader due to horrible pain and burning during nursing (after we were having some success breastfeeding...the pain was sudden). She said I had ductal thrush, and described all of my symptoms. However, my OB claims he's never heard of ductal thrush and doesn't believe anything is wrong with me. My mom doesn't believe me either and thinks I'm just obsessing over one more non-existent ailment. My husband thinks I should just deal with it and take the antibiotics the OB gave me to shut me up. I feel like no one believes me! I don't want to stop nursing but I feel I have no support. I have to contemplate going back to work soon and I feel that my son and I have been robbed of this precious first month.

I've been doing gentian violet, the homemade version of apno, and GSE as well as boiling and washing everything; no relief yet but I just started 2 days ago.

I'm on an HMO so I can't go see any of the breastfeeding-friendly docs in the area (I've checked); could my son's ped possibly treat us for this? We see her on Tuesday and she may be more knowledgeable than my OB.

I have not been following this thread but saw your post. I can tell you what helped me. Now everyone doesn't agree with me and that's okay but this is what I believe. Yeast grows in the colon. I did a Master Cleanse when I wasn't pregnant and got rid of it all. Being pg or nursing, you can't.

But you can boost your immune system (I use Exberitox which is safe while bf), take probiotics (acidophilus) that is refrigerated... the pills are NO GOOD! And 2 other things: stay away from extra sugar and bread as well as start having good bm's to rid yourself of the yeast and toxins. We take (even the children) Papaya Enzymes after EVERY meal. They are also safe. They cause you to have a bm by breaking down the food you just ate. Drink lots of water. Adding lemon to your water also breaks up the stuff in your colon so you can eliminate, which in turn, eliminates the yeast.

My ds is still prone to yeast when he eats too much dairy and gets constipated. I start giving him Enzymes again as well as a small dose of Smooth Move (can't take while pg or nursing, though) and you start seeing him poop out the yeast. His diapers are nasty. I continue this until his diapers return to normal.

All that to say... I know what has cured it for me. But now I'm pg and the yeast has come back. My diet has not been great... low funds make for cheap and poor eating habits. So AGAIN I am doing Esberitox, acidophilus and 3 enzymes after every meal. Also, I make lemonade out of stevia (doesn't promote yeast growth) and lemons and drink it room temp. several times a day. You can also do a saltwater flush that is harmless. It works like a laxative and empties your colon but is safe because it doesn't cause cramping. I don't remember how much but if you want it, I'll send the amount to you.

I know it sounds like a lot but that's what has proved to work for us... hth.

Btw, I've never heard of a doctor or midwife give very good advice. OB's just want to stick you on antibiotics which FEED the yeast! I tried Nystatin for a long time to NO avail!! jmho

[HippieChristianMum]

I don't follow this thread either, I just saw it.

I thought I would add this in case anyone does follow. Last winter me and both of my kids had thrush really bad, to the point that my nipples were cracked and hurt terribly when the kids latched on. Both kids had it on and off in their mouths and bottoms. I used Gentian Violet mostly because I was so fed up with it that I would use the Violet at the first sigh of returning thrush in their mouths. It would go away and then come back over and over again for many months. Finally it just went away. The only thing that I can think of is that at the time we were eating grapefruit every single morning. I would cut a whole grapefruit and would share with both kids. I don't know if it was related or not, but that was the only thing that I did differently. I know grapefruit seed extract is very health-inducing and we use it a lot during winter colds, so I'm sure the grapefruit helped, too.

I don't know if that would work for anyone else, but I think it did for us.

[pumpkinseed]

Originally Posted by zuzunel09

I'm on an HMO so I can't go see any of the breastfeeding-friendly docs in the area (I've checked); could my son's ped possibly treat us for this? We see her on Tuesday and she may be more knowledgeable than my OB.

I know when I had thrush I had to get treated by my OB and my dd had to get treated by her ped. So I was on the phone with both and back and forth to the drs. It was frustrating.

Swabbing the inside of dd's mouth immediately after nursing with diluted GSE on a Q tip helped tremendously to clear her mouth up-the nystatin did nothing for her mouth - but the nystatin ointment did work for her dipe rash. I also would swab myself -the protocol is on Jack Newman's website. I also took a ton of GSE and probiotics-but obviously make sure you are not taking them at the same time. I felt like I was doing stuff around the clock for clearing it up-I was desperate-in so much pain-it lasted for a few months in me. Thankfully-dd only showed symptoms for a few weeks.

[zuzunel09]

Why can't I take the probiotics and GSE at once? Also, neither my OB or my son's ped have heard of ductal thrush in breastfeeding women, so a coordinated effort with both is not gonna happen.

[Dillpicklechip]

If you take the GSE and probiotics, the GSE will kill the probiotics off before they can do any good.

It's sad that so many doctors don't even know or refuse to believe that ductal thrush does exist. I can say from experience, it sure does exist, and it hurts like hell!

[zuzunel09]

So, we're poor and can't afford to go out of our very limited HMO network, and I'm just wondering, if I stick it out through the pain but no one diagnoses and properly treats me for this, will this eventually go away on it's own? Gentian violet and nystatin have not worked. Would GSE alone work?

[SeekingSerenity]

Originally Posted by zuzunel09

So, we're poor and can't afford to go out of our very limited HMO network, and I'm just wondering, if I stick it out through the pain but no one diagnoses and properly treats me for this, will this eventually go away on it's own? Gentian violet and nystatin have not worked. Would GSE alone work?

I had no luck taking GSE internally. I break open the capsules and mix the contents of one or two of them with two ounces of water, then pour that over the nipple right after baby nurses. Let it dry, and then I leave it on until right before the next nursing. Rinse it off and then re-apply again after baby's done.

I can't use GV on myself but I swab Lil'Man's mouth with it if I see the white spots. I've heard nystatin fails to work on at least half of the people who try it.

[Muj]

Hi mamas, I'm here for some advice.
DD is 9 months old and seems to have thrush. Her tongue has a thick white layer and there seems to be some white spots on her gums as well. That's it. No pain for me, no diaper rash, regular feedings, baby is otherwise fine.

I'm so scared though. I've heard it can get really bad.

I'll be rinsing after feedings, wearing cotton and boiling her pacifier everyday (maybe I wont and we'll try weaning her from it). I've called telehealth and the nurse said we should go to a walk in clinic and we'll get a prescription for nystan. She said we could wait for Monday as well if it doesn't get worse and go to our doctor.

Do you have any advice for me? Anybody want to commiserate? Will I be in this for the long run? I'm of to read as much of the previous posts in the thread as I can...

[bluejaunte]

Does this sound like thrush?

Crossposted from in the Breastfeeding Challenges forum -- thought mamas who've dealt with thrush might be able to help me figure this out ..
---------------------------------
Warning: long ..

I have no idea what's going on here .. maybe someone out there has some clue.

My little one has been breastfed for 22 months, and since some initial latch/positioning problems, all has been well. Sudden weirdness the past couple of weeks though.

It started out with my left nipple (and the part of the areola immediately surrounding the underside of the nipple) getting really dry for no apparent reason. Then the skin started cracking. I toughed it out and it healed. After a couple of days, that area got really itchy. Then the cracking came back, worse than before. I avoided nursing on that side for a couple of days until it healed -- and when it did heal, there was a shiny patch of dead skin that formed over it, and when I peeled it off, the dead skin was sort of crispy-textured. Odd.

Then I developed a crack in the right side, and three cracks in the left side, simultaneously. I figured I'd try nursing on one side for a couple of days to let one side heal, and then do the reverse. So for the past couple of days I nursed only on the right side to let the left side heal. It healed. Today I'm leaving the right side alone so it can heal, and am nursing only on the left. This was going smoothly until I noticed the left side getting really itchy again. That's where it is now and I'm dreading waking up in the morning (he nurses on and off through the night) with worse cracking than before (or really any cracking at all).

Weird thing is it's only on the undersides of the nipples. Nothing really on the sides or up top.

Other weird thing is the right one never really got dried out. It just developed that one crack overnight.

Have tried treating it like thrush (taking grapefruit seed extract & vitamin E & probiotics -- and I don't really eat any processed sugars/white flours/etc.). Have tried antibiotic ointment. Have tried nipple balm (Earth Mama Angel Baby brand). Have tried airing them out. They heal quickly if I can keep from nursing on them -- but then they come back. I just don't know WTF is going on, and now it's looking like the left one is gearing up to crack again.

I noticed the itchiness tonight after I got out of the shower. But I haven't changed my soap or anything. (I haven't been even putting soap directly on the affected areas, for fear of drying them out more).

I've researched other threads on here, and articles on kellymom, and can't find anything that matches this. I don't think it's thrush, even though there's the weirdness with the shiny dry skin, because isn't thrush supposed to be able to get in if there are already cracks -- thrush doesn't directly cause them?

I don't have any skin disorders, and amn't getting the dry skin issues anywhere else. His latch seems fine. Whatever this is, it's annoying and it hurts like hell.

Sorry so long. In short -- help? Please?

[mzminty]

Bumping this for myself and anyone else who needs it!  

[AmyD.]

I posted in this thread a long time ago, when my daughter was just a couple of months old. Even though I found a lot of help, I didn't find a lot of hope so I thought I'd come back and update.

It took about 5 months, but we did beat thrush!! I can't remember every detail of our protocol, but I'll post what I remember in case it helps someone else.

Diflucan-My MW wouldn't give me a high enough dose for long enough, but I do think it helped. It would almost go away just as I was finishing, and then be back in full force a few days later. I believe I did a 10 day course of 50mg per day. She only gave me 2 courses, and I knew it would be a battle to get more so I didn't even try.

After the Diflucan, I started Candex. I think I started with 2 tablets 4x a day for a week, then down to 6 for 2 weeks, and then 4 for several months.

Probiotics. Nature's Way purple bottle. It was crazy expensive, I took it in the middle of the night when I was up nursing.

During the whole treatment I swabbed her mouth with GSE after every feeding. I couldn't use it on my nipples, it made them so dried out they cracked, which certainly didn't help the pain. On my nipples I used APNO.

I also did GV once a day for a week right after finishing the Diflucan. I know I did 2 courses of the GV, I can't remember the exact timeline, but I went with Jack Newman's recommendation. I think it was either 5 or 7 days, and then off a week.

I cut out as much refined sugar as possible. I know it sounds selfish, but I just wasn't willing to cut all wheat and dairy out of my diet. It did definitely help though just cutting out plain sugar.

She was born in April, the summer was absolutely awful. I really think the warm temperatures contributed to the problem. I think I started my second round of Diflucan around the beg of Aug, and w/in a month my symptoms wetre gone. I went back to a normal diet and quit the GSE and APNO. I kept up a maintance dose of Candex and probiotics for several months but it didn't return.

Hang in there mamas! If I can do it anyone can!!!

[WuWei]

Bump.

Pat

[LilMomma83]

Originally Posted by LilMomma83 

Originally Posted by purplerascal

Gosh, LilMomma, you've done the rounds! Good on you for being so persistent, but I'm so sorry that nobody has been able to fix things yet.



They're rare, alas. Breastfeeding Resources in CT is one example
http://www.breastfeedingresources.com/ and I wonder if they might do a phone consultation, or refer you to someone in your area? Worth a try. They were the first to even *mention* the possibility of bacterial infection rather than yeast. Midwives and LCs and family doctor had no idea - in fact I had googled everything on yeast and knew more than they did, but it didn't help because I was barking up the wrong tree.

But any good doctor should be able to tell if it's a bacterial infection, just by looking with the otoscope. I'm not an expert but apparently the ooze is pretty obvious under magnification. They can take a swab, but it's unlikely to be definitive, as there are so many different bacteria on the skin anyway.

I wonder whether a dermatologist could also help - even just by ruling out thrush, or ruling in something else. And I'd be interested to hear what the breast surgeon has to say, and whether they know much about lactation anyway. Funny to think you can specialise in that area of the body but not necessarily have a handle on their actual main function...

Very best of luck getting a solution to this! I should add that with my first baby I had about 12 weeks of nonspecific pain before my nipples got used to it - nothing was apparently wrong, latch perfect, no infections or cracks or anything, just a really excruciating breaking-in period. It's a huge bummer but if you can tough it out it will (should) get much much better. Hang in there - it's such a hard job and you're doing everything right.

Thanks so much for the encouragement and ideas! It is pretty crazy, right? I actually spoke to a nurse practisionor (sp?) over the phone who said, "Ohh..I've never dealt with lactation before, let me have the doctor call you back."

Nobody has used magnification to examine me - so I'm thinking next time I will insist on that.

The website was under construction, but I will check back.

I am definately sticking with it, and if the pain just goes away on it's own - that's awesome!

...I'll post an update after next week...

Wow...guess I never updated LOL!!! So 2 kids later...

I did NOT have thrush!! I was tested for that and bacterial infections and it was negative...the pain lessened when he was about 6 months old. I just found out a few months ago (he's 5!) that he has a tongue tie which was causing all my pain! Crazy! My younger two also had tongue ties, just finally got my youngest diagnosed and released a few months ago and will soon be getting the big kids done as they both still have issues despite being weaned now. and I did finally get thrush for real with my youngest...wasn't pleasent...but, interestingly it was kicked in less than 2 weeks...also felt quite different than the pain from the tongue tie...but since I didn't know the difference and nobody suggested it I just thought is was thrush (actually the LCs told me that as well...thankfully I did my own research this time).

Good luck to everyopne dealing with thrush...it sucks for sure - thanks to this htread when I did get it for real I knew to be super diligent to get rid of it!

[Adaline'sMama]

Hi,

Im bumping this thread up because I found it to be really helpful. I've been battling thrush for almost three weeks now, and it is awful. I've tried all kinds of these remedies (and diflucan) - aside from the tanning. I guess there's a first time for everything in life :) Tomorrow Im going to the tanning bed. 

[Chloe'sMama]

I don't know if we have thrush.... D's has a bad diaper rash that the doc said may be a yeast infection and now I am having very painful letdowns. I was on a paleo. Diet for 6 weeks before baby was born and have been eating sugar like crazy since then. I am going back on paleolithic but wondering what else I can do that will work.

Any way to tell if it is thrush or just treat for it?

[theboysmama]

I subscribed to this thread years ago and it just popped up on my messages. I had forgotten about it.

I wanted to share what finally worked for us.

After a long long long battle of systemic yeast, we had tried what felt like everything.

I had vaginal yeast, in my bum, thrush on the nipples, and sometimes even in my mouth. The nurslings were the same with my son having it on his bum and in his mouth until he weaned and then his went away. My daughter (whom i was pregnant with when it all started so terribly) had it everywhere as well.

I was visiting Hawaii and we were at a farmers market. A women was selling a natural cleaning solution. She was saying it worked for everything. I just wasn't buying it until she said it even can clear up yeast, etc. She had me sold. I bought a small bottle (wish I had purchased more). I was pregnant at the time and still nursing dd1. I sprayed it vaginally several times a day and would even spray it in our mouths when it seemed yeasty. I sprayed it on the nipples too. Within a few weeks it was completely gone. It would resurface if we stopped using it but was less severe each time. Dd 1 weaned at 3 1/2 and she still has to spray it several times a week to keep it from flaring up but I only need to use it every few months or so. It is called green max pro http://www.greenmaxpro.com/ This stuff is truely amazing and truely natural. It not only works for yeast but everything else. It is kind of like windex was on the movie big fat greek wedding, lol

I am not a consultant or anything I just wanted to pass on this amazing product and how well it worked for us.

[knittindigo]

Reading through all these posts about little ones and thrush! My daughter is already 8 mo old and when I picked her up from daycare today she had what looked like a burn on the tip of her tongue. They said they thought she had thrush. We've been successfully breastfeeding this whole time and I hate the idea of stopping now. Is it really that difficult to get rid of thrush for all babies?