Thrush for three plus months

[@llli*mec1583]

Hello everyone...This is my first post on here...I am reaching my wits end.

I have been battling thrush since my daughter was three weeks old- she is now 17 weeks old. I am positive it came on as a result of the IV antibiotics I was given during labor for group B strep. I have tried everything to get rid of the thrush!
I take 9 capsules of probiotics per day, take GSE caplets (500mg/day), and have cut all sugar/sweets out of my diet, including fruit.
I was on diflucan for four weeks (150 mg a day), and it doesn't seem to have helped much. I am still getting horrible sharp shooting pains in my breasts, my nipples are bright red and itch/burn. I am back at work full time and have to pump at work and bottle feed the baby while I am gone. All of her bottles and my pump parts are boiled daily for 20 mins with a few drops of GSE added to the water. I wash all clothes in hot water with GSE added to the rinse cycle. I wipe down all surfaces with diluted GSE in a spray bottle to kill yeast. I take off my bra as soon as I get home to air out my breasts as much as possible. I rinse off my nipples with diluted gse after every feeding and have been using a homemade APNO consisting of hydrocortisone, miconazole, and polysporin on them afterwards.

I am very uncomfortable because of this and stressed out.

The baby's doctor does not seem to believe she has thrush, although she does have a white coated tongue. I have explained to him that since I am experiencing symptoms, she should be treated too, but he will not agree with me. I have been treating her with probiotics when I can and swabbing her mouth out with GSE when I can. The problem is that my husband, who watches her during the day, does not keep up the treatments while I am at work.

I am considering weaning because of this; I cannot bear the additional stress and pain I am going through. I feel like I am doing everything in my power to stop this and nothing is helping. I feel like I am going out of my mind sometimes. I am a first time mom, so the stress of having a new baby coupled with the constant pain/discomfort, and all of the additional measures I am taking is really starting to wear on me. I am also losing a lot of weight because of the restrictive diet I have been on. I do not want to wean because I love nursing my daughter and know it is best for her, but I am reaching the end of my rope with this.

I am just looking for some words of encouragement, advice, etc... has anyone else been through this for so long? I am so jealous of those who have had a pain and hassle-free nursing experience...I don't even know what it's like to breastfeed without pain at this point...

TIA, sorry my post is so long!

[@llli*duckpond]

I have been through something similar. I developed thrush shortly before becoming pregnant with our third child, and was, thus, unable to treat it with diflucan until much later in the pregnancy. I did GSE, gentian violet, no carb, nystatin, various disgusting herbal capsules and tinctures. I don't even remember what else. And so painful! I was also nursing our second child at the time (we have since weaned, which I don't think we would have had to do if I could have cleared up the thrush sooner). Anyway, I believe that I was dealing with it for about 9 months. And it is horrible. I am so sorry! What ended up helping me was using Dr Newman's protocol once I hit third trimester. It took 3 full weeks of a higher dose than you were given. However, at this point, it might be worth you #1 finding a more supportive doctor, #2 getting a culture to make sure it is yeast and what it is resistant to and vulnerable to, and #3 finding someone who is willing to treat your daughter as well. Once it sets in for the long haul, it is more difficult to shift, even if you are doing the right things, so find someone who is willing to really dig into this process with you and MAKE it get better. You shouldn't have to wean just to get relief (although, I understand the impulse. I did it myself, although I still wish I hadn't had to.)

[@llli*maddieb]

Oh I am so sorry, this sounds horrible.

OK, don't get mad, I first just want to throw out there-is it at all possible the pain IS from something else? Tongue tie, vasospasm? A bacterial infection on the nipple? Has all that been ruled out? Thrush is more rare than once thought, and is actually overdiagnosed, so its just something to consider.

Thrush in a baby does not present as a white coated tongue. A white coating ion the tongue is normal. As I understand it, for thrush you would see white spots or blotches that, when rubbed or scratched, may red or bleed, and or, white on the inner cheeks and gums.

BUT if it is thrush, a baby can be assymptomatic with thrush, and even so, baby still needs to be treated. Your doctor is flat out wrong for not treating your baby. Have you sought a second opinion?

The most effective prescription treatment for thrush, according to the lactation text Breastfeeding Answers Made Simple (Mohrbacher, 2010) is oral fluconazole, given to both baby and mother. She notes specific doses etc. OTC treatments listed are gentian violet for both baby and mother and cream antifungals for mom. I suspect you are past the point were a cream antifungal will help but have you tried gentian violet?

Have you seen a board certified lactation consultant? Plus I suggest you take immediate measures to get back to a healthy weight!

[@llli*katmar]

I'm so sorry you are going through this! i had thrush on and off for 6 months, and was in severe pain about half that time. I cant imagine douing that and working full time too, though at least you dont have a baby latched to you 24 hrs and can get a nipple break. Though I never found pumping very comfortable. I also had vasospasms, andI think some of my pain came from that -- perhaps you have more than one thing going on? Anyhow, I saw a doctor that flat out told me there was no way we had thrush, about two daysbefore my son's mouth was covered in white. I was furious, and saw another doctor who gave us the diflucan script. We got a refillable script and would use it as long and often as necessary. This doc suggested we might have picked up a resistant strain in the NICU. i also asked the second doctor, who is quite supportive of diverse medical approaches and even shares his practice with an accupuncturist (gotta love California), if I should be changing my diet. He said that we would only need to worry about that if I had diabetes, because my milk is already so full of sugar but not out of balance -- in other words, that my body can process sugars just fine. So I went with that because, like you, during the two weeks I tried to limit my diet I lost way too much weight. So I would really recommend leaving the special diet for now. I'm sure other people will disagree with that, but I just decided that there was only so much I could do. It did go away at abou 6 months and hasnt returned yet. I hope you are in less pain soon! And at least, on here, you will be in good company with people who have experienced difficulty nursing! I think most of us know pain well, and yet find nursing better than the alternatives. You are not alone!

[@llli*aprilsmagic]

Oh I am so sorry, this sounds horrible.

OK, don't get mad, I first just want to throw out there-is it at all possible the pain IS from something else? Tongue tie, vasospasm? A bacterial infection on the nipple? Has all that been ruled out? Thrush is more rare than once thought, and is actually overdiagnosed, so its just something to consider.

Thrush in a baby does not present as a white coated tongue. A white coating ion the tongue is normal. As I understand it, for thrush you would see white spots or blotches that, when rubbed or scratched, may red or bleed, and or, white on the inner cheeks and gums.

BUT if it is thrush, a baby can be assymptomatic with thrush, and even so, baby still needs to be treated. Your doctor is flat out wrong for not treating your baby. Have you sought a second opinion?

The most effective prescription treatment for thrush, according to the lactation text Breastfeeding Answers Made Simple (Mohrbacher, 2010) is oral fluconazole, given to both baby and mother. She notes specific doses etc. OTC treatments listed are gentian violet for both baby and mother and cream antifungals for mom. I suspect you are past the point were a cream antifungal will help but have you tried gentian violet?

Have you seen a board certified lactation consultant? Plus I suggest you take immediate measures to get back to a healthy weight!

[@llli*shortthumbs]

I'm so sorry, that must be so frustrating and painful. Your pediatrician sounds misinformed, so don't be afraid to fire him and get a new one! Or at least, a second opinion. I'm also shocked that your husband sees you in pain but does not support the treatments when he is caring for your child! Wow. Is there a way to get him more on board with things?

[@llli*andy]

I thought I had thrush for a few months and it turned out to be vasospasms. It felt just like thrush, which I had with DS1. I tried everything to get the "thrush" to go away, just like you. My baby's tongue was white and would not wipe off, too. Have you looked into vasospasm symptoms?

[@llli*mec1583]

Thanks for all of the replies. I have tried gentian violet and it did not work for me, and oral fluconazole didn't do much for me either. I have also been taking a LOT of probiotics if the hope of rebalancing my yeast.

I might have some vasospams going on as well, is that when the tip of my nipple turns white after a feeding? Would vasopasms cause shooting pains throughout the breast though?

I guess I am just at a loss. I have spoken with a IBCLC and she basically suggested I go to a dermatologist to get them to check it out. I'm not sure what a dermatologist would do to help me.

I am hopeful that this will go away SOMEDAY- I just wish it wasn't interfering with my nursing experience now...

[@llli*andy]

Yes, the vasospasm sent shooting pains through my breasts and felt just like thrush. If the tip of your nipple turns white, I would say it's most likely vasospasms. Perhaps all of the meds and cleaning are irritating you and drying you out on top of the vasospasms.