Thrush - how long to recover

[spring_ag]

I think I've put this under a wrong thread so I'll just post another one here:

During the 2 weeks check up, the nurse suspected that DS had oral thrush because he had some white coated layer on his tounge but I didnt have any symptoms at that time. I gave nilstat drop for DS and put Dactarin gel on my nipple. However last week I saw LC and because I still didnt have symptoms and DS only had the white layer on his tounge, she said it might not be thrush but just milk residue. So I stopped using the drop and gel (after about 10 days using it).
The past several days, I had this terrible pain ... deep sharp and throbbing pain in the breast, so I guess I now have the symptoms Couldnt sleep through the night and the GP gave me Nilstat tablet to drink.

Can I ask from you who have experienced this, how long does it take you and your baby to completely recover from thrush? And what medication did you use? How to make sure you wont get it again?

This is my first baby and I have been having various problems with BF so far (bought a breastpump last night just in case, but will try to delay using it as long as possible), so any tips / advise would be really appreciated!

Thanks in advance !

[MamaPan]

my nurse told me that a way to see if it is milk residue versus thrush is to try to wipe it off with a cotton tip - milk will wipe away and thrush wont...

[Hoody]

i dont know how long it will last or what treatments are the best but please if you want to continue to BF get on top of it now.......it sound like you already are but from my past exp if left untreated it can be unbearable. I had it so severely i would cry at the thought of BF and make DD wait for her feeds.. after 2 weeks of agony i got seen to but mentally i'd had enough. I think if i'd been seen to earlier (naiively i was hoping it would go away.....we were using only the oral cream) i would have stuck to BF. I felt so much guilt at failing to BF my DD past 7 wks. This time around i have so much support and wont hesitate to try and resolve any issues i get. Goodluck and i hope it works out for you.

[Astrid]

With thrush it is a good idea to treat your whole body, rather than just your nipples and bub's mouth. So look at taking some form of pro-biotic (In-liven, Inner health plus etc) and eliminate from your diet foods that feed thrush(Vegemite, yeasty foods, sugars etc) Google candida diet to get an idea, but also don't do anything drastic, just eat healthy.

I struggled for ages to get rid of thrush, the oral gels and drops just were not cutting it. Old fashioned Gentian Violet helped, it is hard to find, but can be worth it. I notice you are in Melbourne, if you are having a lot of trouble with thrush see Dr Lisa Amir, breastfeeding and thrush are her speciality.

[bubbaloo]

I agree with Astrid...

I suffered with thrush for several weeks. DS was symptom free fortunately, but OMG the pain I endured!!

After applying the Daktarin oral gel religiously for a couple of weeks with little/no relief, my GP suggested I take one of those over-the-counter vag thrush treatment tablets (I can't think of the name) - I did this three days running. I also eliminated sugar (as much as possible) from my diet as whenever I had sweet things I noticed that the pain was worse. I also started taking Fast Tract, which is a probiotic liquid.

Finally, a couple weeks on, the pain has gone and I can now eat sweet things again . In my opinion, the most effective things were the limitation of sugar in my diet, and the Fast Tract.

Good luck. I know what you are going through!

[Barb Glare]

Hi,

It sounds like you are having a rough time. It must be very painful. Did visiting the LC help? Often it is difficult to tell the difference between the symptoms of a fungal infection (thrush) and a bacterial infection (such as mastitis) I wonder, do you feel sick or "fluey"? Is your breast hot or red? Do you have a temperature? It might be worth keeping your breast as empty as possible (feeding baby frequently) It's Irritating - that the symptoms are so similar -because if it is fungal, taking antibiotics can make it worse. However, current research is tending to support the belief that "thrush" (fungal infection) is a lot lless common than we thought, and much breastpain is actually a bacterial infection, or the result of poor positioning/trauma to nipples.
So where does that leave you? Well, don't be too fearful. Thrush is a term that strikes dread into breastfeeding mothers. Continue to observe your symptoms. Take care with positioning, feed frequently to keep breast as empty as possible. Consult your Dr or LC again if it doesn't go away - you may need another treatment.
Warm Regards
Barb

[spring_ag]

Thanks ladies for all your responses and kind thoughts. This is why I love BB, everyone is so supportive!

Come to think of it, I did have some kind of symptoms before, but I was on antibiotics and pain killer most of the time so I didn’t take it to seriously then.
Being first time mum, I initially thought the pain is ‘given’ with breastfeeding and that this is ‘normal’ and just pain from re-filling of the milk. Until recently when I spoke to people about BF (incl. ABA consultant) and everyone kept saying that I shouldn’t have this type of pain, then I realised that this is not normal

I am taking inner health plus at the moment, but haven’t changed my diet. I will try to decrease my sugar, milk, and bread consumptions (but what else can I eat??)

Astrid, I see how I go with the current medication but might see dr amir if things are not improving

NelleBelle, is Fast Tract different from Inner Health Plus? Are they stronger?

Barb, my visit to LC helped a lot with my attachment (initially we thought I had pain from wrong attachment) but although my attachment is generally okay now, the deep and sharp pain’s still there.
I also had a blocked milk duct on my nipple (milk blister) and was removed by the GP two days ago. When I had that, that’s when the pain is worst and excruciating because DS refused to feed from that side and my breast’s so engorged. At that time my breast felt really hot.
Reading your post esp the part on thrush is not that common, I am a bit unsure now … whether this is thrush. I still have the pain (esp during the night), so I probably continue with the medication and might give LC / GP another visit.

Thanks again everyone!!

[Astrid]

Dr Amir was doing study into a way of detecting thrush, I took part in the test, but unfortunately have not gotten around to finding out the results to see if her way of testing of thrush was successful or not.

In-liven is heaps better than InnerHealth plus, here is some info here:
In-Liven - Why Our Members Are In-Love With Mivitality In-Liven!

[spring_ag]

Barb, can you please help? I finished all the tablets the dr gave me, but pain is still there ... it hasn't improved a lot! I also noticed some red streaks on my breast and I felt hot most of the time.
Do you think I can have both, thrush and mastitis? Can you give me some advice, please

I am going to make another appointment with my GP.
Astrid, I tried to contact dr amir but the earliest appointment is in November

[Barb Glare]

Hi,

It would be still worth keeping that appointement, just in case. I would be looking now at the mastitis thing. It is confusing - symptoms are so similar. I would be heading back to the doctor today - it sounds like you have mastitis.
Warm Regards
Barb

[bubbaloo]

Hi again,

I've only just now spotted your question re Fast Tract. FT is one of the strongest pro-biotics on the market and is the only organic one. Kelly can probably explain it better than I can... or if you look in the General Health section of the forum, you'll find a sticky thread devoted to Fast Tract and in Liven which should answer any questions you might have.

Oh, and for what it's worth, I also got mastitis whilst I had thrush. So I can completely empathise with what you're going through. For mastitis, you need antibiotics, and they'll kill off all the good bacteria in your digestive system (including those that you are ingesting with innerr health or fast tract) which is exactly what you don't want when you're fighting thrush. I found that I needed to focus on clearing the mastitis first, and then as soon as I'd finished the course of antibiotics, starting back on the probiotics (there's no point taking them at the same time).

Anyways... good luck!