Is this thrush?

[doodleboo]

DD BF fed beautifully from day 1, but after about 8 days she seemed to have problems keeping suction.

My milk has come in and settled down again so it's not that she can't latch on due to me being too huge, although i know that hyperactive let down causes some problems at the start of feeds.

I have taken her to the GP and he said he couldn't see evidence of thrush but gave me nystatin and said to use it if i thought i needed to - so i have used it for about 3 days and not seen a lot of improvement (how long should i be using it for? - he didn't tell me...)

I decided to stop and see if it got worse again as i didn't want to give her medicine unnecessarily, and she seems about the same, she latches on and off and 'clicks' quite often during feeds.

I now have shooting pains up the sides of my breasts during some feeds and quite sore nipples - is this thrush or due to her not feeding as well.

Does it sound like i need to go back to the GP and get some medication to treat me for thrush too?

Thanks for reading - she is my second DC so i may have recognised the symptons of thrush before the white spots showed up in her mouth but am just a bit unsure about it all now!

[kookykid]

Does she have red spots around her bottom? My DD and I had a terrible time with thrush. My nips were extremely tender and cracked. BFing made me grip the duvet in agony. DD was squirmy during a feed, had red spots on her bum and the classic white looking mouth. My midwives put me on an no-yeast diet and DD and I were perscribed Daktarin (and Canesten for me too). It was a good few weeks of treatment but symptoms cleared within two. Apparently it can have a bit of a comeback about 10 days after treatment starts as well, but not for long.
Don't know if this helps, but hope things improve for you soon. Don't give up the BFing though!

[pobletsmum]

Could DD have a tongue tie?
Can you try to see a breastfeeding counsellor to check the latch?
Thrush pains generally start after the end of a feed, I think. Without any visible signs, I would be wary about going down the thrush route until you have eliminated all else. If you/GP think it could be thrush and you are treating DD, you definitely need to use Daktarin cream on your nipples after each feed too. There isn't much point only treating DD - need to do both of you together. I suggest you google Breastfeeding Ntwork's thrush leaflet, a really useful resource. They recommend Daktarin oral gel rather than Nystatin drops for babies with thrush and have all the details of treatments. You can print it out and take to GP.

DD (my 2nd DC) is 3 months old, but I have had all sorts of feeding diffs this time, after no major probs with DS, who had a tongue tie. I did have thrush this time but have also needed help to perfect the latch (eliminated this before embarking on course of fluconazole for thrush). I still have pain (one nipple sore & shooting breast pain) at/after odd feeds now, but once the thrush had gone, things gradually improved by themselves to this point, which is bearable.

I really feel for you. Breast/nipple pain and feeding probs are miserable!

[doodleboo]

It's not at the point of agony yet, but i'm pretty sure it's not a problem with her latch as she has been absolutely text book (unlike DS!) so far.

I will have a look at the leaflet and see how things go over the next few days before i retry treating us both for thrush.

My midwife was really surprised he hadn't treated both of us - not much point just treating her really but having just had a baby i didn't think of any of these sensible questions until after i'd left the surgery!

[pobletsmum]

How's it going doodleboo?