To ask how to get rid of the most persistent thrush

[DK123]

Posting on aibu for traffic!

I'm desperate to get rid of this thrush that's come and gone for months and I cannot permanently shift it.

I've tried taking fluconozole and itraconazole for weeks at a time. I don't have anything with sugar, I've been careful re cotton pants, laundry detergents, been drinking kefir for months, but it keeps coming back.

I've got slight stomach discomfort and a lot of soreness with it too.

Definitely not pregnant or an sti.

Can anyone tell me if they've had a similar experience and any suggestions for what I can do or what I could ask a doctor for?

Thank you!!

But thank you for the b12 suggestions, I'll get that checked, you never know, it might be the cause.

Try women's health probiotics. I had a nasty thrush infection this summer that kept coming back. I treated it with (another!) pessary and immediately started taking OptiBac Probiotics for Women. Absolute miracle, instant relief.

I remember hearing years ago applying live yogurt to the area was meant to be effective

@DK123 I'm 38 and at peri menopausal stage

Do you use a moon cup op? I would get thrush after each period when I used it.

Mine used to be just after each period too. B12 worth looking into for definite but I cannot recommend extended use of the internal cream. I'm a bit preachy I know but it just ended years of discomfort

I had this same age as you and when I was trying for dd2. Weeks of taking anti fungal creams.

Couple of things may have finally got rid of it. I stopped using tampax and eventually minimised use of towels. Made husband take tablets too in case of reinfection.

I was peri menopause (now 50 and well and truly into menopause).

I think it was the tampax / towels causing it. I've been on merina coil so not periods for 10 years and no thrush either.

Have you been checked for diabetes? Persistent thrush can be one of the signs

I've been told men don't carry it and transfer it but that is nonsense, I had a partner who kept reinfecting me as he ate a diet high in yeast promoting foods and lots of booze. What works is as stated lowering yeast promoting foods until symptoms improved so anything aged like cheese, pickles, wine, vinegar and sugars, bread. At the same time taking high strength probiotics to help repopulate beneficial bacteria to crowd out the candida. Lower fruit other than berries, no fruit juice. A food multinutrient with D and B12 and oil of oregano is very effective. So is Citrocidal but can make you feel a bit sick. Natural body products for showering no soap directly around vulva as acidic ph balance can be imbalanced.

Agree with the multivit.

B12 makes sense- i found i got thrush when my iron is low, which of course is linked. Take my multivits, especially iron and high dose B12, and never had it since (touch wood).

My GP recommended not wearing pants where at all possible, so e.g. WFH just wear a long skirt and no pants. Annoying in winter because I usually want to wear leggings but it did help.

I also find tampons are basically a catastrophe, pads aren't great - I've been told to switch to a moon cup but I can't seem to get the hang of it. I probably need to get some reusable pads and see if they help as periods are not good for it. If you're on the pill, I string several packs together to avoid periods as they also give me a gyppy tummy.

Finally clotrimazole with hydrocortisone cream is the best for stopping the irritation getting too bad.

I feel your pain, it really sucks.

I had persistent thrush until I gave up hormonal contraceptives

Same here. Only I seem to have maybe 10 days off each month after AF, before either BV or thrush kicks in, drives me bonkers. Gp have been utterly useless.

Tea tree oil helps for me when Over counters meds don’t touch it. 5 drops or so in bowl of warm water and sit in it for 10min. Can repeat as often as need but helps to knock fungal side for me, or at least enough so it doesn’t cause problems.

I had persistent thrush but it wasn't too severe. I chucked away all my knickers and bought new ones (they were all cotton but I guess the infection lingered on some of them). Ironing crutch also sounds like a good suggestion.

I had a similar experience, honestly it had plagued me for years, especially after sex then I would take fluconzole only it to come back next time. It really got me down. I did low sugar ect like you didn't work. Went to see top gynaecologist who discovered I actually had low estrogen and needed vaginal HRT to plumpen the tissue which wasn't noticeable by eye. It's changed my life. For years gps fobbed me off with thrush when in reality they didn't know what it was. Please go and get it checked out, I'm in my 30s. I ended up paying privately and it was the best 150 pounds I've ever spent!

Boric acid pessaries

Salcura Topida Spray

Thank you so much again everyone for making suggestions, I felt very alone and down about it earlier. I think it could definitely have some cause in hormonal issues and I will definitely see someone who can help with that aspect!

I used to get it a lot when I lived in a flat with no shower, only a bath. Do you take a lot of baths? Soap in the water can cause thrush.

Cut out baths if you have them. Take probiotics , live yoghurt also works ! I hope you are thrush free soon, it is awful x

This used to be me too. I started eating full fat Greek yogurt everyday and it helped but the thing that completely stopped it was changing my birth control pill. Could it be that?

Multigyn gel. I have also added a drop of tea tree oil to the multigyn and used that (carefully, it is strong and can be uncomfortable).

Wash everything at 60 degrees min and wash towels at 90. Use a fresh towel every day

DD had recurrent thrush. It turned out to be one of the many symptoms of undiagnosed Coeliac Disease. You mentioned stomach discomfort so I wonder if it is related. Have you been checked for this?

@Heartofstrings yep I had awful recurrent thrush with the mirena (sp?) coil . It was absolutely awful- any sex would set it off and then I couldn’t shake it for weeks. Got coil removed and I don’t think I’ve had a single bout since .