Recurring thrush - tried everything

[masika99]

I’ve been having a recurring thrush for years. On and off. Went through an intense fluconazole treatment which helped for a bit but then the thrush came back. Recently after getting a UTI which was treated with antibiotics my thrush came back and it’s very intense. On top of it I feel very uncomfortable down there which has intensified ever-since I had UTI.

i tried all the basics: cotton underwear, no soap, organic cotton sanitary products etc.

I even tried medical grade honey. Still no luck.

Would appreciate some advice on what else I can try. I wonder if the root cause is deeper and would love to hear from others who had a similar issue. In the meantime trying to get an appointment with the GP.

I was back and forth to the Dr and on fluconazole (despite it not always showing up as thrush) and whether it was just pot luck or true I have no idea but....I started using a hypoallergenic washing powder and nothing else on my undies. I refuse to try anything else because after a year I'm happy it's gone.
Don't know if that's worth a shot but as you probably are now I was just desperate it's awful and I'm so sorry you're going through it.

Womens Probiotics.m and the canesten priobiotic (think it’s called that) cleared mine up. Treat your partner too. Hope something works for you, it is so awful

I had a similar issue and it turned out I was diabetic. I had no idea that was a diabetic thing. I hope you can get to the source of the issue, good luck.

I think that there is a type of thrush that fluconazole doesn't work on, so it might be worth checking which type you have as it might need different treatment. I know some women swear by boric acid pessaries, but I've no experience of them. Hope you're sorted soon.

Even if not diabetic, look at your overall sugars intake. Watch for fructose - juice, fruits, wine etc. too much exacerbated thrush in my case. Worse in peri. Dr could not explain it, but cutting out as much sugar as I could fixed the problem.

Canesten with hydrocortisone, killer combination never fails (for me)

It was getting thrush a few times for the first time ever that lead me to speak to the GP and then being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes.

Giving up sugar totally worked for me. Even dairy (because of lactose) and fruit sugars initially. I can now tolerate small amounts of sugar but if I overdo it it comes back. I also gave up alcohol for a while. I followed an anti candida diet initially and to this day follow the basic principles to keep things in check. It's hard work initially but worth it to not have thrush constantly!!

Could you be diabetic, has anyone ever checked your blood sugar?

Or how old are you, could this be peri with vaginal atrophy?

Is it definitely thrush and not something like lichen sclerosis?

And finally if thrush have you ever had a swab sent to check it is actually sensitive to fluconazole?

Type 2 diabetes? How thirsty are you?

Cut out sugar and white carbs for a while. See if that helps? I think most problems start from the gut tbh. Take pre /probiotics and eat a high fibre healthy diet think lentils veggies but minimal fruits and juices.

What everyone says about sugar! But also it's absolutely normal to get thrush after antibiotics and you will need to treat the thrush again.

Do you wear thongs?

Treat your partner.
It’s very common for men to catch thrush from their partner and be completely asymptomatic, then he will keep reinfecting you.
(And yes I agree about the blood sugar. Good idea to get that checked.)

Do you wash your hair in the shower? Or use face wash in the shower? I thought I had thrush, despite never using soap. Turns out suds from the rest of my body were washing down.

Washing with surcare only, sleeping pant free, avoiding too much sugar/alcohol and getting enough sleep all keep it at bay for me too, if I'm run down thrush follows.

Also multi-gyn acti-gel (on Amazon) is amazing stuff, burns initially then really soothes any itch.

Google ‘tea-tree oil tampon for thrush’.

Works for me every time. I’m also more likely to come down with it when my sugar intake is OTT, especially at Christmas time.

Is it always around the time of your period?

When I thought I had this, it turned out to be perimenopause/atrophy. It’s pretty common for women to mistake that for thrush, apparently. Especially if you’ve not had actual thrush very often and your idea of what it’s like is slightly vague.

Following

Are you only doing pessary treatments? You can get oral tablet canesten. I had recurrent thrush and the oral tablet rather than pessary solved it. My partner also took tablet and used cream for a week same time. Got it again pregnant, absolute ballache as couldn't take the tablet so I had to have a maintenance pessary once a week until birth! Then all the stuff likely already doing, cotton undies, reduce dietary sugar, no perfumy washes or anything!

Sometimes the pill you swallow doesn’t get rid of it and you need an actual pessary that you insert in the vagina. In fact sometimes you need a course of pessaries not just one.

I find that some brands of pessary don’t work for me whereas other brands clear up the thrush. It seems ridiculous because supposedly they all contain the same ingredients, but Canesten doesn’t work whereas the unbranded one from my local pharmacy does work. In my experience (sorry if TMI) it only works if there’s a chalky discharge afterwards, any brand of pessary that doesn’t produce a chalky discharge doesn’t work.

Get the GP to test you and make sure it’s definitely thrush, and which strain. Rule out the possibility that it’s bacterial vaginosis or gonorrhea or something. Then get your partner tested and treated as well, with cream and the pill you swallow, because if he’s carrying it he could have no symptoms but he keeps reinfecting you.

Boots thrush and BV pessaries worked for me when I had recurring thrush. I had it recurring for 5 years after pregnancy. They got rid of it straight away and I’ve been free of it for 18 months. They contain boric acid as another poster mentioned above.

Just coming on to say check your blood sugar. I had difficult recurring thrush for years and I was diabetic. It was the first symptom I had.

Cut out sugar. Look into gut health.

Time to ask for a referral