So, we have got thrush....self medicating?

[iarebaboon]

and have been given nystatin for DD and daktacort for me

Having read this leaflet as recommended on here I'm not confident that this is the best course of treatment (particularly as DP has the same daktacort cream for his scabby feet and how I'm meant to apply the nystatin to 6 week old DD's clenched shut mouth and make her hold it there for 1 minute is quite beyond me

Can anyone give me hope that this course of treatment will help?

I've read on herethat some people have bought more effective treatments over the counter. Diflucan? Something like that? Is it what you take when you have vaginal thrush? or grapefruit seed extract? Does that work?

I don't want to dismiss what we've been Prescribed without giving it a fair go but after subjecting myself to excruciating pain every two hours for 6 weeks I could really do with getting this sorted out

I got perscribed cannisten cream (you can buy over the counter just regular one for your bits) for my nipples! you put it on after every feed and if there's any on when baby feeds next time, just wipe off the excess. Doctor said it stops it living on your skin and re-infecting you're ducts.

I had it deep in my milk ducts, but also my nipples were infected and really chaffed and cracked when DS fed, silicone nipple protectors literally saved me from giving up breastfeeding at that point. It also slowed down him sucking and the milk came out slower so it wasn't so painful! I just got some basic ones from boots that cost about £4.

oh and tomee tipee do cooling nipple pads. I have some re-useable ones that go in the fridge, but these are sterile ones that are disposable. So overpriced, but then again I only ever bought one packet and they literally saved me when I had thrush. This is the link of amazon, but they sell them at asda!

www.amazon.co.uk/Tommee-Tippee-Closer-Sterile-Cooling/dp/B003BEDRH0/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1317047271&sr=8-7

Hope you feel better! I was lucky and had a GP who breastfed, so she gave me Fluxocillin(spellcheck!). Which I think it the daddy of killing thrush, but everyone at baby cafe said I was lucky to get it as some won't perscribe it. There is loads of support on the internet that says it's what you need, I'd print some stuff off and take it into the doctors. You'll feel silly telling the doctor what to do but it really is what you need!

short term tho, get some cannisten. I really can't reccomend nipple protectors and cooling pads enough! I've had thrush three times and the first time I just remember being sat up at 4am crying my eyes out in agony and they really helped!

Hmm yes fluct flox that tablet thing is what is recommended in that leaflet. And all the suff I've read says that's the tking to get rid of it, but I've been given some frigging athletes foot cream and unusable stuff for DD

You can't buy it can you? Even dodgily over the Internet?

Thanks for those suggestions hiss, I've got nipple shields but don't get on with them
Will try the cooling pads, and investigate black Market thrush treatments

I wouldn't use nystatin drops - they are useless. I was eventually recommended daktarin gel for DS (rubbed a tiny bit on his tongue and round his mouth after each feed) and daktarin cream for my nipples after each feed.

If the thrush has got into the milk ducts you will need a course of fluconazole - it is a bugger to get rid of once it has got into your milk ducts (you get stabbing pains in your breasts between feeds which is how you can tell) but it WILL shift if you get your GP to prescribe the fluconazole. I had to take it for about 3 weeks before it finally went.

Good idea to take acidophilus tablets (high dosage ones that need to be kept in the fridge) and I also drank grapefruit seed extract diluted in water every day.

Make sure you wash your bras/towels etc on a boil wash and change your breast pads at every feed.

Good luck and sorry you're going through it. I had it for 7 weeks with DS1 and it is excrutiating.

Hi, we had this, and were prescribed the same as you. Didn't work.

I printed off that leaflet from the BFN, showed it to my doctor, and she happily prescribed the fluconazole, having previously denied it to me saying that it was contraindicated.

She was actually pleased to be given the information.

HTH

x-posts.

The GP can prescribe it. If he/she won't ask to see another GP. I sat in the GP surgery and cried at them until they prescribed it. Take the BFN leaflet with you. You will need more than just one tablet - it is harder to shift than vaginal thrush - you'll need a loading dose (think it's 2 or 3 tablets) and then a course of fluconazole to take until symptoms are completely cleared up.

Bollocks. Was hoping everyone would say 'oh yes, athletes foot cream sorted me right out in 2 hours'

So bearing all this in mind, how long do I leave it before going back to the dr? If I go too soon they'll say I need to give it longer to see if it does work, but in the meantime I've got the Worlds Hungriest Baby, and The Worlds Sorest Boobs

DS has the nystatin drops and they did clear up his mouth after about 5 days. I was given flucanozole course too although I wasn't showing symptoms as a belt and braces approach.

For getting it in babys mouth use the dropper a little at a time over the minute. I also used a dummy during the minute to get the liquid all around his mouth.

I've read on here the nystatin doesn't work for a lot of people, but it did work for us.

It doens't hurt to does up on natural yoghurt either :o

Hi,
I got rid of thrush in the milk ducts using grapefruit seed extract. Applied a solution to nipples regularly throughout the day, and also took a few drops in a glass of water orally. Didn't swab baby's mouth but she had no external symptoms. Took a few days to disappear completely but the pain abated fairly quickly. If I ever feel like it's coming back now I just take a few drops orally for three or four days and it subsides.

I've got some natural yoghurt. Do I put it on my boobs.

The nystatin hasn't got a dropper and DD acts horrified when I've tried Yo give her a dummy, like it's sacrelidge to put something in your mouth that doesn't dispense milk

I dipped my finger it and prises her mouth open. She didn't like it and most got dribbled back out

Have just looked up fluconazole and it's prohibitively expensive to buy myself, it's £18 per tab!!!

I'll just have to give the nystatin and athletes foot creme a go and hope it helps a bit and if not go back to the dr in a week

Anyone know where I can get some acidophilus and grapefruit seeds? A shop would be better than online (quicker)

X post with gastognome, that gives me hope and that's really helpful right now. I'm acting flippant but really am at the point of despair. It's bloody depressing and annoying that I knew what I was being prescribed wasn't what I needed but you can't tell a dr that you've googled and would like something else please .

Ok, eat the yoghurt you could put it on your boobs but I'm not sure that would work:o and go back to the chemists and ask for Nystatin with a dropper or if you have a medicine syringe that would work too. I think I was prescribed 1ml after every feed for DS. The dummy was literally just to pop in hid mouth after each little drop to stop him from spitting it out.

Canesten 1% is low does flucanozole. Please don't buy stuff off the internet you have no idea what you are actually getting. Print of the factsheet from the BFN and take that to your GP to get yourself treated properly. when we had it I called for an emergency appointment, when I told the gatekeeper receptionist what the problem was I got to see the "breastfeeding expert" dr rather than the emergency appointment dr! So ifyou get no where with the dr you see, don't be afraid to ask someone else.

Yes you can! They are woefully I'll-informed regarding anything to do with breastfeeding. I would give the surgery a call and tell them what you have found out and ask the GP to prescribe it.

I got acidophilus tablets from a health food shop. In addition to all of the excellent advice here - I boil washed sheets and towels to ensure all of the spores are eradicated.

I hope you get somewhere soon!

Oh yes boil wash anything that comes in contact with your boob or DDs mouth. Muslins etc.

Thanks all, your helpfulness is making me a bit teary (story of my life these days)

Might give the dr a call in the morning, just know I'll get fibbed off with a 'give it enough time to work' and I'm shit at being forceful at the best if times let alone when I'm tired hormonal and in pain

OP, you poor thing - you do sound despairing. But you can tell a doctor what the BFN has to say, and show him/her the leaflet. It's not crazy anonymous hogwash. I quite often tell GPs the results of my research (DS has reflux), in a non-confrontational way, and have generally found them to be very receptive.

I hope you get this sorted - I know how much agony it is.

Do you have thrush in your breasts or just on your nipples? If it's just nipple thrush then daktarin cream for you and daktarin gel for the baby should work.

Daktarin cream and Daktacort are both miconzale, so it should be fine. Daktacort contains hydrocortisone as well as miconazole.

Also, watch out for your baby getting thrush nappy rash too!

I don't know Rita. I think it's in my ducts. I have stabby, pully pains when she latches on. Burning with the let down and shooting achey stabs after a feed

She has got a rash on her labia, in fact it was this that initially made me think thrush because it hasn't responded to meticulous nappy changing and sudocreme or bepanthan. Before that I'd put the discomfort down to her feeding so much and so powerfully

But thespian got worse, and my nipples got red and shiny and a bit peeling

I didn't actually see the dr, I just spoke to her on the phone so it was harder to get across that I had some idea of what I needed

I'm sure you can buy generic fluconazole from Sainsbury's pharmacy for a lot less than £18, if you really can't bring yourself to talk to your GP.

I doubt you'd have any trouble getting your GP to prescribe it, though. Show him/her this thread, as well as the BFN leaflet.

Go and see the Dr and take the leaflet - your DD needs daktarin or canestan cream for the nappy rash too. Insist on getting the full course of fluconazole, just one dose like a vaginal thrush treatment won't be enough.

I found my GP and HV were happy to prescribe what I wanted when I asked specifically for things.

Thanks

How do I say fluconazole, just so it sounds like I know what I'm talking about, is it just as it's written? Flu con a zole?

Actually I've just had a thought, it's the HV clinic on weds, ive not been yet but I could ask there couldn't I

In the meantime I'll keep using the nyastatin and daktacort and hope for the best

Flu-con-as-ol is how I would say it, to rhyme with ball

I would say Flu-con-a-zole too.

Take the leaflet to the HV - they will probably just send you to the GP to prescribe anything though.

I've got the tablets and cream (you can use it for athletes foot too as it's a yeast infection.). Plus drops for my twins. They seem to like the taste at just 3 weeks old. Not shifted yet but only on day 4. If it's this painful next weekend I think bf will be over - feeding twins with thrush is getting too much as it's too painful to tandem feed so i have less time with 3yo dd1! :(

You might shift it with what you've been given, so do give it a go, they are more likely to prescribe fluconazole if you've tried the cream/drops first with no success. You pronounce it flu-conner-zole with the stress on the con.

Another tip is to make sure you get enough of the drops (or daktarin oral gel if you can get that) for little one - I found that the bottle/tube they gave was tiny and didn't last me long enough to shift the symptoms so I had to keep going back and forth to the docs for more - it took me a good few weeks to get rid of it, hopefully it will be quicker for you though. It is better to try and rub it round the mouth with your little finger rather than just squirt it all in so it just gets swallowed. HTH and good luck

Jeeez princesscrumpy, BF twins AND thrush AND a toddler. Respect!

Really hope things get better for you soon

I'm so frustrated that BF as a subject is so little understood. It seems to be a constant battle for help, information, support

Without MN and all the help from you lot I'd be lost