Any advice pls on dropping feeds but also expressing some as at end of the road with recurrent thrush :(

[Dukester100]

Seasons Greetings!

DS (11wks) and I have persistent thrush for 8 weeks - tried most suggested remedies but it's a stubborn bugger! Not all feeds hurt me but mostly on my right boob it does and don't feel I can continue til 6 mths in pain knowing I have a fungal infection... GP suggests he'll prob just grow out of it now but this could be at 5/6 mths. At least it doesn't appear to be bothering him.

Am sad as I started mix feeding at 9wks with DD due to a TT and really wanted to ebf this time. However, considered exclusively expressing to avoid oral contact but this is v impractical with a toddler too! Though willing to hear advice on how this could be done sensibly!

Plan is to start dropping feeds over a couple of weeks and replace with formula but express about 2-3 feeds a day and hope that when it goes I can go back to bf him those 3 feeds for some goodness as I assume my milk will deplete and not return to original state? He has taken the odd bottle of expressed milk already so know he'll take the teat :)

His routine is around 8 feeds a day inc one night feed, which I think seems the most sensible to drop first as he's getting older (DD was sleeping 9-6 by this stage!) I am just at a loss to know which feeds to drop first and when to express so eventually he is off my breast. I am very paranoid about mastitis having had it a couple of times.

Please help! Lactation consultant urged me to return if I wanted to stop ebf but surely I don't need to pay £100 to get some practical tips!! :)

Sorry if you've been through all of this, but are you sure it's thrush? Thrush doesn't happen in one boob only and it's not something you ' grow out of' . Have you had any swabs taken to definitely diagnose thrush?

You say DD had a tongue tie , what about DS?

I suffered with thrush for so mcuh of my feeding time with DS1
have you looked at the breastfeeding network website?

I took canaesten once tablets (not sure if they are still recommended)
the worry was that it would pass to the baby but he had thrush as well in his mouth so it seemed ok that a minute dose would be in my milk

PLEASE know that this is personal anecdote not any kind of professional guidance.

No swabs but LC and GPs all say it must be thrush due to the stabbing pain in breasts, disappearance of pigmentation of areolas and DS tongue covered. On second course of Fluconizole (it cleared up with first course) and trying grapefruit seed extract, on probiotics and yeast free diet so really do feel I have exhausted the options. Apparently babies get to an age where their immune systems fight it off. It's been a frustrating 8 weeks due to varying opinions, misdiagnosis and general ignorance onGP side... DS did have a TT which was divided successfully. The LC and paediatric consultant also advised me it was thrush.

Never Knowingly - how did you cope generally? It's so hard to inhibit transfer from birth breasts and from me to him. His fingers are also now constantly in his mouth. I can't wash everything all of the time :/

Never anticipated oral/breast thrush - feel like I've been thrown a curve ball on this one x

Are you treating your DS too? Otherwise he will just pass it back to you. I found daktarin gel very effective for oral thrush when mine had it.

Just to say I had the same issue with recurrent thrush from antibiotics we were given at birth - DS has subsequently got oral thrush every time he has antibiotics - and it took about 8 weeks to crack it. Everything really needs to be treated simultaneously, so canestan for my nipples, daktarin gel for the baby's mouth, and then later I realised that DS's nappy rash was also thrush so it kept coming back until we treated that too with canestan cream.

Yes, DS had nystatin and then daktarin gel from 2wks both of which have been ineffective. I used the cream. DS also had thrush in groin, underarms and neck. Poor boy has been in the wars! Trying grapefruit seed extract on his tongue now whilst I am on meds. I have been close to tears about it all this evening as I am so fed up with it and not prepared to continue this way for another 3 months...something has to give and we have tried everything. I think all babies have some niggles and this is ours, just a shame it has to affect feeding in such a negative way.

Will see what occurs the other side of Christmas and hope it clears up x

Poor you, it really does sound like you have tried everything
The only other thing I can throw in to the pot is diet....I have a friend who has had success with cutting out yeast and sugar. Might help I guess, but no good if you love jam doughnuts!
Hope you find a way through this.

It was bloody awful, one nurse described it like having shards of glass sucked through your breast... that seemed to sum it up. SO painful,
I just think we moved from one dose to the next.
Generally he was such a lovely little chap that I just followed my nose until he stopped feeding at about a year
I do miss the closeness though.

Just go with what you feel, it won't be the wrong decision what ever you choose. Good luck and have a fabulous christmas together.

Yes, shards of glass that's IT!! On yeast free diet and probiotics but struggling with cutting out sugar over Xmas!

Starting grapefruit seed extract today as read lots of positive stories about it clearing it up in to days after hourly applications. That's the last attempt before getting him off the breast. I concede defeat! :( But if I slowly drop feeds he'll be nearly 6mths anyway when I intended on stopping.

If it works I will post my story as I feel so many other mums would benefit from some decent information and I wouldn't want anyone else to get as frustrated as I have with lack of insight and support into this.

x

I had thrush. Hellish. Just the worst pain I've ever experienced. Like molten lead in my back and breasts. I wanted to throw up every time I fed.

The Breastfeeding Network have a good leaflet on it that is worth reading.

Things that worked for me:

Washing everything I wore on the boobs in vinegar
Naked boobs almost the whole time
Nipple shields - don't know why but it did
Sorting out my latch because that was causing nipple cracks and making it worse. Biological nuturing really helped.
Getting it swabbed and diagnosed properly
Getting a proper dose of Fluconizole. If it's too low a dose you don't kill the thrush but merely put it in abeyance for a wee while
Treating baby and me with the topical cream/gel absolutely religiously
Having the odd bottle of formula so that I could get some rest
Sleeping as much as possible because thrush gets you when you are low.

Good luck, Dukester100. Thinking of you.