need inspiring overcoming thrush stories please...

[Yankunian]

...I am nursing my 3-week old daughter and am in desperate pain from thrush, with scabby blistery nipples and a baby who has become increasingly fussy and tough to cope with after what I though was a good start breastfeeding. She now wants to feed all the time, and I am crying in pain at each feed.

I have made huge efforts to improve my latch - switching to rugby hold, taking her off every time she doesn't latch well, etc., but the pain is still excruciating. Have started with the nipple cream my GP prescribed but I have been terrified by stories of thrush being impossible to shake etc. I am really ready to throw in the towel here - it's only my determination to breastfeed because it's best for her that's keeping me going (and I can't bear the idea of failing at it, of course...) If anyone has been through this, please tell me it gets better!

Sorry that you are having such a bad time, I didn't get thrush but had v.sore nipples for a while. I used nipple shields and they were fantastic. Allowing my nipple to heal and my dd could still feed. You can get them in mothercare, they look quite big but babies seem to cope with them.

Hello Yankunian. You poor old thing. I wanted to let you know that I have been there too - I had thrush with DS1 at about 6-8 weeks. I diagnosed it from MN threads about painful nipples, and looked up info on other websites. The GP prescribed both cream for my nipples and drops for the baby's mouth, as thrush in the infant can be asymptomatic and you could end up reinfecting each other if your baby has it.

I beat myself up loads about taking medicine - for thrush, and for the 3 bouts of mastitis I also had during the first 10weeks that time round. I was soooo close to throwing in the towel on several occasions, but - like you - really wanted to breastfeed and totally believed in it.

(At the time I also bought some expensive "active bacteria" tablets from a health shop - later told by a GP mate that these are no good for thrush in the nipple as they treat the digestive tract. Best to knock this outbreak on the head with pharmaceutical products and then try to avoid future outbreaks by using disposable breastpads (and changing them frequently), and washing your boobs a couple of times daily. Avoid harsh gels and soaps as they can affect the pH of your skin, and also try to avoid taking antibiotics if you can - sometimes impossible I know!)

It will get easier, and if you can weather this storm, you will really love the period after the first 3 months (or so), when your feeding is pain-free and you sit entranced by your little one as she snuggles in and gets all the goodness from you.

One of the best websites I used with www.kellymom.com, an American site with an abundance of breastfeeding information. Also, if you are in the UK, call the Association of Breastfeeding Mothers, and you will be put through to a BF counsellor in your locality. She will be able to give you more advice.

Good luck.

Re. nipple shields - a mate who is a BF counsellor says the jury is out on these with very young babies as they can get "nipple confusion".

PS If you still are in pain in a couple more weeks, you could try expressing and offering the milk in a bottle to give your boobs a break. Also try to feed completely from ONE boob per feed (as you baby is small this should be sufficient) so that you are giving alternative breasts a rest. (When your baby is bigger and needs more milk, then offer the second breast at the end of each feed as this increases supply).

thanks for that, anonymama. I also got the bio-live bacteria tablets and am sorry to hear they don't work - I have been obsessively reaching for anything that will help. My GP hasn're prescribed fluconazole, which seems to be the thing that works, and the breastfeeding network leaflet that you have to take in to convince them to give it to you is offline at the moment so I can't get it. Did yours clear up with just the cream, or were you on these tablets too?

get some daktarin gel from the chemist, put canesten on your nipples and daktarin i nbaby's mouth after each feed

symptoms will lessen very quick. i had thrush at 2 weeks and was in tears.....it will get better. i promise. Don't give up

ooh - I didn't know that about alternating feed between breasts - have been doing both. But she seems to feed for ages (an hour at a time) so I think I must have latch problems as well...

They didn't give me the gel to give to the baby, but a liquid suspension of the same drug to give orally (actually gave us a little plastic spoon, and I'm like, yeah, right, the baby's going to take that just fine!) I guess they don't prescribe the gel anymore, according to something I read on the breastfeeding network site.

Another thing is the instructions say to apply the cream to my nips and give the baby the medicine 2-3 times a day - but surely it should be after every feed, right?

i tried the liquid but no good - not sticky enough to coat it iyswim. the pharmacy gave me daktarin for 4.99 - try boots. the liquid (nystatin?) should be 4 times a day, daktarin can be every feed.

Push for fluc too, one gp in my surgery will prescribe. Ask your hv who is most likely to and go and see them.

Yes I heard that too about nipple shields, but they gave me a chance to recover from the pain and enabled me to continue bf. Worth a try to get relief. Also no confusion when I didn't use them my dd was 3 weeks at the time. Babies are clever things
Good luck yankunian hope you get things sorted.

Hi Yankunian. Well done for persevering so far and don't give up. We (DD now 6.5 mths) had thrush at around 6wks and it is a horrific thing. My GP refused to prescribe fluconazole as it is unlicensed in the UK (he was absolutely horrible when I went to see him), even though my midwives swore that it was the best thing, as did a lactation consultant that I had met. I found a GP near my in-laws who would prescribe it however and it worked, together with daktarin for DD's mouth. It is excrutiating you are right. But it WILL get better. I nearly gave up so many times with hysterical tears and sobbing at each feed. In the end, I think it led to a bit of baby blues, but with the right treatment, expressing and bottle feeding for a week or so to give the boobs a break (DD went straight back to boob no problem - teat/nipple confusion wasn't an issue although I understand it can be) and unending support from other mums, it got better and I am still feeding DD and it is wonderful. It's worth these difficulties, but you know what, if you do decide to stop bfg, that's ok and your baby will be fine and just needs your unending love.

.... oh and nipple shields. I'll try to remember the make I used as they were great. But to be honest, your boobs will be different so different shields would probably suit.

Okay, I will get some daktarin gel and beg my GP for fluconazole tomorrow (had my husband pick up the single 150 mg tablet you can buy otc but they would only sell him one! - have just taken it.)

I had been afraid to try expressing this early bc of nipple confusion, plus you have to disinfect everything so religiously with thrush that it seemed better to wait until we'd licked it to try expressing... but maybe I should?

Thanks so much for all of the support, it really does make me feel better. But feed time is approaching, ugh... this is going to be a tough night.

Hi again
Yes, I was prescribed fluconazole. If your GP won't prescribe it, see another one! It does work. There was also a cream for the nipples and drops for baby's mouth.

BTW, if you use reusable nappies, you'll need to wash them on 90c too, as thrush can pass through baby's whole digestive tract and get onto the nappies via their poo. I guess this means that your bath towels/flannels could also do with a very hot wash until you are clear.

Once you get some pharmaceutical treatment, you will start to see an improvement. In the meantime you do have to grit your teeth a bit! It will be worth sticking at it, as BF-ing after the first 3 months is a real pleasure, very convenient, very bonding, and excellent for you & your baby's health. I know you know all that stuff already, but I hope it helps to hear it from someone who has been where you are now.

Do take whatever support you can from your partner, parents, in-laws, friends etc. You are doing so well to keep going with the feeding and deserve lots of love and care from those around you. All the best.

Breast shells are good, they hold the fabric of your bra off your nipple between feeds which helps you heal quicker, I'd avoid nipple shields if you can as they can cause latching problems and you say you may already have latching problems. Also avoid expressing/feeding by bottle too, for the same reasons.

If you've been on the BfN site you have the best, most accurate and up to date information there is, and don't be afraid to go back to your GP and demand fluconazole if your symptoms are not going away.

It will go, I have been there, with bits falling off the ends of my nipples and toe-curling nipple pain and deep shooting breastpain, but it does go, and you can get through it.

Monkies

Monkies is spot on with the breast shells. You look a bit like Madonna, but they work a treat. I agree with her that it's great if you can avoid sheilds and expressing into bottles, but if you feel it's right to try, or you feel there are no more options, then just do it and don't worry. If you are calm and take it in your stride, your baby will too. Babies are VERY adaptable and with the right approach and attitude you can get your baby to take breast again (although I have never yet met a mum who had any struggle at all with teat/nipple confusion - but it obviously can happen which must be very hard to deal with). Good luck.

Thanks again. It does seem a little bit better today, but maybe I am just more rested. I will get the breast shells - do they sell them at Boots and places like that? Haven't been able to manage a bra, and am trailing around the house leaking milk into my old t-shirts (do those milk stains ever come out, BTW???)

We are using tots bots bamboozles, are they okay to be washed at 90C? Basically, everything I or the baby wears needs to be washed on a boil wash, right - 60C won't cut it?

oh you have my deepest sympathies. It took me nearly 6 months to get rid of it so get it nipped in the bud now. Ideally you need to take the fluconazole tablets, have something tiopicla for your nipples and something for your DD. when mone finally cleared uo it was like a curtain had been lifted and Bfing was effortless after that.

the breastfeeding network produces a really good leaflet that you can take to show your GP, but I've just tried to link to it and they seem to have removed it from their website...possibly it's being updated, I'm not sure. All I could find was this but the link to the thrush leaflet doesn't work.

anyway, the upshot is you need 150 -300mg as a loading dose and then 50-100mg twice daily for at least 10 days.

grapefruit seed extract tabs worked for me
should be available in health food stores

nips will heal better if you don't let them dry out wound healing not sure if this is to be avoided with thrush

I second TheBlonde with Grapefruit seed extract - I took tablets and it cleared thrush from my milk ducts when Flucon had failed. You can also buy it in a liquid form and add to your bath/washing machine etc. A very important thing to remember is that you must use Milton on any breast sheilds, expressing stuff etc. as boiling will not kill thrush and you will keep getting reinfected (I did this). keep up with the Milton until you are completely thrush free.

Good luck....it will go away in the end!

Also you should have someone in your PCT called something like an Infant Nutritionalist (ask at a local bfing support group maybe?) who should be able to find you a GP to prescribe Flucon.

Oh no. As I had feared, my GP will NOT prescribe flucon; says not reccomended for bfing mothers blah blah blah - and there is no other GP at the practice who will, apparently. I don't know what to do. I did buy an OTC dose of 150 mg and take it last night but it was very dear and they would only sell us one pill anyway - anyone had this experience? maybe the best thing to do is take another 150 mg pill in a week or so?

Will try the grapefruit seed extract, thanks.

yankunian you might find that this dose does the trick, if the symptoms are just on your nipples. Have you had any breast pain during or after feeding? Typically for me it started towards the end of a feed and would be a dull ache extending from my nipples into my armpits and would last for up to half an hour afterwards.

Independant chemists generally sell unbranded fluconazole much cheaper than say Lloyds or Boots. I think I paid £5 rather than £10 for Lloyds own or £12 for Canesten.
I'm at your doctors though. Would your HV be supportive? If she is clued up on BFing and ductal thrush she may be able to sway your GP. Or can you point your GP in the direction of the research so he can make an informed decision about it.

I also found reducing my sugar intake, cutting out alcohol and taking good bactrial capsules helped overall. Green Australian bush flower essence also helped and cleared up DDs mouth thrush quickly.

I hope you can get rid of it soon.

capsules were acidopholus, sorry.