Thrush ? whilst breastfeeding a 12 week old

[Darc]

I think me and my baby have got thrush as have sharp pains in my nipples and slighly down into my breasts and my baby, who's 12 weeks, isn't feeding as well as she used too and I feel like I've gone back to the beginning! It got worse last weekend so I went to the doc last week. As I have also got slightly blocked ducts they told me to express after every feed and see how I went as they weren't sure it was thrush and I wasn't sure either.

The pain got worse so I went back to the docs and asked for some tablets (Fluconazole)for me and cream (Dakarin) for my baby for thrush so that if it was thrush it could be treated fast and if not then at least I would have ruled it out. The first day was 200mg doze and the following days have been x 2 50 mg dozes which I have been taking at same time of day as I was told it didn't matter if I took them both at the same time or split them up or at what time of day to take them.

I pumped my breasts for two days, but my baby has now completely refusing the bottle when before she was fine with it so have stopped expressing otherwise I can't feed my baby. Is this a normal side effect? She has had a cold too, so maybe that has caused the problem.

My baby is being much more sick than usual, more projectile and seems to have bad wind and has been inconsolable with pain a couple of times (esp at night) so stopped using the cream in her mouth yesterday and am reticent to take the tables (although am still taking them) in case they are causing her the discomfort.

Have tried nipple shields, as docs told me too, Avent, normal size, way too big to fit over my nipples and haven't had time to find another sort and don't want to put my baby off feeding any more than she has been put off already.

Am also worried that they are not recommended to take during whilst breastfeeding by the manufacturers even though the breast feeding council say it's ok, can you reassure me on this point.

I'm avoiding yeast and trying to avoid sugar, although finding this v hard. Also taking probiotics as I understand that this helps.

Am due to see the docs again tomorrow and a breast feeding counsellor on Tues, so will hope sort the problem soon but any advice would be gratefully received.

Thank you!

I'm afraid I can't help but you might want to hunt down a poster called Tiktok who is our resident breastfeeding expert.

If I see her about I will mention your thread.

The fluconazole is fine to take as the amount that gets through in your milk is less than the maximum therapeutic dose that can be given to a baby as far as
I understand it.

I think it can cause upset tummies as I was certainly very farty when I was taking it a few months ago but my baby was absolutely fine. Not sure about the side effects of the daktarin gel.

hopefully one of our experts wil see this and be able to advise you further.

re the blocked ducts....have you had your latch checked to make sure baby is positioned and attached optimally for draining the breast fully every feed.

Sounds like things are really though for you at the minute, but that you have a good support network in place and are doing a great job. I hope things improve soon

thanks for your messages and pleased to be reassured about the tablets I'm taking but am certain either the tablets or the gel are massively upsetting my baby as she never usually has wind so bad and is crying out in pain with it so look forward to hearing from one of your experts.

I am seeing a breast feeding counsellor on Tuesday so will definitely get my latch checked out.

How do I hunt down tiktok??

Any ideas as to if this should affect her feeding from the bottle?

Also, can anyone help with the best way to get a baby back on the bottle?

Darc - I'm also suffering from thrush at the moment and on fluconazole and nystatin for the baby. My little one was also extremely windy and inconsolable for a while but I actually think it was the thrush causing her discomfort rather than the medication - are you sure that's not the case with yours?

Perhaps that particular cream isn't working on your lo - maybe ask your GP if there is an alternative you can try - or it may just be taking a while to work. It is important to treat you both because if it is left untreated in your lo's mouth it will get passed back to you! REgarding the bottle - it may just be discomfort from the thrush and the cold combined that is making her fussy. BF is very comforting so she maybe just wants mummy cuddles at the minute until she feels better - I wouldn't stress about it until you have the thrush sorted and until she's better from the cold.

thrush can make baby really sore, my ds once had it inside his bottom lip, so it hurt everytime he latched on

reluctance to feel the discomfort may affect latch which may cause wind etc.

my ds did not respond to nystatin and very well to daktarin, but someone on here told me daktarin is not prescribed for babies under four months. all anti-trush gels etc can cause mildtummy upsets anyway.

You may want to ask for nystatin.

I think the thrush might be causing her discomfort in the mouth, but think the wind is from the gel as I stopped using it yesterday and she seemed a lot happier but realise I must perserve with it unless I have an alternative otherwise she'll just pass it back to me and we will be back to square one. Does thrush affect the tummy too?

Will check with gp re: age for daktarin as recall it did say not for babies under 4 months on packet, but they know mine is 12 weeks!

Will also ask about nystatin as clearly the daktarin is upsetting her.

Thank you all for your advice - is so hard to know what to do and is great to receive advice, makes me feel a bit more sane!

Looks like you got some good advice. What I meant was you can do a search on a poster's name to see if they are online and then try and grab their attention.