How common is recurrent thrush?

[Shostakobitch]

I've had issues with thrush for years until I ended up on a longer term dose of fluconazole and that cleared it up. After another bout I was treated with itraconazole which also worked fine.

This time round I've had it for nearly six weeks. The doctor was reluctant to give me anything until I'd had swabs which showed thrush. I was again prescribed itraconazole which I've been taking for a week and while it's better it's definitely not gone.

I'm really worried that this is indicative of a more serious health problem. I was tested for diabetes a few years ago and my blood results were normal but my GP is talking about testing again and also HIV.

She said that it's really unusual to have recurrent thrush that is so slow to respond to treatment but my friend is a nurse and she thinks it's actually fairly common and that the over the counter medicines can lose effectiveness if used a lot?

So I'm just wondering if anyone else has suffered with recurrent thrush and NOT had a HIV/diabetes?

I had thrush frequently while I had a coil. Since removing it, I never had it again. Just in case that is relevant for you.

I had it recently for months and months, it wouldn't go, i was given months of those filled syringes of high strength canisten to use once a month for 6 months. I also greatly reduced my caffeine intake and stopped using all scented or perfumes bath/shower products and sanitary towels and it has cleared up, nothing else worked that the Dr gave me so I'm pleased to finally be comfortable down below.

I have it nearly all the time but I have Addison’s disease, asthma and anaemia, as well as recurrent urine infections and hypothyroidism. I think I just have a generally crap body, low immune system etc. I can’t do much to get rid of it, I think it’s related to the amount of antibiotics I take. I just use the treatments and try to keep it to a minimum. I know cutting out sugar and carbs might help as everyone on various forums keeps telling me but to be really honest they’re one of the only pleasures in my life!

do you wash your underwear/bedding/towels on a hot wash?
do you rinse off any soap residue after having a bath?
do you drink enough?

Oh also meant to add I have low oestrogen and since using Ovestin internal cream it has helped a bit.

I had effectively every month after my period. I got it checked out at the gum clinic. I was absolutely fine but had very dry skin. I'm the only person in the world who finds vagisil wash stops thrush!

Recurring thrush and UTIs every other month. It’s bloody miserable. My GP suggested it’s caused by stress.

I've had it for 3 years and just last week saw a new gyno who told me it has spred to the glands inside the vagina so even once the main thrush infection gets cleared up, that one remains and starts the whole thing going again. He's prescribed me a steroid cream and an anaesthetic cream to use which hopefully will have results!

Thanks for the replies and commiserations to you all, it is thoroughly shit.

Bedding and underwear is hot wash and I only wear cotton underwear too. Diet is sometimes sugary and sometimes not but overall fine I think and doesn't seem to make a difference.

I think I'll call my GP and ask for another blood test this week, she just put the fear of God into me last time and insinuated this type of recurrent thrush was most likely HIV or diabetes when I've no other symptoms at all and both my last tests were clear for these!

I feel like I always have it. Think it ramps up when I’m due on my period and dies down for the rest of the month.

Following as I'm bloody plagued with it. I think it's clearing but then bam, it's back again.

@Hot

I seem to have the opposite problem, it felt like it was getting better then when I come in it's back with a vengeance 🙄

Thrush is truly a shitter!

My mum had thrush practically all her life, started when she was a baby and followed her throughout adulthood. There wasn’t really any reason she had it, so I can’t give you any help with that, but just to assure you it is common.

OK. I’m a sexual health doctor & I’m saddened to hear of some dodgy medical advice being given by GPs and gynaecologists.

Recurrent thrush (definitely as 4 or more episodes per year) affects about 5% of women so more common than you might think.
Yes, medical conditions such as HIV and diabetes should be ruled out but this will only be the underlying cause in a minority.
The mechanisms of recurrent thrush are poorly understood but current thinking is that it’s possibly due to an exaggerated immune system response. Candida is a normal part of the vagina flora and mostly the immune system is aware of it but not troubled by it. Something (the usual common triggers) cause an overgrown of Candida and the immune system reacts. The more often this happens the more “sensitised” the immune system becomes and then you start getting symptoms very frequently when previously the immune system would have ignored a small background level of candida. Treatment usually involves a long course of antifungal treatment which seems to help “reset” the oversensitivity mechanism. There is limited evidence that changing your diet help, and it’s not an “allergy. There are also no “glands inside the vagina” where the thrush has spread to, this is simply not true.

In some cases there’s the possibility that persistent thrush not responding to treatment at all (as opposed to clearing up then coming back) is due to a resistant strain which would require different antifungal treatment. I also see a proportion of women with “thrush” symptoms who have an entirely different diagnosis eg a skin condition, if this is the case no amount of antifungal is going to help.

Obviously no one can diagnose over the Internet so for anyone suffering - consider going to your local GUM clinic (easier said than done I know, but GPs are not always confident managing this)

I've had it for 16 years! I don't have diabetes (did have gestational though and don't have hiv). It's generally not even noticed by me (shows up on smears etc) but flares up sometimes. When I first went to the gp about it 16 years ago I was told To stop eating mushrooms and yeast. Didn't work. About 4 years ago my gp gave me a pill a month but then I was pregnant so had to stop. Was a nightmare in pregnancy. Was the least bad when breast feeding. Saw a gp this week and she refused to give me anything, just gave me a link to a website that tells you what you should and shouldn't eat! We're trying for a baby (have been for over a year) and thrush and lots of sex aren't very compatible! I should go to a sexual health clinic but I still remember going when I was 19 about something and the dr was so horrible that it put me off going back! I wish I didn't get embarrassed about these things. I even saw a fertility dr a month ago and she specifically asked if I had any gaenecological (no idea how to spell that!) issues and I said No despite the thrush and regular Bartholin cysts!! I need slapping with a wet fish!

I had regular thrush since pregnancy nearly 8 years ago. Self treated with over the counter products maybe 4-5 a year. Damn expensive stuff too.

I began a low carb diet in September '17. Not had an instance of thrush since! Just throwing that out there.

Oh this is me too. Can be as long as 10 days before period and last until period starts - It's rubbish! I was going to see the doctor about it but wondered if any supplements were known to help?

I had it every month until I switched to simple shower gel (and don't use any other perfumed products in the bath or shower) and eat natural live yogurt most days.
I wear dresses daily for work and have switched to cotton tights too and not Lycra. Haven't had it for years now.

@Mrsperfect12 - Acidophilus is supposed to be very good for helping combat thrush. You want the one that's kept in the fridge. It's pricey but well worth it.

Don't want to scare anyone, but an old friend of mine had recurrent thrush. She tried to control it by reducing sugar in her diet. She was diagnosed with chlymidia in the end. On the other I use to get thrush a lot. So I stopped wearing tight trousers and jeans. I also stopped using soap and products with chemicals which helped.

@OpiesOldLady thank you, I'll look into that!

I used to get thrush all the time. I now take the contraceptive pill for 3 months at a time as I got it every period, and also don't use tampons any more as they made it worse.

I don't have any underlying conditions, but I do also get yeast infections on my arms etc too, so I think I'm just excessively yeasty...

@seven201 please get sorted before the baby comes! Like others here, I've had recurrent thrush for years with no underlying conditions - and 2 of my babies were born with thrushy tongues, one didn't seem to care but the other had painful breastfeeding, spread it to my nipples and it was a huge PITA, not to mention how guilty I felt bboth times, especially when you read all about the importance of the right gut flora for babies Talk to your fertility doctor or sexual health clinic asap!

Try Biona kefir in your diet too.

Mine was diabetes. I had it for around 7/8 years.

I found multi-gyn actigel (or similar) was the only thing that really helped me. And literally cutting sugar out of my diet.