Come and diagnose me as no GP seems to have a clue !!

[Perfectmummy1234]

About 4 months ago quite a few things seemed to start to happen to my physically at once. They have continued without any break to varying degree ever since.

Doctors seem disinterested/have no clue and its really starting to get me down as well as being a bit of a worry!
So far I have had swabs to confirm thrush, a round of antibiotics for the cough which made not differnece and chest xray which was clear.

Persistent cough - varying from tickly, barking, phlegm, all night, all day, sometimes loss of voice, sometimes sore throat. Its pretty bad and very embarrassing and irritating as its noisy and constant

Mouth sensations - always a greasy kind of film inside my mouth. Like I've just eaten a mouthful of clotted cream. Also dry at the same time. Odd taste metallic

Constant (swab confirmed) thrush - Not able to control even with back to back over the counter treatments, lower pelvic tummy ache, sore internally. No history of thrush previously

Pains in legs, extremely painful calf cramping during the night

I just feel like someting has taken over me and I can't shift it.
Any ideas???

My sister is experiencing the same thing, this is bizarre. Are you her?? It was only two months ago hers started though. The oral thrush was caused by the antibiotics. She’s still coughing up phlegm daily. No temperatures. She has high blood pressure. Watching with interest!

Have you had any blood tests or other investigations?

I have the cough/sore throat/phlegm thing, 6 weeks in. Had blood tests,swabs, antibiotics initially etc but nothing is coming up

Have they ruled out whooping cough?

Otherwise GERD/Reflux???

the thrush is a huge problem though and that wouldn't be bought on by GERD??

Have you had any blood tests done and if so, did they come back ‘normal’?

sent away this week with more thrush meds on prescription but turns out they were basically the same thing I have been buying over the counter with no success. Currently costing me approx £100 a month

Are you taking any other prescribed medications or over-the-counter treatments or supplements? I only ask because some of these symptoms sound like side effects.

I've experienced weird metallic mouth sensations having taken antibiotics. Did you have this symptom before taking them?

How is your gut health? Do you take anything specifically for it?

Do you have diabetes or a thyroid issue and if not, have you been tested?

everything gut related is same. I have been on HRT for years. No changes to anything.
When it started in July the cough was very dry for about a month. Mainly at night but constant. Used to keep me awake for hours. Now its day and night. Often by the end of the day I have a sore throat and my voice begins to be affected

I have always been healthy and fit.
No test for anything else have been done. I had seen a thrush diabetes link. Should I request some kind of test? Can it show up in bloods ?

Have a long chat with AI - Chat GPT or Gemini. Ask it what it could be and what tests you should be having. Obviously it isn’t a replacement for a real doctor and may be incorrect but if docs aren’t interested (although it sounds like you are getting tests) at least it may help you talk it out and read some possibilities and help you summarise your questions for the next real GP appointment?
I know this is often the thing that gets asked on here a lot but could it be related to perimenopause?

Do you have asthma? The cough sounds like my asthma and asthma inhalers can cause thrush and weird tastes. My asthma also causes loss of / croaky voice especially if I talk more than usual.

Some thoughts -

Asthma, lung function tests done?

Some blood pressure meds cause a constant cough, does that apply to you?

Thrush from antibiotics, if you haven't already, try good probiotics and natural yogurt/kefir

Hi op, please note that I have absolutely NO medical qualifications whatsoever so this might be way off the mark!

But have you been on antacids for a long time by any chance?

If you have, or even if you haven’t, it might be worth getting your magnesium and B12 levels checked, as long term use of antacids such as pantoprazole or similar can cause deficiencies in certain minerals and vitamins.

The stomach acid in the oesaphagus can cause lots of phlegm in the throat and constant throat clearing and a cough.

And lack of B12 can cause mouth ulcers and lack of magnesium can cause leg cramping in the night,

People can get low in B12, calcium and magnesium without taking antacids too.

Could the thrush be a separate HRT issue?

Are you on blood pressure meds? DH had a chronic cough until they were changed.

You need blood tests for diabetes and thyroid problems, full blood count, magnesium, B12, iron etc etc….. just all the normal blood tests. I’m really surprised your GP has not done this. Hopefully that will reveal something that is easy to fix.

Are you sleeping with your mouth open? I wonder if this might be causing the dry throat/cough and weird mouth sensations.

I'm on no meds other than HRT. Never had any medical problems. Never needed to take anything for digestions, gas, gerd, etc.
Hardy ever taken a paracetamol
Almost to the day the cough and the thrush started. Mid July. Every day constantly since

Bloods yes. I'm going to ask to get full bloods done asap
It feels like the xray being clear the GP lost interest. I have been literally crying about the thrush but she has no answers

Imbalance of yeast might be causing the thrush and mouse taste issues

Sometimes our body can reject or react to something it previously tolerated just fine.

Whenever I've had thrush it has most commonly been caused by intercourse. Could that be 'a thing' for you?

Also, btw, it's so ridiculous that it is so hard to get blood tests done. My GP treats them like I'm asking for a rare and precious and ludicrously unnecessary thing...

The leg cramps.. i get them when im dehydrated. Are you drinking enough?

My first thoughts were b12 deficiency and diabetes. Please see whether a prescription prepayment certificate would save you money

I’m not a medical person at all, but I had a friend once who suffered from Candida (which obvs I realise is thrush, but it’s a wider disease too). Looking up the symptoms, I think some fit - eg post nasal drip could be causing the cough. Slightly worrying that it can affect joints too, apparently. Maybe dive into that, OP?