is this thrush??? and what do i do?

[yummytummy]

hiya, really embarassing and sorry if tmi but for past few days have had a lot of soreness and itching in the vaginal area. also when try to ahem be intimate its really painful like a burning feeling so had to stop. have never had anything like this before and am reluctant to go and buy canesten as i think maybe you cant take it when pregnant? aargh can anyone help? (cant get gp appt til end of week and am really in pain) any advice much appreciated. (oh am 17 wks btw)

I had all your symptoms last week and suspected thrush too. I went to the Dr and she prescribed Canestan- but just the cream, not the pessary. It cleared up after 4 applications of the cream, so I was very relieved.

I would go to the GP, describe your symptoms and they will either prescribe Canestan or possibly take a swab if they're concerned it could be something else. But please do see your GP! Better safe than sorry.

Sorry, I don't know how I managed to miss the part of your OP where you said you couldn't get a GP appt- sorry! Ok, you could call your MW and ask her opinion, she may be able to recommend something.

dr gave me canestan too. They say live natural yoghurt can help the itching

MW should be able to give you canestan.

Cream is safe to use in pregnancy but not pessary as already mentioned. I was also told last time to use it for slightly longer than normal as in pregnancy thrush can sometimes take longer to clear effectively.

pessary not safe to take???ehhhh, you've got me worried now. I've had 3 prescriptions for pessaries and used canestan pessary 3 times too as have had thrush pretty much non stop for 3 months :(

yummytummy can you ring your GP? Mine have a phone in time every day and through that they can prescribed. Alternatively, you could ring NHS direct and they may well tell you to see a GP today - if they do, I find it a great way for the receptionist to magically find a GP apt on the same day when before they were fully booked.

Btw - your partner could have thrush on his bits but have no symptoms, so if you do have it you can get him to use the cream on the tip of his willy in the same way and frequency you would do. Otherwise you might find it goes away but then you get reinfected by him.

angels I was definitely told no pessaries but if you've had it non-sotp then maybe it's ok to use in extreme circumstances?
I regularly get thrush when non-pg and always used pessaries then, so was a bit gutted to find I was only allowed to use the cream in pregnancy!

that's really odd mrswajs as my GP has said pessaries fine in pg so long as not using an applicator... I got my first bout of thrush at 5 weeks pg and rung GP who told me to take canestan pessary and was fine. My other GP has also told me pessary safe.

www.boots.com/en/Canesten-Pessary_11323/

link says caution should be used when using applicator when pregnant but doesn't seem to say it's unsafe or that you can't use pessary.

GP's told me in the past to be cautious with applicator but otherwise using it is fine

You can take the pessary in pregnancy. I have had to use it this time.

My doc said its if you have a low lying placenta you shouldn't use it, apart from that it is safe. Chemists won't sell it to pregnant women though, has to be on prescription.

I used the pessary when I was pregnant, inserted with perhaps a little more care than usual

To safely speed up the process, take some probiotics (Actimel or similar) and cut right back on your yeast and sugar intake.

I'd second making sure you get your partner to use the cream too, otherwise you'll never get rid of it.

hi, you can take pessary - my midwife gave me one at my last appointment but gave me gloves to use as apparently the applicator is not safe in pregnancy. The cream just treats the external symptoms - you need the pessary to clear up internal infection to prevent it from reccuring