Thrush. Every. Fucking. Time.

[TheAngryItch]

I am fed up of this.

EVERY time I have sex, I get thrush, plus or minus a UTI. This has happened since I first became sexually active at 18 - I'm now 38.

I have had multiple swabs and been to multiple GPs. Every time it's 'only' thrush, and I get the usual lecture of wee after sex (I always try to - it makes no difference), don't use soap down there (I never do), do/don't cleanse with water after sex (makes no difference, either way), don't wear tights (never do), and on and on. I've tried taking a fluoconazole tablet every time I have sex - I still get it. I've tried probiotic vaginal suppositories like Canesflor - I still get it. I've tried putting in a treatment pessary or cream after sex - I still get it. I've tried using the cream during sex - I still get it. No, DH is not re-infecting me. The thrush I get is so bad we go literally months between any sex - this problem has killed relationships in the past because I just can't bring myself to do it anymore, because I know I'll face days, possibly even weeks, of aching, hideous itch and discharge that takes three or four pessaries, or a lengthy course of oral fluoconazole to shift. One shag literally costs me around £50 in treatments. It's not a sperm allergy - I still get it with condoms. I only get it after sex - rarely/never any other time.

I barely want to mention the UTIs because then I get antibiotics...and we know what antibiotics do to thrush.

Anyone else, please?! I just want a normal sex life!

Yeah, I've got the diabetes test on Monday.

Lots of helpful advice on here. Mumsnet will solve this.

I've been having a lot of thrush recently. I've started taking an oral probiotic and treating it as an irritation rather than thrush. Seems a bit better this week. So not the same situation but i want you to know there are many in the itchy boat.

I had the same problem for 6 years to the point that it killed my marriage. Ok, maybe it was not a strong marriage but this Def didn't help. Anyway, the only thing that actually helped was a product sold in Amazon called Candida (Thrush) Eradication Support Supplement Saccharomyces Boulardii . I take this for a month twice a year. I'm now in a new relationship and so far so good. Those 6 years were the most depressing ones of my life. I used to spend about £40 per month in Canesten

I've had it for about 6 years too, on and off. Reading all these replies with interest.

My mum suffers too, interestingly enough. Has done since she was a teenager. One of my earliest memories is her crying in a cold bath was what the doctor recommended at the time.

Hugh it's in washing up liquid too! I periodically get horrific eczema on my hands but I think the methylwhatsit has been the trigger all along. DH usually washes up so it's only this thread and washing the dishes today that have connected the dots for me. Thanks all.

Glad you got a referral OP.

Totally bizarre but I read an article in a magazine from a woman suffering the same, the solution was for her husband to pour through a funnel a very weak bleach down her vagina, she was upside down in the bath at the time. Whenever I have thrush, or I hear of it, I think of this comical scene. Apparently it worked though

blow

That is all.

If I eat more than a couple of mushrooms a week I get the itch...just saying, if it is diet related, it might not be sugar...

I suffered badly for too long with this. My GP gave me:

three doses of fluconazole 150 mg
1 x 150 mg dose to be taken every 72 hours

Certirzine 10mg a day for a year.

To start with pessary weekly for 4 weeks

Then monthly pessary for just over a year.

Iron all knickers.

She said use a lube after a shower thinly as a moisturiser. I used sliquid. She said the itch/scratch cycle takes a while to stop. Told me to use lube when I felt itchy and sore. The whole process worked!

Make sure the GUM clinic also check for vestibulitus/vulva pain. It's more commonplace than is known and presents like thrush/UTI due to the stinging pain. Also can be quite tricky to find the treatment, as it's different for different women. My local GUM have days special clinics and nurses in it it's so common, and can be easily diagnosed by a simple contact test that reacts in seconds.

Dip a tampon in natural yoghurt and insert. Leave for about an hour and remove. Something to do with neutralising bacteria. A good probiotic might work.

Just thinking about what else I do when I just can't stand it any longer and I wash all my pants on a hot cycle and tumble them and only 100%cotton. No pjs or anything in bed to let everything breathe

I suffered with constant itch thrush feeling for 18 months - turned out it was my coil threads, day I had that mirena removed (huge row to get the family planning clinic to do it) was the day I realised just how hideous it had been!

I really hope they resolve this for you op, I have no idea how you've coped all this time

RandomMess you've reminded me my GP said coil threads can cause it. I have a coil and the above stuff was my last hope before I removed the coil.

I've not rtwt, so apologies of I'm repeating. But look up the anti-candida diet, it's tough, but it works. And do you know about Mannose D? It's a remedy that is great for recurrent uti, I know several people e who after a lifetime of antibiotics have used it, and it's changed their life. You can even get it on Amazon.

I hade thrush for a year in 2015 non-stop (bar 2 weeks in the may) - it was hell. I was on every antibiotic known to man as my gp and gynae didn't know what it was, i was so ill with it - work was awful, everything was so terrible.
In the end i was refered to an Urologist by my GP - I ended up having an operation on my bladder to widen my urethra - it was a miracle.. honestly.

Depending on your results it might be worth considering?

Get rid of the PJs for a start.

I would take PIV off the menu for now and see what happens if you/DP use a dildo instead. If that brings on the symptoms then it sounds like abrasions rather than actual thrush.

I used to be exactly the same. I find for treatment the only thing that worked was a month long course of itraconazole and caneston hc cream for the outside itching. On top of that salt baths. I went through a year long phase of eating clean where I pretty much eliminated sugar from my diet and yeast. after the first month I stopped getting thrush and never had it for a whole year! I don't eat like that now but if I ever get thrush it's very mild and only needs caneston cream for a day to clear it up. I don't get it from sex anymore t all.

Do you have the copper coil?

I had the copper coil for about 2 years and I suffered from thrush EVERY SINGLE MONTH. It was crippling. I work in a hospital and remember shambling to the pharmacy in my lunch break to get a pessary and cream i was so desperate. GP was no use and just kept giving me the same lectures you mentioned.

I read online (forums, nothing official) some women anecdotally saying their copper coil caused problems with thrush, so I thought id have mine removed, just in case. What did I have to lose?

I have never suffered from thrush again since I had it removed.

Is it definitely thrush- i.e. Do you have the discharge and- ahem- yeasty smell?

I thought I had thrush for years and years- came on after sex, just before my period and if any soaps got anywhere near my vulva. I used canestan like it was going out of fashion and took the oral capsule but it took ages to get better.

Then I realised that the itching was awful but there was none of the strange discharge. My GP had a look and diagnosed Lichen Sclerosis.

Now I wash my undercarriage with Epaderm cream, wear cotton pants and use Yes! lubricant (it's designed for sensitive bits). When I get a flare up I have to use a strong steroid cream to get it under control again.

I have read up about coconut oil .
Have a read and a search of the net.
coconutoil.com/coconut-oil-and-candida-yeast-infections/

Hope it helps op

Poor you!
I had it very bad for a few months, mouth as well. I recall I had the flu-thing medication for a few months solid to erradicate it.

Interestingly while I had the mirena I had the most irritating burning sensation constantly, but all swabs came back fine. The BV gel from boots in the end I tried that for 2 weeks and OMG, the relief!

I hope you get seen soon

I don't know if it would actually cure thrush, but it definitely can be soothed, by soaking a tampon in very cold, plain, live yogurt like real Greek yogurt and then keeping it in over night.