Could I be allergic to my boyfriend - recurrent THRUSH??

[kittykat818]

Hi, I need help/advice! I have been getting thrush ever since I started having sex (three years ago) I am still with the same boy I lost my virginity to. We are very very happy but I am worried our sex life might be the cause of all my problems with thrush and that in some way our bodies are just not compatible. I have been on long term courses of fluconazole (antifungal drug) and while I'm on the medicine and for a short time after I stay free from thrush but it always comes back eventually. I make sure my boyfriend is always also treated when I have symptoms and we avoid sex during that time. I also avoid soap down there, wear cotton knickers, have tested negatively for diabetes and make sure we are gentle and not aggravating my vagina when we do have sex. I really don't want thrush to be the reason this relationship ends but I am not sure what I am meant to do, because he is the only person I have slept with I am not sure if it sex in general I react badly to or sex with him or whether it is completely unrelated to sex. Has anyone else suffered with this or does anyone have any solutions?? Please help!

I was in a relationship where I constantly was in a cycle of getting thrush, treating myself and bf, recovering then catching again. I honestly believe it was his sperm upsetting the PH balance of my vagina.

Didn't suffer before and haven't suffered since.

The relationship ended for different reasons but I'm not sure I could have hacked a life of thrush, it's miserable.

@felttree Hi yeah I am worried this is what is happening with me and he is upsetting my ph, I do make sure his sperm isn't entering me.. but of course there is still some transmission.

If I had sexual partners before I would be easier to determine whether it was something about him upsetting my Ph but of course it might not even be him!

I had the same with a previous bf. It was a constant recurring cycle. I had a different one who I’d constantly get UTI’s from. Probably a mixture of poor hygiene (some men appear to have no idea how to clean around their foreskin?!) and genetics. Current bf is circumcised and in two years have had neither.

I notice you’ve looked at changing tampons, have you considered a cup? I think this also helped. Tampons “absorb” a lot of the flora/fauna from your vagina as well as menstrual fluid. Because a cup isn’t absorbent, it doesn’t affect the flora/fauna in the same way.

Finally, it was mentioned before but multi-gyn actigel was also great for me. It’s about £10 on Amazon, have a read through the reviews and it’s probably well worth a try!

Hi @AnotherDelphinium - poor you I am so glad you're all good down there now! I will get onto my boyfriend and make sure he's cleaning really thoroughly.

I did buy a cup but I really really struggled to get it in comfortable - I will give it another go.

I have used multigyn before, I would use it after sex and it defo helped, the thrush did return while I was on it but I may give it another go and see if it calms things down. Thanks :)

I had thrush for months at the start of lockdown - I get it v easily from warm baths etc. Had several rounds of fluconozil or however you spell it, and plenty of cream, etc etc. Doctors swap was inconclusive but definitely not bv. The only thing that shifted it was a six day course of pessaries, I think the first two days were mega high strength ones then the rest of the course was normal strength. I also read that ironing your knickers can get rid of residual bacteria, so I did that. Also swapped to cotton reusables and no tampons. Between them all, it worked eventually, but it is a royal pain in the arse. Royal.

You may also have a strain of thrush that's immune to the over the counter tablets?

[quote kittykat818]@JinglingHellsBells Hi I don't think my age would impact why I am getting thrush?

I am not sure of the exact science behind it but I have been strongly advised by doctors not to get the coil and a quick google search or even on mums net will allow you see that thrush is often more common in women who have the coil so I don't want to put myself at more risk.

I have taken two weeks off of having sex to allow the medicine time to work and to let my vagina "heal" I have however already done this a few times across the three years that I have been suffering and it just comes back unless I take a weekly does of fluconazole.[/quote]
The reason I asked your age is that when women's hormones fall in peri menopause, thrush can become an issue.
But unless you are having symptoms of a premature menopause, it's unlikely. (Something like 1:1000 women have prem meno.)

There is no relationship between thrush and a copper coil. If there was, it would be documented as scientific evidence. It may be because women using a coil or not using condoms so are picking it up from their partners.

But as you have not had children, you may find insertion of a coil hard.

Do you have any other pain when you have sex?

Maybe do the Acti-gel (gyn-gel- same thing) and see if that helps.

@ZenNudist Did it ever clear for you?