Recurring thrush - what could it be?

[RosiePosey33]

I'm in my mid 30s and never experienced thrush until last year when I returned from holiday.

I had no discharge just itchy, red down below and was confirmed as thrush after a swab.

Fast forward to this year and I got thrush again on holiday and put it down to being in the pool and wet swim wear. Took the tablet and it took a while to clear up but confirmed clear with a swab.

3-4 weeks later I had thrush again. And again 3-4 weeks later again.

I went to the doctor and asked for a blood test to check for type 2 diabetes and found out today I'm my blood was normal.

I have thrush again - 4 times in 4 months :( the only thing I can make a link with is it seems to occur when I have my period or when my period should be here (I don't always get a period due to IUD)

I have made another appointment with the doctor but any ideas why I keep getting thrush? Does anyone else get thrush around period time?

I had this - I was in perimenoapuse. I took 3x tablets (pharmacy own brand not canestan) whenever occured. I stopped using shower gel other than femfresh and used biological washing powder and it seems to have slowed it right down. Whenever I do get it I now I take two tablets but it's rare I get it now

It might not be thrush.

However, if it is the oral tablet doesn't work for me. Has to be the old fashioned pessary....not the gel pessary. No idea why.

Also when I had a mirena coil I had constant thrush until I got it removed. Do you have a coil?

The nurse at your gp surgery can do a swab to check it's definitely thrush.

@kshaw do you mean you take 3 tablets at once?

I had similar after a weekend at a spa. The GP can prescribed the treatment for recurrent thrush. It’s the same pill but you take 3 in one week and then one a week for 6 months. ( not sure if I’m correct in the time frames but I know I had a huge bag as they only come in singles). That worked for me.

@kshaw I think I maybe need something longer term as it's a pain :(

@WonderingWanda I know this is the problem.

I've only ever had thrush confirmed once - last year. This year I had taken the treatment and visited the doctor a week later as it still was t completely gone and the swab was clear but I don't know if that was Judy because I had already taken the treatment.

I've asked for another swab this time to double check. I never get 'classic' thrush symptoms. Never had any discharge just sore and itchy.

I have a coil yes but have had this for 3 years and it's only started happening.

@Messymumm yes I think I'm needing something longer term. It just keeps coming back and it's getting me down. I do think it could be linked to my menstrual cycle.

It could be lichen sclerosis

Hi OP!

When I was pregnant I had it the whole way through it was sooooooo annoying! It left straight after birth

Are you sexually active? You could of passed it to your partner and they could be passing it back to you , if you're clearing your thrush and they still have it you'll catch it again from them.

Do you eat lots of sugar? Thongs can cause it also

Bio washing powder? I had similar problems years ago and it turned out to be this.

I think I read that with the mirena where it it thickens the cervical mucus that even when thrush is treated it could be present in the cervix and keep reoccurring. I think that's definitely what happened to me.

This was me last year. It was my IUD. Soon as it was removed, never a problem again.
Thank god! I feel for you, it's awful. It was process of elimination, and I just knew as soon as I googled it, that's what the cause was.

@minitigs I know it's the only thing I can think of 🤔

@CaptainMyCaptain yes I do use this but have always used it 🤷🏼‍♀️

@wellok guilty of a lot of sugar yes!

My husband doesn't have any symptoms and we definitely had a Period in between 2 rounds of the thrush where we weren't sexually active so I don't think it's being passed between us.

And no thongs over here 😆 !!

I do wear tight control style underwear daily- probably not helping

Try taking probiotics, there are strands specifically recommended to stave off thrush.

This. Get it checked out, as lichen sclerosis can really damage your skin down there over time. It's an autoimmune thing so no cure unfortunately but it is manageable/treatable if you know what you're dealing with. Good luck OP. It might not be that obviously but it's the first thing that came to mind for me.

@Crazyeight yep that was my next try :) thanks

@AderynBach @berrypop thanks I'll ask the gp today

I had a phase where I got it loads. I was told cotton underwear only, no underwear at all (and just a long skirt so there's plenty of air) where possible.

I was put on a longer term course of fluconazole - sometimes they do 50mg once a day for a week, others 150mg once a week for 4 weeks.

That seemed to sort it.

Look at your whole diet.

Thrush loves sugar. Also Thrush is an Imbalance of the good bacteria.

If you keep getting it you need to think about your gut microbiome. Go to a health food shop or chemist and get some Lactobacillus acidophilus
This will sort out the balance of good/bad bacteria.

Sounds similar to me, just been diagnosed with lichen sclerosis and lichen simplex plus an ongoing medication resistant thrush. Can't take the oral medication so have been given pesseries once a week for 6 months, plus 3 months of steroid cream in the evening and a different cream in the morning. I hadn't really looked, but the doctor I saw took the time to show me what I had, I have classic figure of 8 white patches and have had a lot of tissue reabsorption so I have lost my inner labia. Got to see the doctor in 3 months, but within 1 week of starting the treatment my symptoms of itching and pain have greatly diminished. I was scratching in my sleep and waking up bleeding but now I am not, I still have cuts and splits in the skin but they are less frequent. Push to get checked I was back and forth to the doctors with issues before I got referred to the gynecologist.

I had thrush constantly when I had a coil. Anything could trigger it, sex, tight trousers etc. was told by the Dr it couldn’t be the coil. Had it removed and never had thrush again.