Never ending thrush. Or is it something else?

a2003tiger

Ladies, I'm struggling! DD and I got thrush back in early November. Her pedi gave me Nystatin to treat her and told me to use topical Miconazole. We did and within a few doses of meds, it was gone. Finished the two weeks of treatment. Then, late November, it returned. Same treatment, same results. Then, two weeks ago, I noticed two or three small white spots on the inside of DDs lips. That same day, my nipples began to burn. We were at the pedi with DS, so she took a look and confirmed. Started the treatment again. After several days of a Nystatin four times a day, hers was gone, but my nipples were getting worse. So I got Gentian Violet and started that. Long story short, I just finished the seventh and last violet treatment. I'm still applying the Monistat. I'm washing my breast pads, towels, bras, etc daily in the sanitize cycle and I'm adding Grapefruitseed extract into the rinse cycle. I'm taking GSE as well. I'm taking a probiotic three times a day. DD is getting a probiotic. I'm boiling her pacis and pump parts. I've even started consuming raw garlic every morning at the suggestion of my former LC. The pain is still there. We had over three months of nursing with no pain, so I don't think it's a latch issue. It hurts when I pump, but not as bad. It hurts when anything touches my nipple. I called my OB and she called me in some APNO, but due to a pharmacy issue, I haven't gotten it yet. But I don't feel like my OB took things very seriously. I'm just at a loss. What do I do? Who do I call? Do I call the pediatrician back? She will at least listen and take me seriously, but I'm not sure how she'll feel about me having used the Gentian Violet (I did not discuss it with her). Do I call a local LC? Do I call my OB? I'm just so tired of this pain!

a2003tiger

And gosh, I'm sorry, my iPad always takes out the paragraphs.

kjsmith9

Have you done oral diflucan?  I did that for 2 weeks with the APNO and I was pain-free on one side within 24 hours, and within 48 hours on the other.  Are you boiling only pump parts and pacifiers?  What about other bottle parts?

This is exactly what I did:

1) Oral diflucan and APNO for 2 weeks (DD was taking nystatin simultaneously.

2) Bleached her toys/teethers that she chewed on every few days (bathtub with water/bleach solution, let them sit for awhile - lots of rinses after)

3) Every night we boiled her bottles, pacifiers, and my pump parts for 20 minutes (with vinegar added in to the water).

4) For laundry, we washed everything on heavy cycles with hot water (nursing tanks, bras, towels, nursing pads, etc) and added a cup of vinegar into the last rinse cycle.  We also did tea tree oil and/or grapefruit seed extract in the last rinse cycle when I remembered (although I think we did this more for the cloth diapers than our clothes)...

If you're doing GV, are you also putting it in LO's mouth?  A lot of mamas swear by GV, but I'm not sure how effective it is if only one of you is using it (maybe someone else will chime in on that).

I would call the OB and ask for oral diflucan.  And don't worry about not talking about the pedi about GV use - it's fine.  

Here are some links that helped me figure things out:

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Good luck - thrush sucks!

SnoopyLuv

Look up reynauds

a2003tiger

@kjsmith9, thanks for the info. I'm doing all of what you mentioned, minus the Diflucan. I think it's time for that. My theory is that it's in my milk ducts. Does DD need to be on Diflucan as well? I have been doing the GV in her mouth, by way of nursing her after applying it to me. She's had purple lips for a week now! I guess I'll call my OB tomorrow and just tell her what I want.

kjsmith9

a2003tiger said:

@kjsmith9, thanks for the info. I'm doing all of what you mentioned, minus the Diflucan. I think it's time for that. My theory is that it's in my milk ducts. Does DD need to be on Diflucan as well? I have been doing the GV in her mouth, by way of nursing her after applying it to me. She's had purple lips for a week now! I guess I'll call my OB tomorrow and just tell her what I want.

My DD was on nystatin, not diflucan.  I know it doesn't work for all LO's, but we only had thrush once - when it was gone it never came back.

a2003tiger

Thanks ladies. I'm calling my OB today for Diflucan and I'll call the pedi tomorrow to see what DD should get during the course of my treatment.