Andrea and I have thrush.
I had no idea what thrush was because Sofia didn't have it so I was completely clueless. I thought it was just milk on her tongue. I was over at my girlfriend's house and she was holding Andrea when she looked at me and was like, "Um, you know she's got thrush right?" I gasped, clutched my pearls and said "What's thrush?!"
I'll tell you what thrush is. It's the mother-effin' DEVIL, that's what it is.
I ran to the pharmacy, got some Gentian Violet and painted her up for seven days. It made a little bit of difference, but I didn't know that we both have to be treated at the same time and I didn't treat myself, so while it cleared up a little bit, just as soon as I stopped the Gentian Violet, it came right back because she'd probably given it to me and I gave it right back to her. Then I started having pain so I painted myself with the Gentian Violet and hoped that would help some.
My poor baby
This was after she nursed because I had painted my nipples.
When you put it on the baby, you're only supposed to paint their tongue and the inside of their cheeks. I don't want anyone Googling thrush, seeing this picture and thinking you're supposed to paint the outside of their cheeks.
I was still having pain and her tongue was still coated so we went to the doctor on Monday who confirmed that Andrea has a mild case of thrush. She and I both got some Diflucan, I got some nipple ointment and I've been cursing ever since.
This shit HURTS and I'm heartbroken that my baby might be in pain too. She hasn't been fussy so I'm hoping it's a mild enough case that maybe she's not in pain. It just sucks.
Apparently, to get rid of the yeast you have to starve it. That means that I have to mess with one of those elimination diets, which is pretty much my worst nightmare. I don't do well with cutting food out of my diet. It's not good for my brain. However, I don't have a choice; I want my baby to be healthy again so I'm looking at The Candida Diet, which is a big fat pile of bullshit.
Thrush is a yeast infection, so to get rid of it, they say you have to starve the yeast. Well, yeast feeds on sugar so you have to cut sugar out of your diet. Except,
there's sugar in EVERYTHING. EVERY MOTHER-EFFIN THING YOU CAN THINK OF.
The only things I can safely eat are meat, vegetables, eggs and plain yogurt. Sounds YUMMY.
I'm using my nipple ointment, I'm taking the Diflucan, I'm on probiotics, washing everything in hot water, all that shit. But it makes no difference if the food I eat feeds the yeast. This sucks BALLS.
I need to hear from you, my friends. Have you dealt with thrush? How long did it take to go away? Did you do an elimination diet? It's only been a couple of days and I'm twitching. I want sandwiches, I want fruit, I want cupcakes, I want fruit snacks, I want juice, I want pancakes and syrup, I want sugar!!!!
Please help. Remind me that I'm doing this for my daughter, that this sacrifice is necessary for her health. Remind me that it's temporary. Remind me that I'm strong and I can do this. Remind me that cutting this stuff out will make the thrush go away faster.
Because let me tell you, a sandwich with no bread is just STUPID and reading something only to find out it has sugar makes me want to throw things. Why the F is there sugar in mayonnaise?
Hopefully I'll be back soon with a birthday recap and I can stare longingly at all the delicious cupcakes we served. And the sandwiches. And the donuts.
Ugh, let me stop. I should probably go eat some carrots and hummus or something.
Thrush is the devil.
Both my boys had thrush. Ugh. We did Gentian violet, we did the sticky goo, I did elimination, everything. The only things that got rid of it were time.
ReplyDeleteMy second had his minor tongue tie clipped and it went away after that - I have seen a few things that tie the two together but nothing from a health care professional.
Good luck!
How *much* time?? I need to know when I can have fruit again! :-(
DeleteYikes! I'm clearly taking up valuable space here by not providing thrush feedback :(
ReplyDeleteJust want to say hope it clears up soon and from one sugar lover to another: reminder that you're strong and you can do this damn thing; ESPECIALLY as a sacrifice for Andrea's health! Hang in there.
I'm so sorry! Keeping my fingers crossed for you that this clears up right QUICK and you can get back to normal. In the meantime, may I suggest frittatas? I did an elimination diet to help narrow down some GI issues, and was essentially eating your list of "okay" foods for over a month. Bake steamed veggies (and quinoa or meat for more texture/protein) into fluffy eggs, add whatever spices make you happy, and you have an easy meal that tastes great hot or cold. They're still my lifesaver on busy days - it's so easy to grab a slice of cold frittata from the fridge. I adapt this recipe with whatever veggies I have around:
ReplyDeletehttp://quotidienblog.com/eat/2013/1/22/summer-pea-and-sorrel-fritatta
Also, deli meats (read the labels though, some of those have sugar added....grrr) wrapped around steamed veggies or hummus, or rolled up and dipped in mustard. Same idea with smoked salmon. Or grilled eggplant slices. Basically, use whatever you can as vehicles for flavor. Plain yogurt tastes great on grilled eggplant with some thyme or dill.
Try to find labneh (soft cheese that should be safe) - if you can't find it, you can make it yourself with a strainer and plain yogurt: http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/labneh-recipe.html
I think Ezekiel bread (sprouted grains, sugar-free) might be okay on this diet - if so, you can add sandwiches back into rotation!
Good luck!
Oh no!!! :( I know nothing about elimination dieting (I've been trying to cut Oreos out of my life for years) :) but I know that you're SO STRONG and you can do it! Just remember that it'll help you and your sweet baby girl get better faster!!
ReplyDeleteWe had thrush when nursing. I'm happy we caught it right away. The doctor gave me an ointment and some oral medication to rub on her infected areas. It went away and never came back. It will get better even though it sucks. I didn't cut out sugar.
ReplyDeleteBeauty and the Bump
My son had thrush for almost 2 months- it IS the devil. I'm a PhD microbiologist who actually works on antibiotics/anti-fungals, so I was totally out of my mind thinking I had failed him… sigh. Mommy guilt starts as soon as they are born, no? Take comfort in knowing that Diflucan will work, with time, but if you think it's not working you can ask your doctor for Nystatin, which is a different class of anti-fungal (it worked well for my son). I didn't eliminate sugar from my diet, because the main sugar in breast milk is lactose, which Candida albicans can't eat. And your body actually really needs sugar! Instead, I used a nipple shield (which your daughter may or may not tolerate) which I could sterilize between feedings- it actually kept me from getting thrush myself, which eliminates half the battle (passing it back and forth makes the infection last a lot longer). Maybe something to try? Wish there was an easier way, and hope you are both better soon...
ReplyDeleteSo how about fructose? I'm dying without fruit! I don't eat refined sugar anyway and virtually no processed foods, but going without fruit is killing me!
DeletePlease eat fruit!!! I'm honestly not sure about this sugar-limiting diet at all- your body is going to synthesize breast milk with a similar sugar composition (mostly lactose) no matter what you put in your body- all you are doing by limiting your own sugar intake is to cause your body to break down storage forms of sugar like glycogen to provide enough sugar to keep you functioning and to keep producing breast milk. It's really tough on your body (gives you bad headaches because your brain NEEDS dietary sugar to function) and you're still going to be synthesizing and excreting lactose in your breast milk because babies need dietary sugar for the same reason… I'm obviously biased towards medical intervention (i.e. anti-fungals), but I know that traditional remedies DO work too, so trust your gut on this one.
DeleteOmg, you're so right about the headaches! The second day without any sugar made me feel horrible. I had a splitting headache, brain fog, I was sick to my stomach and I had no idea how I was going to be able to make it. I broke down and had an apple with almond butter and felt better almost immediately, so I made a banana berry smoothie and had that too. Going without fruit is for the birds!
DeleteWe have another appt with the dr next week and he's going to prescribe Nystatin if the Diflucan doesn't work. I'm in favor of healing, whether it comes from traditional or non-traditional means!
Okay. So bear with me. It's gonna sound weird but I promise it worked.
ReplyDeleteStink had thrush and nothing worked for us. I was nursing him too and super frustrated about it. This old lady at my church (she was in her 90s) told me to let the baby pee in a cloth diaper and then wipe his tongue and my nipples with the pee. I was mortified but completely at the end of my rope. I was 20 and in school full-time and frantic. So I tried it.
The thrush wiped off his tongue with the diaper. Like, wiped away. I used it on my nipples, too. I let him wet a diaper again and wiped both of us one more time. The thrush never came back.
True story. Gross... But true.
Ok, so I'm cleaning house and I HAD TO STOP EVERYTHING just to come over here and reply so I REALLY hope you see this. Pee?!?!? Really??? I'm looking that up right now! I've heard of people drinking their pee when they're like lost on a desert island and shit, and of course for jellyfish stings but never for this! I don't know if I'm that desperate yet, but you got me thinking.....
DeleteTime.... it sucked but no matter what I did that's all that worked for me. My son and I had it and it was the DEVIL...ridiculously painful but we got through it ;) you will too. Hold ya head up Momma ;)
ReplyDeleteI've never commented before but I've been reading for a while- but this hits way close to home for me! I hope you get over this soon! I can say from my own experience that what works for one person doesn't work for everyone- at least that's what it seemed like for me!
ReplyDeleteMy baby was born with spots of thrush on the roof of her mouth and it hit us full blown around day 10- because I wasn't in enough pain with cracked nipples and engorgement. I tried everything prescribed to me by the dr and finally at her two month shots the nurse suggests Canestan cream. I'm in Canada but I'm pretty sure the US version is Monistat? Anyway just the cream for a woman's yeast infection that you get at the pharmacy with no prescription. I swabbed it on heavily with a Q-tip before feedings to get it in her mouth and then wiped off my nipples with a water and vinegar solution after feedings and then put more cream on and used a disposable nursing pad to make sure everything stated clean and dry. And seriously a day later it was finally gone. That plus probiotic yogurt 3-4 times a week and we never had a relapse. Oh and wash anything that comes in contact with your breast or her mouth in hot water separately for a while. Hope this makes sense and hope it gets better!!
I just wanted to say I'm sorry, Desiree.... I had the purple nips, the purple baby and purple stains every where for a long long time. God, I still remember the craziness. But rest assure, my crazy was about 12 levels above and beyond. I even sent a pic of my purple cracked nipples to Dr. Jack Newman (king of all things booby and breastfeeding related). I went to dermatologists, family practitioners, special OB/GYNs... you name it. I was the crazy lady with the purple nips. Eventually, the purple crap started making things worse (its based in alcohol duh, so my nips got dryer and more cracked). It was an awful, awful cycle. Have you tried the magic nipple ointment? It has to be specially prepared by the compounding pharmacist. It definitely helped... I can't say it was a magic cure for me, but we had so much more going on like reflux and a bad latch. Try the magic nipple ointment. Let me know if you need links. You need to get a prescription for it, but its worth it. Hang in there and make sure that GV is not based in alcohol! Hugs!!
ReplyDeleteYup, that's the cream I have. I've been trying to use it and go braless whenever I can - hopefully we see improvement soon...
DeleteI was lucky that when I got thrush on one nipple, my daughter didn't get it at all so I was able to just treat & pump that side, and nurse her from the other. What worked for me was using the Gentian Violet for several days, then I switched to Grapefruit Seed Extract (not to be confused with Grape Seed Extract!) as the topical solution for several more days which dries out the yeast. I also intermiitently would put coconut oil on my nipples to help with the drying. Cleared up in about 7-10 days and I never used a Rx.
ReplyDeletePraying we escape thrush with #2, it is sooo painful.
I'm not convinced that you have to eliminate any sugar entirely to get rid of yeast. A) it's impossible to get rid of all carbohydrates and b) even if you did, your body would make it from your body's energy stores. Sure, maybe back off a bit on simple refined carbs, but enjoy fruit, whole grains, and other things that are good for your body anyway.
ReplyDeleteI did enjoy reading articles posted on this site. They are impressive and has a lot of useful information.
ReplyDeleterebelmouse.com/yeastinfectionnomorelindaallen