I'm sorry to hear of your problems with Thrush. While I don't suffer from Thrush I do get vaginal yeast infections frequently. My Endo said this is because of our immune systems being so compromised and our natural bacteria is often killed off. What I have found to help me with managing my yeast infections is using probiotics and consuming acidolphilus capsules...both of these help replenish the natural occurring bacteria in our bodies so we can begin to combat the bad. Often times if we have the same reoccurring infection it will become accustomed to the drugs our doctors give us and a different approach must be used and some of the stuff they give us not only kill the bad but the good bacteria as well thus leaving us more susceptible to reoccurring infections.

Just a note if you choose to use probiotics or acidolphilus capsules you'll want to double or triple your daily amount until the thrush is gone. Once it's gone you can take the 1-2 tables recommended to help prevent thrush from coming back.

A few other things that can combat candida (aka yeast, thrush) are as follows:
Garlic is a natural antibacterial. Try eating lots of raw garlic or even swishing around with a garlic water.
Yogurt (the active live cultures in yogurt help balance our natural bacteria in our bodies and combat against the bad stuff). When you eat the yogurt let is sit in your mouth for a few moments before swallowing, this will allow the live cultures to "attack" the bad bacteria.
Apple Cider Vinegar is also good at combating candida. A good swish with Apple Cider Vinegar a few times a day would help kill it off. It's not the best tasting stuff but it'll do the trick.
Sauerkraut is another food that has active cultures in it. You'll want to eat it raw for best results as heat will kill the live cultures.

To prevent thrush from coming back you'll also want to sterilize everything you eat and drink out of. Washing in hot soapy anti-bacterial water and preferably dry in sunlight. Yeast do not like sun at all.

Oh and diet plays a major role in preventing candida from coming back. Ideally a person who has candida issues will want to stay away from sugars, highly refined process foods, and stick to a more wholesome natural diet. Here is a website with lots of information on how to combat it through diet and what foods are good and what aren't:
http://www.thecandidadiet.com/

I hope this helps. I have battled yeast infections all my life and I have spent lots of time trying to figure out how to prevent it. *hugs* Good luck! If you have any further questions or just need some support feel free to message me.

I have had thrush get into my jaw, it was very painful. The last major one I required an IV anti Fugal. I know once I could beat the thrush it helped when I did a preventive swish with nystain every few days. I hope you get beat it soon.

Thank you so much Kristen. I most especially did not know how much probiotics/acidophilus to take. I'm going to triple it asap!

Yes probiotics help a great deal I have a yeast issue as well not thrush but other problems. I even had chronic sinus infections from it. Also try not to eat too much sugar and not to many carbs while your trying to kill canidia because it feeds on sugar. Also I take nysatin, I stay on it and have been for years, so you might want to try it. I take 1 million units 3 times a day. You can take it 4 times a day. Get your Dr to presc. and fill it at a compouding pharmacy because the reg kind the DRs give is filled with sugar which kinda defeates the purpose. It takes alitle while but this will help you. Best Wishes Darla

matt -

i am your woman. i have been battling thrush for years now, and all because of the meds i'm on. it's horrible, isn't it? i saw every doctor i had, and climbed all the way up to seeing the infectious diseases doctors at a major university ... it was that bad.

here's what my dr. there has told me:

pro-biotics will NOT actually help in cases of thrush, unless you happen to find exactly the right strain you need, which is nearly impossible. he told me to not even waste my time.

for thrush as bad as yours and mine, food will also not make a noticeable difference. yogurt maybe, i think he said, but that was it,
if he even said that ... i'm trying to remember that part correctly, bc i
h-a-t-e yogurt, and i think i remember being bummed that it was the only thing he suggested.

he put me on a nystatin rinse, but it did nothing for me. at one point it was switched to a 'magic mouthwash' ... some pharmacies
have their own recipes for this, some doctors give certain instructions, but either way it helped me MUCH more than the regular nystatin. it had some kind of throat numbing agent in it, and for some reason that helped immensly.

he also put me on a really strong anti-biotic. i'm going to have to try and remember what the name was and get back to you on that.
REALLY strong, as in he didn't want me on it very long. it helped a bit, but not long after i would stop taking it the thrush would come back. i'd go back and forth ... nothing would completely stop it.

after that, he told me the next step would be an IV anti-biotic, but one that would risk liver damage. i didn't even care when he said it, i was ready for him to put the needle in my arm right there and then - i'm sure you know what i mean. we haven't gotten to that point yet, however, because i've just been dealing ...

until about a week ago, when i gave something else that had been prescribed to me another try. they're called troches - almost like a lozenge, and you let them disolve in your mouth - and you take 5/day. i had never taken them faithfully, because i figured they were just like the nystatin, which didn't do much. but OMG, they really worked! i'm still taking them, and they are doing the trick! it's amazing. i can't even believe it. you can talk to your regular dr. about it, and he/she should be able to prescribe them.

again, they're TROCHE(S), and i HIGHLY reccomend them. please let me know if you do - you should be pretty happy with the results, i'm thinking.

here are some other tricks i've come up with to deal:

tongue scraper - i'm not a genius, i'm sure you have one already, but i still thought i'd mention it.

baby toothbrush - the super soft kind, to brush the top of your mouth. this is the best way i've found to get the thrush out without scratching the HELL out of the roof of my mouth. i was at the point where i could hardly eat anything because EVERYTHING hurt! salt, sugar ... it all burned in my mouth. did this happen to you? the baby toothbrush will really help. and so will ...

biotene toothpaste - it's for dry mouthes, which is one major cause of thrush. it's not super strong/minty, so it doesn't burn your mouth where you've brushed the hell out of to get the thrush out. it basically makes you want to brush your teeth more - which i never wanted to do for awhile, since it was hurting so much.

biotene also has a mouthwash that's awesome, doesn't burn, and keeps your mouth from getting dry, and better yet, GUM! while you chew it your mouth stays perfect, and NO thrush forms. i love it. it's not super easy to find, but if you have meijer near you, that's where i've seen it. it's in the dental section. you can also find it online. biotene has other products, too.

i'm SO GLAD that my years of thrush hell might finally help someone else. please let me know if you try any of this, and how it goes, if so. i wish you the best of luck, friend!

xoxo, misa

ps) how often were you vomiting? how did you lose your job? was it legit? that's awful; i'm SO sorry to hear it.

holy CRAP, i just wrote a NOVEL!

Misa thank you so much!!! I cannot tell you what all I have gone through, for years. Chronic cyclical vomitting for years. Big mystery. Years ago my GI, being clueless, sent me to the Mayo clinic. Even THEY could not figure it out. Finally I went to a clinic for something like a flu and the doctor said, "Did you know you have thrush?" And ever since then I have been convinced that thrush is the cause of my chronic vommitting. I paid a visit to an een&throat doc, but my gag reflex is so severe that he gave up looking.I have had many theories... but the thrush theory is the one I'm sticking to for now. And I have also seen an infectious disease specialist. He says I can take Fluconozale for a period, then switch to Nystatin, and keep switching back and forth like that.Fluconozale is pretty bad for your liver and the fungus builds up a tolerance to it. He would only give me minimal prescriptions of it. As soon as I get off it, there I am throwing up in a trash can. It is hard to work when you are in that state everyday. So I started buying Fluconozale and Ketaconozale? online from Canada. All I know is that when I take it I don't throw up nearly as much.I don't care what it does for my liver if it affords me to live a normal life.
I have not had the mouth pains. But mine seems to spread into my tonsils and down my esophogus. My appetite is hardly existent. How is yours? I have found a website you may want to check: candidasupport.org. I would try their product but I'm flat broke. If you try it let me know if it lives up to its claims.
I cannot tell you how amazing this is to me to have found someone with AD who is experiencing the same problem! And I must ask: How much steroids do you take and what kind do you take?
Well I'm off to bed now. Thank you so much for sharing and for your advice. Let me give you my email address so we can keep in touch: bodhi91173@hotmail.com

I am 100% for Mycelex troche they work really well for me, I am not so good at doing them for prevention but if I feel or taste it coming on it works great.
Nystain hasn't done much for me, I usually request when I am in the hospital to start the Mycelex troche as soon as I get on IV antibiotics for any infection. It is a daily, weekly fight.

I'm not the only one to deal with this!!! Thank you sooo much everybody. I will talk with my doctor on the next visit!!!

Hi Matt,
To add to Misa's "Novel" :),the Troches can be purchased generically, with absolutely no difference in effectiveness, safety AND much less expensive ~$10 for a bottle of 30, w/o insurance.

The generic: Clotrimazole Lozenges. I believe the directions indicate 5-6 daily, but 2 daily work just as well..less is more.

As a side note: antibiotics, constant rinsing & gargling actually exacerbates thrush, by killing off the good, necessary bacteria.

I hope we'll soon see a "No more thrush" posting!!

@lunar: what a shock, once again i'm in love with you! clomitrazole troches are the kind i use ... i didn't know you could get them w/out a script! you rule the world. thanks!

@matt: yes, there are others of us out here, although mine sounds like NOTHING compared to yours! i'm so sorry. i cannot imagine how absolutely horrid this must be for you.

am i correct then that you have *not* tried the troches? i think they will make a huge difference. i am BEGGING you, try them! there's also a new brand of tongue scrapers that are supposed to put the usual ones to s-h-a-m-e ... i keep meaning to order one, as you can only get them online. i can't think of the name, but i'll let you know when i find it.

PLEASE get well soon, and let me know how things go. my email is acting up right now (ha, i tried to switch it to microsoft windows mail, or whatever it is, and did some *real* damage in the process ... which is why i should never 'play' with anything that has any type of batteries or electricity running through it, lol), so the best way to talk to me would be through DS - private message me if you'd like!

xoxos to all,
misa

Hi Misa,

Well, don't 'love' me too much!! I guess my wording was (not surprisingly) unclear. Troches can be obtained generically, but you do need a prescription, unfortunately. Sorry for the confusion!!