GP says it's thrush - is it?
October 20, 2008 7:09 AM 
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The doctor says I have thrush. Five pessaries or so later, it hasn't gone away. What;s going on?
I've been having thrush-like symptoms since being given antibiotics for cystitis a few months ago - a bit of soreness during sex, discharge, yeasty smell. I;ve been given oral tablets, pessaries and creams; I'm doing all the things one should do to prevent it, and it's not going away. The doctor took a swab and said it was thrush, so why won't it work? Recently it's got worse - more itching, vinegary smell, yellowy discharge, vulva very tender to the touch (eg wiping after the loo) and when I had sex it felt like I'd been ripped inside for hours afterwards. It's driving me insane and bipolar meds make sex an odd area enough! I've had thrush before (antibiotics seem to bring it on) but it wasn't this bad. What to do, other than go back to the doctor and be given yet more pessaries?
posted by anonymous to health & fitness (9 comments total)
I had something similar happen to me -- I once self-diagnosed myself with thrush (I'm assuming that's what the U.S. term "yeast infection" translates to) and took the over-the-counter remedies for it, and they weren't doing anything. So I went to a doctor who ran a couple tests -- I actually tested negative for thrush. But I tested positive for something completely different. The symptoms were very, very similar, and it was only when you ran the tests that it would have been possible to figure out, "oh, I see!" It only took a weeks' worth of the PROPER medication to take care of it.
If the second doctor also says it's thrush, though, it may just be a stubborn case...you say you've done certain things to prevent it, but you don't elaborate, so forgive me if I mention a couple things you've already tried -- I just have found that they work for me. I also used to get thrush a lot, but since I started doing these two things I haven't had a single case, and it's been five years now.
1. If you use a lubricant during sex, make sure that it does not have glycerin in it. Glycerin is a form of sugar, and thrush just thrives on sugar -- I had been using a lube that had glycerin in it, and realized that in essence I was opening up a nice little all-you-can-eat restaurant for thrush on my person. Unfortunately, many of the most popular kinds of lube use glycerin. But they're starting to make more and more kinds of lube without it now, for precisely this reason; if you cut out the glycerin in your lubes, that should make a big difference.
2. Yogurt is your friend. The more "natural" the better -- they make yogurt here in the U.S. that is just one step away from being pudding, it's got so many sweeteners and artificial ingredients in it; but if you go for the more natural kinds with the good bacteria in it, that helps a lot as well. Some people try to actually insert the yogurt into their nethers, but I just eat it -- the good bacteria find their way to the right place eventually.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:27 AM on October 20, 2008 [1 favorite]