Chronic Yeast Infection

It sounds like a yeast intolerance. If she is in pain and the Dr, says it is all in her head, time for a new Dr.
I do this yeast cleanser called "Tri-Cleanse". I get it at Vitamine Cottage and do it when on anti-biotics(SP) I helps control the yeast in my body and is herbal.
C. B

Yogurt is the only thing that worked for me. I ate at least one yogurt a day for several months. At first I would just do a couple weeks at a time, symptoms would seem to go away, I'd stop eating the stuff, but it always seemed to come back.

I actually got sick of yogurt for a year or so afterwards, but boy is that stuff amazing.

Hi!

Try caprylic acid. It's a natural supplement that won't harm (and would also be transferred to) the baby. You should be able to get it at any natural food store. It's not expensive.

L.

Oh man. I symphathize. I went through a terrible yeast infection with my 2nd baby. I tried gentian violet, prescription ointment, and pills. Nothing seemed to work. My yeast infection seemed to back off and be less aggressive when winter came. Which enabled me to continue. But I could never completely get rid of my infection. Until I weaned my son. when he was 12 monthes. I think that we together for some reason provided just the right pH so that it was a problem that wasn't fixed until I stopped breast feeding. Pumping for some feedings might help her infection. Although I didn't have enough to pump. I have heard that exposing your nipples to the sun as much as possible seems to help too since yeast hates the sun. I hope you are able to get it fixed. It also seemed to help going to a lactation consultant at the hospital. They were very helpful and knew of more herbal things that I could try. They also didn't treat me like I was a baby or making things up.

The yogurt can be great, but taking acidophillus and/or bifidus supplements gives the same good stuff as yogurt at much more concentrated levels. I hope she is able to resolve this soon!

I had the same thing when breastfeeding my first daughter and the pain was excruciating!! It was like pins and needles in my breasts shortly after nursing - so bad that I would be on the floor crying. I finally connected with an expert lactation consultant in the Boulder area who knew exactly what was going on. She worked with my OB to get me on Diflucan EVERY day for about 2 weeks. It took care of the problem and it never came back and I nursed my second daughter with no difficulties.

I know your pain. Here is what I did: Get some Mesosilver from http://www.purestcolloids.com/mesosilver.htm in a spray bottle. Spray this on your nipple before you breast feed so your baby will get some (mom has thrush, baby has thrush). Then after your done clean your breast with a vinigar solution (1tbs vinigar to 8oz water), then spray some more mesosilver on your nipple, wait a few minutes then put your bra back on. This may take about two weeks to cure, but once it's cured it doesn't come back. AND its totally natural and won't harm either you or your baby. Also do what others have said by cutting out all sugar and processed foods and taking a probiotic supplement.
By the way, this particular brand of colloidal silver will not turn your baby blue. It's particles are not ionized and therefore won't bond and turn you or your baby blue. It is totally safe to use in your eyes and ears as well. I have used it for conjunctivitis and for ear infections. Awesome stuff.
Good Luck!!
M.E.

Hi J.!
I just had a little baby boy who is 6 weeks as of today. I just recently went through the yeast infection thing in both my breasts. I'm no longer breast feeding due to the pain, and lack of milk to keep my little one satisfied. My doctor at Women's First in Loveland, perscribed FLUCANOZOLE generic for some other Yeast infection medication. It worked. I felt a difference right away. Thats messed up that an actual DR who has gone to school for 8 years or more actually has the nerve to tell your sister "Its all in your head," its all in his head the quack. I recomend getting your sister to someone else. Women's First in Loveland is just located right by MCKEE MEdical Center on Bosie ave. Their Address and phone # Are:
1900 N. Bosie AVE Suite 240
###-###-####
My dr there that diagnosed me was Cindy Dean. And actually all the nurse mid wives there are really amazing! So it really doesn't matter who she gets, they all will treat it as best they can. At call them, so she can get some friendly advise on what to do.
Hope this works out!
D.

Is it a yeast infection or maybe its thrush?! Does the baby have a film over his tongue? My friend and her baby struggled with thrush for months and had to do the gentian violet tinctures (both he and she) to cure it. Make sure she is diagnosed correctly.

I went through this and know exactly what she feels like. The pain was overwhelming and my Dr didn't believe me either. My lactation consultant finally copied some info and dosage instructions from a book for me to give to my Dr. I tried everything because I was determined to not stop nursing. I took Diflucan for 30 days, stopped eating any dairy, breads, or sugars. I wiped my nipples down with a vinegar and water soution several times a day. Exposed my breasts to direct sunlight for 10 minutes a day (luckily we have a high fence in our backyard!). Took massive amounts of probiotic supplements. It took nearly a month before I was completely pain-free, but it is possible. Please tell your sister to hang in there. Everyone (except my wonderful lactation ladies!) thought I was crazy for continuing to nurse through all of this, but it was worth it for me. We're still nursing once a day and my son is 15 months old.

Tell your friend to call a La Leche League leader (www.llli.org - look under Resource, then Find a Local Leader) who will be able to give lots of specific advice, including dosing of some of the herbs recommended below - you must be careful with gentian violet) and possibly recommend a practitioner with more sense and care than the one your sister is currently seeing. I cannot believe the doctor would be so insensitive! If it is yeast, it is called thrush, and baby MUST be treated at the same time, or they will pass it back and forth to each other, thus creating such a "long bout" of a yeast infection like the doctor has never seen before. The friends I've had with thrush have never had symptoms on the outside - it's a deep burning and itching inside for them. Once again, please have your sister call La Leche League or a lactation consultant to get better support or information. Accurate information to help her deal with the problem, and support to get through until the problem is solved will be key to her continuing to breastfeed. She can do it! Stopping breastfeeding is not going to stop the yeast infection. She's been fighting this a long time, now, though, and it must be getting discouraging and painful. Please help her get support. You both could even go to a LLL meeting together and meet other breastfeeding moms. All moms are welcome, even if breastfeeding is going fine. Good luck!

H.

Hello,

Where it's natural to have some yeast or candida in your large intestine, sometimes it spreads to your small intestine and into the rest of the body. Sometimes mother and child will pass it back and forth while nursing. It is painful and hard to get rid of. If what the doctor is prescribing isn't working, why not try alternative medicine. Contact a naturepath, or even go online and research candida. There are a lot of natural remedies that will relieve the pain and actually get rid of the overabundance of yeast in the body. I wish your sister luck.

To get rid of thrush on a baby is easy. The natural way that I did it was to put garlic juice on the tongue. Do it several times a day and it will be gone. Garlic is a natural antibiotic. Vinegar would probably work also. Taking vinegar internally for the mom will also get rid of the yeast.

my dd and I passed thrush back and forth for a while. I had to eat a lot of yogurt to help build up my good biotics where the antibiotics were getting rid of everything. until we treated the baby and I it went back and forth--so I agree get both of them treated as for the in your head doctor--roll eyes--tell her to go to another one. You don't need docs who don't listen. especially when there are so many who do.

Hi J.!
Congratulations on your little one and to your sister as well! I am sorry to hear about her struggles- no doubt she is in pain! A few things that she can do to help...
Try to eat as many raw fruits and vegetables as possible- no processed foods and limit meats, soy and conventional dairy products. NO PROCESSED SUGAR! If she mush have sweet, she should use raw honey (for her, not the baby, of course) or agave nectar. She needs to take a good probiotic- I use Shaklee's Optiflora pearls. Try and find a "pearl" probiotic because of the layers- the bactieria survives the stomach acid and gets deposited in the gut where it is needed. I think she should take Wishgarden Herbs Mastitis Remedy. This remedy will help get the infection under control. She could also try a breast compress to relieve her pain and help draw out some of the infection. And finally, please provide lots of support for her to keep keeping on with breastfeeding. I know it must bo so hard for her, but she can get this under control and will be able to enjoy a wonderful breastfeeding relationship with her child.
Other things I suggest- I think she should see a Natropath- they will work with her to identify the problems and the causes instead of just masking the symptoms.
If you (or she) would like more info or help, please feel free to contact me. Also, if she wants to try the Mastitis Remedy, I would be heppy to extend a discount to her, either one of you can email me for the details if you are interested.

What a wonderful sister to be so supportive- if only we were all so blessed! Please give your sister my best wishes for a fast recovery!

H. Gaitten
www.naturalchoices4baby.com
____@____.com

I have had the same problem twice with my first baby and my fourth. First I was given Nystatin then after that failed I was given an anti-fungal that I had to clean off really well before nursing which agitated the problem area even more. What I used to help were glycerin pads called soothies to help with discomfort between feedings. I put them in the fridge when more comfort was needed and during nursing; so they were nice and cool when finished I feeding the babies. People seem to heal faster when they are comfortable. Plus the soothies I used were anti-fungal and promoted healing. Eating yogurt helps get your natural flora balanced also. And have your baby checked for thrush cause they are probably passing it back and fourth. Between the anti-fungal my children and I used, the yogurt I ate, and the glycerin pads I was able to continue nursing and heal at the same time. It took about a week. Also if this is her first time nursing a child it takes a while for some people to get used to it. My sister has a low tolerance for pain so when she started nursing her child she was still quite tender up until her 3rd month. But it was worht it to her. Hope this helps. Oh and the place where she can find the soothies would be at a drug store where nursing supplies are.

Has she called La Leche League? That's my advise. They are AMAZING!!!

I had this problem for three months and no doctor would help me. They didn't believe me. Very frustrating. So I ended up taking matters into my own hands. I talked to a friend who was a nurse and she told me to get on a probiotic and then I got monistate (yes, vaginal yeast infection cream) and put it on my nipples after I nursed an before I went to bed. I washed it off before I nursed. I saw an improvement in two days. I took about a week to go away. It was wonderful. My question also, is she treating her son also? You have to get a doctor prescription for this one. My son wasn't showing symptoms so they couldn't treat him. He didn't need it though. Also tell her NOT to put moisture on them..it just breeds the yeast. Warm moist areas are what yeast loves. I know what your sister is going through. It is so painful. I almost gave up breastfeeding because of it. This worked for me and I hope it will work for her if she tries it. At this point I would be trying everything. Blessings to you and your sister.

S.

Don't Give Up! Drs have no idea what she is feeling and some people,like myself, have candida which is too much of the normal yeast in your system and it can show up anywhere. Research Candida. Cut out sugar, it feeds yeast. Tons of yogurt, milk with acidopholus, live cultures etc. Sunrider Foods makes an apple flavored powder you can even eat plain with live cultures in it. Be sure baby does not have thrush in the mouth and is transferring it back and forth with Mom. Is this yeast on the skin or IN the breast. Any type of monistat just applied topically works great for skin irritations. See Dr Deanna Phinney, she is incredibley thorough and gets to the bottom of things. When my candida is out of control I will have to take that "just once" type of pill several times. Usually 1 pill once/wk for three weeks then it is all cleared up. Also be sure it is not recurrent mastitis. That is so painful and pain can linger even after the milk duct is cleared and the infection is gone.
Hope that helps.

Usually when you get a yeast infection on your breast during nursing, it is b/c the baby has thrush. Has the baby been treated. If not, its only being half treated. I've had that with all 3 kids. It is something easily fixed.

GL
J.

she should start taking acidophilus asap.....also she should cut sugar out of her diet as much as possible until it has cleared up. liquid form is most absorpable....you can find it in a little fridge in most health food stores. and make sure to dry/air out nipples after feeding before covering back up.

My daughter got thrush at day care while I was still breast feeding, so I ended up with it too. The Docs tried the yellow sticky (can't remember the name) stuff for her. That didn't work neither did the gent violet you paint the childs mouth with and your nipples. (horrible experience) They finally gave me oral diflucan which goes through the breast milk and treated both of us so we wouldn't pass it back and forth. Hope this helps. Good luck and hang in there. If her doctors don't treat her as they should it is best to find someone new, and well with in her rights.