Thanks for the replies to my post about the 20 yr old mom with torn up nipples,
possible yeast, and recurring mastitis. I  called the grandmom last night and
read her the posts with all of the suggestions. She was very grateful to all of
you. Joy A, she was especially thrilled to get a reply from someone as far away
as Australia!! She jokingly added that whoever supplied the info that worked
would be "rewarded" by a visit from them!!

She told me she had gotten Dr Crook's latest book, The Yeast Connection and the
Woman, and was dismayed that apparently he never addresses yeast in connection
with breastfeeding.

I went through some of the questions in the new LC Series on Candidiasis
designed to identify whether yeast might be the culprit, and much of it seems to
fit. And the suggestions y'all made about poor nutrition and possible anemia
seemed to fit here as well. Apparently this is one of those radar babies that
senses whenever mom is about to eat. (I had one of those!) And, at her last WIC
check, she was borderline anemic.

One more tidbit grandmom told me when we discussing factors that might
predispose mom to yeast. Mom is a recovering alcoholic (no drinks in 3 1/2
years) and had chronic ear infections (and multiple rounds of antibiotics) as a
child, and had surgery of some kind as a teenager with lots of antibiotics as
well. While all of these happened in the past, I wonder if it is possible that
ongoing yeast infections could be triggered by past patterns? Any ideas on this?

I made grandmom promise to call me back and tell me "the rest of the story" so I
could pass it along to y'all. (She lives 2 hours away so I have not seen her.)

Thanks again!

Melissa Vickers, IBCLC
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