I will first say good job to the mom and all the many who are supporting her through this horror. If all the treatments you describe have been tried, I would question the diagnosis. It may be yeast plus staph or a new resistant yeast or contact dermatitis from all the goo. The only client I have worked with who had the open sores and chronic yeast finally got better with IV antibiotics for 5 days followed by 10 days of oral antibiotics with simultaneous diflucan for mom and baby. She had gone through 2 months. I know it sounds drastic. She also did intensive diet and vitamin therapy and had a full workup of her immune function including HIV testing. Has anyone tried to culture the sores or milk? Has she seen a dermatologist? Good luck. tracy
tracy throckmorton rn, ibclc
portland, oregon
mailto:[log in to unmask]
-----Original Message-----
From: Heidi Streufert [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Friday, September 17, 1999 5:30 PM
Subject: Persistent (is an understatement) Thrush
I need the wisdom of the group with a case that has been referred to me by
someone with more experience than I, but she has no access to Lactnet.
A mother of six children, current baby will be her last. Daughter is six
months old. Only child currently nursing.
Both mother and baby have had thrush since child was born. The thrush is
so severe that the child has open weaping sores covering her entire diaper
area, as well as oral thrush. The mother is experiencing severe breast and
nipple pain and itching, that has been conclusively diagnosed as thrush by
both an MD and a Natropath, as well as a vaginal yeast infection. The
mother is VERY knowledgeable about Candidasis, having read everything that
she can obtain about the subject. She has been through every allopathic
and homeopathic remedy for yeast, having been under the care of the MD and
the Natropath, including Nystantin, Fluconasole, et al. With a hypothesis
of chronic reinfection, her husband has also received treatment during this
time and they have abstained from sexual intercourse. She has been on a
strict yeast-free diet for ten weeks, with little improvement. She has
looked at every possible source of her environment, including pets,
clothes, etc. She has tried direct sunlight on skin surfaces. She has
consulted with Kay Hoover.
At this point, the poor mother is absolutely miserable. She cherishes her
nursing relationship and can't bear the thought of terminating it, even
though her physician, who is usually very supportive of nursing, has urged
her to do so. She has also been experiencing severe insomnia, receiving
only about 1-2 hours of sleep each night. Her physician has prescribed
clonazepam and other meds for the insomnia, but because she is
breastfeeding, has allowed her to take them only two times a week. She has
been tested for diabetes, with negative results. She has lost over fifty
pounds. Her most recent comments (reprinted with permission): "I am dying
on the vine here, and have no idea what to do. I am trying to keep a
cheerful attitude, but this is going on three months no sleep, and six
months Monday with yeast... My birthday is today, and I am too tired to
even feel happy about it."
Any help for this poor, brave mother would be tremendously appreciated.
If you made it this far, I really appreciate it. I have looked over all
the thrush management things I can find in the archives but none really
deal with a case this tough. As far as I can see, she has tried it "all."
What could we be missing here?
I will pass along *any* suggestions.
Heidi Murphy Streufert
Breastfeeding Counselor
Gaithersburg, MD
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