Beating Thrush - "FOR REALS" this time

We've had a challenging week--we never completely got rid of the thrush infection, and it's been plaguing us for over 40 days. Things came to a head on Thursday when I was reduced to tears trying to comfort Sunny, who was screaming in pain because of a sore throat and sore mouth due to a thrush comeback plus a plugged nose from her first cold. I was so exhausted and disheartened by the many efforts we've maintained for more than half Sunny's life (!) trying to shake this infection.

On Monday Max had jumped on the internet, trying to find any additional info to help, and saw that most breastfeeding websites recommend a VERY different treatment regimen than what we've been trying. I'd been prescribed 2 pills to take 3 days apart, each 150 mg of Diflucan. The breast feeding experts recommend 14 pills, one taken daily, each 200 mg! I called our lactation consultant (the one who'd suspected thrush and first "diagnosed" us) to check on the dosage, and she was shocked that we'd been given the lesser prescription. I'd only confirmed with her that I'd gotten the medicine weeks ago--I hadn't thought to verify the dosage with her. I'd immediately left a message with my doctor asking for help and an updated prescription. No response for 2 long days of Sunny's crying and refusal to breastfeed (since her mouth hurt). So at 10 p.m. on Thursday Max called the after-hours doctor to help us with an immediate correction to the prescription. It wasn't truly an emergency, but since the doctor's people hadn't helped me within 2 days of my urgent request and I was so ticked off that we'd been given a clearly insufficient dose way back at the beginning of this struggle, we decided immediate help was warranted!

I picked up the additional medicine the following morning. Now we're hitting the thrush with every weapon we know of: my diet is restricted (no simple sugars or dairy), we're using vinegar/water solution to wash the affected areas and we're using a hair dryer to dry them thoroughly, Sunny's getting Lotrimen and a super thorough air-dry at each diaper change, she's taking Nystatin (nasty topical drug to treat her mouth), we're both taking acidophilus, and I'm also taking echinacea, biotin and grapefruit seed extract...in addition to the higher dose of Diflucan. I also run around the house topless all day (hopefully the neighbors aren't looking in the windows too closely) because fresh air speeds the healing. And I have to rub in a topical drug on myself after breastfeeding. There's literally something to do every 1-2 hrs with this regimen, but WHATEVER IT TAKES is my motto to rid us of thrush.

Then there's the very best part of the treatment: gentian violet, a homeopathic topical fluid so bright purple that it stains me and Sunny (she gets it while nursing) all day long. And just as the purple is finally fading, it's time for another dose! Wow. I'm stain-treating purple out of everything these days. Well, at least her bright, happy face looks super cute covered in purple. Her tongue and lips get so saturated that they look purple-black. Max says she looks like she got into a box of grape popsicles. Auntie Kelly also created a new word to help describe my condition from the same treatment: "nurple."

Sunny's big smiles make everything so much easier to deal with. She mimics expressions (mouth open, tongue out, smiles) and some sounds - it's very fun to interact more. More pics/info to follow (most before the purple mouth) once I've got my treatment plan down a little better...