Fungus party at my place!

Laralyn
Laralyn Member Posts: 532
in Head and Neck Cancer #1
Over the past few days, I noticed my mouth and throat getting super cottony, oddly painful and stiff. It was actually making my throat feel really full. I figured the treatments were finally catching up to me even though based on everything I read, it seemed a little early for that.

Last night, I noticed a red patch on my hip area that was itchy and thought, "Jock itch? Me?" I woke up every couple hours last night with my mouth dry and awful. The light bulb still didn't come on until around 4:30 am when I couldn't sleep and thought, "Thrush."

I don't usually self-diagnose but when I looked in the mirror, it's pretty obvious that's what's going on. I'm going to ask to see a doctor or nurse at radiation today and also call my chemo NP. I was also almost tempted to just use something over the counter for the jock itch instead of mentioning it... even though logically I should know not to treat anything as routine at this point.

I wanted to post something for other new folks going through this. I probably let it get worse than it should have because I assumed it was an expected symptom. Now it's making it hard to eat at a time I should probably still be eating relatively OK. Lesson learned!

So yeah, there's a fungus party at my place. I'd invite everyone, but it's one of those parties where the take-home gifts aren't really that great. ;-)

Comments

  • longtermsurvivor
    longtermsurvivor Member Posts: 1,842 Member
    #2
    it does tend to sneak up on you
    I had it twice. It was very uncomfortable. And mine was resistant to nystatin, so I got an extra four days of discomfort until being switched to diflucan.


    Pat
  • Skiffin16
    Skiffin16 Member Posts: 8,305 Member
    #3
    Fungus AmongUs
    There's a party going on an you're invited.....though there's probably not a lot of dancin happenin....

    JG
  • Laralyn
    Laralyn Member Posts: 532
    #4
    Skiffin16 said:

    Fungus AmongUs
    There's a party going on an you're invited.....though there's probably not a lot of dancin happenin....

    JG

    Note to self: be nicer to babies
    I had no idea thrush feels so uncomfortable! No wonder babies cry when they have it. I can hardly wait for the medicine to kick in!

    Note to self: REMEMBER TO CHECK YOUR MOUTH EVERY DAY. That was in the notes from my chemo NP and I forgot to do it! Lesson learned!
  • KTeacher
    KTeacher Member Posts: 1,103
    #5
    Laralyn said:

    Note to self: be nicer to babies
    I had no idea thrush feels so uncomfortable! No wonder babies cry when they have it. I can hardly wait for the medicine to kick in!

    Note to self: REMEMBER TO CHECK YOUR MOUTH EVERY DAY. That was in the notes from my chemo NP and I forgot to do it! Lesson learned!

    BYON
    Bring your own Nystaten. Been there, have the t-shirt. When I asked the rad doc the first time he first replied--that's just radiation, then he looked in my mouth, I had a prescription post haste. He knows that I know what it is, I can get a prescription from him easily. I had thrush throughout my radiation treatment the first time. When I left Stanford after my neck dissection, doctor that released me said I had a canker sore, by the time I got to the valley 2 days later (I stayed with my sister in Foster City) I had thrush. It is yucky and I do feel bad for the babies that get it.
  • Pam M
    Pam M Member Posts: 2,196
    #6
    Thanks for the Non-vitation
    Fungus party? Hmmm - gee, I have to work/babysit/wash my hair. Hope you're starting to feel less yucky.
  • phrannie51
    phrannie51 Member Posts: 4,716
    #7
    Laralyn said:

    Note to self: be nicer to babies
    I had no idea thrush feels so uncomfortable! No wonder babies cry when they have it. I can hardly wait for the medicine to kick in!

    Note to self: REMEMBER TO CHECK YOUR MOUTH EVERY DAY. That was in the notes from my chemo NP and I forgot to do it! Lesson learned!

    I'm sure I wouldn't know the difference between Thrush
    and a newly aquired "sore mouth" either.

    Is Thrust just part of the package? Is there a way to prevent/avoid it?

    p
  • Kent Cass
    Kent Cass Member Posts: 1,898 Member
    #8
    Pam M said:

    Thanks for the Non-vitation
    Fungus party? Hmmm - gee, I have to work/babysit/wash my hair. Hope you're starting to feel less yucky.

    Thrush
    As for Thrush being part of it- definitely YES. It's actually a Yeast infection, according to a Nurse I had named Jessica. Seems to me Nystatin mighta been what was prescribed for me- swish and spit kinda stuff. There's other infections, too, including the infamous Sepsis that can hit, because the immune system is maxed and the chemo leaves one very vulnerable. Something to beware of.

    kcass
  • Laralyn
    Laralyn Member Posts: 532
    #9
    phrannie51 said:

    I'm sure I wouldn't know the difference between Thrush
    and a newly aquired "sore mouth" either.

    Is Thrust just part of the package? Is there a way to prevent/avoid it?

    p

    Check your mouth every day!
    You can usually see thrush--it causes white or yellow spots on your cheeks or the roof of your mouth. If you tell your doctor the minute you spot one, he/she can check it out and hopefully catch it MUCH earlier than I did.

    Trust me, catching it this late is pretty miserable. It's in my throat as well as my mouth, and the full feeling and pain is making me nauseous already... and it's chemo day! :-(
  • Laralyn
    Laralyn Member Posts: 532
    #10
    Kent Cass said:

    Thrush
    As for Thrush being part of it- definitely YES. It's actually a Yeast infection, according to a Nurse I had named Jessica. Seems to me Nystatin mighta been what was prescribed for me- swish and spit kinda stuff. There's other infections, too, including the infamous Sepsis that can hit, because the immune system is maxed and the chemo leaves one very vulnerable. Something to beware of.

    kcass

    It's a little better today...
    ...but it's still making me nauseous and I can barely drink. I had no idea thrush could feel so awful when it gets way down your throat!

    I read that cherry Maalox + cherry Benedryl as a mouth rinse works well to numb the pain, and it actually does. I've been using it every four hours or so.

    Good news at chemo today though! All my blood counts are normal--white cells, red cells, platelets and iron. So the thrush was probably helped along by the combo of steroids for nausea + antibiotics for my PEG tube.

    Three weeks of chemo down... four more to go! And 30% of the way through with radiation!
  • Laralyn
    Laralyn Member Posts: 532
    #11
    Kent Cass said:

    Thrush
    As for Thrush being part of it- definitely YES. It's actually a Yeast infection, according to a Nurse I had named Jessica. Seems to me Nystatin mighta been what was prescribed for me- swish and spit kinda stuff. There's other infections, too, including the infamous Sepsis that can hit, because the immune system is maxed and the chemo leaves one very vulnerable. Something to beware of.

    kcass

    Double post!
    --edited
  • longtermsurvivor
    longtermsurvivor Member Posts: 1,842 Member
    #12
    Laralyn said:

    It's a little better today...
    ...but it's still making me nauseous and I can barely drink. I had no idea thrush could feel so awful when it gets way down your throat!

    I read that cherry Maalox + cherry Benedryl as a mouth rinse works well to numb the pain, and it actually does. I've been using it every four hours or so.

    Good news at chemo today though! All my blood counts are normal--white cells, red cells, platelets and iron. So the thrush was probably helped along by the combo of steroids for nausea + antibiotics for my PEG tube.

    Three weeks of chemo down... four more to go! And 30% of the way through with radiation!

    dang it!
    talking about this cursed me. Ive got thrush again. This is my third go around, and two of them have been post treatment. Im now two months post rads, just now eating solid food. My ,outh has gotten really sore in the last two days and..... Guess what. My old friend is back. Ok, back to the diflucan again.
  • Grandmax4
    Grandmax4 Member Posts: 723
    #13
    longtermsurvivor said:

    dang it!
    talking about this cursed me. Ive got thrush again. This is my third go around, and two of them have been post treatment. Im now two months post rads, just now eating solid food. My ,outh has gotten really sore in the last two days and..... Guess what. My old friend is back. Ok, back to the diflucan again.

    me too
    I'm having my second battle with thrush also, my mouth doesnt get sore it's just that fuzzy in my throat and on my tongue gross feeling. I'm on a steroid inhaler for broncitis and need to rinse my mouth after morning and evening use, which I thought I was doing..my Dr has/had me on fluconazole 150 mg....it doesn't seem to be doing it's job, I've been on it 12 days, have 3 days togo. Anyone have any experience with this medicine?
  • Laralyn
    Laralyn Member Posts: 532
    #14
    Grandmax4 said:

    me too
    I'm having my second battle with thrush also, my mouth doesnt get sore it's just that fuzzy in my throat and on my tongue gross feeling. I'm on a steroid inhaler for broncitis and need to rinse my mouth after morning and evening use, which I thought I was doing..my Dr has/had me on fluconazole 150 mg....it doesn't seem to be doing it's job, I've been on it 12 days, have 3 days togo. Anyone have any experience with this medicine?

    Ack! Sorry if I cursed us all with the fungus party invitation!
    I'm using apple cider vinegar (http://www.livestrong.com/article/27932-use-apple-cider-vinegar-oral/) and homemade magic mouthwash (1/2 tsp cherry kid's Benadryl and 1/2 cherry Maalox) rinse to help clear mine up. I don't know if it's just the anti-fungals or all three but it does seem to be getting better. It keeps waking me up at night, though (I'm up at 3am with it right now).

    Do you think wiping your inhaler with apple cider vinegar or rubbing alcohol would help?
  • Greg53
    Greg53 Member Posts: 849
    #15
    Laralyn said:

    Double post!
    --edited

    Probiotics
    Laralyn

    I had the dreaded Thrush 3 times. 1st time I was given Nystatin which knocked it right out. The 2nd go-round I was given diflucan which did a good job as well. By the 3rd time I got it they put me back on the Nystatin, which did not help at all. It lingered for a couple of weeks. Someone here (I belive PamM??) suggested probiotics. I don't know if the Nystatin finally did it's job or what, but soon after starting on the probiotics I got much needed relief. And coincidence or not, as bad as Thrush can be, I stayed with the probiotics for quite some time and never had a return of it. Just saying......

    Good luck!

    Greg
  • phrannie51
    phrannie51 Member Posts: 4,716
    #16
    Greg53 said:

    Probiotics
    Laralyn

    I had the dreaded Thrush 3 times. 1st time I was given Nystatin which knocked it right out. The 2nd go-round I was given diflucan which did a good job as well. By the 3rd time I got it they put me back on the Nystatin, which did not help at all. It lingered for a couple of weeks. Someone here (I belive PamM??) suggested probiotics. I don't know if the Nystatin finally did it's job or what, but soon after starting on the probiotics I got much needed relief. And coincidence or not, as bad as Thrush can be, I stayed with the probiotics for quite some time and never had a return of it. Just saying......

    Good luck!

    Greg

    I got thrush once during final week
    at college....my sister turned me on to probiotics at that time....we were chewing them, and they DID work.

    p
  • Laralyn
    Laralyn Member Posts: 532
    #17
    phrannie51 said:

    I got thrush once during final week
    at college....my sister turned me on to probiotics at that time....we were chewing them, and they DID work.

    p

    Which form?
    Did you use probiotic pills, or eat yogurt? I'll do both if it keeps the thrush at bay!
  • phrannie51
    phrannie51 Member Posts: 4,716
    #18
    Laralyn said:

    Which form?
    Did you use probiotic pills, or eat yogurt? I'll do both if it keeps the thrush at bay!

    I went to the health food store, and got the pills...
    I'd suck on them, they have no taste really....but let them get all thru my mouth, then chew up the remainder when they got small. Yogurt has probiotics but not nearly the amount you'll find condensed into the pill form. There are also capsules, I wonder if you could disolve them in a little water, and swish them, then swallow.

    p
  • Greg53
    Greg53 Member Posts: 849
    #19
    phrannie51 said:

    I went to the health food store, and got the pills...
    I'd suck on them, they have no taste really....but let them get all thru my mouth, then chew up the remainder when they got small. Yogurt has probiotics but not nearly the amount you'll find condensed into the pill form. There are also capsules, I wonder if you could disolve them in a little water, and swish them, then swallow.

    p

    Oops, I forgot to say...
    Should have mentioned, I did a little research and there are no scientific studies that show probiotics work, but like I said before they "seemed" to help me and I heard several people mention them for this effect.

    Big thing I forgot was, I was done with treatments when I started those. I made sure I checked with my Doc's before I started anything while I was in treatment (and actually still do after treatment). My Doc's were ok with me using probiotics after (a couple of them skeptical, but still ok with it) but I didn't ask about using during tx. Best advice may be to check with your Doc's to make sure they are ok with it if you are in tx.

    Also these are supplements which are not overseen by FDA, so you might want to make sure you're using a reputable one if you decide to try them. I quit taking them after about a year so I forget the brand name I used. I had asked a couple of friends who run a health supplement store for their recomendation.

    Oh yeah, I used capsules.

    Greg

    ps- the L-gluatmine is good also for general mouth issues and that was ok'd by my Doc's to use during tx

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