Thrush, steroids, and acid

can go away with anti nausea meds, OR OTC zantaz ($4 in WM) my Drs are ok  with whatever works.

I'm finally making headway on Thrush.  I'm using Nystatin, 4x a day.  I bought 144 disposable toothbrushes, and got 12 10ml syringes (no cost from the pharmacist).  I face the mirror so I can see, and scrub my tongue (lightly) with a toothbrush, targetting obvious areas.  Then I use a syringe loaded with 5ml Nystatin and directly apply it to the target areas.  Nice thing about the syringe is you can control application and apply it waaay back on your tongue.  Then I trash the toothbrush and put the syringe in the dishwasher.  Everything is as anticeptic as I can get it. 

Prior to this approach, Nystatin did nothing.   

Honestly tho, there is no way I could have stood doing this when I was under treatment, or for about 8 weeks after.

I'm glad to hear I may have helped someone here.  I've been on the receiving end so often. 

As to recovery... it comes and goes.  This is my third shot at my Thrush, and I am determined to do whatever it takes to get it gone.  I can see it receeding on my tongue during the day, and then wake up next morning and it's spread back.  I thought I had dealt with my Lymphodemia on my neck, had it down to nothing, and then woke up the next morning starting all over again.  Dry mouth... it comes and goes by the day, always there, sometimes worse.  I sat down with a sampler plate from a salad bar today, and tried a whole bunch of different foods.  Every one of the items had its own taste, but only for the first bite, after that, nothing.  I wake up to patches of skin that have gotten bone dry over night. 

I am making progress, things are getting better, but it is not a straight line up.  My chemo oncol is pretty good, and he says I should just figure on a year of this. 

Solving the Lymphodemia problem is tougher than it looks.  The massage technique instruction is a VERY  good idea, and I would avoid massaging the area until you see it.  Unfortunately, I had a 3 week wait for the only PT qualified on it.  My PT recommended a head compression strap arrangement from compressionguru that sort of looks like something Lucile Ball wore at night as part of her comedy routine in the 60s.  It works, but others writing here have found it restrictive.  It is, but it works, although by mid-day a lot of the swelling comes back.  

Part of what is feeding mine is my radiation damage isn't done healing.  I thought I was done, but my chemo oncol's PA did an exam for Thrush and said I have at least another month given what she sees. My chemo oncol morphed into my hemotologist for my clots (I'm the insurance plan that keeps on giving), but since we're already doing the only treatment they have for my clots, we talk cancer stuff as well.   I did notice an odd change to taste when I started wearing the strap at night, things became slightly salty again.  I can't say whether they were related, but I eased off on the strap, and the salt taste dropped.  This week and next I'm concentrating on Thrush and itchy dry skin.  I figure the neck stuff will still be there.