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help with thrush


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My husband sclc mets to brain and liver has had thrush for about 1 1/2 month. We have done nystatin over and over, The doctor gave us a prescription for diflucan and it cleared it up, it is back now with a vengence, He is miserable to the point he has quit eating, he says it feels like he can't swallow, are there any other maybe home remedies or anything else to try?? It seems atleast right now the cancer is atleast responding to treatment but he is so miserable with side effects of things he needs to help him that it is really getting him down, He has been breaking down and crying alot, he's very weak from the decadron messing with his legs, we found his blood sugar to be 490 last week at out appt. we now have to test for that, he was dehydrated because of the high blood sugar, I'm sure all of you know it just seems hard to just catch a break, I'm going to talk to the doctor tomorrow about anti-depressants I really think he needs them. anyone have good results with one kind over another?? His stomach is really bloated, and bothers him alot, We have been to the doc two seperate times for that, and he sent us for an x-ray which showed constipation. that problem has cleared up but his stomach is looking pregnant. has anyone had experience with this or any suggestions??

Wow, I guess I had more to pour out than I thought,

I am so frustrated and I know you all can relate, I can only imagine the frustration my husband feels,

Thanks for listening again and for any suggestions

Loretta

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My mom had to deal with thrush often during her radiation and got to the point where eating was "more trouble than it's worth". I'm sorry your husband's having trouble with it!

Mom used the "magic mouthwash" along with the treatment for the thrush to be able to get something to eat. It's mixed by the pharmacist and I know there are many who know what's actually in it but I know it's lidocane and I think it's mylanta, too...plus something else. Mom said it gagged her terribly, but she could get some food shoved down after using it. Then she just kept treating the thrush until she finally got it beat!!

Good luck to both of you! Hopefully he can get something to eat soon and the thrush clears up!

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Loretta,

Sorry to hear your husband is having such a tough time. Hopefully the Dr. will be able to help.

My husband has been taking Lexapro since his diagnosis (anti-depressant). It seems to work as he

has never been depressed during his 2 year battle.

His Dr. perscribed it from day 1 and Alan has been

taking it ever since.

Please keep us up to date on how both you and your

husband are holding up.

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Loretta,

So sorry that you guys can't catch a break lately. Sure hope things begin turning around for your hubby. Tony used Biotene mouthwash several times a day along with the Nystatin to get the mouth feeling better. He also takes Vitamin B-50 that was recommended by the Doctor for the mouthsores. The Doc's office has reported near miraculous recovery from mouthsores by patients taking B-50. Tony has not had overwhelming mouth trouble since doing this combo.

Good luck and my best wishes,

Welthy

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Hi Loretta: sorry to hear of your husband's difficulties. Yogurt is very good especially if he can hold it in his mouth a little while before swallowing it. My husband had the Magic Mouthwash. The doc has to write the rx and then it's compounded by the pharmacist. It's made of Mylanta, Lidocaine & Benadryl. It numbs the mouth & esophageus to make swallowing easier, but I'm not sure if those ingredients cure the thrush. Perhaps someone else can chime in on that. Good Luck & God Bless

wendy

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I don't really know...but the post about the live cultures in yogurt got me to thinking about Probiotics. My daughter takes that after rounds of antibiotics to restore the live cultures in the body. I would DEFINATELY ask before using it, but our chiro swears by the stuff.

Jen

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Loretta, I have heard of a dozen really good home remedies for oral thrush (raw garlic, yogurt) but the reality is that I think all those things are wonderful for the average person - but not for a cancer patient whose immune system is struggling. As for Diflucan, it's excellent and the ONLY thing I have ever encountered that actually works. On the downside, the thrush will return so long as the immune system is weakened.

My suggestion:

-Radical diet change (of course speak with his doctor about the new diet).

-Remove all refined sugars and limit carbs to fresh veggies.

-Increase lean protein (with some beef)

-No nuts or mushrooms (yeast friendly)

-Begin another round of Diflucan (he may need to see a specialist who will test the type of yeast - there are certain types that respond better to certain antifungals)

-Introduce a good quality yogurt (if you have a Whole Foods around, they'll be able to point you in a good direction, but you want to look for a large amount of active cultures)

Obviously you'll need to review all of that with his doctor and I do believe that turning this around will be difficult, at best, but it can be done.

Much luck! :)

PS: there are some other things (like a garlic broth ) that will be very good for maintenance but I'm sure you'll want to get him going first.

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Hey, I hope you didn't mind my posting all of that. I just read that again and it sounds so prescriptive. :oops:

I was honestly just trying to pass along some excellent yeast remedies by not only incorporating another course of Diflucan but by eliminating the foods that encourage the yeast in the first place (refined sugars and carbs) so it will be more difficult for the yeast to flourish again.

Hope you weren't offended.

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