Is there anyone else out there who had chronic pouchitis during pregnancy and was battling ongoing yeast/thrush from the antibiotics? I'm assuming that pregnancy makes us even more prone to Candida since I didn't have so many problems with it before I was pregnant.

My whole body is so itchy, I can't stand it anymore. It's gotten to my breasts now and I'm not sure how to treat them. I'm assuming I can probably use Lotrimin or soemthing similar to treat the symptoms, however, my biggest concern is having the Candida present during breastfeeding. Is there any chance that I won't pass it to my son? If I have the problem chronically, won't I just keep giving it back to him until he's done nursing? Additionally, with the amount of discomfort I'm having now, how am I supposed to breastfeed without it being horribly painful? I'm really hoping that things will get better as I get closer to delivery. If I can decrease my dosage of my antibiotics, that might help.

Any advice/experience would be appreciated. And by the way, I am taking probiotics, which are keeping the Candida at a simmering level. If I miss a day or two, everything itches and burns. I'm using Monistat and Lotrimin as well as needed.

Thanks :-)

So sorry that this is so miserable for you Clz81 when you should be enjoying yourself...
Can I give you some Non-medical advice...? Oatmeal baths may help you with the itching...even when it is yeast related...do not use Hot water but luke warm to cool...the hot water will make you itch more (stuff 2 cups of instant oatmeal into an old clean sock and tie off, Pantyhose work well too, drop into bath water and let diffuse). Cut out as much sugar as you can from your diet (I know, not easy) to feed that yeast infection as little as possible...next go to your favorite health food store and find out which natural oils are availible that have a strong anti'fungal effect (I know that T tree oil does but it smells really strong and some people don't like it at all)...and mix a few drops with either mineral oil or Aloe gel or any pure oil (you can even use good quality olive oil or coca butter, smells great!) and use it to massage your breasts and any other spots where you have the itchies. It will topiically kill the surface yeast and give you some relief...do not forget to wipe it off before breast feeding...you don't want to pass it on to the baby.
You can try to dissassociate your meals...seperating your meals into either protien or carbs. You then eat your veggies with both. By seperating your meals you facilitate your digestion and for some reason it helps fight the pouchitis by not mixing acids(I had a recurrent cronic case from 1980 - 1991...I used to eat tons of commercial breads and pastries...gave those up too)...when I started seperating my meals I found that I had a happy side effect, no more pouchitits...It may be just me but even 'normal people' have a very positive effect on their digestion. Just be ware...your digestion becomes more effective and faster...digestive time is cut shorter. (the book I read was Fit for life...it was my digestive revalation...no more yeast infections with it either..)
PM me if you need more info...
Sharon

sorry you're having this problem. I agree with the PP's suggestions about modifying your diet - there's a book I think called the Yeast Solution that helps guide you with dietary choices, but in general avoid sugar and keep up with the probiotics, can you increase your dosage of those or find dietary sources instead of just pill probiotics?

I would also ask to switch to an anal suppository for battling the pouchitis symptoms instead of an antibiotic, I have taken Canasa with good success but you have to do it for a long time and twice a day. Less systemic problems and MUCH better than being on an anti.

Make sure your doctor knows about this, as there are a few RARE conditions during pregnancy like PUPPP that can involve itching, and you'd want to rule them out with your physician.

As far as breastfeeding, there is lots of information available about how to treat yeast infections between mom and baby, which as you guessed is often passed back and forth. Gentian Violet is often talked about on breastfeeding forums for this, but I don't know much about it personally, but it is topical and may be worth looking into both now and for possible future issues. I agree with RnR about possibly switching to Canasa if at all possible.

Good luck to you.

I forgot to mention...and this is a French thing...and Please check with your doctor before trying it...French Cheeses.
Especially the stinky ones...they are full of those wonderful yeasts and bacterium that your body loves (and your nose hates)that help to fight off yeast infections...they must be NON -Pasturized cheeses...and you must ask your doc for permission to eat them (no joke here)...In France we are more or less instructed to eat a very small quantity daily to keep up all of those friendly intestinal bacterium...and we do...so there is a very low incidence of yeast infections here...try checking into your local healthfood store or a really good cheese shop...
And don't forget to plug your nose!
Sharon

Thanks everyone for your replies! I will definitely start with some of those natural remedies.

Breezie, I'm pretty positive this is all just yeast and not PUPPP since it's contained to my groin, armpits, and breasts. I've talked to my OBs about it, and they sort of said grin and bear it, and use topical antifungals when needed. I do respond to the topical antifungals, but I just choose not to use them every single day.

I know that every says change to diet is the way to go for helping pouchitis and yeast, but it's just so hard to do! I love vegetables especially raw ones, but I have to limit how many I eat or I'm in the bathroom all the time. Pre-pouch, I used to eat salads every day, but have had to give them up almost entirely. The carbs are what help keep my number of trips to the bathroom down. Giving up sugar/carbs would mean giving up bananas, rice, and applesauce, all of the best things to thicken and reduce bathroom trips for me. I definitely will try this once I'm not pregnant anymore, but it scares me to cut out fruits and carbs, which are beneficial to the baby's growth. In the meantime, I know that I can cut out sugars that are no good for me like desserts and breads that are not whole grain.

As for switching to Canasa, my GIs have not suggested this yet. They said that since I don't have cuffitis, and I'm responding well to the antibiotics, that this is the best route to take. I love the idea of getting off of these meds for sure, but how is the bacteria managed by the Canasa?

I will mention the diet modifications to my OB next time I see her her and I'll also send my GI an email about the Canasa.

Thanks again :-)

Please be very careful with any itching!!! I told my Dr. that I was having a lot of itching at around 28 wks. He sort of blew it off and said it was normal. Well, I asked him if it could be cholestasis of pregnancy, and that totally freaked him out. He said it was rare, but it was something we should definitely check because he had a patient who had terrible complications because she wasn't tested. Well, as rare as it is, I got tested and came out positive! We caught it early, and I was able to take medication to control any possible problems. If you want to know more check out itchymoms.com My symptoms were itchy hands, arms, chest...omg...just really itchy everywhere...feet, legs...uhhggg. If you think you might have it, be persistant and ask your Dr. to check your liver function and bile salts. I'm not trying to scare you, but you are better off getting checked if you think you might have it. Although, I hear it's rare, I have met many women who had it. Hopefully, it's just a yeast infection. I used calamine lotion for the itching. I also hear there's a cream called Sarna. Once I got the medicine to treat the cholestasis, the itching disappeared. I think women who do IVF have a higher risk of gettng this. I was also at risk due to my twin pregnancy. There is no rash associated with cholestasis...your skin can just look raw due to the scratching. This is just an FYI. I hope it doesn't pertain to you. Feel Good!

Ivy, thanks for the info. I'll bring this up with my doctor in a couple weeks. I will keep this in mind for sure if it gets any worse, but actually since my post 3 days ago, I've had a really good few days. I backed off my antibiotics a bit and used some olive oil on my nipples (as suggested), both of which are helping a ton. I'm still itchy for sure, but I haven't wanted to rip my skin off lately.

@Sharon...regarding the cheeses, you cracked me up. I don't think I could eat stinky cheese :-)I know in the U.S. we are told not to eat anything unpasturized, because of the risk of listeria. But I do know that in Europe it's generally safe to eat unpasturized cheese and milk. Is it because our cows carry that bacteria from the way they are raised? Never really looked up the reason why.

Thanks everyone for all your different insight. Very helpful :-)

Hi we eCLZ,
Glad that you enjoy my humour!
Here unpasturized milk products are very common because it is tradition as well as the fact that it is a highly controlled industrie..we eat non pasturized cheeses daily and our guts love it..;that might be part of the reason that we have fewer intestinal problems (must be verified by someone, I have no statistics!)...we eat very little cheese (rare to eat cheesy pizzas and very litte 'bad' cheese) but the smellier it is, the better it is for your body..think stinky feet in a sandwich...
in the U.S it is extremely rare to find any because the laws forebid it...unfortunate. There is really nothing better for you and your guts...
if you can find some...Try it (aim for Brie or any mild French cheese...the camenbert and Blue may require you to have your house fumigated!)
Sharon

there are plenty of places here in the states to find raw milk cheeses, but in general it's just not recommended for PG women here.

re: canasa, basically, I think many of us just live in a constant state of mild inflammation in there. You can live on antibiotics, or constantly go off and on them, or you can treat the symptoms and work to manage the diet so that things are less bothersome to the gut. Taking probiotics are definitely one way to help normalize things, and the canasa suppositories are a way to calm down the inflammation in there akin to putting salve on a wound. Especially when PG, I wouldn't count on urgency and # of BMs going down, but up, it's just par for the course, and these are ways for you to combat what you're dealing with. Personally, I'd rather go to the bathroom 20 times a day than have the itching you're dealing with.

Do not worry about nutrients and the baby. Unless you are majorly malnourished, the baby will take all the nutrients it needs from your body while you are PG, no matter what you are eating. It will deplete your stores of vitamins and minerals, so it's important to attempt to eat a healthy diet while PG, but it's really a temporarly situation and something you can easily fix once the baby is born if you aren't able to eat as healthfully as you would like. You have to do what's going to make it tolerable for YOU to carry the baby, you know?