posted
I'll try to make this brief and have to admit I'm a little bit embarrassed to be discussing such a personal medical problem.
Here goes.
I've been seeing a llmd for a while now for lyme disease and here's what I'm currently taking:
Cefuroxime 500 mg(2 tabs 2 times a day) Zith 250 mg(1 tab 2 times a day)
I've been taking these for almost 2 weeks now and it's been going fairly well. I had some GI issues for the first couple of days and then adjusted and everything seemed o.k.
A few days ago, I started with intense itching of both the vaginal and anal area.
I've never had a yeast infection but assumed this was what was going on due to the antibiotics.
I got some over the counter 3 day monistat treatment and finished that two nights ago.
The itching has now eased a bit, although it's still there. On top of this, I now think I may have a hemorrhoid. Again, never had one of these either but I'm having some pain and yesterday and today I had a bit of blood when I wiped.
My dilemma;
Which doctor should I see for this?
My llmd? I have a follow up appointment scheduled with him in a week and a half. Should I wait till then?
My ob/gyn?
My gp?
Gah, it's all so confusing. I hate that my body is failing me like this.
Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Posts: 423 | From Upstate NY | Registered: May 2009
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TF
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 14183
posted
I would call the lyme doc and tell them about the itching. Tell them the monistat helped a little, so you think it is yeast. Ask if his office will call in a prescription for yeast for you.
Say you want a pill that will treat your entire body for yeast. Diflucan or nystatin, for example.
Look at your tongue and see if it has any white or yellow spots on it. The LLMDs office will probably ask you to do this also.
White tongue is oral yeast.
You need to be on a low carb diet, no sugar, etc. or this will just keep happening as long as you are on high-dose combination antibiotics. Sugar feeds yeast.
Did your doc tell you to take a good probioic (refrigerated type)? That's what you need in addition to no sugar. Plus, eat yogurt and drink kefir (found near the yogurt) to replenish your good bacteria.
I would not mention the rectal bleeding because I don't see how being on the antibiotics could cause that. But, you could use some over-the-counter med to treat it yourself and hopefully it will go away.
You can read about all of this in the Burrascano lyme treatment guidelines found here:
I have been faithfully taking my probiotics, steering clear of carbs/sugars, drinking tons of water and organic unsweetened cranberry juice, and eating organic plain yogurt at least once a day.
My tongue is not coated or white. I check it every day. When I was on 7 weeks of doxy a while back, it became coated towards the end. After finishing the 7 weeks of doxy, I continued with my probiotics and did a 10 day cleanse and the coating went away.
Thanks for the link. I've read over Burrascano's treatment guidelines many times but probably skimmed over the yeast issues since I wasn't having any problems with that. I'll go back and read it over.
I'll also look into adding the kefir into my daily routine and will definitely call my llmd today to discuss what's been going on.
So frustrating when I'm trying to do all the right things and it doesn't seem to matter.
Posts: 423 | From Upstate NY | Registered: May 2009
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posted
I think nystatin is over the counter now. However, it did not help me, needed diflucan. Nystatin might be a place to start tho.
Not sure what to say about the bleeding. Sure sounds like something that needs to be checked out. Don't know if this is lyme related or not.
Posts: 8430 | From Not available | Registered: Oct 2000
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My llmd's office didn't return my call and here it is Friday. Guess I'll just keep on keeping on and being strict with the diet and probiotics. I'll try to reach them again on Monday.
I don't think the bleeding is directly related to my lyme. I think it's due to all of the cleaning, wiping, and messing with I was doing due to the itchiness and discomfort. I probably irritated things down there. It was only a small amount of red on the toilet paper and definitely did not look like internal or "old" blood so while I'm maybe a little concerned, I'm not overly worried.
I'll check into the Nystatin in the meantime. Is it in tablet form? And would it be located near the monistat?
Posts: 423 | From Upstate NY | Registered: May 2009
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posted
I had very similar issues, which also started on a Friday after my LLMD's office closed for the weekend.
I used the OTC creams until I was able to get diflucan from my LLMD's office the following Monday. Diflucan was more effective than changes in diet alone.
I now take Rx nystatin, which seems to be good at keeping things at bay.
I didn't know that nystatin was OTC? Does it go by a particular brand name?
Posts: 455 | From Was in PA, then MD, now in the Midwest | Registered: Nov 2008
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I'm a fool for not calling a couple of days ago when this all started. I just kept thinking it would resolve.
I've been doing the over the counter monistat for a few days now and I've seen some improvement but I don't think it's going to do anything else for me at this point.
I'd like to pick some Nystatin up tonight or tomorrow to at least get a jump on this till my llmd can prescribe something, but I have no idea where/what to look for. I don't remember seeing it on the shelves where I found the monistat.
One other question for any knowledgeable kind souls reading this; I've been reading(on here) that Diflucan is not good to take with zith as it's hard on the liver.
Thoughts on this?
Posts: 423 | From Upstate NY | Registered: May 2009
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posted
Nystatin is avaliable by prescription only in the US. Maybe not so in other countries don't know.
Posts: 526 | From NJ | Registered: May 2007
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posted
My llmd's office called about a half hour ago, which really surprised me since it's getting late. I guess they were really bogged down today and this was the first chance they've had to make calls.
They called in a couple of prescriptions for me. Nystatin and some topical ointment that's name is excaping me. I'll pick them up in the a.m.
Thanks to all for the input. I'd still like to know about the diflucan/zith mix.
Posts: 423 | From Upstate NY | Registered: May 2009
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posted
Nystatin is only available by prescription in the US. You need Diflucan to knock this out, then Nystatin for maintenance. It's great at PREVENTING yeast.
Organic unsweetened cranberry juice still contains sugar and so does yogurt... read all labels.
Be sure to get the Nystatin tablets or powder as the liquid variety contains SUGAR.
( the powder is reported to taste nasty )
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96222 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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posted
I'll see what he thinks about the diflucan at my follow up. Although, I'm feeling a bit better today and am thinking the nystatin may be enough. Especially since I don't seem to be suffering from oral thrush and the monistat improved the situation so much after just three days. I'm thinking it may just be in my GI tract and not systemic at this point? I hope.
I'm also wary to take the diflucan due to what I've read on here about liver toxicity and interactions with zith. Obviously if the nystatin doesn't do the trick, I'll move on to something else regardless.
I always read labels. Even before the lyme. I've taken many nutrition courses and like to think I know my stuff! We are an all organic whole food kind of family.
The cran I'm drinking has no sugar in it. Ingredients: fresh pressed juice from whole ripe cranberries, grape seed extract(120 mg). That's it.
The yogurt contains pectin. Ingredients: cultured pasteurized organic whole milk, pectin, vitamin D3. I'm wondering if the good outweighs the bad in this case?
I'm not sure what form of nystatin he has prescribed but with my low-to-no sugar diet, I'm sure that small amount would be o.k. Plus, I don't really see him prescribing the liquid, I'm betting it's powder or tablets.
Thanks for the input!
Posts: 423 | From Upstate NY | Registered: May 2009
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posted
Well, I googled nystatin and can't find it over the counter except as a cream for skin infections in Canada.
Someone posted this info on a lyme forum and it stuck in my head, did not check it out at the time. Guess you can't believe everything you read on the internet! Sorry about that.
Posts: 8430 | From Not available | Registered: Oct 2000
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I just took my second nystatin pill and am feeling absolutely nothing. Not sure if that's good or bad.
Posts: 423 | From Upstate NY | Registered: May 2009
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posted
I haven't read the responses, just your original post.
I would tell your LLMD. I would add more probiotics. I had to take three different ones, all with high bacterial counts, including VSL#3 with 450 billion organisms.
Add coconut oil to your diet. Also garlic and onions.
Avoid all sugar and simple carbohydrates.
Use Preparation H wipes instead of toilet paper after bowel movements. My husband had bad hemorrhoids and his proctologist recommended this. He never needed surgery, just the wipes.
Diflucan might be needed. Then Nystatin for prevention.
-------------------- sixgoofykids.blogspot.com Posts: 13449 | From Ohio | Registered: Feb 2007
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I ended up calling my llmd and got a prescription for nystatin and a topical, which I've been using. Things seem o.k. right now. *knock on wood* I've got an appointment with my llmd in a week and a half and will discuss diflucan.
I also plan on asking about a different probiotic to add on or change to as mine is obviously not doing the trick.
I have been eating garlic cloves left and right but can't tolerate raw onions. They taste good to me but then I don't feel so well later. I eat a lot of cooked onions though.
I've been avoiding sugar and carbs and have been very good about that. Have not tried the coconut oil but will look into it. How much and how often?
I've been using the tucks wipes and they seem to help some. Since my original post there's been a lot less ithching, pain, and no more bleeding.
So, all in all, things are looking better.
Posts: 423 | From Upstate NY | Registered: May 2009
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
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Monistat will not work against all strains of vaginal yeast. Can you get it cultured?
You might also consider Terazole - it works against another kind of vaginal fungal infection - but get the suppositories - not the cream - and ask for more than just the 3 they will give you. Be sure insurance will cover this, with no substitutions.
On the natural side, you might check out the book by Tori Hudson, ND on women's issues. A boric acid solution helps some. You can find her book at Amazon and probably at your library.
I guess I could ask to have a culture done but I'm really hoping things improve by then. If not, then I will ask my llmd for the culture, diflucan...something different.
Terazole is what he prescribed in addition to the nystatin. I don't know why I keep referring to it as a topical, it's actually the suppositories that I have. I've only used one so far but will finish up the next two and see where I'm at.
My symptoms have improved dramatically so I'm hoping we nipped it early on before things got out of control.
Posts: 423 | From Upstate NY | Registered: May 2009
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