Lupus & oral thrush?

[Black_Kat]

I'm also suffering endless bouts of oral thrush since last October but as I've got both lupus & Sjogren's I've tended to put it down to the latter. Intrigued to discover that lupus can also be a cause as my GP feels I'm most likely currently in a flare. I've had thedx for 15 years almost but have only had one obvious flare through it, & can't say that I truly feel I'm in one now, but am beset by heavy fatigue, rashes, & hair loss so quite possible.

On the thrush - I've been on multiple short courses of fluconazole until Feb this year when my GP put me on a lower dose more chronically. That worked ok until we were concerned that some of my symptoms might be down to it, so I stopped it for a week or more, but as ever the thrush returned & is now breaking past the fluconazole which I resumed 10 days ago.

Has anyone else chopped & changed their anti-fungals or do you tend to stick with one other any other?

[irenestephen]

hi - I also suffer on and off with oral thrush and mouth ulcers. Doc and I have tried various different pills and potions but it is usually a temperary respite.

Anti-biotics lowers immune system even further which causes mouth ulcers and thrush and cold sores. It is a never ending circle.

I asked on this forum a while back and got an answer saying that they had found that liquorice helps with the thrush and mouth ulcers and I tried this out and although not a 100% effective it does give respite when symptoms are caught early enough.

I clean my teeth and gargle 3 or 4 times a day and this has helped. I tend to avoid any citrus foods and drinks as this also seems to start things off with the thrush my tongue.

Hope this helped - Irene x

[Black_Kat]

Thanks for responding Irene - nice to know I'm not alone in this vicious circle of issues. Of all the various anti-fungal meds are you aware if any one or two are considered the absolute best for treating with least side effects? I definitely think I'm suffering from the latter with the fluconazole, but I think my GP feels all the symptoms are a lupus flare (both similar - rashes, hair loss, fatigue, kidney issues etc). However, I do now for the first time in my life have a low blood sugar & low WCC so it's possible he's right.

Good job I love liquorice but always steered clear as I thought it was high sugar too, so will enjoy trying that to alleviate the burning somewhat.

Thanks again

Romayne

[mandiee]

ive suffered oral thrush since october 2010 after numerous treatments none work ive also had a edoscopy waiting biopsy results as im sick most days last week my gp said it isnt oral thrush even though ive had several swabs which as comfirmed the thrush and sputum tests which as also comfirmed this i have a feeling that something is getting stuck in my throat thats why ive had the edoscopy

[Black_Kat]

How on earth do you all cope with your thrush if it's never fully treated? My GP has just taken me off the fluconazole as expected but hasn't replaced it with anything else, again, wanting more proof that it IS thrush despite my telling him my tongue's white!! So I'm off for another swab on Thurs morning but it'll be next week now before results come back, by which time I'll be in oral hell. I'm already well underweight at 7-1/2 st & 5'7" and am now losing weight again because I can't eat with this problem. And all of it compounded by the side effects from the anti-fungal med or else the lupus symptoms (still unsure which) which leave me with a low appetite & nausea :(. Nay no fun that's for sure!

So how do you manage if you can't get medical treatment of value & can't eat - does there come a point where you have to have more serious intervention e.g. parenteral/tube feeding or some other measures?

[mandiee]

its very hard to cope with it but you have to i get bad headaches aswell and same as you black cat nausea and lack off apetite it sucks is your tongue coated mine goes yellow after drinks and can physically scrape the coating off gps tell me its in my head lol

[Black_Kat]

I do have some minimal tongue coating at this point where I'm sort of in between systemic med courses, but it's the burning pain at the tip that's causing me the most annoyance, plus when I eat anything particularly in the evening, it just feels like I'm eating razor blades. How any doc could consider this to be "in your head" is beyond me!!! But my doc (who's usually superb) says he's never come across anyone requiring multiple doses of antifungal meds - that usually it clears up after 1 course or at most 2 & they've never before put someone on chronic medication to try & keep it settled.

I'd have been fine had it not been for developing all these ambiguous symptoms that I can't risk are side effects to the fluconazole rather than the lupus flaring & then having to come off the med to make sure. Certainly in the short break off it that I had 2 wks ago everything settled down fairly rapidly so it would appear to be the case.

But if I can't eat my weight will plummet yet further & as I hate all the supplements, it's a battle I really can't afford to have to walk into yet again, so suspect my GP will eventually cave in & provide me a different med to try & sort me out so that I can eat at least.

Suspect though it's my love of sugar that's got me in this bind so somehow, someway, I'll have to ditch what little I still enjoy :(. It's just not an easy thing as the ONLY drink I can tolerate & enjoy is full strength Coke (& yes I know how much sugar is in it!) - I've a water "phobia" & can't tolerate fruit juices because of my stomach acidity issues, & have endlessly tried to find an alternative to no avail. Spent a fortune on all types of drinks but either didn't like them or they made me sick, so GI doc said better to stick with the Coke as at least I won't dehydrate!!

But I think I'm somehow going to have to overcome my issues a bit harder perhaps as this problem will be the death of me (perhaps literally) if I don't overcome it & get some weight back on

[Midsept]

every few weeks or so my gums become inflamed and it's as if I've got an abscess on nearly every tooth. Then it clears up as quickly as it arrived - usually lasts a couple of days or so. I went to see my dentist the first time, in a bit of a panic and he said - Nicky, it's systemic - your teeth are fine, there is no decay - it's clearly systemic and related to your Lupus.. he didn't know quite what to do. Luckily the infectious looking nasty gums cleared completely within three days. I gargle with peroxide every time this happens and I floss religiously. It's happened again probably about five times in as many months. I only have to eat one strawberry, or one kiwi slice and my mouth is sore - any fruit that is slightly acidic is uncomfortable - vinegar is difficult, but any soreness quickly goes away. Does anyone else have this? I have Discoid Lupus. would love to hear your thoughts. I drink a lot of fizzy mineral water with ice - this is benign and feels like I'm having a "special" drink because of the fizz.

[wotshernameagain in reply to Midsept]

On my god yes I thought I was going crazy! I feel so silly that it never occurred to bring it up to my rheumy normally I would take some painkillers fore the soreness then forget about it when it went away