Benepali, sulfasaoline, methotrexate and Thrush

[nattynooo]

Hi All, I haven't written anything for a long while, just been "trying " to get one with it so to speak.

I have been on MTX since Feb and sulfa since March, I have gone from not being able to walk very easily to doing "ok". saw rhumey 8 weeks ago and she said she wants o to move me onto biologicals as she isn't happy wiht the results i ma getting for my age (43), Benepali. Is anyone on this? what are your results like Versus MTX? the issue I have is that since I started Sulfa (2 in morning two at night) I seemed to have a re-occurring vaginal thrush problem. Nothing I do seems to get rid of it. I have tried tablets, cream, and pessaries. I spoke to the rhumey nurse last week she said it is a common side effect of sulfa and cut my dose in half. She said I need to get it under control before I move on the biological. The thing is I am trying everything and nothing is helping. Any suggestions, please? I feel the drugs I am on are really helping but would love to get onto the new stuff as they say the results are really good. I am concerned at halving my sulfa dose too, as I don't want to flare up, I have been on the lower dose for a week now and I definitely have a little more pain in my hands.

Oh and to top it all off they told me I now have scleroderma too. I don't even really know what that is, as when I went to see rhumey she neglected to tell me she saw it in the blood test apparently, I only found out when she sent me for a heart scan and they told me that was what is said on the form. When I then asked the rhumey nurse on my next visit she said... "oh it says here the rhumey discussed it with you" never mind I'm sure you'll be fine! Marvellous hey! still none the wiser! I see the rhumey again at end of November so I will quiz her then!

Anyway onwards and upwards. Thank you for your help and knowledge x

[helixhelix]

That's great that you're starting to see improvement. Hopefully moving to biologics will really turn the corner for you. SInce it's only temporary, can you top up on NSAIDs to make up for dropping the Sulpha? I use Arcoxia and find it miles more effective than ibuprofen.

As for scleroderma, as your medical team are not that exercised by it, it sounds as if it a very secondary thing for you, so maybe will just have some minor skin changes. But please don't google it! Full blown major scleroderma is unpleasant but thankfully also very rare!

[Amy65 in reply to helixhelix]

Nattymoon try drinking as much cranberry juice as can it stops uti infections and thrush as on biologics they make u prone to infections including uti I'm on biologics hope this helps

[nattynooo in reply to Amy65]

oh I was hoping the biologicd would improve it. I will definitely get some thank you 😊😊

[nattynooo in reply to helixhelix]

thank you. I will look for Arcoxia. and I won't Google it. 😁😁

[Amy65]

U can only get arcoxia from ur gp their an anti inflammatory known as nsad as ur gp or rheaumtoglist hope this helps

[DelicateInput]

Re. thrush, I suffered from this for many years and think I became an expert on it. You say you have tried everything but I am assuming that is products like Canesten and perhaps Nystatin, which are commercially produced. They are in a very cheap and abrasive base, and can irritate the vaginal area causing cuts and the thrush can then get into the cuts, making it horrendously itchy and uncomfortable.

There are numerous strains of thrush and different medications work on different ones. The most common is Candida Albicans and Canesten works on this. However, there are three or four uncommon (but not rare) strains for which you need different medication.

There is a vaginal cream called Cervagyn by Biocare and they used to do vaginal pessaries - not sure if they still do. I found both excellent. They are in a rose oil base which does not irritate the skin, and rose oil is expensive. However, on seeing the price of Canesten in Boots, I notice it is just as expensive. Cervagn and the pessaries contain probiotics which are effective on all strains of thrush.

I suffered from chronic thrush from age 28 to 41 and for ten of those years controlled it by diet. Then I came across Cervagyn and it cleared it permanently overnight - and I then ate sugar to my heart's content. I had a severe episode of thrush in the bowel at age 53 after taking huge doses of antibiotics which is when I started on oral probiotics.

One thing to remember about thrush is that it is a natural inhabitant of the bowel so oral probiotics will keep it under control as will diet. For about twelve years, from age 53 I used Replete by Biocare which is a six-month course of probiotics taken over seven days. After that, I took their Oregano complex which is mixed with probiotics which is cheaper and worked very well. I like their products as they seem to be much stronger than those of other manufacturers. However, I have seen others advertised on the internet which might be cheaper.

Thrush lives on sugar so it is important to keep your sugar intake low which is not difficult - I was on an almost sugar-free diet for ten years quite easily. You also need to keep your protein intake up, a minimum of 30g per day. You are not supposed to take alcohol with some RA drugs, but a couple of glasses of wine per week works wonders for keeping your blood sugar down. (Note the sugar in alcohol does not enter the bloodstream so it will not exacerbate thrush.) When I had a bad dose of thrush, I used to sink a bottle of wine and the next morning it had gone, albeit it came back the following day.

If you find after doing all this it is still troublesome, I suggest you might try a special clinic for VD which is attached to very large hospitals and is a walk in service. They are experts at infectious diseases and will likely identify the strain of thrush you have. Most doctors like GPs think thrush is nothing but the suffering can be horrendous. The itching can make you scream and it can make you feel very unwell.

Hope this helps.