Beth
Beth has had recurrent thrush for about 10 years. She has seen a GP, gynaecologist, and sexual health clinician, but felt dismissed. After receiving inconsistent advice, she worries that her symptoms are all in her head. She self-manages her condition and hopes to get more help in the future.
Beth (she/her) is a bisexual woman currently completing a PhD. Her background is white British.
More about me...
Beth began having thrush ten years ago. She remembers meeting her first boyfriend and, after having sex, entering into a cycle of getting UTIs followed by thrush. This cycle continued for six months. Since then, Beth has found that the thrush recurs monthly or less than monthly. She finds the frequency of infections to be distressing.
Her symptoms include being “sore”, “very uncomfortable”, and a “bit rashy”. Beth says there is a “low level” of discomfort or pain with thrush that makes using toilet paper or walking difficult.
Recurrent thrush has affected her sex life, as Beth believes the thrush led her to have “sensitivity” and vaginismus. Her first partner was unsupportive and treated her as “diseased” and “broken” which was a “massive hit” to her self-esteem. In contrast, her current partner is very supportive.
Beth visited the GP, gynaecologist, and sexual health clinic for recurrent thrush and pelvic pain. At 16, she began experiencing pain and remembers a gynaecologist being unprofessional and implying that her pain was due to her not being “ready” to have sex yet which took her a while to seek care again.
She remembers being particularly affected by one healthcare professional when she was 18 who told her that due to her vulvovaginal health issues, she might not be able to have a “normal sex life” or “have children naturally”. She reflects that this wasn’t accurate information but did upset her.
At 18 years old, Beth was told by one health professional that what she was experiencing wasn’t thrush, yet another professional told her it was the “worst case of thrush” she had seen. This caused her to doubt what was truly going on with her body and wonder “whose input do I believe?”
A similar instance took place six months ago. Beth saw a healthcare professional for pelvic pain which was identified as suspected endometriosis. Beth mentioned the recurrent thrush to this healthcare who told her that recurrent thrush “doesn’t really happen” and suspected a hormonal sensitivity. Upon hearing this, Beth felt panicked as she had been self-treating and worried her symptoms were all in her head.
A few months later, upon having symptoms, she chose not to self-treat and “muscle it out” as she told herself her symptoms were not “actually even a thing”. In a follow-up appointment, Beth asked for a thrush swab as she was in “a lot of discomfort”. The swab came back positive, and the doctor recommended treatment.
Beth feels she should follow up with healthcare, but that her previous experiences are “hindering” her from getting more support now”. She feels “cagy” with healthcare professionals as she feels dismissed. Due to this, she prefers to treat herself at home.
Beth says she can identify thrush and visit the pharmacy to receive treatment. However, Beth visits different pharmacies as she worries pharmacists will be “a bit funny” about giving treatment to people who have thrush regularly. Despite her worries, Beth has not had any negative experiences with pharmacists.
Regarding self-management, Beth is careful with what products she chooses and avoids bubble baths. She uses an emollient wash consistently. During flare-ups, she applies a cortisol cream and will take an antifungal pill or pessary from the pharmacy. However, she worries about taking medication long-term and if she is doing “the right thing”.
She has plans to see a gynaecologist soon and encourages healthcare professionals to be “compassionate” and to ensure patients feel listened to and not dismissed.
Despite having multiple positive swabs for thrush, Beth heard conflicting information about whether there was such a thing as ‘recurrent thrush’.
Despite having multiple positive swabs for thrush, Beth heard conflicting information about whether there was such a thing as ‘recurrent thrush’.
But I had had quite a few experiences where I've been told that you can’t have recurrent thrush, where you can’t have like thrush on like kind of coming quite... quite a bit, so I was like... often like doubted myself; I doubted that I actually have thrush. I remember when I was about 18, going to the doctor and being like something’s wrong and I had like... it was like enormous rash everywhere, and she was like, ‘yes, this is the worst case of thrush I've ever seen,’ and I was like, ‘oh, I... I was like told that what I was experiencing wasn't thrush.’
Beth’s first partner seemed to think “he was going to get diseased from me somehow”, which had a big impact on her self-esteem.
Beth’s first partner seemed to think “he was going to get diseased from me somehow”, which had a big impact on her self-esteem.
So, it massively impacted my first relationship that I was in. I think my partner firstly... because it was both... it was both of our first relationships, both in like a romantic sense and in a like sexual sense, so we were both new to everything, and when I started to get recurrent thrush, and he was incredibly worried that he was going to get diseased from me somehow and sort of treated me like I was like gross and diseased, and like he like refused to like go down on me and would like make sure to wear you know an extra thick condom and like would like be, all like... which he wasn’t before I got thrush, and then as soon as I got thrush it was all like, ‘er,’ and then because I kept getting it... and having someone that it’s like you’re like... I don’t know, having a sexual partner like acts like... act a bit disgusted and grossed out by you, and like you’re diseased for like... I think this went on for a good year, really took a hit to my self-esteem, so I... he was not a particularly nice person in the end, but yeah, that was like a massive hit to my self-esteem.
But then also like with like the pain aspect of things, he wasn’t particularly like supportive or understanding with that either, he made me feel really bad about it, like I was broken, or like that I was doing this to him somehow, and was very like not particularly nice at all, so yeah, that... that really like took a hit to my self-esteem to be honest. So, I think it is only in the last like couple of years that I’ve started to like... I’ve started to move past that, and there is still things now that I’m like I know I’m still trying to like move past that like response to things I guess.
Beth said that sometimes the cream was enough to treat thrush, but other times she needed a tablet or pessary as well.
Beth said that sometimes the cream was enough to treat thrush, but other times she needed a tablet or pessary as well.
OK, I've got that cream that I use, and then I will either get the little oral capsule or a pessary from the pharmacy if I need it, and sometimes I don't need it and sometimes it’ll just sort of like... it’ll be like a bit of an irritation for a couple of days, then it’ll go again, or like a week and it’ll go its own and other times I'm like, ‘oh no, I need to like go and get a pessary or go and get like a tablet.’
Beth thought that all gynaecological issues were “minimised quite a lot”.
Beth thought that all gynaecological issues were “minimised quite a lot”.
It made me feel pretty angry to be honest, I felt like I... like, I'm kind of a bit fed up of having like... especially... like, I feel like this happens more for me with like gynaecological issues, they get like minimised quite a lot, or like brushed... and like across... and also they don't actually know a lot about that area of the body, it’s like the area of your body that you basically know the least about, and just being told that like what you're experiencing it’s actually what you're experiencing, or like that it’s not... it can't really be that bad, or it can't really be the case, but... I don't know, it’s made me... made me pretty annoyed to be honest.
Beth emphasised the difference compassion could make in healthcare encounters.
Beth emphasised the difference compassion could make in healthcare encounters.
Firstly, I think just like a bit of compassion, like if you feel like someone understands like where you're coming from, and what you're experiencing, it like... it creates like a whole different... I don't know, it... the experience is very different when you feel like someone’s listening to you versus when you don't really feel like you've been heard properly, I think that that is like a fundamental, basic thing that is... that it should happen anyway.