Sai
Sai has had recurrent thrush for four years. She recently moved from India to the UK. She self-manages her symptoms and has not seen a GP or pharmacist to get antifungal medication. Her symptoms have improved over time but she plans to see a GP if the thrush worsens.
Sai (she/her) is a straight woman. She is a student studying physiotherapy. Her background is Indian.
More about me...
Sai had recurrent thrush for four years. She finds that the thrush recurs at least once or twice a month.
Her symptoms include feeling uncomfortable, rashes, odour, and frequent white or grey discharge.
Recurrent thrush interfered with Sai’s life, as the discomfort made it “hard to live”. She found that her mood was affected, and she was quite irritable.
Sai is originally from India and has only lived in the UK for a few months. She has not seen a GP or pharmacist in the UK. In India, she visited a gynaecologist and was told she had thrush but did not have any swabs done. The gynaecologist prescribed a topical gel.
Sai used to be uncomfortable going to the gynaecologist, but now she is more comfortable in order to get answers.
To self-manage, Sai would carry multiple pairs of underwear with her and change throughout the day. She saw advice online to carry her own toilet paper instead of using those in public bathrooms, which she started doing. She recognises that she has sensitive skin and uses intimate washes.
Sai frequently travels for work and worries that being unable to shower often contributes to recurrent thrush.
Sai has spoken to her friends and her mum, who are supportive. She is not a part of any social media groups.
Recently, Sai has had symptoms every few months and finds that the recurrence is not as frequent as it once was. She says that while recurrent thrush is not gone entirely from her life, she is feeling better about the situation.
Sai does not have plans to see a GP, but would be open to the idea if the situation were to become unmanageable and she needed help or antifungal medication.
Sai said that when she was younger, she was uncomfortable with physical examinations, but that it was in her “best interest” now to engage with doctors.
Sai said that when she was younger, she was uncomfortable with physical examinations, but that it was in her “best interest” now to engage with doctors.
When I was younger, I used to not be comfortable going to gynaecologists because of all the physical examinations and the uncomfortable questions, but as I grew up, I realised that even... unless I don't openly describe what the symptoms are or how I'm feeling, I will not get an answer for what I'm looking for, so it was in my best interest that I take... like I engage with the doctor as much as I can, so... Yeah, and now... and now I'm extremely comfortable going with the gynaecologist’s visits as well.
Sai was not sure if removing sugar from her diet made a difference.
Sai was not sure if removing sugar from her diet made a difference.
Other thing... another thing that I read and my gynaecologist also confirmed was if you have a lot of [inaudible], she just said yes to it, but she said if your diet and like a food intake has a lot of sugar in it, there are... there are higher chances... like you can contract... contract the thrush infection more often than not, so if you can reduce... because I had a very... I used to have a lot of sweets, so I have a lot of sugar, a lot, lot of sugar, so I was asked to reduce my sugar intake too, so to... as to just control the infection maybe a bit and see if it works. And I don't have a definitive answer if it worked or no because I used to still get recurrent episodes, but again just reducing sugar was a good idea just in general, so I started doing that.