Sasha

Age at interview: 34

Brief Outline:

Sasha has experienced recurrent thrush for one year. She initially tried to self-treat before seeing a healthcare professional but found these discussions embarrassing. She is going to see a specialist next to investigate a possible autoimmune disease called Sjögren's syndrome which can cause recurrent thrush. 

Background:

Sasha (she/her) is a straight woman. She has one child who is 10 years-old. She works as a support worker. Her background is Black British. 

More about me...

Sasha has experienced recurrent thrush for a year after taking multiple types of antibiotics for a sore throat. She has had six episodes of thrush so far this year. Her symptoms appear between ovulation and her period and include “cottage-cheese” discharge and vulval itch which she tried not to scratch.

Recurrent thrush negatively impacted her daily life as it was “so uncomfortable”. Her social interactions, self-esteem, and relationships were affected. Sasha said it was hard to begin a relationship and be able to be open and talk about recurrent thrush.

Sasha tried to self-treat recurrent thrush by using over-the-counter antifungal cream and on the shelf options. The financial burden of this was significant, with her spending over £200 on various treatments. After speaking with a pharmacist, she was encouraged to consult with her doctor to rule out underlying causes.

Sasha decided to follow this advice and see a general practitioner (GP) who tested her for diabetes which came back negative. Since then, most of Sasha’s appointments have been over the phone and have lacked physical examination. Sasha felt these phone consultations were brief and lacked in-depth discussion, leaving her feeling that her thrush was "last on the list" of priorities. When she finally did speak to a doctor in person at the hospital, they recommended an antifungal cream, but no examinations or swabs were performed.

During healthcare appointments, Sasha said she felt shame and stigma around having recurrent thrush. When talking to healthcare professionals, she said "I kind of like mumbled through it”, highlighting the difficulty of discussing this issue.

In terms of treatment, Sasha has found an antifungal gel applied internally provided temporary relief. She has not tried oral antifungal medication.

Looking for additional relief, Sasha looked online for alternative holistic medicine. She saw herbal supplements and natural remedies such as applying yogurt to the vulva or bathing in apple cider vinegar. Sasha said she was “a bit apprehensive” as these options are not tested or approved by the medical field and she had not yet tried them.

To self-manage, Sasha tries to drink more water and has stopped using feminine washes and scented panty-liners. She sometimes bathes multiple times a day to get rid of discharge. Healthcare professionals recommended limiting sugar and alcohol intake and being aware that antibiotics can cause thrush.

Looking forwards, Sasha has been keeping a notebook of symptoms for when she next sees a healthcare professional. A hospital appointment for an unrelated issue suggested she might have an autoimmune condition called Sjögren's syndrome, which is often associated with recurrent thrush. Sasha has an appointment with a rheumatologist (a specialist in autoimmune conditions) that she is hopeful will bring some answers.

Her advice to others with recurrent thrush is to “take it seriously and not procrastinate in terms of talking to their doctor”.

Sasha was tested for diabetes which can contribute to recurrent thrush.

And I did have a talk with my doctor and he did say... this is after probably having a conversation with the pharmacist, who said, “Maybe you should go get screened for diabetes.” So, I go to my doctor, “Doctor, I’ve had serious bouts of thrush and this is... you know, this is my way of life,” He’s like, “Do you smoke?” I said, “No.” He went through I think a list of things he was trying to check if I do, and I was saying, “No, I’m not doing any of those things,” and then he said, “OK, let’s test for the diabetes,” and then they found that I did not have diabetes, so, ‘what is going wrong?’

For Sasha, there could be lots of worries running through her head which made it difficult to concentrate or enjoy anything else.

It’s like you’re seated amongst a group of people and you’re talking to them and everyone thinks... you know, and everyone is happy, at the back of your mind you’re thinking, ‘OK, maybe there’s something wrong with me, am I smelling, am I not smelling, is it going, is it going to progress?’ It’s... it’s... it adds another fear. Because when you... the more you’re upset about it and now you’re thinking, ‘maybe I’ve got cervical cancer?’ So it’s like at any given moment you are thinking about something, and because now there is not really... or maybe because I’ve not really got the medical help that I need to deal with the situation, so it seems like it’s... like now it’s recurring more often and it’s making me even more worried as to what is really wrong with me, if it’s on a physical level with some, this really affects my mental health as well because instead of thinking about other things, or enjoying myself, I’m finding myself constantly thinking, ‘why is this happening?’.

Sasha thinks talking about thrush in a new relationship is challenging, especially having to explain the impact on sex and that it is not a sexually transmitted infection (STI).

So, it has affected... and dating, I don’t know how to explain to someone that this is... it’s not an STI. I mean you know the person can says, ‘oh my gosh, it’s an STI,’ and it’s not, but I find it so hard to get in a relationship and be able to be open and talk about, ‘OK, I’ve got this problem, it’s not an STI, it is something, but it’s normal, or it’s not really something whereby it may be sexually transmitted,’ but, you know, it’s so difficult to get into that conversation, so for now I’m just thinking I’ve got so many, like, pressures I don’t have time to... try to explain myself.

Sasha felt there was a lot of stigma around hygiene amongst women.

So, definitely there’s a lot of stigma around it, and especially in the broader women community: they really do not have time to talk about it, where you’re looked at, when they said, “Are you really washing your panties, are you wearing dry panties?” I mean this, you know, that is what you expect, and that is what they say, so I end up just keeping quiet and trying to find a way to minimise it and make sure that it doesn’t get to a stage and it smells or I feel uncomfortable to be around people.

Sasha said that spending money on recurrent thrush meant she was unable to do other activities.

Yes, it’s so expensive. For example, you can go to the pharmacy, I think the cheapest you can get is I think from £9, when you’re getting this medication, and I think the most expensive I bought was... I think it’s slightly over £16 now, £18, I think this is the gel where you apply it I think with an application inside, I think that was one of the most expensive that I’ve bought, and even when I was checking on the shelf, there were some pills, and I think they were about 30‑something pounds, or something, 40‑something pounds, so it’s... you end up just buying, so it means that probably during the course of the year, I’ve spent over £200 trying to deal with this issue, so it’s... it’s very expensive. I can’t do the things that I like and wanted to do on that day because probably I’ve spent already £20 just on this medication, yeah, so it does affect my social life as well, and my mental health.

Sasha worried about “Wasting the doctor's time” about thrush.

I was saying that in terms of me going to the pharmacist instead of the doctor: the first issue is I we tend, or rather I tend to see that... I thought oh this illness is not really... so something I can call a doctor about, I seemed to downplay it, most women that I can’t really calling the doctor to say, ‘I’ve got a yeast infection,’ and when there are people, you know, serious condition that should be calling the doctor, I might be wasting the doctor’s time, so rather let me just go and get the medication for myself instead of wasting the doctor’s time. But obviously this is motivated by the fact that I’m really shy to be bringing this up, because the receptionist will be asking me at the beginning, “What is your problem?” and then I say, “Yeast infection,” so it’s something that I’m really, I’m shy about, so my motivation would be go to the pharmacy and avoid having to have the pertinent conversations with the doctor.

Sasha saw natural remedies advertised on social media.

Yeah, it’s on TikTok there are different people who’ll be talking about different medication. They are the like a community that says... that talks of mainly apple cider vinegar, they talk of natural yogurt, and they talk of different natural supplements. Some of them haven’t been tested or have been approved by the medical field.

I went on the internet, I started researching what other forms of  medication, meaning holistic medications that are available, and then  the internet was saying different types of things. I have not yet tried them and I’m still yet to get the guts to actually do it, but there are a type of different herbal medications and some herbal supplements they were saying you can put down there, some are even going as far as saying you can put natural yogurt and stuff, and these are things I’ve researched.

Sasha described apple cider vinegar as an “old wives’ tale” which she did not think worked.

Personally for me it’s probably a point of contention, but something I think you know as a woman we grow up and then you’re like, ‘oh my gosh, there’s this thing that’s down there and I don't know what it is,’ and then older ladies they say, “No, it’s thrush,” and then there is the old wives’ tale where you’re told get apple cider vinegar, just, you know, ‘wash with apple cider vinegar, by morning you’ll be fine,’ and then you do that and it doesn’t work.

Sasha encouraged others to get recurrent thrush documented and “not procrastinate”.

I think I would advise them to take it seriously and not procrastinate in terms of talking to their doctor. I know going to the pharmacy, I think prolongs things personally from my point, you keep going to the pharmacy but going to… but you’re not getting the answers you need, especially so if it’s recurrent, I would definitely advise them not to procrastinate and make sure they have a doctor’s appointment, and talk about it, document all the things that have been happening to them in the past few months, and why it’s making them feel uncomfortable, and… yeah, and talk to the doctor, not put it last on the list, and not to be shy about it, yeah, and get the help they need.