Esophageal Thrush During Chemo anyone?

Lillp07

Has anyone had Esophageal Thrush during chemo? I have it and it's so awful. I have started medication for it but it hasn't kicked in as yet. I'm having trouble eating and drinking, I feel neasaous. My weight is dropping super fast. I spoke to oncologist this morning. He said to keep on medicationand see how it goes and may need to delay next treatment.

I have excellent oral hygiene and just don't know how I got it

debiann

I had oral thrush during my first two rounds of chemo and NO it is not your fault. Mine would start when I took the steroids. The meds the MO prescribed worked, but he didn't want me on them throughout all my treatments. I found sucking on mints for dry mouth (Xylimelts or other brands) with the ingredient xylitol helped prevent the thrush from recurring. Xylitol is supposed to fix the PH level in your mouth so thrush can't grow. I also gargled with Biotene. Probiotics seem to melt the thrush away. You can eat some yogurt and let it linger in your mouth, its very soothing, or suck on a probiotic tablet. Also, sugar really makes the thrush grow fast, so avoid sodas and sugary snack.

I hope you feel better soon!

Lillp07

thank you Debiann. I just found out that the medication takes about 48 hours to kick in. That will be tomorrow morning. I'm glad it's not my fault. I've been so good using Biotene toothpaste and mouthwash.

leggo

Hi Lillp. Thrush sucks. It's good you're on medication, though that might not be enough to keep it from coming back. Like debiann mentioned, a good probiotic really helps. Also, aloe vera juice can ease the symptoms until it gets under control.

Also, thought I'd mention whenever I had it, the cancer clinic would prescribe this horrible swish & swallow mouthwash. It never did anything for me, the juice worked better. 

msphil

I also had thrush, mouth sores, but for naseau i had meds that help alot, rinsing  did help me, take care. msphil(idc, Lmast, 0/3 nodes, chemo and rads and 5 yrs on tamoxifen,i,m a 21 yr Survivor this yr Praise GOD)

Lillp07

Thank you for the tips. I haven't tried aloe Vera juice and haven't started on a pro biotic. They will be on the list tomorrow. The oncologist said if hasnt improved significantly by Monday, I wont be able to have the next chemo.