Hi ladies, any advice would be welcomed. Not sure whether to bother doctor or not. I have been having chemo since July and have been plagued by Thrush (supposedly) continually. I have a discharge and feel swollen. I have trouble weeing but do not have any itching. I do have a Mirena Coil and have become paranoid that this is causing problems. I have permanent abdominal aches and apparently you are supposed to be able to feel a piece of string! but can’t. Since my dx and operation and chemo i think i would really like this removed as the thought of a object being in me that shouldn’t is starting to freak me out. Will they even look at me whilst on chemo? I suppose i really should see the GP.
Anyone else got a coil, or had it removed during chemo?
I have a coil (normal 1 not mirena). I too have had a lot of thrush since starting chemo - probably about every cycle. I dont have pain or anything. You are supposed to be able to feel the strings of them but sometimes they cut them too short. I dont see any reason why your gp wont at least look at yours, perhaps do swabs - and if your platelets are normal dont see why they wouldnt remove it if thats what you want. I dont know what your personal circumstances are and how much experience you have of having thrush, but if you have a sexual partner and you get thrush he must also treat himself or you would just pass it back and forth (sorry if thats quoting the obvious!!)
Def go and see your gp and discuss it with them tho and soon
Dear Gaynorp
sorry if a bit obvious but thought the coil you have is hormone based and if the chemo youre havin damps down the hormones surely it would be best to have it removed anyway. One less thing to worry/irritate.
Missi -x-
The mirena coil only contains progesterone so is only a problem if you are pr+ and is fine if you are er+. It also only acts locally. From my experience as a family planning nurse, I wouldn’t think this is causing you the thrush - it is more likely to be the chemo as it upsets all the balance of your body.
Are you sure it is thrush - have you had it tested - sorry to sound nosey and don’t expect you to reveal all on here but it is worth getting tested incase it is something other than thrush - bacterial vaginosis also causes itchiness but needs different treatment.
However, you should be able to feel the strings so you do need to get that sorted. I know that they are not always keen on changing mirena/coils whilst on chemo because of the risk of causing an infection but they can do an ultrasound to check it is in the right place and not moved up.
What a nightmare for you? Thrush or anything like that is so distressing. Hope the rest of your chemo etc goes well.
Kate
I had had a mirena coil in for 3 years prior to diagnosis (I’m 35 now). I loved it, however last Christmas time I started to suffer with terrible tummy pains. After putting up with these for a few weeks I went to see my GP who referred me for an internal U/S as he couldn’t feel the threads and neither could I. This U/S showed that the coil had actually become embedded into the left side of my womb!!! I was referred to a gynaecologist and booked in to have it removed and another one reinserted if poss.
Anyway, this was booked for April, then in March blooming bc got in the way and I was diagnosed on 19th!!! So, when I had my mastectomy my surgeon arranged for the gynae doc to remove my coil at the same time. I decided not to opt for another to be reinserted.
I hope you get on ok at the docs, do let us know how it goes,
Thank you Princess18, that is exactly what i have been worrying about. Haven’t made it to doctors yet as have been feeling really low and tired and not able to go to surgery, but have developed nasty cough and temperature over the weekend so i am phoning the surgery first thing tomorrow.
Spoke to surgery on phone, have antibiotics for my cough and although i said i was getting stomach pain and couldn’t feel my string I was told to go to family planning, i was a bit disappointed they didn’t refer me for a scan or to the hospital to have it removed. I am back for my 2nd cycle of cmf on Monday so i will see if they will refer me from there. Hoping my cough won’t affect my bloods as i just want to get on with the chemo and get it finished.