Severe yeast infections?

[MAT51]

Hi All. I was called by my GP yesterday to say that I have severe thrush (vaginal). Does anyone know if this could cause a false positive ANA and high imflammation markers PV and CRP? I am so far only diagnosed with inactive RA. I'm going to have a lip biopsy next week and salivary gland MRI. Worried about nothing showing up and wondering whether I might have widespread candida instead? Have taken pessary as advised and am avoiding all sugars and taking kefir in capsule form. Anything else I can do as I believe this is head to toe stuff?

[Kathy57]

Mat51,

I've had chronic oral thrush and vaginal yeast infections just like you.  Before I was diagnosed with Sjogren's, I was entertaining the thought that maybe I had "systemic candida" to explain my bizarre and chronic symptoms.  I was wrong.  (I'm not saying that you are wrong).  I'm just saying that I was wrong.

Sjogren's can cause chronic dry mouth which predisposes to the chronic yeast infections.  I don't have this problem anymore because I stay on top of it with meds and supplements, and meticulous oral hygiene.

Sjogren's   can affect your cervical glands and cause vaginal dryness which in turn predisposes to easy vaginal infection.  All of my issues were related to severe dryness and when I addressed these problems, I minimized my symptoms.  In other words, I was diagnosed and properly treated.  I learned through trial and error (and from a lot of GREAT advice I found here), to treat and medicate myself to eliminate and control symptoms.

I hope you get to the root of all your problems and find relief soon.  Everything you are doing right now sounds very reasonable to me.

Kathy

[Wal]

Prior to experiencing the dry mouth and dry eye symptoms, I had a vaginal yeast infection that last for 7 months. Wondering if it was connected to what's going on now.

[MAT51]

Thanks both - it seems the two can often go together as well as IBS and GERD symptoms - which I'm also having - although the acidophilus seems to be helping my chronic constipation a lot. I did have severe Sicca for a while but this cleared up when I came off Amitriptyline. Same with dry mouth on Cymbalta. I almost long for all my problems to be in my joints again instead of in these intimate areas of my body!

Kathy - I have already had severe allergic reactions to Plaquenil, Methotrexate, Sulfasalazine and Azathioprine. Not sure what options left for me if I'm diagnosed with Sjogrens?

[Tharrell]

Hi Mat. I'm not sure about yeast infections affecting blood work, mine never has. My rheumatologist explained that my chronic yeast infections are autoimmune in nature as well as affected by the meds I take. My gyno prescribed me diflucan to be taken three days in a row, then once a week for six month. I'm finally yeast infection free. Unfortunately thanks to my lung infection I'm now on some hard core antibiotics for 18 month so I'm going to ask my gyno if I need to stay on the diflucan. I'm already taking probiotics as per my gastro to protect my stomach.

[MAT51]

Thanks this is helpful to know Tharrell. Actually in a sense it's a daft question because my bloods have been highly fluctuating for at least five years now - since before my seronegative RA diagnosis - and the yeast infection has only been a problem for about five or six months. But they keep testing me for Multiple Myeloma because of the elevated IgA, IgG, PV and CRP and I'm trying to find relatively benign causes for these bloods and my neuropathic symptoms. Sjogren's ticks all the boxes for my symptoms even if I don't tick all the boxes for Sjogrens yet.

I see you have MCTD so you probably do have high levels of inflammation in your blood? I've been told by several people that most with primary Sjogrens don't have particularly fluctuating ESR/ PV or CRP, but as my RA has gone away for several years my rheumatologist is saying that my RA/ inflammatory arthritis is out of the picture as cause of systemic inflammation. So I'm trying to work out what is causing this as I've never even had thrush or chronic constipation before and I'm 53. It seems unlikely to be hormonal in a post menopausal woman. Also newly found to have severe lack of oestrogen causing dryness and scar tissue down below and a bit baffled by the onset when I was fine in this department all through and subsequent to my menopause. I was prescribed oestrogen pessaries to take but they seem to be making no difference at all so far and it's been 6 weeks! X

[Tharrell]

I don't know if I have high inflammation, the durn blood tests keep coming up negative and my current rheumy won't treat my previously diagnosed seronegative ra. She keeps saying blood tests are normal, no inflammation. Yet I have been hooting and hollering about my joint pain and stiffness. The finally, finally my sed rate come up with inflammation. Just as I was about to rejoice that my body is revealing it's secrets my theumy said oh that must be from the infection. I could have screamed!

[MAT51]

That sounds so familiar?! Have you had a lip biopsy yet? My ANA has just shown a clear positive at 1:320 but the ENA profile is negative. I nearly fell off my perch with relief when I learned that my immunology was at last showing up positive, although my inflammatory markers are often high. I am a mystery patient that several rheumatologists have given up on so far!

But I'm now learning that even a positive ANA can be interpreted as a false positive if it's retaken and doesn't show up second time. That's bound to be me! 

I thought everything in autoantibodies had to be positive for a diagnosis of MCTD? If yours are positive then it surely shouldn't matter what your sed rate shows? They don't use ESR to measure in the part of Scotland where I stay as it's thought too unreliable  - they use PV which I'm not as familiar with. Mine is between elevated and high always. I too was diagnosed with seronegative RA five years ago. But two rheumatologists later they say that it has gone from my joints and therefore whatever is wrong can't be RA. These criteria are so ridiculous to my mind because rheumatic diseases don't know to play by a rule book devised by a bunch of rheumatologists?! 

[Tharrell]

Not everything has to be positive. Just ANA and high tirtres of anti RNP, rnp being specific for mctd with symptoms of lupus and scleroderma, raynauds. Ra and sjogren's can be part of it. I got diagnosis mctd with sjogren's, because of ss-b positivity. Lip biopsy was negative. My new rheumy said it can be negative if already on plaquenil and a smoke which I am both. What is PV?

[MAT51]

Thanks for explaining. PV is plasma viscosity - a more accurate alternative to ESR.