HOLY CRAP! This is a blast from the past. I'm surprised I'm even alive to answer this 🤣

Yeah, I have a lot to say on the subject of thrush. . .AND PREDNISONE. It's a bit long, but I've been through a few things. Maybe my experiences can help make things easier for you. Buckle in.

Prednisone alone will knock down your immune response, which can lead to opportunistic infections like thrush. When they started giving me heavy duty antibiotics though, that's when the thrush REALLY hit me and wouldn't let go. Pretty much set up a nice house for yeast to stay in.

They gave me an oral antifungal that tasted horrible, and that I had to swish around in my mouth for a long time before swallowing. I was dedicated, never missed a dose every 6 hours for forever, but every time I was done with the bottle, the thrush came back. I got a powerful antifungal pill from my sister - it was supposed to knock out yeast infections with one dose. It knocked down the thrush, but it came back. I tried diluted peroxide rinses. . .it kept coming back.

This is what finally got rid of it for me: Gentian Violet. Babies get thrush fairly often, and they use this. They paint their mouth with it. It has the unfortunate effect of dyeing your mouth purple, BUT IT WORKS, and fast, like nothing else I tried.

Pick a few days when you don't have to be out in public too much, pour a little bit into a container or shotglass (so you don't contaminate the whole bottle), dip a q-tip into it, and paint your tongue, inside your cheeks, etc. Basically, paint the whole inside of your mouth, while trying not to get purple lips/face. When everything is good and painted, rinse and spit it out - you probably shouldn't swallow too much. I did that once a day for 2 or 3 days, and it went away. Whenever it started coming back, sometimes weeks or months later(I was sick a lot back then, and open to infections as a result), I'd paint my mouth again, and it went away even faster because I treated it early. I haven't had thrush in about 6 years.

Something to know: The violet will stain EVERYTHING, including clothes, the plastic or granite sink, etc. Plan before doing this. Glass items won't stain, or you can use plastic cups/bowls you can throw out.

On the subject of prednisone: It did bad things to me. I now spent most of my time in a wheelchair, because four of my vertebrae spontaneously crumbled. I spent 7 months in a nursing home bed healing, and I'm lucky I can walk at all. They told me I'd never go home. I made them all liars, but it's not easy.

I was 6'3" when I wrote the message you responded to. Now I'm 5'11". Prednisone kept me from absorbing calcium and broke down my bones. I thought I'd be OK. I was a big, strong guy, I liked milk and drank a lot of it. Didn't help.

If you're taking prednisone for any extended period of time, I recommend you take a calcium supplement and some vitamin D. Take this seriously.

Now, don't panic, prednisone has its uses. I took it, on and off, for years, and I didn't take supplements with it. Just be aware that you need to take supplements if you're on prednisone. Don't make my mistake.

Let me know if you have any other questions. I'm glad to help if I can.