Candida Overgrowth Question

[kalanfan]

I have a question here for anyone with candida overgrowth or a suspision of it......if you went to a doctor..how did they react? did they claim it wasnt real?.....im considering going to my doctor to ask about it but im not sure how many more times i can get the "your crazy" look.....he seems to have it all prepared b4 he even enters the exam room now...lol

[hannahsue01]

Lol .... well ok I guess it's really not that funny. I can't even count how many times or how many doctors have givin me the your "crazy look". Sorry I can't give you any advice on what to tell your doctor or that they will believe you.....but if you find a way that works let me know will ya. Since I went to the doctor last week....once again being denied the right to get the blood tests I want for celic.....I've wondered about getting a new doctor around her and what they would say as well......she says my two page long list of symptoms is all due to being depressed....gee I wonder why I am depressed feeling like this everyday and the doctors telling me it's all in my head. After reading what this candida thing is I've wondered if my symptoms have anything to do with this as I fit the profile but getting a doctor to listen to me rather than what they "think" they know or want to believe. I've found once they don't want to believe you they do eveything they can not to give in untill you come back to them with concreat proof. Good luck!!!

[bklynceliac]

I asked my doctor last week about Candida, as all my symptoms seem to match. He said exactly what I expected him to say "it's not a real illness". He's a really nice guy, and has encouraged me to stick with a gluten-free diet despite negative bloods, but said candida could not overgrow and make someone sick in the way some sources suggest. But he followed that with "if it were possible, anti-biotics would've knocked it out anyway, so you're fine." Of course, anyone who's read up on it knows that reportedly anti-biotics in fact are the worst possible thing to take for candida, and in no way "knock it out", so it was clear he didn't really know what he was talking about. This doesn't necessarily mean though that his initial statement was wrong. I think the most accepting doctors of candida are those of the non-conventional variety - naturapaths, homeopaths etc. Whether they're right or wrong, I truly have no idea.

[Lymetoo]

but said candida could not overgrow and make someone sick in the way some sources suggest. But he followed that with "if it were possible, anti-biotics would've knocked it out anyway, so you're fine." Of course, anyone who's read up on it knows that reportedly anti-biotics in fact are the worst possible thing to take for candida, and in no way "knock it out", so it was clear he didn't really know what he was talking about.

That guy is nuts!!!! Antibiotics would INDEED make candida worse!!!!!!

kalan....Feel free to PM me for more info. I'm the worlds' expert on candida HA!! Here is some info for ya:

Candida diet and elimination:

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

"Successful control and elminiation of a Candida Albicans overgrowth requires a multifaceted program as described below. Failure to follow ALL the steps simultaneously will result in slow progress and will lengthen healing time significantly. The program should be tailored to the individual and must balance the need to eliminate the Candida and deprive it of its food source while insuring proper nutrition for the individual."

Five Steps to Candida Elimination:

1. You must starve it into submission by eliminating its food source.

2. You must kill it with anti-fungal herbs and supplements. [e.g....garlic, onion, caprylic acid, Pau D'Arco capsules or tea, clove, grapefruit seed extract, olive leaf extract, oil of oregano, tea tree oil, Echinacea, Goldenseal, black walnut, MSM, barberry root, uva ursi, neem leaf, biotin]

3. You must reestablish the proper balance and quantity of probiotic bacteria in the digestive tract. [...multi-strain lactobacillus acidophilus and bifidus capsules with FOS should be taken between meals to maximize repopulation of the digestive tract by beneficial bacteria.]

4. You must reestablish proper levels of all B vitamins (yeast free) and utilize other immune enhancing supplements to boost immune system function. [e.g ... B complex vitamins (yeast free), biotin, beta 1-3 glucan, colostrum, maitake mushroom, vitamins A, C, E, zinc and selenium]

5. You must cleanse and heal the digestive tract to promote proper elimination of toxins and Candida and assimilation of nutrients. [e.g...chlorophyll, MSM, omega 3 fatty acids found in flax seed and salmon oils, GLA found in borage, evening primrose and black currant oils. Pantothenic acid, digestive enzymes between meals]

=======================================

My suggestion would be to read over the above info carefully and treat yourself. It's pretty simple. YOu could also go to Open Original Shared Link and post on the "flash discussion" for more information. Lyme patients are experts at "yeast" or candida, since they take antibiotics for long periods of time. [uGH]

Please note that the info states "e.g." ... for example...don't take ALL of the items suggested!!

If you follow the diet for a few weeks you will KNOW without a doubt if you have it. I agree that consulting a naturopath would be the best route. My first experience with treating it was through an ND who owns a health food store. The 5-step program above is his plan.

gayle

[kalanfan]

No offense but that didnt sound to simple...lol so i take one supplement out of each group? ive thought about going to an ND before to get allergy panel tests but its to expensive....

So do i take all these at once?

[kalanfan]

Wow that is one complicated diet...im having a hard time on the gluten free diet......so another question....how good is the saliva test? i did it this morning it it was stringy like it said......and also what are your thoughts on threelac?

[Lymetoo]

Wow that is one complicated diet...im having a hard time on the gluten free diet......so another question....how good is the saliva test? i did it this morning it it was stringy like it said......and also what are your thoughts on threelac?

YOu could get pretty good results from say caprylic acid and pau d' arco tea, or oregano and olive leaf extract, for example.

I recently found THERAlac [not threelac] and it is wonderful! I've also recently heard about Dr Mercola's new probiotic on his website. If I find out it's gluten free, I'm going to order it. [i have an emai to them now that i'm waiting on.] Theralac IS gluten free. It works really well!!! WAY better than others I've taken over the years.

Do you have a good health food store near you that could help you purchase what you need? Take a copy of this plan with you.

here are the websites mentioned above:

www.theralac.com [they are closed next week, but i'm sure you could still order]

www.drmercola.com

[Guest cassidy]

I found a doctor who also deals with supplements. She did a three day stool test on me and she discovered the candida overgrowth. She put me on Nystatin for 3 months - I took 2 months worth. My mother thought she had a problem with it to (she has celiac) and she did a bunch of research and tried Threelac. She got better faster than I did. The last month I took the nystatin and the threelac and I have been off everything for 2 months and I'm doing great.

I don't know if you have the type of doctor that would look into alternative testing but my doctor is great. She never makes me feel crazy. Finding an alternative doctor would be my first recommendation. I would also recommend the threelac. I was taking digestive enzymes on my own so I only bought their threelac and oxygen elements and I liked both.

I tried going on the candida diet - limiting all carbs - and I lost 4 pounds in two weeks and I was already underweigh. So, I just limited my sugar but still ate rice and fruit and I was fine.

[tiredofdoctors]

I think that the best resource you can purchase at this point is the book, "The Yeast Connection". It talks to a LOT of your questions with regard to Candida. I DID the elimination diet years and years ago and probably - - now I need to do it again. The difficulty? When the yeast begins to die off, the toxins which are released into your system from the rupture of the cell membrane make you feel like HELL. Seriously. I felt like I had an intense flu for about four days, and continued to feel that way until it gradually faded away.

When I spoke with my PCP, he told me that if I had a systemic Candida infection I would be VERY VERY sick -- enough so that I would need to be hospitalized. I still argued that it was in my gut. (I wanted to do Nysatin -- this was a few years ago -- to treat systemic yeast, its given in LARGE quantities). He didn't really agree with the Nysatin philosophy, so I did the elimination diet with the probiotics which a pharmacist here carries -- he's a licensed pharmacist, owns his family's business that's been around for GENERATIONS, but also carries a degree in holistic medicine. I also took the digestive enzymes.

Also, I was convinced that my yeast problem wasn't candida, it was pseudomonas. I posted this on another thread . . . pseudomonas gives you a "sweet" smell. (I know all this stuff because I used to do wound care . . . in our class, we had to know all of the smells of yeast and bacteria. Once you smell them in wounds, you NEVER forget the smell, though!) He did say that I smelled "yeast-y". I told him it was pseudomonas, he said no, Candida . . . I told him that when I took my shoes off, instead of stinking, they smelled sweet -- THAT is pseudomonas. Ends up, I was right. The treatment, however, is EXACTLY the same . . . KILL OFF THE YEAST. Still, if you don't have a time-frame to be "down" for a few days, don't start it until you can kind of time it . . . it took about three days before I started feeling pretty rough . . .

I haven't had any experience with the Theralac, so I can't speak to it, nor results . . . I just don't know about it -- I DO agree that you need to find a doctor who is willing to look toward the "unconventional", and alternative medicine. Otherwise, you are NOT going to get the results you want -- support, testing, information and suggestions for the best treatment for you. I wouldn't rule out anything, really. Given that Theralac is gluten-free, as long as it doesn't have sugar in it that would "feed the yeast", then you would be fine. Good luck to you.

Thanks to you guys, too . . . I think you've inspired me to go ahead and get "de-yeasted" again!!!

xoxoxoxo

Lynne

[Lymetoo]

Kalan...If you do the elimination diet for several days BEFORE beginning the Nystatin or other things such as caprylic acid, your die-off reaction won't be so severe.

The easiest way to do it is to eat safe vegetables and protein....that's it.

Theralac is much better than Threelac according to Lyme patients who've tried every probiotic known to mankind!

[utdan]

Does anyone know if the "specific carbohydrate diet" is just for targetting candida?

LymeToo, what's the average time frame for completing that program you outlined? (assuming moderately severe candida growth)

[nikki182]

I went to a few doctors before one would take me seriously. I had terrible oral and esophagal thrush that turned my tongue a disgusting white, and at one point an interesting greenish color. I bought and read "The Yeast Connection" which convinced me I had candida in my gut as well. I tried the diet the book suggests for awhile, but I personally thought it was really tough to stick to. It made the gluten free diet seem easy! Anyway, it is a great book that answers all candida-related questions, and if you haven't read it you should. When I did find a good doc, she gave me a rx for Diflucan which I took for two months. It took awhile but eventually the yeast stopped raging through my body. I've gotten to the point letely where I'm so frustrated with doctors that I just call them up to demand certain tests, treatments, etc. Otherwise they tend to just ignore me or try to refer me to a psychiatrist. They seem to take people seriously when they are persistant though. Definitely talk to your doctor and ask for an anti-fungal medication and try cutting out sugar and other things that feed yeast if you can. It's worth it. Good luck!

[Lymetoo]

Does anyone know if the "specific carbohydrate diet" is just for targetting candida?

LymeToo, what's the average time frame for completing that program you outlined? (assuming moderately severe candida growth)

Dan, I don't know about the SCD diet.

Time frame is pretty variable, according to how severe your case is. It will take about 2-3 wks before you feel tremendously better. If you could get a dr to prescribe Nystatin or Diflucan, you will get results more quickly.

Some drs don't understand or even believe in yeast overgrowth as nikki said. One dr told a lyme patient that yeast overgrowth was impossible to occur, but if it did occur, antibiotics would take care of it!!!! I hate to tell him, but he needs to go back to medical school! [well, that won't do any good either!! ]

[utdan]

Dan, I don't know about the SCD diet.

Time frame is pretty variable, according to how severe your case is. It will take about 2-3 wks before you feel tremendously better. If you could get a dr to prescribe Nystatin or Diflucan, you will get results more quickly.

Some drs don't understand or even believe in yeast overgrowth as nikki said. One dr told a lyme patient that yeast overgrowth was impossible to occur, but if it did occur, antibiotics would take care of it!!!! I hate to tell him, but he needs to go back to medical school! [well, that won't do any good either!! ]

The SCD diet has you avoid all starches, lactose and simple sugars but it says that fruit sugar is ok. With Candida is fruit sugar ok? I think I remember some on here saying that can make the problem worse. The scd book says that bannanas are not ok unless they no longer are green at the ends and have brown spots?

I still don't know if I even have it. Yeah, I asked my doctor one time and he said their was this popular fad for a while with the book "The Yeast Connection" and everyone thought they had it, but they didn't, so therefore he doubted I had it. I don't know how they can say that given that they don't have a way for accurate diagnosis do they?

[kalanfan]

So if i go on the diet is it for ever like the gluten free thing? or is it till the problem is fixed?

[Lymetoo]

I don't know how they can say that given that they don't have a way for accurate diagnosis do they?

Crazy, isn't it!!

So if i go on the diet is it for ever like the gluten free thing? or is it till the problem is fixed?

For me, it was long term because I was on antibiotics for several years. Now that I've found Theralac, I can cheat!! I've cheated a lot lately and think I have gotten away with it!!

If you are pretty healthy and not taking antibiotics a lot...then you should be able to "fix" the problems and move on.

[i canary]

So if i go on the diet is it for ever like the gluten free thing? or is it till the problem is fixed?

I had to stay on the diet for 18 months then I was candida free. It is a tough diet to do - much much worse then gluten free. It was worth it.

Good luck.

[nikki182]

I'm pretty sure that the Yeast Connection says not to eat fruits at least for the first ten days of the diet.

Also, I think you can go on the diet for a limited time unlike the gluten-free diet. I didn't do it for very long because I found it way too difficult, especially being a college student. I couldn't do the whole no sugar or alcohol thing. (Although I'm sure some of you have more self control then me, hehe ).

I took the fluconazole a couple times a day for two months though, so maybe that sped up the process? The book recommends taking an antiungal; I would guess that would allow you to be a little more flexible on the diet.

[kalanfan]

I have another question...lol.....do i just do the diet or do i do the diet and the supplements....or just the supplements?

[i canary]

I have another question...lol.....do i just do the diet or do i do the diet and the supplements....or just the supplements?

I did both. I took probiotics & oil of oregano and followed the diet to the letter - I was determined to get better and I did.

[Lymetoo]

I have another question...lol.....do i just do the diet or do i do the diet and the supplements....or just the supplements?

The diet will eliminate the yeast's food source, but will not KILL it. The supplements are designed to kill the candida.

I picked the right topic, I think. I was just going through my records for the last 3 years. You can see see an Infectious Disease doctor in 2 and a half weeks, only because I demanded it.

Don't expect an ID dr to find Lyme disease.....and even if they did, they won't treat chronic lyme. I know...seems nuts...that's the way it is though.