Candida Overgrowth

[Mother of Jibril]

Friday I had an appointment with my dermatologist. My skin is looking SO much better these days! The rash on my butt and my hands has gone away. The acne around my jawline went away... even my rosacea is looking better. The dermatologist agreed that my face is not as red (although it's still a bit pink)... then she looked at my hair and said, "Wow... you have a lot of yeast overgrowth." She gave me prescriptions for ketoconazole shampoo and salicylic acid shampoo, which I'm supposed to use on alternating days.

IMO, this is a minor issue... I've had this problem for about ten years, so the symptoms don't really bother me that much. I don't know how long I can stand to wash my hair every day, because my skin is SO dry due to my other autoimmune problems. Plus it's winter

Any ideas for another, more holistic way I might approach this problem?

I'm beginning to feel like a car that has about 100,000 miles on it. I still have a lot of miles left in me but little things are breaking down... every time I go to the mechanic (doctor), there's something new that "needs" to be fixed.

[Cinnamon]

Could it be that you have another intolerance? My daughter had a stubborn case of candida which would get better on anti-candida supplements, but would come right back within a couple weeks of stopping the supplement. I had her tested for IgG allergies, and while those tests are not always accurate, they seemed accurate in her case. Eggs showed up as a problem, and when I cut them out, the candida went away and hasn't come back since.

I think a case of candida that doesn't go away or keeps coming back is a sign of some underlying issue. A healthy immune system is able to keep candida in check, but if it's preoccupied with other things, the candida runs rampant.

[Mother of Jibril]

Yeah... I was thinking something along those lines. I'm already off gluten, dairy, and corn.

I eat quite a lot of eggs Omelets and hard boiled eggs are so easy... and safe on the rare occasions I go to a restaurant. Plus a lot of the gluten-free goodies have eggs. I guess I could give it a try. Eggs have always bothered my dad.

Do you remember how long it took to notice a change in your daughter's case?

[RiceGuy]

To be honest, I have my doubts about any shampoo getting rid of candida. If you have it, then it is inside you, and that's what needs to be addressed. I've never heard of shampoo being suggested for candida either. Was it the appearance of your hair, or the scalp that she referred to? The shampoo might do something topically, but once you discontinue it, I am quite confident it will come right back.

Make no mistake, candida is nothing to take lightly. If you do have it, then by all means take appropriate action. As others have said, there may be foods which are encouraging the yeast to grow, by interfering with the immune system or other bodily functions (such as digestion). Obviously, sugar is a no-no when you're dealing with candida. Did your doctor give you any dietary guidelines?

What I did (which worked wonders) is to avoid all sugars, yeasts, vinegars, and fruits. Additionally, I took caprylic acid capsules, and I felt great in a matter of weeks. I waited months before trying fruits, and took it very slowly and cautiously. I was determined not to have a relapse.

Here is one brand of Open Original Shared Link. Another product is Open Original Shared Link.

HTH

[AliB]

As Riceguy said, Candida is a systemic issue. If you have external signs then they indicate that the problem is coming from inside.

Dandruff, athlete's foot, jock itch, thrush etc., are all indicators that the system is rampant with yeast and that the body is in a state that is supporting it. Things like antibiotics coupled with the high-sugar, high-carb SAD/SUK diet will very quickly contribute to an extremely unbalanced gut flora. Years ago people were told to eat loads of yogurt after having antibiotics but over the last 50 years that went out of the window with the result that we then have had nothing to replace the protective bacteria that were destroyed by the drug. It leaves huge areas of the digestive tract unprotected and open to colonisation by rogue bacteria and sets the pattern of ill-health.

The important thing to do is to change the environment. Take away its food source and the rogues will die back. Not only that but you need to replace it with good guys to protect the gut and prevent recurrence.

Remove all long-chain carbs from the diet - grains, starches and sugar and confine the diet to the basics - fresh fruit (a small amount), fresh vegetables, meat, fish and poultry and good probiotic plain yogurt (not the fruit rubbish that is full of sugar and totally counter-productive!). Add in a good probiotic supplement too. Taking caprylic acid will help but ONLY if you change the environment. If you carry on consuming the carbs and sugar it will just come back and the effort will have been a fruitless exercise.

Drug therapies like Nystatin and Diflucan are pretty useless. Again, unless the environment is changed all they do is knock the yeast back and afterwards it comes back with a vengeance - but is now stronger and quite likely resistant to further treatment in the future.

I know you have seen my posts on this before, but I will repeat for anyone who has not come across it yet - quite a few of us are following the Specific Carbohydrate Diet which although not a Candida Diet as such, because it removes the troublesome carbs, is a healing diet and one designed to allow the body to get back to a more balanced state and control the wayward bacteria, including Candida and other yeasts.

Many think that they won't be able to have goodies on the SCD but they could not be further from the truth. It is surprising what we can drum up from the allowed foods - but to be quite honest, most find that once they have started to eat a more healthy diet, they no longer crave or desire the rubbish that makes them feel rubbish any more anyway, but the SCD makes them feel so much better and they just don't want to go back there again. And that is what is important, isn't it?

I have suffered with Candida for years - trying desperately to ignore it but before my digestion collapsed and I went gluten-free and then SCD I was having awful problems with it - rampant dandruff, athlete's foot, thrush, sores - I was going through a tube of Canesten every few weeks, but since then it has gradually been diminishing - not yet gone, but heaps better. I still allow a little sugar and carb to creep in here and there and I am sure if I didn't I would have got the mastery over it by now! I know a lot who have been more disciplined than me and they have.

I believe it was the Candida that finally brought about my digestive collapse - the years of IBS ought to have been enough indication - that I now know but the Medical Profession had no explanation for it so I just had so suffer the indignity of having to stay in very close proximity to a lavatory all that time. Thanks to both the removal of gluten and the SCD I no longer have to worry about that any more. Yaaay!

[Mother of Jibril]

To be honest, I have my doubts about any shampoo getting rid of candida. If you have it, then it is inside you, and that's what needs to be addressed. I've never heard of shampoo being suggested for candida either. Was it the appearance of your hair, or the scalp that she referred to? The shampoo might do something topically, but once you discontinue it, I am quite confident it will come right back.

Make no mistake, candida is nothing to take lightly. If you do have it, then by all means take appropriate action. As others have said, there may be foods which are encouraging the yeast to grow, by interfering with the immune system or other bodily functions (such as digestion). Obviously, sugar is a no-no when you're dealing with candida. Did your doctor give you any dietary guidelines?

I also have my doubts about the shampoo... as you say, even if it works the flakes on my scalp are bound to come back Thankfully, I've never had a yeast infection in my genital area (as far as I know... I assume I would know), but my tongue is always coated and the itchy, flaky scalp has been a problem for at least ten years. Yikes.

Of course the dermatologist did not say anything about diet even though I told her my skin looks better since I stopped eating gluten and corn.

Thanks for your suggestions about the diet and caprylic acid... I think I'll give that a try as soon as we get back from the "holidays" (we're taking a long trip to my parents' house). I'm encouraged to hear that you saw results in a few weeks.

Remove all long-chain carbs from the diet - grains, starches and sugar and confine the diet to the basics - fresh fruit (a small amount), fresh vegetables, meat, fish and poultry and good probiotic plain yogurt (not the fruit rubbish that is full of sugar and totally counter-productive!). Add in a good probiotic supplement too. Taking caprylic acid will help but ONLY if you change the environment. If you carry on consuming the carbs and sugar it will just come back and the effort will have been a fruitless exercise.

I knew you'd have some suggestions Here's my one concern about the SCD... I can't eat any cow's milk dairy products. Even yogurt! My breastfed son has a severe intolerance to casein. I've made mistakes a couple of times and he pays for it with nasty eczema right across his cheeks. Poor little guy. Would it be OK to make the homemade yogurt with goat's milk? He seems to tolerate that.

[Rachel--24]

I think a case of candida that doesn't go away or keeps coming back is a sign of some underlying issue. A healthy immune system is able to keep candida in check, but if it's preoccupied with other things, the candida runs rampant.

This is very true. I would recommend looking for the underlying issue(s) which are burdening the immune system.

4 years ago I spent alot of time focusing on candida.....following a strict diet, etc. Problems did not resolve and symptoms always returned.

I no longer have big problems with yeast, fungal spots on my skin have disappeared and I did not need to stop eating sugar or take any antifungals to acheive that.

Yeast doesnt typically overgrow unless the system is compromised. If you have problems getting rid of it its because the system remains compromised and the environment is favorable for yeast. If you can remove the biggest stressors....the immune system is more capable of keeping the yeast in check.

Everyone is different and in my opinion there is no specific diet or antifungal treatment that works for everyone. If you have something burdening your system and that goes untreated/unidentified.....then even the strictest of diet is not going to resolve the candida issue.

[AliB]

I knew you'd have some suggestions Here's my one concern about the SCD... I can't eat any cow's milk dairy products. Even yogurt! My breastfed son has a severe intolerance to casein. I've made mistakes a couple of times and he pays for it with nasty eczema right across his cheeks. Poor little guy. Would it be OK to make the homemade yogurt with goat's milk? He seems to tolerate that.

Oh, absolutely. Quite a few use goats milk for the yogurt. If you check out the SCD thread on the 'Other food Intolerances' section you will see that several make it with coconut milk too, like Artgirl who loves it. I make my own coconut milk and it is gorgeous although I have never tried making yogurt with it personally.

Interestingly though, some find, like I do, even though I cannot tolerate dairy per se, that they can actually tolerate the cows milk yogurt made the SCD way because the long fermentation actually not only provides a much higher concentration of bacteria but also most, if not all the lactose is pre-digested and the casein is changed into a more tolerable form.

Interestingly there are some who find that they can tolerate raw cows milk ok. The pasteurisation process actually destroys the very enzymes we need for its digestion and the homogenisation changes the fat particles into a form that may well be injurious to the body. Raw milk does not go through either of those processes so is less likely to be problematic. Certainly people who live on dairy farms rarely, if ever, have problems with milk.

Goats milk, although pasteurised, is not put through the homogenisation process because it has not only a lower amount of fat, but the fat particles are smaller than cows milk so naturally dissipate into the milk. Perhaps that is why people tolerate it better than cows - it hasn't been as 'mucked about with'?

[ShayFL]

I had dandruff for about 5 years that nothing touched. It was worst around my hairline right at the front of my head by my face. I was often horrified when I would get all dressed up and then see the flakes. So I would try to get them out only making more appear. Ugh!!

I tried ALL of the different shampoos. Nada.

When I finally got my thyroid meds up to an optimal dose it went COMPLETELY away. Gone. I just scratched my scalp like crazy and nothing there. No gunk under my fingernails and no flakes.

It was unexpected. I would have never tied low thyroid to dandruff. But it worked like magic!!

Optimal thyroid also changed a weirdo kinky patch of hair I had for years. My hairdresser didnt know what to do with it. Kinky like pubic hair in about a 2 inch radius in only one spot. It went away like magic too!!

It could be another intolerance, or it could be that you are not optimized on your thyroid meds. Most doctors just get you into the "normal" range and they are done with you. They wont give you more no matter how much you beg and plead.

I have an excellent doctor that Rx by symptoms and not labs. My TSH was .008 in July and my Doctor is just fine with it because she tested my reflexes, body temperature, heart rate and blood pressure and all were perfect. No signs of hyper at all. My T3 is the last upper number for "normal".

[Mother of Jibril]

If you check out the SCD thread on the 'Other food Intolerances' section you will see that several make it with coconut milk too, like Artgirl who loves it.

Mmmm... I tried a brand of coconut yogurt, but it had a weird grainy texture. Homemade yogurt from coconut milk sounds lovely I'll search for the instructions.

I had dandruff for about 5 years that nothing touched. It was worst around my hairline right at the front of my head by my face. I was often horrified when I would get all dressed up and then see the flakes. So I would try to get them out only making more appear. Ugh!!

I tried ALL of the different shampoos. Nada.

Yes! Exactly!!! I have no doubt that my dry skin is making the dandruff much worse. I'm seeing a new PCP next month and I'm going to ask to be tested for Sjogren's antibodies (I already have a "chronic dry eye" diagnosis)... I'll ask about my thyroid too. Overall, I feel pretty good. A lot of my thyroid symptoms have gone away (depression, fatigue, heavy periods, constipation, feeling cold all the time), but the dryness is definitely still there.