Candida Or What?

[jlp15515]

I have been struggling with several symptoms for over a year now (bowel problems, brain fog, head aches, tired all the time, weight gain) and the worst of all is a peri-oral dermatitis like issue. The skin around my lips/mouth get red & puffy, then extremely dry, followed by peeling. It is a cycle that is continuous and I never get a break.

At first I thought I had a gluten intolerance so I had all of the testing done to find out I was not celiac (which is of course a good thing!). Then I had food allergy testing - nothing. After doing some additional research I thought maybe it was a candida overgrowth. I had swine flu a year ago and went through a couple rounds of antibiotics in a short period of time. I went to a dr. that specializes in yeast overgrowth and he too thought it was for sure a candida overgrowth. He prescribed diflucan and a yeast/sugar/MSG/vinegar/mold/gluten free diet. Overall I have been very careful with the diet and have not deliberatly eaten something I shouldn't. This has been a major lifestyle change for me!

It has now been 9 weeks. All of my symptoms have gone away, except for the dry, rashy skin. During this time I have had clear skin a couple weeks here and there, and the longest clear skin steak has been 12 days. I always seem to trigger it with a food with ingredients that I don't think are an issue ("natural flavors", "seasoning", etc.). So yesterday was Thanksgiving and I didn't want to take any chances. I cooked my entire own meal and took it with me to my relatives. I used all whole food ingredients, nothing packaged (except Imagine Chicken Broth). About an hour after dinner my lips began to itch really bad and swell. I am so frustrated, after all of that hard work I still broke out. My question is, does this sound like candida? Should I still be breaking out after 9 weeks? I want to give up so bad, but something keeps holding me back.

[Looking for answers]

Do you eat dairy? I find that I get weird skin issues/rashes and dry skin when I eat it. Since cutting it out, it's gone away.

[WheatChef]

If you went on a the full prescribed dose of diflucan and it took care of the majority of your symptoms save one then at this point you should be looking for a different trigger for that one symptom. Diflucan is normally pretty good at destroying the yeast infection and should certainly work longer than 9 weeks if you're on that anti-candida diet. Try looking at other possible sources of food intolerances/allergies by keeping note of everything you've eaten in connection to the times that your rash appears. The allergy/intolerance blood tests are not the most reliable measures to determine if you don't have a problem with something. The symptoms you mention sound a lot closer to an allergic reaction than an intolerance issue.

[jlp15515]

Do you eat dairy? I find that I get weird skin issues/rashes and dry skin when I eat it. Since cutting it out, it's gone away.

Yes, I am off dairy. I always forget that when I list what I don't eat!

[Looking for answers]

Yes, I am off dairy. I always forget that when I list what I don't eat!

Oh, that's good. I would also suggest an elimination diet then. It will help pinpoint the problem.

[Looking for answers]

About an hour after dinner my lips began to itch really bad and swell. I am so frustrated, after all of that hard work I still broke out. My question is, does this sound like candida? Should I still be breaking out after 9 weeks? I want to give up so bad, but something keeps holding me back.

No, to me, this sounds like a food allergy.