So I'm racking my brain trying to figure out why the sudden increse in inflammation lately for me. I'm not one to just take 'oh you are getting worse' lying down. I am a scientist at heart and am always looking for the 'big why'. I enjoy testing hypothesis and doing research so I'm the perfect person to have CF I suppose. Someone suggested candida overgrowth as a possible suspect.
Here is a good site I found: http://www.thecandidadiet.com/index.htm
My general doctor is a FNP with other certifications in homeopathic medicine so I have no doubt she will do the testing for me. I have a CF appt on thursday and an ENT appointment on friday. Hopefully I can get in to her the following week since next week is so full with work stuff and appointments.
In a nutshell 8 years ago I had allergy test done and I was allergic to like 6 things I had it repeated 3 years ago by the SAME doctor and it was 51/51. I took allergy shots at maintenance dose for 1.5 years and suddenly last year reacted to my allergy shots badly 3 times and now cant take a normal dose. I now have sinus headaches since the summer time all the TIME despite more use on nasal sprays, sinus rinses, dehumidifers, humidifiers, air purifiers, you name it. Hence the ENT appointment to rule polyps or something out but I get a pretty easy rinse so we shall see. I also see huge changes when I do elimination diets with processed foods. I have alot of intestinal issues despite being PS I get very gassy too. I am getting headaches and migraines all the TIME lately despite not being stressed, migraines in addition to the sinus headaches. I am also so so so tired in the mornings I have such a hard time getting up and around. I have invested in a tongue scraper my tongue is always coated white. I have been having a really hard time with my hormones since having my daughter and an even harder time with my hormones and emotions since doing fertility treatments again this year.
All of these things were before I knew anything about candida and then I read about it based on a recommendation from dramama aka Mandy and whammo it hits me like a load of bricks. This happens the same week a frined of mine goes to the BORN clinic. I look up info on BORN and again whammo like a load of bricks so many things make sense!
On to look at some of the info on candida.
Now lets see common things it can cause or that will worse (bold ones I have):
•Allergies and allergy symptoms, chemical sensitivities.
•Anxiety, Hyperactivity, Attention Deficit Disorder.
•Avoiding food helps to alleviate symptoms.
•Chronic inflammation and irritation of the eye and conjunctivae.
•Diarrhea, chronic gas, and abdominal cramps alleviated by bowel movements, Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
•Extreme lethargy.
•Eye fatigue.
•Facial rash.
•Frequent urination.
•Frequent yeast infections in women.
•High sugar or mold foods drastically increase symptoms.
•Hives.
•Inflammation of the hair follicles (candidiasis folliculitis) of various parts of the body (feet, legs, arms).
•Lactose intolerance.
•Muscle weakness and bone pain.
•Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
•Panic attacks.
•Psoriasis/seborrheic dermatitis/dandruff, dry, itchy skin.
•Rectal itching.
•Sinus problems.
•Swollen lips/face.
•Symptoms worse after waking.
•White tongue and a white coating.
Abdominal pain - sometimes confused with IBS
Fatigue - you struggle to get up in the mornings
Joint pain - sometimes confused with arthritis
Weight gain - very resistant to dieting
Fungus - on your fingernails, or athlete's foot
Hmmm and I took a little quiz thing about your risk factors and got 18/20 I didnt say yes to #3 though part of the reason I am looking at all of this is something just feels 'off' about my body for the past year or so something is not right and it started back 2 years ago when I left my original CF clinic over changes in my health.
1. Have you taken repeated or prolonged courses of antibacterial drugs?
2. Have you been bothered by recurrent vaginal, prostate or urinary infections? 3
3. Do you feel "sick all over," yet the cause hasn't been found? 2
4. Are you bothered by hormone disturbances, including PMS, menstrual irregularities, sexual dysfunction, sugar craving, low body temperature or fatigue? 2
5. Are you unusually sensitive to tobacco smoke, perfumes, colognes and other chemical odors? 2
6. Are you bothered by memory or concentration problems? Do you sometimes feel "spaced out"? 2
7. Have you taken prolonged courses of prednisone or other steroids; or have you taken "the pill" for more than 3 years? 2
8. Do some foods disagree with you or trigger your symptoms? 1
9. Do you suffer with constipation, diarrhea, bloating or abdominal pain? 1
10. Does your skin itch, tingle or burn; or is it unusually dry; or are you bothered by rashes? 1
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HA I just read something else.
ReplyDeleteHolistic practitioners recommend that Candida sufferers dramatically reduce their intake of dairy products. This is because Candida prevents the body from processing fat properly.
Remember my post two posts back about eliminating dairy? well what happened was I had been doing the all natural only veggies and fruit and nuts thing then I added in a heavy dose of dairy for the week and my bowels changed BIG TIME in a bad way and I felt wheezy and tight chested.
Hmmmm
double HA just read something else
ReplyDeleteAvoid Vinegar is made in a yeast culture, depletes the stomach of acids and can also cause inflammation in your gut.
ok so I started on NAC a month ago and I tried washing it down with a bit of vinegar. Now this should have been a no-brainer because I have acid reflux but I was only using a tiny bit. My stomach started hurting a few days in terribly. Now the weird thing is that it wasnt necessarily and acid reflux sort of hurt. It wasnt a burpey thing either. It hurt worse and would wake me up and keep me awake.
Also of noting is that one other thing that has gotten alot worse in the past year for me is acid reflux. I now need double prevacid twice a day and the endoscopy I had revealed hypermic tissues meaning high level inflamation and blood filled tissue of unknown cause.
Hmmmm
My husband and I have been looking in to the Candida thing for a few years now for him. As the doctors cant seem to figure out what is wrong with him, and his symptoms seem to fit. I even bought the book and tried doing the diet. But to be honest I had no will power and gave up. It is hard to do. I hope you are able to stick with it better than I. and I hope that you find answers.
ReplyDeleteVik
Ok well I did the spit test this morning. Seen here: http://www.thecandidadiet.com/testingforcandida.htm#Spittle
ReplyDeleteand my glass looks exactly like the picture only with Loooong strings and a ton of suspended particles. I managed to get spit without mucous so I dont think it was biased by that.
The scientist in me thought "hey" what if everyones looks that way?? Here I may go off all excited for nothing. I can confirm everyone's doesn't. My hubbies looking nothing like that. It immediately spread out across the top of the glass and then within a few minutes just basically disappeared into the water.
mine and chris's spit test almost touched the bottom of the glass. kinda gross I know. and it was white and stringy.
ReplyDeleteThis article reprinted from the Townsend Letter for Doctors and patients is a nice perspective on the CFS/candida connection:http://www.flora-balance.com/chronic.htm
ReplyDeleteAs far as diet, there are 2 aspects to it, 1.) eliminate fermented or yeast containing foods (if they stimulate an allergic reaction) 2.) reduce or eliminate high glycemic foods because the candida lives on sugar.
I believe that the reality is that you will never starve the candida to death since your body runs on sugar. Also the diet can create a lot of stress because it is difficult to adhere to. And, finally the candida conditions you to crave sugar. I believe the added stress(a major immune suppressant) is more harmful than a poor diet in most cases. We just recommend that you do the best you can with diet without creating craziness.
Most candida suffers can eliminate their candida with bacillus laterosporus BOD without making drastic dietary changes.
Man when they say no dairy does that include yogurt? I feel that yogurt (completely plain, no flavor) combined with my whole wheat ceral in the morning helps keep my calcium levels up and helps me avoid yeast infections from abx.
ReplyDeleteDo you know when they say no dairy if that in fact includes plain yogurt? :(
John- I will take a look at that thank you. Can you tell me your perspective or experience on this?
ReplyDeleteAmy- here is what it says in the web site snippits.
Successful anti-Candida dieters normally report improvements within the first month of the diet, although it can be a tough lifestyle change at first, with so many food groups excluded.
However, when the Candida infection is beaten, all of the foods to avoid can be slowly reintroduced into your diet. Click on each of the food groups below to find out more.
*under foods to avoid*
Aged cheeses
Holistic practitioners recommend that Candida sufferers dramatically reduce their intake of dairy products. This is because Candida prevents the body from processing fat properly. At the very least dieters should eliminate aged cheeses - a small amount of swiss or mozzarella cheese every once in a while should not hurt.
*under foods to eat*
Live yogurt cultures
Live yogurt cultures (or probiotics) are a class of supplement that help your gut to repopulate itself with good bacteria. They are especially useful as a course of antibiotics, or when a patient is suffering from Candida. The live bacteria in the yogurt will crowd out the Candida yeast and restore balance to your system.
Good bacteria will also produce antifungal enzymes that can help you fight Candida. Take a look at our probiotics page for more info on good sources for probiotics.
Nicole, I am glad to provide a brief background: As a distributor for O'Donnell Formulas products we provide Latero Flora to health care professionals and have operated the Flora-Balance.com website for the past 12 years on the consumer side. I end up talking to quite a lot of people having problems with candida overgrowth.
ReplyDeleteIn these conversations stress and antibiotic use stand out particularly as triggering factors for candida problems leading to chronic immune system dysfunction. I would say that candida overgrowth is a silent epidemic in western civilization. I consider this article by Dr. DeShepper an perceptive analysis of this exploding epidemic.
Nicole!
ReplyDeleteSo happy you have looked into this. This is a mainstay in my life... I cannot put into words how important an anti-fungal diet is for Cfers. What other illness is bombarded by antibiotics and steroids as a therapy? Researchers are no doubt missing the mark on the importance of the yeast connection and illness. I believe that it is one of the main issues when the body switches from the fighting Th1 immune response to the inflammatory TH2 response in CF.
Let me know how you are doing:-) Keep posting your results on the CF websites!! People need to know!
hugs.
mandy