Candida - One Week Status Report

So here it is, the good, bad, ugly, and oh yeah the really really TMI. I figure if someone else is going to do this perhaps they can learn from my mistakes so I had better include full details.

For starters I did this all wrong. Maybe if someone else does this they can learn from my mistakes. What I have done, am doing, is basically what the standard treatment is but if you read books or online that deal specifically with candida you will learn alot more than 'take this pill once a day and candida away it is' which is what I see from alot medical community.

I went ahead and just started on the diflucan 150mg 7 days ago. I did not alter my diet first, I had made changes but not to the level I should have. I started before going to CA and then stayed on it thinking I would make final dietary changes when I got back. They key is that you cant errradicate the yeast if you are constantly feeding it with what you eat.

Since my yeast is high and I didnt do anything to start slowly killing it or reducing numbers and I just jumped into diflucan I am experiencing a severe die-off reaction to the point of what I would consider a 'crisis' based on what I read. So I stopped the diflucan for one day and did every home remedy I could think of that I read to help clear my system of the toxins including drinking tons of water, dry skin brushing, an *gulp* enema, thumping my thymus, drinking tea, alternating cold/hot shower, lots vitamin C, and a sea salt bath. I know some of that sounds cookey but if it would help in any way I was willing to try it.

The symptoms I experienced are way way increased mucous/cough, tight chest, short of breath, stomach upset, nauseau, intermittent joint pain, mental fog, and fatigue. All of this plus feeling like this will never end has left me pretty down in the dumps and anxious which I read can be an effect of the yeast die-off but that is kind of like playing "which came first".

On friday I tried to start the MEVY diet in addition to continuing the diflucan and it was too much for me to tolerate. I got migraine in addition to all the symptoms above I was absolutely miserable I couldnt even drive myself home from work. I decided a bit against my health that I will start the MEVY back up but not this week. I have a super important week at work and I just cant afford to not be in the game. I will start it again this friday and hopefully by monday be feeling better. Whenever I have withdrawn from sugar I get this way and I thought it was the blood sugar changes but I now believe it to be the blood sugar and the yeast die - off. Unfortunately in the mean time I have read that the die-off can be worse because you are feeding the yeast to allow them to grow and killing htem at the same time so they continue to die thus continuing the reaction. I have not read this extensively on alot sites but it does make sense.

For now my plan is to continue the diflucan, lay off the herbal supplements if I am feeling bad since they accelerate the killing of the yeast, continue with a health diet just not free from fruits grains, and try to monitor my toxicity symptoms. I am drinking green smoothies for breakfast, yogurt kefir smoothie mid morning, and having a pureed green soup for lunch in the hopes of easing my digestive woes while nourishing my body and keeping my bowels open to not allow yeast to 'sit'.

That is it, the good, bad and ugly. So far more of the bad and ugly than good, hopefully that is soon to follow. I think because of being highly allergic with CF and being highly colonize this is all going to take longer and be a bit more extreme than some other cases. Or maybe I'm just a whimp *sigh*.