Long Overdue, Update & Candida

Seems I am long overdue for a post or an update. I have been neglecting posting things I've been thinking about but I *have* been thinking about the blog a lot. I've been wondering if I should combine this with my personal blog, it seems I have so many 'special interests' CF, IVF, budgeting/Dave Ramsey, and now being a foster parent and hopefully soon adopting and I can't start a blog for all of them LOL! I considered starting a blog for our fostering/adopting and then I thought 3 blogs, really? no way! I think there are some things on here that are just 'too much' for some in my family readership but I'm torn. What say you.........combine or compartmentalize?

Anyway I just finished a 2 week course of zosyn and tobramycin yesterday. SO thankful that is over. I know some of you are hardcore and handle IVs like a rock star and while I like to think I have a pretty high tolerance for some things IVs are NOT one of them, especially zosyn. The good thing is that it makes me take the time to rest and allow my body to heal. The bad thing is...well, I feel awful, get migraines, extreme fatigue, and nausea.

I started 40mg of prednisone yesterday. I have found the past 2 times I have done IV which for me is zosyn I get very clear, very dry, but also inf lammed. The first time they did a bronch and all sorts of stuff which I've previously talked about to confirm it was "just" inflammation. This time the inflammation is not as bad (I've got my theories on this..in a few) but I decided to ask for a short burst to get everything in tip top shape. this is a risk since I think 1/2 my town is sick right now so I'm staying away from people as best I can aside from picking kiddo up at daycare and that involves hand sanitizer galore! Right now we just got over stomach flu which is going around, I have a 1.5 you nephew who just had surgery for a sinus infection that went abscessed due to MRSA, a 3yo niece with pneumonia, and a 6 week old niece with RSV! Whew. No seeing family for a while either.

So, my 'tip top shape' plan includes drinking the NAC (for me 20% USP grade acetylcysteine) 3x/day @ 1500mg, taking a probiotic that is formulated to eat candida yeast, a probiotic blend that is highly rated, doing the 5 days of steroids, diflucan each day to kill off the overgrowth of candida, loading myself up on HTS treatments to moisten/loosen anything that got dried out and stuck during IV's (my normal pattern is to get clear/dry after a week on IVs then get nothing up then a few days after IVs I get some of the 'stuck' stuff up which I think is stuck due to the inflammation the IVs cause). I also am trying to do some light form of excercise each day but I have to work back into that since I've been out of it for a while.

The inflammatory cause, as I mentioned I have my suspects. I have been treating myself for candida overgrowth of the gut for almost a year now. I don't have it 'beat' by any means but its better and I think that is why my inflammation is better this time around. Candida for me causes a lot of inflammation. So, in addition to the regimen above I am also doing the MEVY diet again, I really should have been doing it while I was on IV's and I did, some days, or parts of some days. I am so miserable on IVs and when I first start MEVY my body was revolting and I was too weak to do both (weak as far as resolve not physically). MEVY stands for meat, eggs, veggies, yogurt which is all you are supposed to eat. I am including some nuts and a few blueberries blended into my plain no sugar yogurt to make it more palatable but other than that it's boring. I am a big fruit lover and true sugar addict so its hard. Having candida actually makes you crave sugar even more because if they aren't being fed ie carbs/sugar they aren't happy. The goal of MEVY is not to provide them with the sugar/carb sources they need to live, effectively starving them out.

If you haven't heard me talk about candida before you can look here to start but you can also look for 'candida' in my tag section and they will all come uphttp://cftoo.blogspot.com/2010/03/my-take-on-candida-in-cf-community.html

Essentially your gut has a balance of good bacteria and yeast however when your body balance is off and favors the candida yeast it can 'take over' killing off much of the good bacteria (in my case they could only find 1 of the 3 kids that are supposed to be there) which is beneficial, this then allows the candida to thrive with no one to keep their numbers in check. Excess of Candida can cause a myriad of factors, check here:   http://cftoo.blogspot.com/2010/03/candida-what-are-symptoms.html http://cftoo.blogspot.com/2010/02/candida.html One way I have heard it described is that it attacks people where they are weakest. For me it causes inflammation, my allergies got much worse, fatigue, and fuzzy thinking/irritability when it was bad.

What are some of the things that offset your bodies balance to favor yeast over beneficial bacteria? Well it seems much of what us CF'ers need to stay healthy in our lungs is hurting the balance of our body and I believe candida is MUCH more common than we know, since it mimicks and or exacerbates our symptoms of cf.

Hormone treatments including birth control and fertility treatments
Repeated antibiotic use
Steroid use
oh and stress....we never have any of that while managing a chronic disease huh?

Topical yeast, fungus, Candida Wash

I have zero idea if this will work but it *should* as long as it is not too irritating for your skin. I have had a couple people mention having topical yeast issues, of course there is some feet issues but some people seem to have it on their skin and I have read in some instances it can cause breakouts. I recently bought a 'refreshing' foot spray with peppermint oil, when I looked at it closer it said it will cure foot odor and when I looked at the ingredients I realized I could totally make it myself. 


Here is my attempt at coming up with a natural, cheap, wash for someone dealing with fungus or candida issues. I would definitely do a 'spot' test since tea tree oil can be pretty strong. 

   

http://hmbeautyrecipes.homestead.com/SKINcleansers.html

Tea Tree Oil This oil readily penetrates the skin and is useful for treating burns, scrapes, bites, stings, and various skin irritations. It may also help to prevent or treat yeast infections. Very effective fungicide, antibacterial and antiseptic. 

Rejuvenating Cleanser Recipe

Ingredients

6 tablespoon Flax Seed Oil

6 Tablespoons Olive Oil

12 tablespoons castor oil

30 drop essential oils of your choice

Instructions:

Add carrier oils to a clean, dark glass bottle. Add essential oils. Gently shake to blend before each use. Store in a dark, glass bottle in a cool place or fridge. Apply a small amount to face and massage to cleanse. Rinse with warm water and a wash cloth. Skin will feel super smooth and silky! Perfect anti-aging cleanser!