Anyone Tried The Anti-Candida Diet? I'm Miserable

[imapumpkin]

In Feb my integrative medicine doctor decided he wanted us to aggressively go after what might be causing my POTS or inflammation that is causing POTS. I've been on a low dose of nystatin since then. I saw my doctor this week and he said that based on my reaction to the nystatin, it's a good indication that I probably have a yeast overgrowth that is contributing to my terrible fatigue (which is persisting despite the fact that my blood pressure is doing beautifully.)

In addition to the nystatin which he wants me to gradually increase, he gave me a Probiotic to promote good flora in the gut, and a good yeast that fights the bad yeast.

Finally, I've been put on the Anti-Candida diet (loosely, my doctor doesn't insist i strictly adhere to it, he understands its very difficult and merely suggests i avoid all the foods). It's been 3 days I am out of my mind miserable. I am not at all equipped to handle the die-off symptoms. I feel so much worse, which I know is what happens before you feel better but I have no idea what is normal die-off awful and what I should be concerned about. My system feels totally overwhelmed by the toxins in my body and my PCP doesn't believe in integrative/holistic medicine and thinks die-off is not real so I feel like I can't ask for support from that office.

Apart from feeling physically miserable (my body has responded to the lack of all sugar, cheese, sauces, dressings, condiments, anything with flavor...by feeling insane fatigue and a feeling of simultaneously being too full to eat and also very strong hunger pains) I'm in an intense amount of emotional misery. I enjoy eating a lot, i don't smoke, drink, I have no vices besides yummy food. So now, I am not only not allowed to eat most of the things that I love, but its another element of my life that I have totally lost control of. It's not enough my body won't let me be an independent adult, work and support myself, exercise, participate in normal everyday activities that other people in their 20s get to but now I can't even enjoy food. I feel like a little ball of highly concentrated misery. I want to just sleep until the stomach pains go away. Life with POTS isn't hard enough, now I can't even have a milkshake if I want. Or mac and cheese for comfort food. Or barbecue sauce during summertime.

I should also put it out there that I've always been a very picky eater to begin with, so whenever someone has tried to be like "but there are so many things you can eat!" I want to karate chop them. The physical withdrawal symptoms in addition to my depression of losing another aspect of my life has turned me into to pure evil. It's like the worst PMS of my life where irritability is concerned. I would rather go through another 3 months of recovery from heart surgery than keep doing this anti-candida diet--that's how awful i feel.

Please please PLEASE if anyone has tried this and been through similar die-off symptoms please let me know what helped you and how you got through it!

[LMG]

I did the diet years and years ago. I remember stopping it after a few days because I thought I would starve to death. And it was hard work finding all the substitutions. So I gave it up, waited a bit and then planned better when I started it so I had foods that I could eat around. However, the alternative foods didn't always agree with me. In the end, I went to a modified version: a lot of proteins, salads, potatoes, corn, eggs, cottage cheese, lemon and olive oil and of course salt. I eventually added back ketchup and mustard in moderation and did eat mayo after a long while.
I just got a prescription for nystatin. Hadn't taken it in years also but I remember I had to go low and slow.

It is not easy and I do think the feeling awful is die off in your case. A good sign, but hard to handle. One day at a time...

[DeGenesis]

Take a look at SIBO and low-FODMAP diets.

[imapumpkin]

LMG: Thanks for the support...It's really daunting to be dealing with something that might eventually help, but at the moment is making this SO mcuh worse.

DeGenesis: It's not a bacterial overgrowth-- it's a fungal infection. Both of those diets conflict with the Anti-Candida diet. I don't have IBS.

[DeGenesis]

DeGenesis: It's not a bacterial overgrowth-- it's a fungal infection. Both of those diets conflict with the Anti-Candida diet. I don't have IBS.

How do you know you have a yeast overgrowth? I'm not sure a negative reaction to nystatin is good evidence of that.

In any case, a friend of mind thinks that he has yeast overgrowth as well, and took nystatin. Eventually he developed symptoms of C. diff and had to come off his diet and nystatin. It seems that yeast may play some kind of a protective role in gut dysbiosis.

[imapumpkin]

I posted the thread because I wanted to know if anyone else had tried the anti-candida diet and wanted people who had tried it to share how they got through the rough parts........

Candida related issues are extremely difficult and not very accepted by mainstream medicine so the only way to really know is trial and error. At this point, my doc strongly suspects. My reaction to the nystatin was not negative. I'm having die-off symptoms from having drastically changed my diet in a way that is starving the yeast and the new yeast-killing supplements i'm taking. As I talked about in this post months ago: http://forums.dinet.org/index.php?/topic/25131-aggressively-going-after-root-cause-of-pots/ I had a very positive reaction to the nystatin. My energy level got better, and my light sensitivity GREATLY improved. I had a week off of the nystatin and noticed my light sensitivity coming back immediately. Also, when I upped my nystatin, the fatigue got worse. Doc says this is not a side effect of nystatin..nausea is.

I've also had a long history with yeast related issues, both feminine (sorry, but you did ask...) and on my skin as rashes. I also exhibit a lot of the symptoms of yeast-overgrowth, like intense cravings for starchy foods and intense low-blood sugar when I go for long periods without starchy foods. The doctor says this is very compelling in indicating it could be yeast.

I'm not trying to argue with you I just want to explain where I'm coming from. I will definitely be vigilant about the C. Diff risks, so thank you for bringing that to my attention.

[lewis]

I did this, felt worse for a couple Weeks due to die off symptoms they said. I didn't care what I eat as long as it would make me better. told the doctor I would easy dog poop if it would make me better. that diet totally changed what I liked to eat. my comfort food is now fresh vegetables where as before I probably hadn't had any for years. you just need to find things you like with in the diet. braggs dressing on fresh vegetables is great

[DeGenesis]

I've also had a long history with yeast related issues, both feminine (sorry, but you did ask...) and on my skin as rashes. I also exhibit a lot of the symptoms of yeast-overgrowth, like intense cravings for starchy foods and intense low-blood sugar when I go for long periods without starchy foods. The doctor says this is very compelling in indicating it could be yeast.

Fair enough. Some people swear by Candex, although I can't speak to it.

[DeGenesis]

I think the problems some people experience on anti-fungal meds maybe due to the eradication of non-pathogenic beneficial yeast strains such as saccharomyces boulardii, which keep C. diff and other bad bacteria under check. I don't think it will be a problem if you are just treating it with diet, but if you are using nystatin or other anti-fungals, consider supplementing with S. boulardii. Out with the bad and in with the good.