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cadida overgrowth??? possible?


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I have had problems with candida. I have tested positive for it 3 times (ugh, it's so hard to get rid of!) Candida, for me, was brought on by an overuse of antibiotics for years growing up.

I've attempted treatment a few times. I've tried the prescription route, with nystatin and diflucan, but for me I had better luck with herbal supplements and controlling my diet.

Treatment did help me, it brought back a little of my energy. And I still tend to avoid sugars, breads and pastas (although I'm not as strict).

If you think it may be an issue, I think it's a good thing to look into. However, I don't believe it was the cause of my symptoms, just an extra thing going on.

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Pam

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I've also been thru a handful of treatments to kill candida overgrowth - the problem most likely, like pamyla, due to excessive use of antibiotics as a child.

Right now, the only thing I am doing for it (besides no sugar/yeast/flour, as always) is taking 6 Primal Defense caplets two times a day. It is making a 10-year, ugly & annoying foot fungus problem go away - woohoo! I'm sure it is having other positive effects in my body, but this situation I can actually watch as it improves.

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threelac can be purchased many places online - it is a 'probiotic' - it contains healthy bacteria that normally live in your system and compete with candida for resources. Usually these healthy bacteria win out against candida. However, taking antibiotics can cut down on the healthy bacteria, and does not affect candida.

It seems like if this stuff helps that much, live yogurt cultures would help just as well.

I've read that candida problems can also occur aftere a sever viral bout like epstein-barr because of the heightened activity of the immune system destroying large amounts of 'good bacteria'

Remember, I am not a doctor nor am I qualified in any way to make these statements - just what I've read. It also looks like many doctors do not accept the existence of this problem or try to diganose it. Either that, or they're right. :)

When my girlfriend went into the hospital and was diagnosed with CFS a few months before she was diagnosed with POTS, she had epstein-barr. A few months later, she got thrush (oral candida infection) and had a relapse. she was rushed to the hospital and diagnosed with POTS.

just searching for anything that might help lessen her symptoms.

After recently declining back into pretty severe POTS episodes she has recently gotten a severe case of thrush and hand foot and mouth disease. both fungal, which indicates a lack of beneficial bacteria. Worth a shot? why not. I'll try anything at this point.

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Primal Defense is from the Garden of Life line of professional-grade, publicly available supplements. They were formulated by Jordan Rubin (and his team) who nearly died of Crohn's but was able to heal completely thru the use of whole foods and supplements. He has written a couple of books, the most recent being The Maker's Diet.

Go to http://www.gardenoflifeusa.com/detail_prim...l_defense.shtml to learn much more about Primal Defense and his line of products.

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Thanks for the information you guys. It's been on my mind lately as I'm currently taking antibiotics (first time in over 5 years). I'm a little nervous about having a reoccurence.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I was under the impression that the probiotics only help in reestablishing your good bacteria. If you have a candida overgrowth problem, you have to first cleanse and starve them. Then, the probiotics will be able to reestablish themselves.

Pam

ps - Gordon, is that you? I've been trying to get in touch with Frances to see how she's doing. Hope she's ok. Also, if you want I can give you the name of the doctor I saw for candida (he's in dc).

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I have had problems with Candida for several years, even prior to being diagnosed with POTS. Like Pam, I find that herbal supplements and natural remedies help much more along with Nystatin or Diflucan to ride the body of the yeast.

I take PB8 (pro-biotic acidopholus) every single day and have not had a problem with yeast in over 2 years- other than thrush when I began nursing my son. It has also siginificantly helped my gut problems as well...so I would definitely say that it's not a made up thing at all B) Watching my sugar intake really helps too!

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Pamyla,

Yes, it is necessary to cleanse/starve out the bad bacteria. But I believe you need to do it at the same time - replenish the good while you are killing off the bad. But you are very right - there's more to it than just taking the probiotic. I have basically lived on a candida diet for a few years (since it's so much the same as the dysautonomia trigger-avoidance list), so I kinda forget that there is that other side that needs to be dealt with. Glad you brought it up!

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Several years ago I had a problem and I found a book called "The Yeast Connection". It got rid of the problem and I still follow a great many recommendations in the book. I no longer have it but I have seen it available in health food stores and bookstores.

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I have this book as well, tha is how I found Dr. Brodsky. He was a co-author and just happened to practice in the area I was living at the time :)

It's a very informative guide to getting rid of yeast as well as managing diet and symptoms.

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Two of my doctor's thought this might be an issue for me--and put me on a yeast elimination diet, and on nystatin. I've never been able to stick with the diet--I love my carbs too much. Not sure if the nystatin helped me or not.

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A few years ago, while being tested for food sensitivities we ran the Candida blood analysis and I was off the charts (very high.) Immediately we did a short round of the nystatin and then I did the anti-candida diet. No fruit, no sugar, very little carbs in general. I stayed on a VERY STRICT regime for about 6 months and when I was tested again, my doctor was amazed that there was no sign of active candida in my blood work.

Since then I've repeated the test a few times and gradually brought back fruit and minimally sweet treats.

The Yeast Connection by Crook was the most helpful resource I found. There is also a cookbook based on his work. http://www.yeastconnection.com/

Over the years I have adopted several recipes for low sugar (no wheat, no dairy) cooking. You can check out my web site at:

http://coolkarma.com/Foods/index.html

Good luck in your journey.

EM

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Earth Mother-

I just checked out your website- that's awesome! I can't eat dairy, wheat, or eggs and am in the process of developing some really yummy recipes myself, so it was great to stumble upon your site for some ideas. I feel that modifying my diet has not only helped with the Candida but also my food intolerances and POTS.

Would love to talk more and share some recipe ideas ;)

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Hi guys, I agree, The Yeast Connection is a must-read. I'd also love to share recipes. I bought a candida cookbook, but I haven't made too much out of it. However, just a few weeks ago my friend gave me a sugar-free salad dressing recipe. Yum!! First one I've found that I like, so if you want the recipe, let me know ;)

Jessica - Never heard of Dr. Brodsky, did you like him? I saw Dr. Rind. He's currently in DC, but when I saw him he was located in Rockville. Although he helped with the candida, I don't think that's his primary expertise.

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Dr. Brodsky was great for treatment plans, but his bedside manner wasn't all that great ;) He doesn't accept any health insurance so I ended up stopping my visits since they were breaking the bank...something like $200 per 15 minutes!! I would love to find a doctor in Florida that would be willing to explore the yeast stuff.

Anyhow I am re-reading "The Yeast Connection" this week and am finding it uncanny how many of the symptoms overlap those of dysautonomia...so much that I start second guessing this 3 year long diagnosis of POTS, since my Candida problems started long before the POTS ever did, and were at their peak when I became ill. I felt really good after my son was born, which is interesting because I was breastfeeding him and I had severe case of thrush (yeast) that would not go away for over 3 months- I was taking Diflucan the whole time and did not experience a recurrence in POTS symptoms until he was about 4 months old, which would've been after the Diflucan was stopped and the thrush cleared up- although we had a few more bouts of it over the next few months which I treated with a probiotic. I had almost forgotten about that.

I think the anti-candida diet is very similar to the diet I already follow for my food allergies and the autonomic problems, although I've been really bad lately and feeling weak and exhausted again. I'm glad someone brought up this topic- it's something I had literally forgotten about :(

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