Prayers and advice please!

[twoxcell]

Maybe that was too much info. I'm suffering from a big candida problem and I need to find some way to get rid of it. I have been sick multiple times this year also. This afternoon I will be going to the Doctor again and I feeling very frustrated and nervous about the whole thing. Does anyone have any advice on Candida problems?

[Harriet Vane]

Yes, I can offer help. I will warn you, though, that it's not easy to drive it away. Yeast is very, very persistent, and when you're this sick, it takes a lot to kill it. If, however, you hit it really hard and stay disciplined, you WILL get better, and you will feel better than you have in a long, long time. To effectively cure this problem, do ALL of the following at the same time:

 

--Diflucan orally. You need a prescription for this. You may need to go more than one round with this.

 

--Prescription suppository. At this stage, the OTC stuff isn't working. You need something stronger. You may also have a topical cream to help you get through the hard days.

 

--Diet. This is by far the hardest. The idea is to first kill the candida with the medicine. However, yeast can be very persistent and it can be hard to truly kill it with medicine alone when the problem is severe and/or chronic. The diet is absolutely KEY to getting better. You should plan to go almost entirely sugar and carb free. The first month is VERY draconian--you basically eat only meat and vegetables. You will HAVE to increase your fat intake in order to do this, or else you will feel terribly shaky and hungry. After that first month you can add in certain things bit by bit, but you stay mostly sugar and carb free for about six months. If you don't get well, or if you have a relapse and are infected again, then the six months on the diet starts all over.

 

You will find when you do this that you will feel worse first before you feel better. The yeast die-off is really yucky. You will be exhausted for the first two weeks, and start feeling more perky after the first month. At that point your body and your taste buds will start to acclimate to the new diet and it gets much, much easier.

 

Here is a website I used to help me navigate this. I didn't do any weird supplements when I was sick. I just did the diet itself in combination with the prescriptions I mentioned above. I did it for about nine months. One nice side effect was that, even though I was eating as much as I wanted, I lost more than forty pounds. Another nice side effect was that once my body acclimated to the new diet, my food actually tasted dramatically better. When I was finally able to eat sweet potatoe, for example, it tasted absolutely decadent. Taking out all forms of sugar means that you have a new appreciation for the natural tastes in vegetables and fruits.

 

http://www.thecandidadiet.com/

 

It can be very hard that first month. Make sure your husband and kids and friends are supportive and encouraging. One thing that helped me when I was craving sweets and carbs was to eat heavily spiced foods (cajun, for example). The intense spicy flavor helped tame the cravings.

 

Best wishes.

[twoxcell]

Thanks. I have taken Diflucan multiple times already, eliminated most sugars for months, taken probiotics and other supplements, etc. I'm going to continue trying everything I can. For now I will be using some kind of oral lozenge and a few other things my Doctor recommended. Maybe I need to be even more radical with my diet, but it is super hard as it is. Especially around the holidays.

[HSMom2One]

I have some experience with the Candida diet and feel that it's the best solution. My answer came quickly, but I have a friend who's whole family has converted to the diet because she and her dh both have stubborn yeast issues, and since their children are just little they are all eating the same foods together.

 

First and foremost, sugar in all forms has to be eliminated. That means that for a time fruit has to be eliminated as well, and along with that the carb intake has to be drastically reduced because carbs burn into sugar. The previous poster was right on about basically consuming meats and veggies, and I know it's hard but the results are definitely worth it. I found that this website was very helpful, so that is another option for information on diet issues and understanding what Candida really is.

 

My experience with medications was a huge flop. If this ever comes up for me again I will only go with natural remedies. I paid a lot of money to get help from my doctor, all to no avail. Diet was hands down the key issue in my recovery.

 

Blessings,

Lucinda

[twoxcell]

My experience with medications was a huge flop. If this ever comes up for me again I will only go with natural remedies. I paid a lot of money to get help from my doctor, all to no avail. Diet was hands down the key issue in my recovery.

I feel you there I have spent hundreds of dollars on doctors and tests this year. It is very frustrating. :( So is yogurt and dairy out to then? What in the world would you eat for breakfast on a diet like that? I'm getting pretty sick of eggs, and I uasually try to eat yogurt first thing when I get up. I have always had a small problem with yeast but I was put on antibiotics like 3 times this year and it really did me in. My body does not tolerate antibiotics well at all. Any other supplements you would recommend?

[twoxcell]

Ok guys it is going to be awful but I'm desperate enough at this point to try the diet for like 4-6 weeks. Wish me luck. Any other advice is appreciated.

[gardenmom5]

I would recommend a good quality candida cleanse. You can buy them at a health food store. I like candigone by renewlife. it starts you out slowly because yeast reacts very badly when it gets killed. It sends out toxins. also, cut down on all forms of sugars (and most yogurt has tons of sugar added to it in addition to the naturally occuring lactose- unless you do a good greek yogurt) as sugar feeds yeast.

 

about day three - I have NO sugar cravings.

 

eta: sugars - fruit has fructose, milk has lactose, honey is sugar, agave is sugar ANYthing that feeds yeast must be cut down/eliminated. corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup especially (and it is in MANY products.)

 

I did the yeast connection a number of years ago (yes, it's good). I ate pasta with a homemade red sauce (I was SHOCKED at how much sugar store bought pasta sauce has in it.), I had oatmeal with butter (it's fat so it isn't strictly dairy))/ground pecans, and cinnamon for breakfast. it was good. or eggs and bacon, etc. I ate as much as I wanted, I was not hungry at all. put my tuna (okay, the pickles had sugar) on a rice cake. or rolled it up in lettuce. I felt great. I also lost about 15 lbs in two months and had tons of energy. I was in better shape than when I'd been in high school.

 

You'd be surprised how sweet a graham cracker is after eating no form of sugar for a few months.