Patty

[Guest guest]

Hi Patty, because the doctors kept telling me thru-out the years that the breasts implants were not causing the problems I had no choice but to look elsewhere. 10 yrs ago my girlfriend told me my symptoms sounded like a yeast problem so I bought Crook's 'Yeast Connection' and read it from cover to cover. Some of the symptoms I can remember having as far back as 20 yrs old, 7 yrs before I had the implants put in so it was very easy for me to believe the doctors when they said the implants are not the problem. My very first yeast infection was only about a yr and a half ago after I did a heavy duty dose of antibiotics for a duodenal ulcer. After that my body really started going downhill. I have never had a vaginal yeast infection in my life. This infected skin that I talk about is just a small white patch of skin on the labia. As long as I take lots of probiotics and stay fairly strict to the Candida diet then I can keep the symptoms at bay but when I wander off too far....look out. I have never been able to get rid of them completely. You don't necessarily have to have a yeast infection for your body to have Candida, it can stir up trouble in so many other ways. Its been really hard for me to believe that the implants are the problem and altho I'm having them removed this spring I know in my heart that I have to get the Candida under control in order for me to make a full recovery.

You see Patty, there are alot of contributing factors that will lead to Candida and one of the classic contributors is stress. Prolonged stress depletes your body in so many ways that I feel I have been the perfect candidate since the beginning of time. I grew up on chocolate, was totally addicted to it right up until I had to wean myself off of it at the age of 30, 11 yrs ago. I have had flu like symptoms in the cold damp winter months for as long as I can remember and I develop this painful sore inside my nose along with a nasal drip every winter. I have dabbled with probiotics for a number of years now but only got serious about them when I joined the Yeast-L support group a year ago and learned many things. Last winter was the first year I went thru without the sores in my nose due to the amount of probiotics I was taking. That indicated to me that there was a yeast problem amongst other things.

I married very young (18) was pregnant, had 2 babies by age of 23, was married to an addict so lived on a rollercoaster for 12 yrs. Worked full time while trying to raise my sons and take care of my addict. The nonstop stress was pretty incredible. I was sick alot with bronchitis (about 4 bouts a year of full bed rest for a week or more) and just felt plain old crappy but continued struggling. I finally dumped the addict and married my current husband only to encounter more extreme stress trying to combine a step family. We love each other very much so fortunately stuck together for the most part during this hard time but its only been in the past4 yrs that the stress level in our lives has subsided to just plain old every day stuff. Our 4 kids are great, we all love each other very much and are over the hard times. We stick together like glue. We all know that our bodies will carry us thru the difficult times and then get sick after the crisis is over. My body got very sick when things started calming down and I got this incredible job. Thank god its Union or I would be out of a job with the amount of sick time I've had. The only way I have corrected my health and energy when I have been very sick was to maintain a strict sugar free diet. Sugar is poison to our bodies and mine especially.

So, you see Patty, even tho I have read all the reports and I'm going to do the right thing for my body, because of these long term symptoms dating way back to my teens I have a hard time believing it is just the implants that are causing my problems. I truly feel they are dangerous as any foreign object is or can be over a period of time but I'm not convinced that the implants are the only cause to my problems. I have had brain fog for as long as I can remember and used to be so shy and insecure because I couldn't carry a conversation because I would lose my train of thought. It was only about 4 yrs ago that I took the Candida seriously and reread my books on it and learned about the brain fog and decided to accept it. Now if I lose my train of thought while in a conversation I make a joke about losing my mind and usually the other person will help me pick up where my brain left off.

I think the implants have perhaps made my symptoms worse because of the ongoing stress that my body is under having these foreign objects hanging around and I think I will probably have an easier time maintaining good health without the implants but that goes for any foreign object in our bodies, not just the implants. Our bodies are designed to reject any foreign object or matter.

As I said in another post, the yeast L support group I gave you the link for is a very serious group full of very knowledgeable people who stick strictly to the subject and are encouraged to take personal issues and friendships away from the support board. They are very supportive and like this group you can search the archives for info that has been discussed. If you don't want to be wading thru a bunch of personal notes with the support groups you have joined then you might want to consider this one. The group is smaller now (about 87) and take their health and info very seriously. I left the group last year because I felt I was focussing too much on my health and not enough on living. Some of them take their health to an extreme but for the most part the rest are pretty decent people trying to help people with some great suggestions. I have now rejoined the list since confirming that I do indeed have Candida and will pick their brains once again. I'm sorry this was so long, I just felt I wanted to share with you what my views were on this issue. Take care, Jackie

----- Original Message -----

From: Patty

Sent: Wednesday, February 21, 2001 5:52 PM

Subject: Re: Candida Support Group

Jackie,

The group I joined is on (same website that is under), and there are lots and lots of letters submitted every day. I have had trouble keeping up with my e-mail lately because of all the letters on the Candida group. Actually, I joined two of them. One is CandidaAlbicans and the other is called Candidiasis. There is alot of chit chat on there back and forth, but once in awhile, there are a few good gems in there with some very valuable info on what is helping them to feel better.

One thing I have come to understand is that this whole candida issue is as complex as the breast implant one!

I also got a letter from Dr. Kolb, and she stated this:

Adjuvant disease causes a defect in the immune system that makes one susceptible to Candidiasis. Out of 3000 women with silicone problems, 3000 tested positive for yeast.

So, there you have it. We may all be suffering from candida troubles instigated by the implants and their effect on the immune system. I have never FULLY addressed the candida problem in my own life, because it never appeared to be the issue. I do not suffer from vaginal yeast infections or thrush.

But, I do have almost all of the symptoms that those on the candida lists are talking about.

So, Jackie, your expertise via personal experience is welcome on this candida issue!

I will be doing more research on it, and asking more questions from those who know how to deal with it.

, didn't you have a friend who didn't have implants who was also suffering from this spacey head thing? Did she ever find out what was causing it, or did she ever get rid of it?

I have seen alot of complaints from others on the candida list about the brain fog, and how persistent it is.

Patty