Guest guest Posted May 27, 2004 Report Share Posted May 27, 2004 Several Dr's (incl. teitelbaum ) suggest that tests are unreliable, (perhaps because your sensitivity may be as important as overgrowth). presence of symptoms are the best guess. If you feel better after treatment than you probably had a problem! not much help, but the fungal connection is difficult. At any rate, cutting down on sugar & carbs isn't a bad idea anyway. But I think the strict candida diet idea is unnecessary. I took LOTS of tests over the years, and they were quite variable. Blood antibody tests, stool tests, (great smoky's lab) even skin injections of candida extract. Some tests said yes, some said no. I even took allergy shots of candida extract-no help. Try " citricidal " extract, probiotic " pearls " (enzematic therapy). Actually, if there's a tummy problem, i think drinking lots of buttermilk might help symptoms and indicate you have a problem ( it has lots of lactic acid, which yeast don't like). Dannon sells a powerful probiotic yogurt product called Actimel in some cities which is good stuff. I think candida issues are mostly a side effect of CFS, not the cause. If you have chronic sinus prob's though, think fungus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 27, 2004 Report Share Posted May 27, 2004 When I first started taking Nystatin (as a powder), a very small amount (1/4 tsp, I think) produced a large die-off effect. I felt really rotten, and it didn't let up for about a week at that same dose. Over an extended period, I gradually increased the dose, and each time had to go through a bad week of die-off. I asked my Dr if I would have suffered these effects, without actually having an intestinal yeast overgrowth, i.e., just as a side-effect from the Nystatin itself. He thought not. So I am wondering if this could serve as a test for yeast overgrowth. Start taking a small dose of Nystatin, and see if it knocks you for a loop! It might be interesting for skeptical MDs to try this as a double-blind, placebo-controlled test among those of their patients who believe they have such an overgrowth. Give half Nystatin and the other half a placebo. Are the patients able to say which one they had received, with significantly better than chance reliability?. Or with a particular patient, if they are able to tell the doctor which one they received, they do have an overgrowth. This could even be done twice, with a sufficient interval-once with Nystatin; once with placebo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 1, 2004 Report Share Posted June 1, 2004 Annette, A few thoughts about your post: 1) The " well " people you mention just may not have reached the " straw that broke the camel's back " and become chronically ill; but a large group of people who are not ill do have a certain degree of dysbiosis, and nystatin would certainly affect these people, too. If these people improved the terrain of their own bodies, this treatment would, IMO, improve their health, though they were not chronically ill. 2) After two years of chronic illness and feeling I was so ill I might not make it, I stopped all the doctors meds and went on Dr. Crooks suggested regimen (from his book, " Chronic Fatigue and the Yeast Connection " , including effective yeast supplements. I had significant die-off, and my body had to deal with the die-off -- the herxheimer. My reactions, I determined, were directly in proportion to the dosage. As I detoxed the apparent yeast overgrowth, and changed my diet to address this problem, I began feeling better every day. However, in my own case, the overgrowth was so significant that Dr. Crook himself asked me to have a local physician monitor my taking Diflucan daily for several months -- and this resulted in a return to being able to have a somewhat normal daily life. Dr. Crook said that if I stayed on the program, I would eventually be much better; but, the night fevers/sweats accompanying the die-off were too debilitating and I " needed some help " which the Diflucan would give me. If anyone is going through these sweats, etc. replacing electrolytes is recommended. I began having charlie horses in my leg calves before I realized this. 3) I had amazing good results after going through the above responses. So have many, many people I personally know or have had contact with. Just thought it was important for people to hear another story on the use of yeast treatment. If I and my physicians had been knowledgeable about probiotics and yeast prevention when they prescribed two years of constant prescriptions for antibiotics the first two years of my chronic illness, I stronly feel I would not have developed the dire consequences I did. I also believe this damage led to my developing the rheumatic illness diagnosis I have. The damage was tremendous. Annette, I strongly recommend you read any of Dr. Crooks books. He has input from physicians experiences with their patients and from very ill patients themselves. One of his books, " The Yeast Connection & the Woman " has quite a bit of information on the different rheumatic diagnoses. The book is about men, women, and children. I've always regretted the title of this one, since I think it may keep men from reading it. bg > Hi , > > In the late 80's I asked several friends to try > Nystatin to see what effect it had on " well " people. > This was because every single person in my M.E. group > who tried the drug had a " die off " effect. > > All the people who tried Nystatin in the " well " group > reported the same symptoms as the M.E. group. > > I know that this does not mean very much and I would > also like to see some proper research in this area. > Taking Nystatin did nothing for my health apart from > making me feel more miserable and I have never had a > " herx " reaction to a drug that was followed by an > improvement. > > With kindest regards, > Annette > > > > > > ____________________________________________________________ > Messenger - Communicate instantly... " Ping " > your friends today! Download Messenger Now > http://uk.messenger./download/index.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 1, 2004 Report Share Posted June 1, 2004 Hi BG, I've read the book, done the diets, taken the drugs etc - all 15-20 years ago. Dr Crooks books are not new and seem to go through waves of being fashionable again. What works for one does not work for all. It's really tough. The " well " people who tried the Nystatin all those years ago are still perfectly healthy. I did not include it in my post as it was an obvious consideration. I'm not trying to wind anyone up or be contentious. Just sharing my experience as you are. The Nystatin did not work for me but other prescription antifungels and tea-tree oil do help with some some simple symptoms. In my case they do not help with the overall illness - classic M.E. as per Ramsay in my case. With warmest regards, Annette ____________________________________________________________ Messenger - Communicate instantly... " Ping " your friends today! Download Messenger Now http://uk.messenger./download/index.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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