Overcoming Candida (long)

[Guest guest]

Hi Everyone,

I'm new to Lyme Disease, but I have a long history with candida. I would like

to tell you my story in the hope that it will help. After the birth of my son 6

years ago, I had some GI problems and went to an alternative MD who dignosed me

with candidiasis, via the famous Great Smokey Labs that were mentioned in these

posts. He prescribed a whole cornucopia of antifungals, both Diflucan and

herbal. I couldn't take Diflucan because I was breastfeeding and I did not

follow the diet whatsoever. So I still had candida after the treatment.

The reason I developed candida was because of pregnancy, the hormones of which

set the stage for yeast overgrowth, and the Blood Type Diet that I had

recklessly undertaken. I introduced too many new foods at once and developed

allergies to them (soy and buckwheat especially); and I didn't eat enough

protein. Those were my dietary sins. Be forewarned:)

I tried to get pregnant again and couldn't. It turns out that infertility is one

consequence of candida. (Which may be reassuring to you So I tried

to get rid of the candida and drove myself nuts reading prophecies of doom on

the internet about its tenacity. This phase of my life lasted about 16 months. I

had plenty of herxheimer reactions but still couldn't get on top of my diet.

And I was worried because you have to rotate antifungals (according to internet

wisdom) or else the little bugs become resistant. What saved me from despair

was the legend that Grapefruit Seed Extract (GSE) is one antifungal that never

loses its potency. For my peace of mind I have to believe that, whether it is

true or not. It is cheap and available at health stores.

You can tell you have candida if you take an antifungal and then feel like you

are going to throw up. So if you take olive leaf extract, oregano oil, Pau

D'arco, caprylic acid, garlic, GSE or all of them at once in a combination brew,

and then you throw up, you have just gotten your diagnosis!

One gem of wisdom that I came across in my long journey through the internet

seeking candida answers: unless you have a clean colon, you will not completely

resolve your trouble. This made sense to me. Unless you remove what the candida

are feeding on, you will always have an environment prone to candida overgrowth.

I bought Bernard Jensen's book on Tissue Cleansing through Better Bowel Care and

undertook his 7 day fast with colon cleasing. Pardon me for sharing all this,

but it wrought a miracle in my life. After the fast I ate all freshly cooked

whole foods for two weeks and ....can you believe it????....I GOT PREGNANT! And

after breastfeeding that child, my daughter, I immediately got pregnant again!

I had thought I was only going to have one child. So I have spent alot of time

being thankful for Bernard Jensen and if Bernard weren't such a funky name, one

of my kids would be named that. (You might think I am strange for saying that

since my youngest son is named Johannes.)

I've had only minimal signs of candida since then. I eat in a quasi-healthy,

slopshop manner, just making sure I do get enough protein and stay very

regular. I take GSE for good luck. I guess the moral of this story is that

there is more than one way to health, and I am convinced that we can each find

it according to our own style (in many cases). I did not have the patience to

rotate antifungals and scrupulously monitor my reactions to each, nor did I have

the fortitude to ban sugar from my life. But I still found my way out of the

mess, thank God!

Good health to you all, by hook or by crook. Fondly,

Trish<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = " urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office "

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