Inulin, Intro

[Guest guest]

..

Hello, I'm new to the group and appreciate reading about your experiences

and suggestions for healing.

Someone mentioned inulin as a prebiotic, so I looked it up on wikipedia.org.

Here's part of what it said:

> Inulin can be found in commercially available products such as

Fibersure<http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fibersure & action=edit>from

the Makers of

Metamucil <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metamucil>. Fibersure is a fiber

supplement powder that can be added to foods or beverages without changing

the taste or texture. It performs well in cooking and baking applications

and can be an easy way to add additional fiber to the diet through foods and

drinks.

Back to Carolyn:

Since Metamucil has wheat/gluten in it, does this mean inulin does, too?

Now that I've launched right in with a question, I suppose it would be

polite to introduce myself. As a newborn, I was covered head-to-toe with

runny excema, and I suffered with chronic ear infections throughout my

childhood. My parents restricted sugar (which made me want it more) but

insisted my brothers and I drink milk at every meal. (I later learned I'm

allergic to milk.) At age 16 I got my first job, so I used part of my

paycheck to buy chocolate treats on a regular basis. Around that time is

when I developed ongoing sinus trouble that has continued -- along with the

chocoholism -- until now, age 49. In my twenties I got allergy tested and

discovered I was highly allergic to grass and mildly allergic to molds,

dust, etc., so I assumed the chronic sinusitis was a result of airborne

stuff attacking my sinuses. Over the years, it was typical to take 6-10

rounds of antibiotics a year.

A few years ago, as perimenopause hit, so did food allergies. The worst was

wheat, which shouldn't have been a surprise since wheat is closely related

to grass. I didn't find this out until after battling with fluctuating

hormones and thinking that was the reason for my problems. Last year, after

a total hysterectomy, I took Premarin (synthetic estrogen) like a good

little doobee and discovered it heightened my sensitivity to almost

everything I ate. So I quit the premarin, got allergy tested (was allergic

to 50 of the 70 foods tested), and quit eating wheat. The bloating and

nausea diminished greatly, and I lost 25 pounds without even trying, but my

energy continued to drag and my brain was in a constant gray fog. To add

insult to injury, my face erupted in pustular rosacea. In addition, I was

battling with " floating joint pain " wherein I didn't know which joint would

hurt next. Eventually that joint problem settled in my shoulder as a

rotator cuff injury for which I'm now doing physical therapy.

Between August and October of this year, I took 4 rounds of antibiotics for

a sinus infection that wouldn't go away. Despite the med, the infection

dropped down into my chest. Every morning I'd hack up chunks of green

phlegm and then go about my day as normal (normal being tired and

brainfoggy). For about 10 years I'd been asking doctors to treat me for

candida, but they refused b/c (A) " only a small percentage of patients ever

get candida, " ( " if you had candida, you'd have vaginal infections, and

your entire mouth would be covered with thrush, " and © " since your phlegm

is green, that means bacteria is present. "

Finally -- FINALLY!!! -- I stumbled upon a doctor who actually listened.

She did a culture and discovered it was not bacterial after all, and is now

awaiting results of testing for yeast. But in the meantime she put me on

Diflucan since she'd had one other patient with my symptoms who responded

well to the antifungal. Well, within 3 days (on Christmas day, actually --

it was a Christmas miracle!), my sinuses opened up and I was able to breathe

-- really b-r-e-a-t-h-e -- for the first time in over 30 years. My sinuses

were as wide open as a freeway and didn't close up 5 minutes later as they

had in the past when I got temporary relief. I nearly cried as I realized

this is how normal people get through their day, with oxygen flowing easily

to their brain.

I'm still breathing well, am sleeping better, my skin problems are clearing

up, and the belly bloating is gone. This, after only 6 days on Diflucan.

Even the urinary frequency, which a doc diagnosed as the early stages of

interstitial cystitis, is gone.

While I am giddy with delight over the improvement in my condition, I'm also

fearful of having the symptoms return when I finish the Diflucan. It would

be like Flowers for Algernon to experience good health for two weeks, then

have it taken away again. So I'm trying to learn everything I can to

continue healing my body. I've have -- and this is a biggie -- committed to

eliminating sugar from my diet. Even chocolate.

So if anyone can recommend a good candida diet book, I'd appreciate it.

Thank you for having me on the loop.

Carolyn