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Crohn's Disease
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Posted 10/2/2008 3:16 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Friends,


I am wondering if any of you have experience or information about the connection of yeast and digestive issues?

I'll try and sum this up quickly.  I was diagnosed almost a year ago (during a bad flare) with a mild case of CD.  Well, my symptoms have been really bad versus the test results.  My last GI didn't care to look into it, so recently I found a new doc.  She is confused by my case and has proceeded to repeat all of the tests I did less than a year ago.  I'm scheduled to do another colonoscopy next Monday (yikes, not looking forward to that).  Here's the thing - every test she's done this far has come back "normal".  She's not finding anything that even signals that I have CD...nothing that signals anything.  I'm so frustrated and confused.

Here's a quick list of my major symptoms:  Major abdominal pain, diarrhea (5-10x daily), major bloating (up to 3 inches daily), and mood swings/depression.  There are many others, but these are the things that are crippling my life!  And the doctor's can't tell me what's going on.  The pain would be so bad I couldn't sleep, I was always doubled over, I was scared to eat and always felt full and bloated...but still hungry.

Here's the crazy part.  Two weeks ago I went in for my overdue annual exam.  PDoc tells me I have a yeast infection, no biggie - I've had tons of them in my life.  I haven't been treated for one in a long time though.  I took diflucan, and then spent the next 5 days trying to figure out why 90% of my symptoms were gone or decreased.  It struck me several days later that the only thing I had done differently was take that med!  My vaginal yeast infection isn't gone (go figure) but I've been pretty much pain free for 2 weeks now.  I  can't believe it!

Does this make sense?  I tried to get a hold of my pdoc and gi, but I've only been blocked by nurses (as usual).  I left messages for both of them about this, but I've yet to hear back from them. 

I'd love to hear of anyone else that has experience with yeast overgrowth in their body...

Thanks!  Melissa

Posted 10/2/2008 4:59 PM (GMT 0)
This isn't totally the same as what your asking but-My cousin had a lot of the symptoms of CD but it turns out she was allergic to soy. Have they done any allergy testings on you?

Posted 10/2/2008 6:07 PM (GMT 0)
It definitely sounds like time for allergy testing.

And, there's also a book out there called "The Yeast Connection" you might be interested in.

I completely agree that the yeast could be the source of your distress... I have a yeast overgrowth in my gut as well. I'm also experiencing better results from a gluten/wheat free diet than I have from any meds for the last year.

Good luck to you.
Posted 10/2/2008 7:24 PM (GMT 0)
Overgrowth of the small bowel is called SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth), and is caused by something similar (albeit bacterial, not fungal). The Gottschall diet seems to work by excluding oligosaccharides and polysaccharides, which is interesting as bacteria do not feed well on larger carbohydrates- these are mainly the domain of fungi.

So- it is conceivable something like a fungus has been knocked back at this point. I would recommend cutting back on carbohydrates- as much as you possibly can, particularly polymeric carbs like wheat, potato, rice, and oats, along with corn- and seeing if your condition continues to improve.

Good luck!
Posted 10/2/2008 8:43 PM (GMT 0)
Hi there. I recently found out wheat gluten intolerance was my cure. Sounds like a good possibility for you. Check this web site out:

www.celiac.com

I had Crohn's and asthma. Been off the wheat for 3 weeks and the diarrhea is gone along with most of my other symptoms (all of yours) along with low grade fevers, itchy skin, hives, fatigue, joint pain and asthma. My doctors say all of this will be gone once I am off the wheat and my body recovers. Could take up to a year, for the intestines to heal up completely since they have been freaking ravaged for a long time.

The whole yeast deal sounds like candida.

Best wishes!
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