Breathing difficulties with antifungals

Wondering if anyone can help me figure this out. I've been having terrible trouble with my breathing for 18 months now. Before I got diagnosed with lyme my suspected problem was candida and I started on Fluconazole. After three days my airways seized up, I couldn't breathe, and an ambulance was called for, only to be ignored by the medics as can be expected.

Forward a few months and I got put on nystatin by an ND who suspected candida as the prime concern. Same reaction. Airways would seize up and many ambulance trips were had only to be accused of anxiety or other mental problems. Stubbornly I tried to push through these episodes but the same kept happening. Similar scenarios occurred with borax and even coconut oil.

I was recently with a GP complaining of an awful irritation in the airways, like an awful dryness which stops me breathing comfortably or regularly. This was after about four weeks of antibiotic use. Without asking I was prescribed some nystatin, a relatively mild form to what the ND had me on. I tried it nonetheless and five days later came that awful suffocation again.

So what is happening here? I've tried pushing this point to doctors but can't seem to get it across. It's happened with various antifungals so seems unlikely it'd be an allergic reaction. I haven't seen mention of anyone else experiencing this sort of reaction especially as nystatin is usually well tolerated. I tend not to be sensitive to medicines. I'm quite sure candida is a problem for me - how much I'm unsure. One possibility I've suspected is that candida is lining my airways. Certainly I would bring up a very foamy kind of salifa if ever I try to walk anywhere.

Any ideas? It's really the difficulty in breathing is the one symptom holding me back the most.

Oh yes, not neglecting the probiotics. Seems too severe to be die off. I'd normally get a runny nose, fatigue etc with die off, never anything major.

orchid_rain said...
Hi there, quoting your "It's really the difficulty in breathing is the one symptom holding me back the most."

...Uhh Yepper... that will do it! We deal with so MANY symptoms but we HAVE to be able to BREATHE Darn it! Ive been there and its in my top 3 of scariest symptoms.


Im wondering though, when you cant breathe....does anything swell? Your throat? Your Gums?

Does it feel like a tightness or heaviness in your chest which makes it hard to catch a good breath?

>>>More like the throat seizing up entirely. No swelling anywhere. Very different from a heaviness in the chest.

How long do you think you had lyme/co's?

>>>this is a tough one. The worst of it has been the last 18 months but have probably had it for seven years or longer. Was able to just push through difficulties before the breathing problems hit 18 months ago.

How long have you been on abx?

>>>only 5 weeks now. But was on the Cowden protocol for two months prior.

Does your tongue have a white coating?

>>>tongue was coated with "something" for the longest time. Suspected it was candida but antifungals never made a dent in it. Antibiotics, however, have managed to clear it up better than ever.

How's your diet...do you consume alot of sugars & bread?

>>>Haven't touched bread in over a year. Sometimes I get the usual sugar cravings but I've tried very strict anti-candida diets without any success.


xx's-Courtney

Hi Specialcase! If you had any swelling of throat or gums then I would say possible allergic reaction or anaphylaxis but at same time that wouldnt make sense for the different formulations of things you used for the candida. You cant be allergic to ALL of them!.... i.e. the diflucan(aka fluconazole), borax, coconut oil etc

I am thinking its candida thats developed in your esophagus possibly and each time you take an antifungal it causes a severe die-off. You havent been on abx for a long haul compared to some with lyme but that doesnt mean you dont have a problem with candida. I remember before I had lyme I used to drink southern style sweet tea on the daily that pretty much was straight sugar. Friends would ask "Do you want some tea with that sugar" lol. So I think for myself prior to lyme and abx, I probably already had some candida going but immune system was keeping at bay. This could be the case with you as well.

If this is the case, and you have either candida in your esophagus or systemic throughout your body then when you take these anti-fungals, you are experiencing die-off (herx reaction). There are actually only but so many things that cause die-off and candida is known for it also besides the lyme.

If you have had lyme for possible 7 years and have just begun the treatment then your load of infections is probably pretty high in your body. The higher your load, the harder your herx.

If you are having a strong herx where your body is not getting out the die off quick enough, this will cause INSANE Anxiety and crazy thoughts in your head. I know I hate it when I have been told the "A" word in the past from doctors. But please believe, anxiety can cause crazy manifestations in the body and especially with your breathing.

Honestly, I read you other post prior to even replying here and you stated you are having suicidal thoughts. Im so sorry to hear that. Although, I have been there. Actually just months ago. It was BAD. SOO NOT me. It was all I thought about. It was like a darkness that plagued. Kept picturing and planning how I was going to do it. Looking back, these thoughts come from 2 things. It WILL come from your body being toxic from die-off causing craziness in your head *AND* in general not thinking that you will get better from this.

It is very Key to realize in your head that it is the bacteria causing this and it is NOT YOU. It is key to make sure you are doing many methods of detoxing to get the dead stuff moving and out. Even when you kill them and they are dead, they are still causing reactions in your body. (You may even have to get checked by doctor to see if you have any detoxing issues as some people simply cannot detox properly and need meds to address it. This would make your body stay toxic.)

Lastly regarding the scary thoughts you are having, anxiety is fear(*period*). If you are constantly thinking " Omg...what am I gonna do....Im never gonna get better from this...how will I come up with this money...etc. etc. etc." This is all fear of things and will cause bad anxiety when you are not in control and are fearing how life is gonna go from here.

What sucks also is that are adrenal glands get messed up too from lyme and that is how are body "handles" normal stress & anxiety.....so essentially when the anxiety does develop...our adrenal system gets "stuck" in flight or fight mode and it will just keep spiraling out of control!

All in all, I think the bad anxiety is worth you exploring and addressing due to the fact you mentioned suicidal thought in other posts. It MAY very well even help your breathing as it did help me to get anxiety under control.

Months ago, I was fighting for my breath and scared to death. Was crawling around the house so sick.

Have you tried any anti-anxiety type meds or remedies? I know you said you didnt wan to take an anti-depressant. I said the same thing...but after what I went through, I said I NEED SOMETHING...and got Zoloft and valium from my doctor. I will say they helped so much to "pull me outta that darkness". I stayed at lowest dose of only 25mg for a month but then quit Zoloft. However, boy do the valium come in handy though and IRONICALLY....they help me breathe when I have an attack! Whether it be candida die-off or Lyme & co-infections die-off!! Sometimes we need different tools in the toolbox to get through this is all.

Please also just know, that you will get better. No matter how long you've had the illness. You just need to be able to see that the light IS there at the end of the tunnel. It took me some time as well to realize this, but when treatment starts working and one day you may get glimpse feeling of your old self again-it will let you see that light does exist and you just have to go through battle to get there.

You found this forum for a *reason* also. We are here to lean on each other when no one else understands!


xx's-Courtney

Candida in the esophagus has been a definite possibility and one I keep coming back to. But what to do about it? When a strict diet only makes me weak and antifungals feel like they're killing me. On the antibiotics I feel better physically but the breathing seems to get worse. It's likely even more candida is stirring up and choking me and there's little I can do about it. Inhalers do nothing, benadryl does nothing.

I never suffered anxiety before but this last month I've been crippled with it. I spend my days on the floor crying only getting up to eat, that's how bad it is. But the breathing restriction is never any different. As in, it's simply not related to anxiety. I've been on the valium with no relief.

I've tried pushing through these bad reactions, tried upping my liver support, upping the adrenal support, taking a generous supply of antihistamines, calming meds. Nothing helps. It seems, if it is candida, it's slowly killing me and with antibiotics I'm encouraging its growth.

I'm trying to figure out if I have candida or not. Iv been on at 4 weeks of abx and then a month break and then another ten days. I take probiotics and probiotics 3 times a day. My tongue is has a slight white film on it, and my egzema has came back from my childhood in the same spots, but pretty much went away after my last course of flagyl. Is there a test? How do I figure out if I should start a anti fungal. I'm already dairy/gluten/sugar free

Lymebabe said...
Have you been tested for mold and HLA genetic mutation? What you are describing is a typical mold reaction.

Testing isn't easy to come by, for both cost and location. I had some mold in my bedroom so moved to another room. Cholestyramine isn't easy to find but I've been taking beta sitosterol for a week so far and intend to carry on at that for some time. I haven't been living near mold for over a year now and don't seem to exhibit a sensitivity to it. But certainly it's one of the things I've considered.

Also, when you start killing yeast it produces a high level of toxins. I would highly recommend colonics. I health turned around when I started doing colonics 2x weekly. I continued with that frequency for 5 months and have been tapering down. Liposomal glutathione is very good for detox too.