Hi lymebarthiker—
Candida issues skyrocketed for me last year when I was on various cycles of abx and steroids for chronic sinusitis and bronchitis—that I didn't realize until later where actually caused by fungal infection so the meds made it so much worse. I also didn't realize I had lyme at the time but lyme, bartonella and babesia symptoms started flaring with all the abx and that's how I finally suspected lyme and got myself to an LLMD.
The first thing we did was addressed a high viral load and candida. She put me a couple anti-virals and on a systemic anti fungal (200mg diflucan) and a local (GI) anti fungal (nystatin 500,000 iu in 3 pills/day). I didn't see much improvement after 2-3 months.
NOTE: there are many natural antifungals that are really great preventers but much less effective for a severe case.
If you do a typical food allergy test, they usually indicate candida levels and also indicate what types of antifungals respond to it. So we switched to a different systemic at the same dose (ketoconazole) and then I asked for a powder form of nystatin after reading that it was a pure form of the drug (when nystatin pills have fillers and other things added to it). You can swish it around your mouth to help with thrush and when you swallow it, it will also coat the throat and stomach and intestines better since it's a powder. I experienced IMMEDIATE results after switching to the powder.
You need to be careful with the systemic antifungals—they are very hard on the liver and your doc should be checking liver enzyme levels monthly and religiously. Mine shot up immediately so I started taking milk thistle seed, burdock root and upped my detox a bit and they leveled the next month. I really don't want to stay on it very long and my ND is not at all happy I'm on this but I'm now on IV abx and I feel with my history and my DNA mutation that disturbs sugar metabolization, I'm better off just keeping a close eye on the liver until I'm done with the abx.
The local nystatin is very safe and can be taken indefinitely. I found it's also significantly cheaper at a compounding pharmacy ($60 for 3-4 months) than at any of the big chains.
Another thing you should do is oil pulling—lots of info online but here are a few quick tips:
- brush your teeth first
- Use unrefined organic sesame oil in the AM and unrefined organic virgin coconut oil in the PM (coconut oil has natural anti-fungal properties and you can also use it in tea, as a substitute for butter)
- take 1T of the oil and swish it around in your mouth for 15-20 minutes (although after I started lyme tx, it takes me 30 minutes)—or until it turns milky white and watery (any less and you're not doing it long enough to "pull" out the toxins, and any longer and you're just swishing around toxins in your mouth because the oil is too saturated to absorb anything more
- you don't have to do it vigorously but gently force the oil in-between your teeth and all around your mouth
- DO NOT SWALLOW the oil—it's toxic! And don't spit it down the drain—it will clog the drain, instead use a plastic baggie and toss it after a couple uses
- I like adding tea tree oil or oregano oil or orange oil to the mixture
- then follow with a swish of the nystatin powder in a little water.
Your diet sounds great. You may need to cut out fruit and dairy if you aren't already—until you feel the candida is under control.
If you are still experiencing problems, you might have a mold situation. I would then look into information you can find on this website:
survivingmold.comHope this helps. Please let us know how everything goes!
-p
Post Edited (Pirouette) : 11/11/2014 4:52:45 PM (GMT-7)