Could I have a Candida problem?

So I've been on abx for almost 18 months and I have some persistent head issues that never seem to go away entirely no matter what abx combo i'm on (treating lyme, babs, bart). I was recently diagnosed with having gliotoxins present in my urine. this is a byproduct of either mold in your environment or candida. I've never thought much about whether I had a candida problem because my stomach and bowel movements are just fine. You always seem to hear candida sufferers complain about the stomach, GI issues, leaky gut, etc and that's not me.

However I have taken Diflucan before and the last time I took it I had a bad sore throat for over a day. It had to be a reaction to the medicine. Also I pretty much always have a white tongue. It starts halfway from my tongue to back of mouth. And as I mentioned long term antibiotics.

I've been on an candida/low mold diet for a few weeks. No change in my head issues. I'm exploring mold in the household and also potentially within my body.

Could I be dealing with some type of candida even though I have no gut issues? How else can you tell if you're dealing with candida? I was thinking take a nice hot bath and see if it spurs a response but not only will yeast die off but also lyme and his friends so hard to unwind what's causing it.

Thanks for any thoughts.

I think white tongue is hallmark of Candida.

Rikky-

All good responses (thanks for the shout out Chapelle!) Don't have much to add other than, YES the symptoms overlap so much w/ lyme & co that it is tough to know what is what if you have all those issues going on, which is why it's really important to get the yeast/fungal overgrowth under control ASAP so you and your body can focus on lyme & co.

I think it's atypical not to have gut issues w/ y/f overgrowth if you're on oral abx but hey, stranger things have happened in our world.

And agree w/ the others - white tongue is a dead giveaway. And, you are having some gut issues you just don't realize it because maybe your bowel movements are regular (lucky dog!) But the neurotoxins created by the y/f in your gut are affecting your brain function (due to the gut-brain connection, and there are blood vessels that directly connect the two), so in essence, the "head issues" are very likely originating in your gut (although "head issues" is pretty vague LOL).

Also, those of us taking a lot of alcohol-based herbal tinctures can develop a heavier y/f overgrowth in the mouth/throat due to to all the alcohol sugars. I think there are a few members hear who have explored creating their own tinctures with less alcohol so that might be something of interest to you.

Unless your y/f issues are systemic, you probably don't need the Diflucan - it's harsh on your liver. Check out my y/f post in the "New to Lyme?" thread about the different kinds of antifungals that are effective against an already existing overgrowth (you're likely past the stage of anything natural working, which is why you've not had much success with diet, etc.) and also about why PURE Nystatin powder is your best bet.
www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=30&m=1606610&g=3644275#m3644275

Hope this helps!

-p

thanks everyone. i'm going to start daily oil pulling first thing in morning followed by a good toothbrush cleaning of the tongue. i'll also look into nystatin powder.

pirouette the gut-brain connection is very interesting i have a sneaky suspicion there may be some merit here.

What dose and length of treatment is usually recommended for Diflucan?

I see it's available over the counter here in Canada as a single 150mg dose.

I don't want to hijack the thread but let me ask one more question:

If I have systemic candida growth, is it possible to have no GI symptoms at all?

That would seem to be my case, if I do have it.
I have the white growth on my tongue, I have no GI issues at all, and I was on pure nystatin (in capsules) for several months. I take tons of probiotics, and am eating Wahl's Paleo.

Constant headache, leg weakness/tightness, ringing in ears.

Edit: also common bouts of angular cheilitis.

Post Edited (Mustard Seed) : 7/16/2016 2:29:45 PM (GMT-6)

Along with krimpet's explanation, medical researches discovered blood vessels that directly connected gut to brain, confirming the gut-brain connection.

So so so much makes sense now to the "modern medicine", whereas NDs and TCM practitioners have known for a very long time.

-p

We have yeast, fungus, bacteria EVERYWHERE in and on our bodies. The problem is when the microbiome becomes imbalanced. It's possible to have, say, a fungal sinus issue because of something you breathed in or maybe some other introduction. Y/f enters the blood stream through damage to the mucosal lining of GI and that is usually how it becomes systemic.

But generally it starts in the mouth or gut due to abx, poor diet, other gut problems. Can be isolated to your mouth due to all the alcohol in tinctures and maybe become systemic if you have bleeding gums.

I think you should try opening the capsules into a small amount of water and swish it around in your mouth before swallowing. Will taste a little like dirt/clay. Don't drink too much water immediately afterwards. Half of the benefit of the powder is that it can kill on contact, but not if it's inside the capsule.

-p

Hello,

Could I ask white type of head issues do you have? I have some kind of head issues too. Main symptom, and it is sometimes unbearable! Something like weird pressure, but hell bad!

I also suspect yeast, and went to a yest-expert. She examined my stool under the microscope, and first it contained usual yeast colonies, but she prescribed me a month of nystatin with high dose (6x1) and told that candida is glued to the wall of the GI tract, so therefore it will not be visible in high amount in the stool until not starting to be killed.
I went back this week, after the month treatment, and now the sample had much higher amount of yeast.
The interesting thing is that she is on the opinion that candida very rarely goes systemic, and if it does, people are dying in the intensive care unit - therefore no diflucan was prescribed.

One more hint: there is this product, called "mycosorb" that binds yeast toxins. It was developed for animals, but her patients has very good experiences with it.

1000Daisies said...
Could I be dealing with some type of candida even though I have no gut issues?

^ Yes. I have systemic candida (honestly, I likely have had it for years now), and I have no gut symptoms. Supposedly, that is odd. I'm not so sure though about that. But I am sure I have yeast issues.

My regular GP couldn't help me - except for giving me a large prescription for diflucan (which didn't appear to help). I've mostly done it solo and knocked it back down for sure, but I feel it's creeping back up lately. I'm going to throw in the towel and head to a NP for more help (well, I'm only partially throwing in the towel). I still have some ideas for things to do at home, but I want to step it up. I'm hoping the NP can help me. (I also want to get the Doctor's Data lab test done too, but I have some questions on that before I do it.)

How do you know you have candida?