Benzo withdrawal and yeast infection

I am almost 6 months off of a benzo I was rx'd for anxiety...Recently I've developed yeast in my mouth and later it was found in my urine. The doctor rxd Diflucan and Nystatin. Both the meds made my symptoms a million times worse and I'm wondering if anyoe has any experience with this? I honestly have never been in more pain in my lfe.

i used some sleeping pills with benzo but in really small amounts (1.5mg) and only occasionally, so i never experienced withdrawal or anything of sort. When i cannot sleep using the regular tricks - melatonin, hawthorne, omega3, magnesium, i just take half a pill and that's it. recently my sleep is really good so havent taken it in weeks.

the research shows an inverse correlation b/w use of things like Xanax( alprazolam ) and candida, meaning that PROBABLY when u take benzos u get rid of candida much easily because your stress levels are better and your immune system is working better. So when u stop benzos, the stress goes high and your candida re-surges. Xanax is not a benzo but it has a similar effects on limiting stress.

Here's an in vivo test on rats
/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC120028/

however pls note there are anxiogenic benzos (creates anxiety) and anxiolytic benzos (releases anxiety), so it depends very much on what type of benzo u were taking, but i bet u were looking to relieve stress not get more anxious

bit.ly/2fiE1Wu

Hi kcsmith72 -

An extraordinary number of people treating Lyme are also dealing with yeast/fungal issues - possibly due to the abx load but also, many people in general are dealing w/ y/f overgrowth and it's a condition that can weaken your GI health, which in turn can weaken immune function (since 70% of the immune system IS your GI). And this can lead to being susceptible to tick-born infections and other problems.

However, most in the mainstream medical industry are clueless about how to effectively diagnose/treat yeast/fungal overgrowth.

mpost suggests an interesting connection w/ benzos - that's certainly something to consider. Also, drugs simply disrupt the gut biome and/or cause diet changes and/or cause changes in gut mechanics - and this can cause the y/f pathogens to grow out of control.

ALSO... I'll suggest that many people go on meds for psychological/psychiatric issues, which sometimes actually originate in the GI due to bacterial imbalance or gut damage or infection or digestion problems. Science finally proved the gut-brain connection with blood vessels that link the two and toxins and problems in the gut CAN and DO affect the brain.

Here's another idea: You MIGHT have had GI issues causing the anxiety even before the benzos, and the benzos might have reduced the GI problems by some mechanism (not sure). And now that you're off them, GI problems are resuming. Just a thought.

I would implement a very strict no-sugar and no-simple carb diet ASAP. I would also start on an antifungal - Rx is probably best once you've already developed a problem. And also incorporate good detoxing and a reliable gut binder so that you can get the die off out of your system faster.

Here is info on y/f if you're interested:
Y/FO post in the "New to Lyme?" thread:
www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=30&m=1606610&g=3644275#m3644275

-p

The antifungal meds and remedies can cause major die off that can also be a little risky. Your body can get absolutely overwhelmed by the neurotoxin overload from die off - the die off can certainly cause neuro-psycho symptoms like depression, anxiety, fear, panic, disorientation.

This is why detoxing is critical. Gut binders are critical. You might also try Nutramedix tinctures Pinella and burbur that help gently detox the brain.

Also, try cutting antifungal dose in half until the sx decrease a bit and then increase to full dose. This is a tough time during the treatment - you will likely feel worse while the yeast/fungus is being killed off before you can get better. And again, the detoxing helps remove those toxins as you go and can reduce symptoms significantly. For me and many others, it's like night and day.

Some people stop taking the antifungals too quickly and the yeast/fungus can grow back very, very quickly, causing sx all over again. So it's best to use an antifungal for about a month after most of your sx are gone.

You might also look into anti-inflammatory herbs like japanese knotweed and/or turmeric. Your CNS sensitivity might be calmed a little by reducing inflammation.

-p

I was recently on Diflucan and Nystatin....along with a Yeast diet. What strength are you on?

I made it thru 8 days and am now having to back down dosage because of fainting and seizures. I was on a high dosage!

Wishing you much luck and healing and lots of epson salt baths!

kcsmith72 -

Although I have not experienced benzo w/d, I have experienced SEVERE and terrifying neuro-psycho sx from what we call "herxing" when I started IV antibiotics for Lyme & Coinfection treatment. It happened with both abx I took via IV. And you're absolutely right - it is really scary. I cycled through extreme emotions every hour - I'd go from panic to moroseness to anxiety to rage - and other emotions literally from one hour to the next. This went on for a week, the 2nd week was a little better, 3rd week was better still and by the 4th week I felt like I was just having bad days - not dying.

I don't share that to scare you but to suggest it just takes awhile for the body to metabolize the new drugs or in your case - to process the withdrawal from them. But it should eventually improve.

Please stick with your benzo support group and keep in touch with them as much as possible (what a great group!) I agree that you probably need to allow your body to metablize and recalibrate from stopping the benzos. And please don't wait to start detoxing! Lots of good info on this site about detoxing or you can post a new thread and people can share. Detoxing might not sound all that important (I was mainly a "conventional medicine" kind of person until I experienced what detoxing meant for my own body. It is VERY important. When you start feeling relief please get back on the diflucan.

And please continue to let us know you're doing OK.

-p

Thank you all for the responses...I pray to God I survive this. I have a son who is depending on me and I'm good as nothing right now...Thank you Pirouette and Aerose91...

Rasberryswirlgirl......Thank you; my doctor doesn't believe in benzo withdrawal....I wish he did...this is killing me...I'm not sure I'm going to take the Diflucan anymore...but the yeast keeps coming back