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White tongue, not candida...

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Posted Today 12:18 AM (GMT 0)
Anyone experience a white/tan colored tongue while on abx treatment? I'm struggling to figure out what this is, and if it needs to be treated.

I was treated for a period of time with a nystatin rinse, followed by diflucan, followed by itraconazole, and have had 2 doctors, including my LLMD, tell me that it doesn't look like candida. I've been taking probiotics all along, and recently started candida herbs just in case.

I scrape, and a whole bunch of crap comes off, but ultimately I'm left with light white coating, like the tops of the taste buds are stained white or something. Worse in the back, fading to normal red in the front.
Posted Today 12:30 AM (GMT 0)
Hi PNWBoarder -

Well... I'll be honest. MOST MDs including LLMDs wouldn't recognize MOST sx of yeast/fungal overgrowth if they were wearing a "Hello - my name is Yeast" sign on its forehead.

One thing I want to understand is - you're talking about only an odd coating on your tongue, correct? Do you know if you have any other y/f-related symptoms? There is a list of associated sx in this thread:
Y/FO post in the "New to Lyme?" thread:
www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=30&m=1606610&g=3644275#m3644275

Here are a few things to keep in mind before ruling out yeast/fungus altogether:

- Some strains are resistant to Nystatin and the other popular systemic antifungals

- Often, the systemic antifungals (itraconazole, diflucan) won't do much if a) the overgrowth is in your mouth and b) you continue to take abx. The reason the mouth is vulnerable to overgrowth is because most abx don't have an enteric coating that requires stomach acids to dissolve so the abx can start dissolving and killing bacteria as soon as it hits your tongue. ALSO, y/f can grow from the gut up through your throat pretty easily and unlike probiotics that can do their thing over time in your GI, your saliva and beverages, etc. can wash away probiotics pretty easily.

- Most liquid antifungals have sugar in them, which makes it ineffective so unless it was pure Nystatin, the rinse doesn't really rule out anything.

- Many probiotics contain yeast in them so this is something to check

- The only way to know for sure is to have this cultured - has ANYONE suggested doing that and if not, please ask them why...

Let us know you have any other questions - many of us have treated y/f overgrowth successfully. Also, read through that thread above (sorry - it's pretty long but has a ton of info in there that might help illuminate this... if it is yeast/fungus and if it isn't it will help you rule it out).

If none of this resonates, it might be helpful to see a Chinese or Eastern medicine practitioner and have them check it out - they are able to diagnose many conditions simply by evaluating the tongue!

-p

Post Edited (Pirouette) : 11/28/2017 5:35:38 PM (GMT-7)

Posted Today 12:53 AM (GMT 0)
It's yeast brother. Consider starting yeast treatment again, and always take preventative yeast treatment with antibiotics. Take sacro B along with your probiotics. Maybe try pulsing the antibiotics to let your gut bacteria replenish.
Posted Today 12:57 AM (GMT 0)
Ozone injected nearby in the form of Prolozone helped clear similar in my case. The tongue can be a difficult area to clear. Your symptoms indicate yeast/fungus of some kind. As Pirouette indicated, doctors dont always place a high priority on yeast/fungal infections, probably because they work very slowly in poisoning the body.
Posted Today 3:27 AM (GMT 0)
So yea, I guess I kind of invited that, given that I didn't give much background...

My LLMD (M.R.) seems to be pretty savvy and understanding of y/f issues, and knows how to treat them. This ins't just a LLMD GP. I have been asked at every visit for symptoms of yeast issues, very few of which I resonate with. I have been taking oral nystatin now as a preventative measure for a while, but not until after I brought this all up as a concern. Most of the medications were given almost at my request. I take HMF Forte probiotics, so no sugars or yeast there. I have taken SacroB with my probiotics, but recently switched to a yeast herbal treatment that's stronger than the secretions from SacroB.

I have no digestive symptoms. I have a few symptoms that overlap lyme/bart which I'm under treatment for, so hard to separate those from the yeast diagnosis... No culture at this point though. I'll ask about that, seems like a simple thing to do, and would clearly give a better indication of what this is.

So, long story short, no other symptoms of yeast, and I'm fairly confident in my LLMD's approach here. Looking to see if anyone else has had other issues come up that have caused similar things.
Posted Today 4:25 PM (GMT 0)
If it's helpful, mine is whitish. I've tested negative for candida from a stool test and blood work. I've always thought the white tongue was an indicator of something because on a flare up its white. then it will go away and be a pale white/pinkish within minutes.

Weird.

Jason
Posted 9/23/2022 3:44 PM (GMT 0)
Did you ever clear your white tongue?
Posted 9/23/2022 3:54 PM (GMT 0)
Yes. It only happens now when I have a cold or the flu. Otherwise I’m 100% fine
Posted 9/24/2022 12:13 AM (GMT 0)
I've had a coated tongue for quite some time with my illness. I think a big part of it is because of my reflux which I believe is from my infections.
Posted 10/16/2022 6:58 PM (GMT 0)
I think it’s just toxin build up so I go for a sweaty walk and it goes away on its own. If it’s there 24/7 then maybe yeast.
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