how much sugar?

Many people cut it out of their diet completely since it feeds yeast and bacteria, whether its refined or not. There are sugar substitutes.

I have no sugar at all in my diet for years as it creates more intestinal cramping for me. I do cheat once in a while, but I almost always pay for it.

I use stevia. I prefer the NOW brand, but some like other brands better. Xylitol is another good substitute. But, be warned, it takes very little - VERY little - stevia to sweeten like a teaspoon of sugar does!

I like stevia, it's very sweet....

Thanks everyone for the thoughts!

I thought I was already being good but maybe I need to up my game.

I only sweeten with stevia. I guess my sugar "vices" at this point are grapefruit, snap peas, beets, and no sugar added coconut milk ice cream (it's sweetened only by the coconut but still has 4 grams of sugars in it). My digestion has been very compromised and for some reason it feels most ok when I eat raw vegan. Maybe that's not the best low sugar diet, though... It seems like those on low-sugar diets emphasize eggs and meat? Right now I basically eat grapefruit, green tea with stevia, a salad with kim chi, a veggie smoothie with beets and lots of greens, no sugar coconut ice cream, flax seeds, nori, cucumber, snap peas, and cabbage.

I didn't think I even had a yeast problem but I had so much die-off on a quarter dose of nystatin I had to come off it. Am just starting again, with an eighth dose.

I suppose I'm pretty thin already... size zero... I don't feel thin but I think that's because I feel so swollen and bloated. And while the scale says I've gained weight since starting nystatin, friends say I look thinner... I think perhaps I'm weighing in heavier because I'm so bloated from the treatment.

marigold

Some pretty good posts here. The sugar issue is a tough one. Often people cut out all sugars but still consume simple carbs. Your body really doesn't know the difference between a spoonful of sugar and a slice of bread. And for most people, this is not and issue but for us it is a HUGE issue.

Regarding your diet—you're saying your diet is grapefruit, snap peas, beats, and coconut milk, green tea, kim chi, flax, cucumber, cabbage… You could be reacting to the grapefruit (I found out through DNA testing that I have to avoid it entirely). You could also getting too much sugar/carb from the peas. Kim chi can be too much fermentation for people like us. And cabbage is known to be agitating and inflammatory. And the beets are also probably a high carb source. Can you consult an ND/nutritionist? You have a tough situation and you're doing really well but your diet is probably not serving you as well as you need it to.

One tough problem with the y/f overgrowth is that if it's severe enough, the y/f learns to feed on everything. So, I'd stay no sugar/simple carb… but find a way to focus on the y/f. The herxing is really really tough and the more yeast you have, the worse the herxing. But maintaining small doses for too long might also cause a problem and allow the y/f to become resistant to it or anything else you take at too small a dose for too long.

You gotta get over that hump to get rid of most of it so that you can continue treating it and also incorporate some more calories into your diet.

Have you been able to increase your detox to help w/ the herxing? What are you currently doing?

Hope this helps… please let us know how you're doing.

-p

I'm so sorry you're struggling like this eagle0eye0JC…

People don't realize how difficult a yeast/fungal overgrowth issue can make an already complex treatment process.

A few thoughts I had:

I'm not sure what diet you're on, but in some ways it doesn't matter and what you listed is really good. Do you like avocados? You do need to eliminate all fruit and other sources of quick sugars (which is the simple carbs). So, the high protein and lots of dark green veggies are your friend for awhile longer.

In my experience, there are two keys to successfully battling y/f overgrowth:
1. Mentally toughing it out past the first stage of killing the bulk of the overgrowth. Literally, toughing it out. It's simple in retrospect but while you're in the process, it can feel horrible. After that point, the y/f is no longer causing the issues that keep you from healing and your brain from functioning. But this first stage is insanely difficult because the overgrowth affects your brain function.

2. What really helps bring success to this first stage is bringing the y/f load down quickly and the right anti fungal is essential.

The reason you're craving the fruit and feel worse off the fruit is the yeast creates the sugar cravings! So the yeast is literally impacting your brain chemistry to trick you into eating more sugar or the yeast will starve. And the yeast also creates a low-appetite environment to help you focus on the sugar cravings so that sugar is all you are hungry for and you're generally not hungry for real food. It is a very strong chemical reaction going on in your brain—and one huge reason why so many alcoholics have trouble giving up the alcohol—the y/f overgrowth is literally in charge.

Once you reduce enough of the overgrowth—whatever your own personal tipping point is—those cravings will lessen and eventually go away and your appetite will return. There is no other way around it—you literally have to tough it out and DOMINATE that yeast.

However, there is help… Please read my posts on pure nystatin powder:
goo.gl/d8iLwe

PURE NYSTATIN POWDER is:
- an all-natural anti fungal
- has no fillers and sugars that other forms of nystatin include
- is much less expensive than the other forms of nystatin and it's much, much more effective at lower doses since it is THE functional derivative of the big pharma products
- is a local anti fungal, which works primarily in the gut where most yeast/fungal imbalances occur (for various reasons, genetic predisposition, abx use which kills ALL the bacteria in the gut including the good bacteria that keep yeast/fungus in balance, and even pesticides and other toxins from foods can disrupt the gut flora)
- in comparison, a systemic antifungal like Diflucan passes through the mucosal barrier in your gut, seeps into the bloodstream, which carriers it throughout your body… so this is good for people who know they have y/f issue but it's like taking the long way to solve a problem in the gut. And if you continue to take abx w/out proper attention paid to replenish good bacteria or an anti fungal, you'll continue to develop overgrowth in the gut, which will continue to feed the systemic problems… so even with a systemic anti fungal you generally need a local anti fungal. Plus, a systemic anti fungal has to be flushed through the liver, which usually raises liver enzymes (anyone on a systemic anti fungal needs their liver checked every 4 wks).
- the other beautiful thing about the pure powder (particularly for those with thrush, sinus or ear infections caused by y/f overgrowth) is that when you put it in a little water, swish it around your mouth and swallow it, it literally coats the mouth, esophagus and the entire alimentary canal and kills on contact all the yeast hiding out. A pill, whether it's nystatin or diflucan, cannot do that.
- the posts in the link above talk more about the powder and how to get your MD to prescribe it and how to fill the prescription, the dosing process, etc.—please let me know if you have q's.

Many people try other natural remedies (e.g. oregano oil) that are really great for maintenance and prevention, but once a y/f issue takes hold, they are generally not real effective. And yeast can proliferate exponentially in a matter of minutes. So those of us on abx or taking a lot of alcohol-based tinctures recreate happy environments for y/f in a matter of minutes. It's more successful to hit the yeast hard and fast so that you can get your gut rebalanced and healed, which is critical with lyme treatment. Since 70% of your immune system IS your gut, and your immune system is so critical to healing from lyme, in many ways it needs to be the first focus of triage.

Another thing I noticed is you're likely not taking near enough probiotics. With a full-blown y/f overgrowth, while you're on abx and until you get the y/f rebalanced, you'll need at least 200 billion per day and make sure it's fresh, live, multi-strained and organic if you can swing it. It gets expensive but this is a very good way to tackle the y/f overgrowth but also to help rebuild your gut. On the days I do IV infusions I take 800 billion/day and 100 billion on my off days.

ALso, May to August seems like an eternity in our condition but it is not a very long time where your GI health is concerned, immune function, reactions to diets and meds, etc. It also takes awhile for your gut to heal itself but it will also take awhile to move the toxins from processed foods out of your body. So, that might be why you're not seeing a whole lot of progress yet.

I hope some of that was helpful. You expressed a main concern of diet, etc. but I strongly encourage you to address the y/f overgrowth first and then your diet issues can improve and you can start eating more high calorie foods.

Please let me know if you have q's.

-p

Hi e0e0JC…

First, I know exactly what you're going through. Rest assured, it is not YOU going crazy, it is the neuropsycho effects of the yeast/fungal overgrowth. It can completely dominate your moods and make you feel insane. And the more I read about how this condition has affected others, it's clear that the fungus and toxins from the fungus can literally dominate our mental capacity, which makes it so hard to function and address the problem.

One thing that helped me when I was at my worst was educating myself about what the yeast/fungus was doing to me and how it was making things difficult and reminding myself that it was the demon that was making me so moody and spacey and miserable but I was in charge. Blaming my bad moods, forgetfulness, bad luck, inability to get along with others, on the y/f is helpful because it motivated me to dominate.

But truthfully, I got nowhere until I started the Nystatin pills. They helped but the POWDER changed my life. VERY QUICKLY. I couldn't have made the changes in my diet or stuck with my protocol and maintained the treatments and functioned on so many levels without the powder. In an overly dramatic way, it saved my life. In reality, it was the tipping point between wallowing in misery and getting a foothold into my treatment. After dealing with the y/f overgrowth, I was able to heal my gut and get to the next stage of my lyme treatment. A CRITICAL step in the process.

You have had a rough couple of years. Digestive issues run your life. Don't lament not knowing about the probiotics. I didn't. Few of us did. The real question is, why don't most MDs know some basic information about how our digestive system works or basic nutrition? It's criminal.

There was a good thread recently about probiotics:
www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=30&m=3481242

Regarding the ADP—it won't hurt your treatment at all but if you feel it isn't effective maybe you can save it for another point in your treatment when it might be more effective.

I was also on birth control pills for 15 yrs probably, little did I know how bad they were for me and perpetuated a fairly constant y/f problem among many other issues. Long term use of the pills and DNA mutations and other pre-existing conditions can definitely make people like you and me more susceptible to y/f overgrowth and make it harder to address. But it can be done.

I'm thinking your LLMD needs a crash course in y/f. But most MDs do. His ignorance about y/f is not indicative of a lack of expertise in lyme & co… but he is not serving you well in that one aspect. YES, if you're feeling up to it and are willing to try the pure nystatin powder, please ask him to write an Rx for you. I and others who have traveled this journey before can help you prepare for that conversation if you like but you'll need to read up on it. Granted, you are your own individual and I can't diagnose you over the internet… but based on what I've read in your posts, I feel pretty strongly that you would benefit from it.

The Diflucan may/may not be effective but you'll have to wait too long to find out. The powder will impact you very quickly and can also bring the overload down very quickly and can also be taken safely long term while you're on the abx. The diflucan really shouldn't be taken long term. And yes, you'll need to stay on the diet. :( But at some point you won't be fighting the y/f so hard and the diet won't seem so impossible and then soon you can get back to some normal foods.

Milk thistle is great for your liver. For me, it was not enough to keep my liver enzymes down—so while you wait for your MD to test your liver (please ask him to do this) please also incorporate Burdock root.

Embrace your frequent BMs! This is really good news… It's a critical part of detox so that's one less thing for you to battle. You don't want diarrhea but that is not uncommon w/ y/f overgrowth.

My sister gave me a recipe for avocado chicken salad or maybe it was egg salad… used in place of the mayo. It was awesome—I'll see if I can dig it up.

Chia goo is brilliant. I used to make my own w/ pureed fruit. That all sounds good and acts like a great gentle fiber. But you do need to incorporate an actual binder — like bentonite clay, activated charcoal. And if you can time the binders so that you take your abx dose (once a day? if not then this applies to your last dose of the day), 1 hr later take your binder, and 3 hrs later take your probiotics and then go to bed to allow them to have all your GI's attention to replenish overnight.

Coconut water is controversial… Yes, it has a ton of sugar so I'd stop drinking it for awhile. I think most of the commercial brands out there now are probably not worth the cost and sugar. There are PURE brands with organic and non-GMO coconuts and I've read that the young coconut water is the best, etc… but it's so cost prohibitive that it's not worth it.

A better source for electrolytes is the Emergen-C Electro Mix, they taste great (lemon-lime), is sugar-free, sodium-free, has K and MG and Ca… I lived on those things for awhile.

The sweat fest is GREAT! That is also good to kill the yeast. But be forewarned, if you overdo the heat and during your major killing cycle if you start the powder, it can overwhelm your body and you might need to slow down the activities… but detoxing is sooooo important.

You're welcome. I'm just paying it forward… when you get past this hump you'll have a successful story to share and inspire others with.

And you're not alone—many of us here are dealing w/ the y/f and winning the battle so keep posting and let us know how things are going.

-p

Thanks for the reply P! I need to re-read all of that a few times an absorb the information. I will look into burdock root, thank you.

I am not sure if I should give the Diflucan more time or what - I started it Aug 7th. Im taking it once a day at 9:30pm (with my 2nd ABX). I noticed extreme fatigue/exhaustion when starting it, and my energy has been pretty low since. The first week I was eating some offending foods, not realizing until I saw my belly extended, but the 2nd & now 3rd week, I am going to be VERY strict. (and all weeks after...) its hard to tell if the low energy is from diet or meds.

I am afraid of switching meds as I have read that things can become resistant, but that's also my worry about staying on the diflucan not knowing if its working. I bought garlic supplements but then was afraid to introduce too many anti-fungals at once, so I didnt take it (I read a lot about people rotating different thngs on different days)

I never had a stool test, I was diagnoses clinically by the dr looking at my tongue and after he listened to my previous eating habits (it turned into mostly Mexican food - corn every day basically, and lots of sweets..) bc they were the only things that I could stomach on no appetite..funny how that is "classic" candida!! I dont have oral thrush, just a little coating on my tongue. I also get these weird small ring shaped rashes on my elbows and knees - and since starting the diflucan, i've gotten them on my hands now (is this the candida leaving my body?)

Its funny im still battling "figure out YF or figure out diet" they BOTH take a toll on me daily. viscous cycle!

is there a rule with sweet potato? do you think I could try a HALF a potato 1x a week? or do you think if I reacted badly, just STAY AWAY for a while? its funny, i always load up on groveries with an offending food then find out the next day I cant eat it - so of course, I have 6 sweet potatos in my pantry... the amount of food i've thrown out over this candida is sad... The sweet potatos were an excellent carrier of Coconut oils into my body - now im just left with slathering it all over my broccoli (I cant stomach eating it.. I tried making the coconut oil bites.. i gagged.. same reason I cant do oil pulling ha!)

Thank you also for the link on probiotics, looking at that now!!

The one thing I can say is that since starting the ADP (in conjunction with starting dry brushing) I have had other - non-LLMD doctors tell me that my coloring is looking better, i.e. I looked sickly grey-green and now I have a healthy skin tone... Im hoping I at least made SOME progress due to that!!

The internet is GOOD but also BAD... I feel like it helps me but then also confuses me!! I appreciare all of your first hand knowledge and tried & true tips.

It's ok! I've wanted to participate too, just been too sick with yeast die-off these past couple days. But definitely want to check back in with the issues of this thread as soon as I can.