candida/bleeding issues/never ending flare

hello all,

I believe I may be closing off a 5 month flare that has been terrible (at least I hope I am). I've had blood transfusions and a short hospitalization to get things somewhat under control. I still can't seem to shake the bleeding though no matter what I try to do. Steroids don't seem to do the the trick (besides the IV steroids in the hospital) and Asacol has had little to no effect. I am currently taking Imuran but it has yet to kick in and the side effects are making me think this might be a bad idea as well. I am going to actually try to convince my doctor to go off of the drug this week. It's been terrible.

Like many others on this forum I have also sought out natural treatments for this disorder. After getting a stool test done at a complementary medical doctor's office it was revealed that I have a high level of candida in my intestine (+4 level to be exact...which is as high as it gets I believe). They've been treating this with high doses of probiotics as well as Diflucan for the past month and a half and again I am seeing no results. I've also modified my diet so that I am basically eating like a caveman. No gluten, wheat, sugars (besides what is in Ensure), etc. Basically a modified SCD food list. This is no way helps me gain back the 25 pounds I've lost through this whole ordeal...

So, I'm involved in fighting this both medically (steroids, etc.) and also trying to kill off this candida infection with antifungals. All this combined and I'm still seeing blood 4-5 times a day when I use the bathroom. Stools are formed but bloody and it's on the toilet paper. Not good but I'm functioning.

I'm wondering if the prednisone and imuran might be causing this candida and there is some sort of cyclical effect where things will never heal. One creates the candida and the candida causes the flaring. I am actively trying to get this thing under control using all options that I know of and I'm more than confused and frustrated. Maybe I'm just trying to do too much at the same time. I'm just looking for some general advice from those of you who have maybe been in similar situations. Thanks for reading this long post and responding if you feel moved to. I wish you all the best of health. Much peace.

Hi,
Over 90% of the population has Candida in our guts but it is kept in check by many factors. Prednisone not only lowers your immune response but also raises your blood sugar levels. Fungi love sugar, so the combination of lowered immune response and high sugar allow it to thrive. Make sure you are taking your antifungals properly. Your doc can also prescribe fluconazole with is an taken orally and works very well.

As long as you are on prednisone you will be prone to yeast overgrowth.

It sounds to me that your symptoms are due to the disease and not the fungal overgrowth since the fluconazole should really have taken care of that. Have you been tested lately for Candida?

Last time I was in a bad flare I started drinking Ensure and I had uncontrollable diahrea that landed me in the hospital with severe dehydration.  I will never drink them again.  Many bad oils in them as well.

Probiotics should help for the candida.

Hi huckleberry

A suggestion to help gain weight: intake as much "good" oil as possible. Many benefits: good calories, anti-inflammatory and is antifungal (coconut oil is, not sure about others). Also good for your skin and hair
Add oils in as much as possible: smoothies, cooking, take a spoonful every now and then (not too much at a time or my throat feels it).

IMO these are better calories than the empty sugar calories you're getting from Ensure.
Instead of Ensure perhaps there's a protein shake available without as much sugar. My DH (without having UC) drinks a homemade shake daily made with protein powder. I prefer getting my food the old-fashioned way (whey? )

Does ensure have any dairy in it? I noticed an improvement in my uc symptoms when i cut out dairy. 

the only other suggestion is to maybe try rectal meds, like rowasa or canasa

 

Huckleberry- if you are eating bananas, bread (gluten-free, or not), along with brown rice, that is not a low carb diet.;therein may lie your problem , along with taking in the sugar in Ensure. Lots of carbs/sugar in bread (converts quickly to sugar), bananas (15g. carbs), brown rice (20.6 g. carbs in 1/2 cup). As well, bananas have been known to have mold content. Perhaps try eating only meats/fish/poultry, along with veggies you can tolerate (NO corn, mushrooms, potatoes, yams) along with green apples and any berries you can tolerate. Good antioxidants in berries. And no grains at all for the initial period. Stay away from all processed foods (boxed, canned, packaged). You are not eating artificial sweetener, are you?

Maybe, these changes could help?? Good luck ! :)

hi ya,

I have to say im not surprised to see this post. I think candida has alot to do with IBD. I went on anti candida diet and now have had no bleeding for 5 1/2 months. i dont use meds either. Ive been looking into this more and more and trying to find more infomtion. I think with pred it does kill off the good bacteria allowing the candida to multiply or so ive read. with ensure i dont know what is in that. if it is really high in surgar  it could cause candida to trive. from what i understand of candida is that we all have it and usallly it is not a problem it only happens to be a problem when it over populates. Candida wants to surivive so it keeps adapting to survive. it keeps on surviving and adapting so it keeps adapting to the durgs you take to survive.

my diet is rather limitied in carbs i eat eggs for breakfast, with nut muffins sometimes, lunch i eat either vegetables and meat then again for dinner, then i always have my goats yoghurt. i do eat 1 apple a day. but some days i dont. i also eat nut butters which i make my self. i eat a whole list of different meats and vegetables. avocados i find really fill me up. and i eat alot of green vegetables which i now grow some myself.

it does take a wile for it to go away it wont immeiatly go. the whole idea is to starve the candida

what is in that ensure? it really depends on the surgar content it doesnt sound natural so im not sure it could but i dont know. i find if you stick to nature then you will be better or at least that is what seems to happen to me.

oh the yorghurt that i use i only have kiefer yorghurt. Kiefer eats the surgars from the lactose. if you go buy some youghurt from the store it will have lactose in it.

Ensure is full of sugar(s) as in the top 4 ingredients, it is a cruel hoax they market it as a healthy drink. Definitely not a good one with colitis and fighting possible yeast problem. The carrageenan and things like corn oil, safflower oil, aren't the best either.


Here are ingredients for Ensure:
Water, sugar (sucrose), corn syrup, maltodextrin (corn), calcium caseinate, high-oleic safflower oil, canola oil, soy protein isolate, whey protein concentrate, corn oil, calcium phosphate tribasic, potassium citrate, magnesium phosphate dibasic, natural and artificial flavor, soy lecithin, sodium citrate, magnesium chloride, salt (sodium chloride), carrageenan, choline chloride, potassium chloride, ascorbic acid, ferrous sulfate, alpha-tocopheryl acetate, zinc sulfate, niacinamide, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, cupric sulfate, vitamin A palmitate, thiamine chloride hydrochloride, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin, folic acid, chromium chloride, biotin, sodium molybdate, sodium selenate, potassium iodide, phylloquinone, vitamin D3 and cyanocobalamin.

Whoo that insure would really make me go bam if i drunk it you see if you are on the cadida diet and you break it your candida will come flying back.

I dont think the bananas are a good idea banans are a power fruit and give you alot of energy but they are not good for candida. avoid them switch to avocados they have the same amoino acids but avo is higher fat.

only eat 1 apple a day dont worry you will be ok ive been doing it for 7 months and im still alive and my bloods are normal.

Which type of candida test did you get (stool, blood)? Was it through a naturopath or your GP? I'm asking because I would expect most naturopaths/alternative drs to advise re: diet when following an anti candida protocol. You really do have to be very strict and the idea is then to add foods as your symptoms subside to see what you handle. Ensure is a bad idea regardless of whether you have candida or not, it's full of crap. Maybe you could make your own drink - yogurt of kefir, berries etc? I don't think the diflucan on it's own would do much if you are consuming so much sugar, but then I'm no expert. I'd try the diet with the med for a month and see if you notice any difference. Good luck?

Chele- as you probably know, candida overgrowth can be responsible for depression, as well. The only thing I can tell you is that if candida is your problem, and you follow an antifungal plan, you will start to see results, and that will give you the power to continue on. That's how it was for me as my UC symptoms started lessening until finally disappearing. When you say no sugar diet, does that mean all other high carb foods, as well? Are you taking any antifungals, prescription or natural?