can meds alone cure candida?

[bloodstone]

okay, so i've read here that diet alone can't cure it but what about acidophillus + oregano oil+ colon cleanse + other recommendations found here??
Maybe all supplements and yeast??
Come on guys??? Why sugar, unless allergic?
Why wheat?? unless allergic??
I understand these guys have a muchie habit on them but if your blasting them full of acido and other stuff why the severity of the diet??
My accupuncturist told me cut out yeast, lower sugar intake but take a shed load of acido.. oregano oil, peppermind oil and coconut oil???
Any idea's?? Any thoughts?? Any info??

[Carebear20]

IN my opinon Im not a doctor but throught my own experience unless you stick to the diet you wont get better cuz YOUR STILL FEEDING THE YEAST.. sugar feeds yeast carbs feeds yeast....yes diet alone ownt help you have to take probiotics and antifungals as well ....i dunno i still am not getting better tho either so i guess im not a good candidate to talk to ...but colon cleansing really helped me i no longer can find one in my area. i live in grand ledge and the one i went to moved so i now im really in a lot of pain cuz im relaly back ed up no one on here seems to live in my area or know how i can go oabout finding onw. i even asked my local chiropractor an dhe onlyknew of hte one i used to go to...

[bloodstone]

thanks for the reply.
I know they sell kits on the web sites where you can do a flush yourself, it may not be as good, but i have a friend who does it herself, so to speak, it works for her.. just a thought, maybe you could give it a try??

Maybe i'm just being like dah, but if we're sending in the good guys to kill the bad guys and we're sending in enough of them, but were also changing our diet, ie no yeast, but a little sugar, then the anti fungi's.. why are they still getting the upper hand, it makes no sense to me...

Don't get me wrong now, you guy's have been at this a lot longer than i have, i've had it for eight to ten years, but only just been told what it is...
But... if they hate oxygen and were sending that in, they hate acidoph, and were sending that in by the bucket, were cutting our carbs and sugar, not giving them yeast, taking anti fungi'e and cleansing our colons, what's keeping these little mites from retreating back into the gut and if we keep taking the anti fungi's and acidoph afterwards why are they coming back??
Something tells me it can't be that simple!!!

any thoughts???

[Carebear20]

I know what you mean I am as fustraited as you are. I have been struggling w/ ibs since i was 15 adn didnt find out till now that i have candida and all the meds they gave me for ibs jsut made it worse...i dont know hwy its so hard to kill i htink its cuz we have been sick so long nad these things are really good at fighting the antifungals we take. I know i jsut found out i am allergic to eggs and soy too. my doc thinks cutting those out with speed the healing process...so far tno change tho.. i notice i get better then worse.. i think that its jsut one of those things that takes a while to heal....i think the hardest part for me is handling school and owrk with it all... fall classes started up this week and im jsut not up to it....its mkaing me depressed being so worn down al the time... i think seeing my boyfreind is the only thing that helps me get by...

[Sunshne24]

Does anybody here REALLY know if they have Candida...or is it just a diagnosis based on no other cause being found? I've been sick 3 years with all tests coming back normal...as I got sicker I decided it MUST be candida because I have almost EVERY symptom + I did take antibiotics, had alot of stress and ate too much junk food. I started the diet and got so much better...but it didn't last. A doctor I saw (not mainstream) agreed that I have systemic Candida. Based on what though? Where is the proof? For me the proof was the fact that originally the diet transformed me...depression, brainfog, joint pains, etc. dissapeared. As I started taking antifungals I got worse but of course we call this die-off and its to be expected right? After a couple months of the ups and downs I stopped the antifungals altogether. The "die-off" symptoms kept coming back though. How could one day I feel decent and then the next day I'm crying and in pain again having changed nothing in my diet? I was only eating meat, veggies and fish...thats it. I finally decided to get some Candida tests done...at the last minute I thought I should also be tested for gluten intolerance/Celiac Disease. The Candida tests were *totally* negative even though I suppossedly had sytemic candida....and I don't believe I could have gotten the Candida under control with all the probiotics/antifungals/cleanses and enemas I'd done because I was still having symptoms. The tests for gluten intolerance came back positive and showed almost severe malabsorption because of my immune system *attacking* the gluten and damaging the intestinal lining. Gluten was still in my system via...spices, lotions, cosmetics..etc. I suspect I also have other food intolerances...possibly eggs, soy, or dairy...I'm taking more tests. Tests also show I have NO Acidophilus or Bifidus despite all the probiotics I took. Even though I have to replenish these "good guys" I still don't have a candida overgrowth. My bloating, constipation, fluid retention, facial swelling, depression, mood swings..etc...are due to food intolerances not Candida. I now believe Candida is not usually the main cause of all these terrible symptoms...I believe there is almost always an underlying cause and when the immune system is impaired there is just more of a liklihood that yeast infections can develop. Finding the UNDERLYING cause is the key to getting rid of yeast infections...IMO. I thought Candida had grown and took over my body causing all these terrible symptoms...I'm not so sure about the whole *systemic* Candida theory now...if it REALLY did exsist (other than in those with seriously suppressed immune systems i.e. AIDS patients)..why is there no proof? Why are we all so ready to accept this diagnosis w/out proof...based only on a doctors words or a questionairre? The end result is alot of money spent on diet/supplements and then we're still not better...what gives? If anyone has had PROOF of the candida that is growing out of control in their body than I'd be more than willing to listen. BTW...just a few weeks ago I was on the message boards "preaching" about systemic Candida and the importance of the diet and cleansing..etc...that was until I got my test results back. Did I really know what I was talking about...NO...I was just regurgitating what I'd read or had been told about Candida. Isn't that what we're ALL doing here? Of course a healthier diet is going to relieve some symptoms...especially when so many of us have food intolerances...DUH....it only makes sense.
-Rachel

[bloodstone]

Listen guys, i think we've all been sick so long we are grasping at straws here, if someone says it's candida, we accept the diagnosis because someone has actually given one too us. I posted a theory yesterday about copper, magnesium, zinc etc, i don't know how off base it is, but if someone says to me a frequency in the body kills candida, that frequency matches copper, does this mean we're copper deficient?
People can say they supplement with copper, zinc, minerals etc, but a study in the u.s says the sewage works their fish these supplement pills out virtually untouched, so we maybe eating healthier, but still not getting anywhere.
I've spent forever going through these notice boards for everyone to come back with the same thing, my symptoms get better, then worse, maybe just eating a broad spectrum of foods, like we're supposed to, instead of a strict diet with no carbs no sugars isn't helping!!!
No fruit, how healthy is that???
My symptoms and that of most people on here are copper deficient and zinc deficient based, so ok, maybe we should try a diet eating, not supplementing everything we're supposed to have in a day, the acidoph can't hurt anything.
Like we're not supposed to have pineapple, it's the best source of copper their is and it would regulate the bowels...
I don't know the answer, but when the diet and supplements aren't making me better i've got to look elsewhere in what i'm doing wrong...

[Carebear20]

On ehting i think you hsoudl know is candida tests arnt that accurate at telling youw heter you have candida or not cuz your candida has to bve really bad to show up i s what i have heard. no i have not had test done yet im getting more done in sept. but yes my enviromental doc diganosed me w/ it based on having pretty much every symtom and my long shistory of antibiotics from age 3 to now 20. I dunno your right a lot of us eget better then worse but i think its cuz the canddia is strong. I also do agree that food allergies play a role and may start canddia but i also think candida exists. i think its hjust hard to treat and docs sdont knwo enoupgh about it yet.there is prob a lot of ppl who get better and just stop posting.

[Sunshne24]

Candida does exsist...it exsits in everyone. I believe overgrowths can occur but once you determine and treat the underlying cause your immune system should be able to recover and Candida can then be controlled with antifungals and probiotics. It shouldn't be something that is so hard to get under control though...if it is that hard there has got to be an underlying cause. People always say they got Candida from taking antibiotics for many years. But why were you taking so many antibiotics? Were you having lots of infections? If you were always sick and in need of antibiotics isn't it possible that SOMETHING was causing those bouts of sickness...maybe the cause for those infections was never determined so it is still there (an underlying health problem) and its only being blamed on Candida since somebody TOLD you thats what you have based on a bunch of symptoms. I had all those symptoms too...and I also had an alternative doctor tell me I have systemic Candida based on those symptoms. It just wasnt true. Yes I did take antibiotics three years ago...but why was I taking them? Because I was sick. I was ALREADY sick before I took so many antibiotics. The reason I was sick is only disovered now....3 years later. Also the antibiotics did kill my good bacteria...which doesn't help matters. But Candida isn't the main culprit. THERE was almost NO candida in my stool at all...for someone whos been as sick as I've been with so many symptoms if I really had terrible systemic Candida (which has kept me off work for 21 months) shouldn't something show up in my stool? I tested at one of the best labs for this kind of testing...Great Smokies. Also why do you get better and then worse if you are doing everything right to fight Candida? Common sense eventually told me that if I've NEVER cheated on my Candida diet...NO sugar or carbs at all for over 3 months + all the antifungals...there is NO WAY I should still be having such bad days. Candida may be the effect but its surely not the cause.

[Dave56362]

From what i have learned the stool tests are not all that accurate, i have had 3 of them done and 1 showed a 2+ yeast overgrowth and shortly after that i had one done that showed no yeast overgrowth. I have been on so many antibiotics in my life i couldnt even count them all but i do know one thing is certain, when i take an antifungal i do get better but it takes so long. Right now i am in the middle of a relapse because everytime i get to feeling a little better i stop the antifungals because i dont like dealing with the die-off. Thats where i make my mistake because if i dont stay with it i WILL go into a relapse, its happened 3 times this year already. The reason i was on so many antibiotics was because when i was a kid i had a ton of ear infections, so i had my tonsils removed-problem fixed. Then i was on alot of antibiotics again from sept. 1999 - nov. 2000 because i had 3 surgeries on my lower back, it took 3 surgeries because everytime they would stitch me up it would get infected so finally they left it heal open. I think my underlying problem has been fixed and is no longer there, but the last few years tell me i have sever candida overgrowth and it takes alot to get rid of. I also suffer from leaky gut, i have alot of food allergies and i believe this to all be caused by candida.

Not everyone with these symptoms really has candida and unfortunately the tests available arent all that accurate, there are alot of different strains of candida and i dont think these tests can test for them all. I hope my opinion doesnt offend anyone, i am just sharing my experience and beliefs.

[Sunshne24]

From what I've read lots of conditions can cause leaky gut...including Candida. However, I think candida is probably the least likely to cause it. Have you had extensive testing done to search for another cause of your symptoms? When I was taking all the antifungals I was also doing daily enemas and I swear I saw candida coming out in the bm's. Since we all have Candida in our bodies as a natural occurance wouldn't the antifungals cause die-off even in a healthy person? I've heard that people with no symptoms whatsoever who take a powerful antifungal such as grapefruit seed extract or coconut oil will experience die-off. You say you feel better when taking antifungals but when you stop the candida comes back. This would most likely only happen if there is something causing this imbalance of bacteria in your gut. Symptoms will always return until that underlying cause is discovered. If antibiotics were truelly the main cause of systemic Candida then just about everybody would be disabled by Candida but this is simply not the case. Many people take antibiotics for years with no problems. Multiple food intolerances can be caused by any intestinal disease.

[bloodstone]

no one is going to be offended by your opinions dave, you know what they say, it's good to talk and only by sharing views and talking to each other may we, the normal people, hopefully find an answer to this thing, these things, whatever they may be, god knows, the medical profession is looking the other way on this one.
As i said before, i'm new to candida, and i believe that it does get out of control and spread, but i also believe there is a reason for this, i don't believe the candida itself is the devil it's somehow hoped to be by us poor sufferers who aren't getting any help or any time spent on us by doctors to eliminate our woes.
I think if we can all work together like one big union, so to speak and share what we know of our signs, symptoms, maybe we can find out togteher what the answer actually is.
I've been to some forums where the lofty and nobel preach at the newbies, that's not going to beat this, i think we all here because we want a cure, it's time to put our heads together and find one!!!

[Dave56362]

I forgot to include that since i was a kid my diet was horrible! I was always eating doritos and pizzas and drinking sugar loaded sodas and thats on top of approximately 17 years of on and off antibiotic usage. I think in my case i have defeated the underlying problem and that is bad diet and antibiotic usage. My mother suffers mildly from candida symptoms and she has had her share of antibiotics, my oldest sister was on a load of them too like i was and she has had alot of problems with candida and ocd over the years, she has been a help to my recovery. I have an older brother that has never touched an antibiotic and his diet has been moderate with sugars and carbs and he doesnt have any problems at all. Everyone is different, everyone's body reacts differently to antibiotics and to refined sugars. It now seems like the more "low carb" i go the more sore and achy muscles i am getting, maybe i am deficient in some vitamins, this is why i keep checking these and other message boards like this every day looking for an answer. Keep posting your ideas, i am listening ;)

[bloodstone]

I've suffered with these symptoms for as long as i can remember but have only just been told what i ' have'.. so for me, being at the start of my recovery i can afford to make mistakes and play around with my vits and diet.
I do believe copper has to be a pivital something in this thing with all the frequency testing and stuff, it has the same frequency as what they claim kills candida cells, so if it's lacking, it would make sense that the candida grows out of control???
I guess i need to speak to a lot of people who eat raw tomatoes and pineapple, and walnuts, loaded with copper, to see if they have a candida problem... until that happens i'm just gonna give it a go myself and see if bringing up my levels of selenium copper zinc and magnesium in a natural way, rather than the, those were expensive supplements and i just flushed them straight through way helps.
After all, i've been on this diet for a while now and it's just not working for me.

[Carebear20]

I think that you all may be right. we are grasping at straws and yes getting a real diagnoses for a change is really awsome for some of us liek me who have been sick for 5 years and told its all in your head and tried tons of diets and eliminations and different excersizes and therapy and different drugs. I really dont think that tests are that accuate tho in telling whereh you ahve candida... Im betting a lot of us do however there is a reason we do for me its antibiotscs since toddler age adn then really stressful homelife leading to ibs for a coulpe lyears then so many antibiotics to treat that plus the pill whihc im still on cuz my doc for some reason dooesnt think i hsoudl go off it, and a diet high in carbs. i dunno i dont think any of us really know. we are all fustraited that we arnt getting better but one thing i do kwno is i feel better on the diet.. i wish we could figure out more. im glad you guys are all talking about this its fustraiting as heck sometimes... It starts to define who you are when all you become is this crazy perosn comstanly reading and researching candida and constandly haveing to pay such close attention to ewaht you eat.... i think we should all keep posting tho keep helping eachother.. i started a post w hile back on PERSONAL STORIES but only one other person i think posted if we all share our stories and what helps what hasnt maybe it will help i know we all can learn a lot from each other.

[Sunshne24]

I think everyone has a good attitude here and its nice to see people genuinely trying to help each other without all the "preaching at the newbies". :) I was so happy to get diagnosed with Candida too since none of the doctors were helping...only giving out rx's or telling me to go see a psychiatrist. I had been sick for so long...I actually started the diet on my own because back in April I was thinking I was going to die...I was only 94 lbs. and getting weaker. I figured I'd better do something...the diet was like a miracle for me. I got so much better within days. Once I started w/ the antifungals, homemade yogurt, probiotics, and cleanses I slowly started getting worse. When I went to the alternative doctor it was basically only cuz I wanted someone to say "YES...you have Candida"...which she did. Eventually I got tired of only eating chicken, beef, salad, and a few veggies...especially since my symptoms kept coming back. Now that I got diagnosed with the Gluten Intolerance/Celiac Disease everything makes sense..there is gluten in just about everything. I tried taking Primal Defense once and it really messed me up...people said it could cause severe die-off so thats what I thought happened...same with some of my other supplements/antifungals. Now that I look at the ingred. in these things they all have oats or barley or some form of gluten. No wonder I was sick. This definately makes more sense to me than some evil Candida taking over but just to be on the safe side I'm not going crazy with the sugars till I heal from the damage gluten has caused to my intestines. I'm pretty sure I have leaky gut cuz of this. I think it did make me feel better to think I had Candida during that time since it was at least a diagnosis of some kind...and the diet did make me feel better....also gave me some kind of purpose instead of constantly wondering what the heck was wrong with me. Now that I'm learning about the damage gluten can cause I'm thinking probably alot of people who think they have Candida might really have gluten intolerance. They say one 1 out of 133 people have it here in the U.S. but most are undiagnosed. The doctors are ignorant about it. I was upset at my doc for missing it...he told me its on their top 10 list of dieases which are missed due to the wide range of symptoms. In 3 years not a single doctor EVER mentioned this disease to me...and they told me they ran every possible test so it had to be all in my head. NOW they are sorry for all that I've endured. Anyways I suspect gluten intolerance is much more common than systemic candida and there are actual tests for diagnosing it so I'm really dissapointed in the health care system in the U.S. right now. In other countries such as Italy they test the kids for this before the age of 6 because they are sooo much more informed about it and because it's so common.

[bloodstone]

I think the candida is real. Just not solely to blame, no way would i go back to sugar the way i used to eat it until i managed to get my whole body well again. I think everyone has an intollerence to something in this day and age, it's natural, with some much pollution around, but what we need to do is find out why were getting candida, and then we can eliminate the root cause and then we should be able to eliminate the candida itself.
When my doctor asked if i wanted to see a shrink i just wanted to scream... try living with my symptoms for a day and then tell me it's in my head, i've gone from being an active shop manager to being a homebound vegetable in pain and having no good reason for it, they can't give me an answer, just like they can't give you one, so we have to find the answers for ourselves.
Well done sunshine on getting a gluten answer, i think it's a stepping stone to getting your health back, and the doctors can apologise all they want, it doesn't give you the last few years of health back you've missed, but now you need to be positive and work on getting your health back, step by step, work on gluten then tackle the candida.
We all have an underlying root cause for this desease, hopefully we can all find it.
I like you lost sooo much weight i went from 196lbs to 105, that's not candida, i just need to find what it is...
Same for you carebear20, you need to find the underlying cause of this illness, find that then the rest should fall into place for you, buit don't give up hope girl, your very young, you have your whole life in front of you, just look at it like a personal goal that you have to overcome, start looking forward to better days.

[Carebear20]

glad you foind out what was going ion. i tdid a foode allergy testing and i know gluten was in there but it said i was fine w/ that that i was allrgic to soybean, egga, and cows milk. i was surpised it didnt say yeast cuz i rect real bad when i eat bread but my doc said htat because i took it out of my diet it may not show up.. thats why we are doing some other one shots on the arms for inhalent and food allerigies.

[Sunshne24]

Carebear,
Gluten intolerance isn't an allergy. It will not show up in an allergy test. I had all kinds of allergy tests done and I wasnt allergic to anything. Its an autoimmune disease where the body just cant tolerate gluten...it can start at any time. The immune system mistakenly starts attacking the gluten as if it were foreign. In the process its also attacking the healthy cells in your body...it damages the intestinal lining. This can cause malabsorption (which has its own set of symptoms), leaky gut, candida, food sensitivities and the list goes on.
Bloodstone,
OMG....I know exactly how you felt. I was in such bad shape...and all they would do is tell me to go see the shrink. I'm still angry about it. I demanded to see the specialists again. Noone would listen...within 2 minutes of walking in the room they would just say "Have you seen a phsychiatrist? Thats what you need to do." I think it was in my chart or something because I could barely get a few sentences out before they were bringing up the shrink. Finally I figured I better see the shrink...maybe that would somehow help. She was the only one with any common sense cuz she said there was clearly something physically wrong and they just havent figured it out yet. She said no antidepressant would "fix" me. She asked for permission to relay this to my doc. Needless to say he was NOT happy...but I sure was :) .
You have lost over 90 lbs! I definately agree that Candida isn't doing that to you. Have you ever checked into Celiac Disease...that is exactly what the disease does when it has progressed. If you had it and it caused enough damage you would no longer be absorbing any nutrients from your food and the weight would start coming off. With as much weight loss as you've had..I'd definately look into it. What have they tested you for? Even with all that weight loss they're still telling you its in your head? Doctors are pretty clueless. I did learn that once you start talking about Candida they never take you serious....thats when they REALLY think you need the shrink. I learned that the hard way.

[Sunshne24]

Also Carebear you could be reacting to the gluten in bread instead of yeast. Gluten causes more health problems than anything else we eat. All breads contain gluten (unless they are specialty gluten free breads), cakes, muffins, soy sauces, soups, pastas, beer, cookies, crackers, condiments....gluten is in most of the stuff we eat everyday. I had never even HEARD of gluten until my ex told me to look into this disease. I'd say probably 95% of the stuff I ate everyday had gluten in it. The whole time I thought it was the sugar content in this stuff that was causing the symptoms.

[bloodstone]

I haven't heard of that desease i'll certainly look into it though.
Trouble is i live in england, home of bad dentists and worse medicine practises, you can't demand anything here, you have to wait for a referal for like six months to three years and that's the small stuff!!!
We really are a third world country healthwise, unless you have money, of course, then you jump the queue..
It take's two weeks to get a doctors appointment unless they consider it an emergency, heart attack, leg hanging off!!!
Little wonder any of us over here are still alive.
They told me they would allergy test me but i could be waiting as long as seven years for that and then it's limited testing only. With me not working right now i can't afford to go private, just have to diet eliminate and see what happens.
Maybe i should buy and air ticket medical insurance and jump a plane stateside!!! wouldn't have the energy though!!!

[Sunshne24]

Wow...I didn't realize how bad it was for medical services over there. I complain when I have to wait a couple of weeks for an appt. Guess I don't have it as bad as I thought. Well...you can look up Celiac online...see if anything makes sense to you. The symptoms vary so there really arent any "typical" symptoms. Most people will lose weight dramatically but then there are some that are overweight so it really does vary. Most common symptoms are fatigue, depression, bloating, diarreah/constipation, brain fog, muscle/joint pain. There are so many though...I think theres like over 200 symptoms accosiated w/ it. If you think you might have it the best thing you can do is eliminate all gluten from your diet. Most people will notice a big improvement within a couple weeks..sometimes longer depending on how sick you are. I think alot of symptoms would get better fast though. If you were going to test at the doctors you'd have to continue eating gluten..it has to be eaten continuously for about 3 months for a test to be accurate. Alot of people dont bother with the tests since once they stop eating gluten they get better so they don't want to eat it again for testing purposes. Anyways, since you have to wait so long for tests its worth a try. There is no cure for Celiac...a very strict gluten free diet will eliminate all symptoms though. I think its the only disease in the world totally corrected by diet alone. If you had it and continued to eat gluten you'd be at risk for cancer and lots of other diseases.

[bloodstone]

OMG, i just checked out the website for celiac and i can check every symptom off with a big fat tick, thanks for that sunshine. Tomorrow i'm off gluten for a month and see what happens, i hope it's the answer, certainly sounds like it.
I had a really bad reaction to shredded wheat cereal a few weeks ago, i can usually eat it, i guess that means your right.
Were both gluten free now, hopefully that's the start we need to good health.
I can't wait to see my doctor!! what i'm gonna call him if i have this isn't even gonna be printable!!

[Sunshne24]

LOL...maybe you'll want a new doctor soon!
Good luck trying the diet...I hope it works for you! One thing I've noticed is that since my health started to improve when I DO get some gluten in me now its a very strong reaction...not always immediate but definately noticeable. The reactions arent so obvious when you feel crappy all the time but once you start getting a little better...boy you will notice! Remember that gluten is also in supplements, medications and believe it or not I even got sick from my lotion cuz I was touching my food or licking my fingers. Its not an easy diet but it sure as heck beats being sick all the time or taking lots of meds. Oh...my favorite site is Celiac.com. They have lots of info. plus an awesome message board. Here is the link: http://www.celiac.com/st_main.html
I highly recommend looking at the safe and forbidden food ingredients list. This is where I needed the most help since gluten is never actually labeled as an ingredient on the packages. I was pretty clueless. It just helps you know how to "look" for gluten and which products are safe to eat. If you did truelly have Celiac then you would have to be very diligent about keeping gluten out of your diet.
Good Luck!!!! I hope you get better!!!
Feel free to email me if you ever have any questions...I'd be curious to know if getting rid of gluten helps you.
Sunshne24~aol.com

[bloodstone]

I checked out that website, it was great, thanks for that.
I started looking through my kitchen cupboards and what's in the freezer and apart from frozen chips and some veggies everything i eat seems to have gluten in it somewhere, even my ketchup, which makes me sad to lose such an old and values memeber of my food chain!! guess i'll have to make my own, i went to my local supermarket on line and tapped in gluten free products and thankfully they have a lot, flour and butter as well so i can at least make my own cakes and stuff, and maybe slip some to my kids when their not looking!!
They do pasta products, which is a big plus, a life without pasta isn't worth thinking about, cookies, cakes and even pancake mix, so the upside is while i'm trying to get healthy i can put on some weight too!!
I know it's a dieting website and i shouldn't say that but trust me when i wasw bigger, i was happier and healthier!!
But my biggest bug bare is never to have mac donalds or pizza hut pizza again, or a bucket of coated chicken, chinese, indian... that means i have to cook EVERY night !!!!! AHHHHH!!

[Sunshne24]

I know what you mean...I'll be sooo happy when I gain all my weight back. I've already gained 5 lbs. after 2 weeks of gluten free...I need 20 more lbs. At first I had gained 10 lbs. back but if I slip up and eat something wrong I lose the weight again...so thats what happened to me already. Bummer. Yeah it does suck about McDonalds...I used to say that Mc'D's was my favorite restaraunt...ha-ha....that gives you a good idea of what my diet was like! No more Big Macs :( . The fries dont have gluten...but I'm not gonna eat any until I heal all the way...there is always the risk of contamination...so I'm not ready for that risk yet. Its unbelievable how much gluten is in...basically everything I ever ate! I think it would have been very traumatic for me if I had been diagnosed with this before I got so sick. It helped that I had been on the Candida diet for 4 months already...that was so strict and I never cheated once. Now I'm actually *adding* foods in like potatoes, fruits, pastas, cookies...I was pretty excited about not having to only eat meats and veggies anymore! I've been able to find lots of GF foods near me...they're just alot more expensive. I'm glad you were able to find stuff too!
If you ever use the Celiac message board...I'm Rachel--24. I've learned so much from those people...still learning.
-Rachel

[Sunshne24]

Oh yeah...are the brands the same over there in England? If you can find Tinkyada pasta...I think its the best. Some of the GF stuff isn't all that yummy. Everyone raves about Kinnikinnick products..they have pizza crusts, breads, muffins, donuts...stuff like that. I havent tried them yet...I think they have to be ordered online. I found alot of delicious cookies. There is a huge list of GF products...all the mainstream stuff. If you're interested heres the info. for getting it:


1) Go to the website, http://forums.delphiforums.com/celiac/start
2) Click on "messages" or "start reading"
3) Select the folder "GF Product List"
4) Click on the topic called "Downloadable files word"
5) Of the four options, choose the one in the upper right.
You may need to register (the basic version is free) in which case, just register first, then complete the steps above.

[bloodstone]

still look on the bright side when your all the way healed, what you spent on takeaway's you can buy all those goodies like gf free cookies and things you never thought you could eat again on the candida diet!!!
And all those new outfits!!!!
I guess when i get my health back and return to work i'll be brown bagging it for a while, i don't think they serve gf foods on the slops wagon that comes around!!
It's kinda weird, when i was eating junk food i used to craved a sunday roast, meat and all the veggies i could get, now i look at a sprout in a new light.!!!
But at least with this diet, your not really cutting much out, their are sooo many alternatives like fish in batter, ( i'm english rememeber!!) i can just use different ingredients and make my own!! Same with cookies and cakes, muffins etc, once healed it's a pretty good diet!!

[Sunshne24]

You're right...there are some bright sides to this diet...plus its probably alot more healthy in the long run. I think the alternative grains are more healthy...plus I cant just run off to Taco Bell when I'm hungry. Definately more meats and veggies and fruits. I never ate vegetables...ever...until I went on Candida diet. I also learned how to cook and bake finally. My reactions to a tiny bit of gluten take about 2 weeks to go away so thats the worst part for me...I wish it was alot shorter. Thats my biggest complaint.

[bloodstone]

The weird part is i was doing a letter earlier and licked the envelope, i had a reaction to that, maybe i need to see what they use for glue??? !!!
I haven't knowingly had any gluten now for about thirty six hours plus, my heads a little clearer and my legs aren't dragging as much, and my tummy didn't blow up after breakfast lik it normally does, but maybe that's just something else, but i'm certainly gonna stick to this diet for a bit, my nose is still itchy a little but not as much as yesterday, i'm not sure if i react to soy milk though so i'm going to get some coconut milk, because i can eat coconuts by the bucketful...
I can't believe you NEVER ate veggies... their not my fav food, that would be doughnuts or chocolate, but still a nice big stir fry... in between take aways of course...
What did you eat??
I thought american's were really healthy eaters, i know you guys invented take away and all, but i thought it was the english that had bad food habits, all fish and chips and suet puddings with lots of custard.
God, i'm making myself hungry!!!!!

[Sunshne24]

OMG...I forgot to mention...NEVER lick an envelope or stamp...they contain gluten! I used to get bad reactions from doing that but finally I started using a wet paper towel instead. This was long before I found out about gluten...now I know the reason. Read this: http://www.celiac.com/st_prod.html?p_prodid=186&p_catid=12&sid=91hH9H1FY4uq7Q9-49105212610.20
I don't know where you heard we were healthy eaters over here...LOL...I personally don't know too many people who eat healthy. I thought we had the most unhealthy diets in the world! What did I eat before? I ate mac & cheese, mc donalds, taco bell, jack in the box, pizza, sandwiches, pastries, pasta, and microwave dinners. Pretty bad huh? I went from this to organic veggies, meats and fish basically overnight....drastic change! I never cheated once in the whole 4 months of the candida diet. I just so badly wanted to get better. It worked too...just not all the way. I think this whole experience...as bad as it was...has taught me alot. Its changed me in a good way...I appreciate things more now. When I started the diet I had no clue what to do with the veggies I bought...then I discovered stir-frys. This made them tolerable to me..now I actually like them. The only veggies I ever liked before (if I HAD to eat a vegetable) were mushrooms, corn, potatoes, carrots and peas. Of course these are all the ones I couldn't have on the candida diet so I was pretty much eating stuff I never really liked. Sheesh...I don't know how I had the willpower to stick to that diet for so long!

[bloodstone]

Saw the list, now that's scarey, toothpaste, medicines, envelopes and stamps, spices, lotions and creams???? At least it's not in deoderant!!!
They didn't put shampoo, now i've been sensitive to that for a while, have to use a ph soap to wash my hair!!
Guess i'll be using the old fresh lemons trick to clean my teeth from now on and getting fresh spices instead of packet ones...
Guess you guys didn't just invent fast food, you live the dream!!!
I still can't believe you didn't eat veggies!! LOL!!
So i guess the kitchen in your house was just the place you visited to use the microwave and make the coffee!!! I'm glad you've learned how to turn on a oven now though!!!
Now you need to buy a breadmaker so you can make your own! There's a scarey thought!! But it's cheaper than shop bread and there's nothing like warm bread straight from the oven...
I suppose our two cultures really don't know that much about each other, except what we see on telly, we always see american's eating big salads and fruit salads for desert, I thought it was only cops that ate takeaway and jelly doughnuts!!!

[Sunshne24]

Funny...when we had our house built the room I was least concerned with was the kitchen since I knew I'd never really use it....except for the microwave of course. I don't drink coffee so I never even used the kitchen for that. Now I use that stove everyday and I think sheeesh...I shoulda put a little more thought into the kitchen when we were building since its the room I use MOST now. I probably will end up with a breadmaker some day but for now I'm buying the gf stuff...expensive as it is.
I think most toothpastes are ok....you just have to check the brands...thats why its good to have that list. I use Tom's of Maines. Do you guys have that brand? Its all natural....no chemicals or anything. I did get really sick from my lotion though. I've had to change lotion, shampoo & conditioner and some cosmetics. Some people only worry about lipstick but I changed everything to gf just to be safe. When I thought I had candida I was going to the sauna everyday to detox. Sometimes I would feel bad after going and I think it was because my blush contained gluten and when I'd sweat it would get on my lips and into my mouth. Sometimes my mouth would start to tingle. I still use the sauna..but my any make-up I may have on is gf now. I notice a big improvement after changing shampoo too.
LOL...only the cops eating donuts and takeaway? Maybe I shoulda been a cop
:)

[bloodstone]

See there goes another myth, all american's are supposed to live on coffee!!
Where as we brits prefer our tea!!
At least i knew to call them jelly doughnuts instead of jam!!, even if we spell things differently!!
We don't have half of the brands you guys are used to, i use colgate total, it doesn't say it contains any gluten but i've emailed the company just in case!!
My soal is dove, it ph balanced and i don't seem to have a problem, that i know of with that, but hey i'm the one who licks envelopes, so what do i know..
Costmetics are a problem though, i never even thought of those, we girls must have our necessities, i use revlon, max factor and some hypo allergic stuff so i'll have to check those out!!!, the hassel of finding those perfect shades again!!! ahhhh!!
I seem to have a problem with anti-bacterial household cleaner, maybe that's just me being sensitive to stuff right now though...
Feminine products are the worst though, the good one's with the gel!!! can not tolerate those anymore, having to step back in time to the old style, change every five seconds type, but the good thing is their cheap cos nobody want to buy them anymore!!
At the moment i'm scooping alternative sources of milks, can't drink cow's, can't use soy, tried coconut.. errrr!! next will be rice!! I have to have something in my tea, i do not move until i've had a cuppa in the morning.
I had a down thought today, when i go on holiday, i'm still going to have to do my own cooking!!!! I need to marry a chef!!

[Sunshne24]

Well the problems with dairy are pretty normal for anyone whos got a gluten intolerance. Suppossedly it usually goes away after you heal..I know I'm sensitive to dairy right now. They say most of the sensitivities will go away once you get to feeling better...I'm hoping this is true. I have chemical sensitivities too... this is getting way better already but I still cant handle the perfumes...I have to hold my breath if I walk near someone with perfume.
Thats good that you're contacting the companys regarding their ingredients...I had to do that with all the make-up. The only one that had gluten was my blush. I use dove soap too...its never bothered me..same with lubriderm sensitive skin lotion. Because of the chemical sensitivities I use all chemical free cleaners and laundry dtergents that are dye and perfume free. This was one of the first symptoms I got 3 years ago so I changed alot of things a long time ago just knowing they bothered me. Don't feel bad about the envelope thing...LOL...stupid me everytime I paid my bills I'd end up in tears and sleeping for the rest of the day. It took me a whole 2 years to figure out why...DUH! I got really bad about paying my bills and everything would be late because I knew I would end up sick and I was scared of the pile of mail. :lol: Yeah...I laugh now..but at the time it was pretty traumatic!
Oh yeah be careful with the rice milks...alot of them have malt barley in them. Rice Dream writes in very small letters "contains gluten" on the back of the package...no where near the ingredients list. I got fooled by that. I can't wait till I gain more weight and can fit into all my clothes again! Of course I've got all new clothes since I've lost weight (any excuse to shop right) but I miss my "healthy" clothes. I am size zero now...and without a belt I'd be in trouble.

[bloodstone]

Hey, just being out of work for this long make's me petrified of the pile of bills!! LOL, but at least i know not to lick the envelopes anymore, i did remember just now though!!! Brain fog seems to be fading a lot, which is great and i played with my little girl in the garden earlier for a while, she's three, so she was thrilled mummy came outside!!
I'm going to start working on her diet next, gluten allergies are supposed to be inherited, so until she's old enough to do her own thing, i'd better learn to change her fav cookie and cake recipes around to gf.
Thanks for the milk tip, what milk do you use then??
A belt with everything??? LOL you wait, you'll get better and wish you had kept some pounds off, still, again, another excuse to shop!!!

[Sunshne24]

LOL...yeah my mom keeps telling me I'll one day wish to be this thin again..I don't think so!!! For me THIN IS NOT IN!!! LOL....I'm probably the only girl in history to have ever said those words!
How long have you been off work? Its been 21 months all together for me now...I'm suppossed to be going back in a few weeks. I was in such bad shape before changing my diet that I messed up my credit because I just didn't care about paying my bills...I really didn't care about anything cuz I was too sick. Luckily now that I have my mind back I was able to get everything straightened out and I'm back to my responsible self. If I ever mess up anything again...I guess I can always say "The gluten made me do it!" Ha-Ha.
Right now I'm using almond milk or rice milk...they both say gluten free on the carton. I dont know what other foods I might be sensitive to...if any...so I'm avoiding the common allergens like dairy, soy, yeast, and egg. I got some gluten in me on monday so I'm still recovering...when I feel great again I'll introduce those foods one at a time to see if theres any problems. I'm actually taking a test for yeast and egg so that'll eliminate any questions I have there.

[bloodstone]

You know the old saying mum's know best!! so don't speak too soon!
I've been off work for nearly a year! I miss working soo much, don't get me wrong, i hate being tied to the constant of work, but i loved having something to do, somewhere to go, and money!!! God, do i miss money!!
Our benefits system is really bad here, i'm still fighting to claim a disability premium, i'm actually at appeal on monday!! Now that gives me a reason to get out of bed, fighting the goverment!! Ha!
My credits in the toilet right now, bank loan, credit cards, car loan, store cards, all the things i enjoyed having a good job have turned to bite me in the butt, especially when you add on the cost of living.. it truely sucks, as you would say!!
I tell you, when i get better and go back to work i'm gonna pay off all my credit and NEVER get anything on credit again. From now on if i can't afford it, i'm going to save for it!!! Plus a little more in case i'm outta work again.
Don't get me wrong though, i'm going to make sure i enjoy each and every day, i thought i was going to die when this happened, makes you realise how much there is left to do and how you just let things slide you by.

[Sunshne24]

I know what you mean about missing work. Alot of people think it must be fun to have so much time off...its not when you're sick and struggling. I miss the normalcy of going to work and being around people. Its gets boring and lonely after awhile. For the first year I was actually getting paid more than if I were working. Now I'm getting less but since I'm not commuting back and forth everyday...I'm saving the money on gas so it kind of balances out I guess. I'm afraid when I go back to work....gas prices are crazy here in the U.S....its enough to make a person go broke!

[bloodstone]

I think everything is a little crazy out there at the moment what with the storm and all, it's a truely terrible thing. And we think we have problems, we may not have our health but at least we've got our house, families and stuff right??..
Work pays the bills, that's the upside, i'm gonna miss my kids when i finally go back, but not that much!!!
I've been checking out all the gluten free sites i can find, their manly U.S and australia related, our nhs has a small bit on it, but as you can imagine not a lot, I mean we only got dishwashers over here in the mainstream in the ninties, how can we expect our health service to catch up that quickly.
It pretty interesting reading, and pretty scarey too, some of the complications of not following the diet or getting diagnosed late is pretty bad.
Still, if we feel better after only a short time and stay on the diet it's still a new lease of life...
As for work, we'll be back there a week and wondering how soon we can book our first holiday i'm guessing..!!!

[Sunshne24]

LOL..so true...probably after a couple days back at work I'll be like is it the weekend yet? No dishwashers until the nineties? Woah! I'm not really up to speed on what its like in other countries but I just thought dishwashers were everywhere...we've always had one my whole life.
Yeah...our problems are nothing compared to whats going on in New Orleans right now. I'm not watching too much news....I get emotional and cry...its very depressing.
The complications of not following the diet are definately enough to keep me focused. Some people actually have no symptoms whatsoever and only get tested because of the genetic factor...someone in their family has it. All of a sudden they're told they have to be gluten free for life and they don't get any symptoms from eating it but yet they have total destruction of their small intestine. I think it would be great to not get symptoms but then again...how would you know if you're getting some damage by accident? Awareness here is getting better I think...some restaraunts have gluten free menus. I have these little restaraunt cards that explain what I can eat and how the food has to be prepared and all that. They come in different languages...so if I'm at a chinese restaraunt I can pull out my chinese card. Pretty cool...but I wont be using them for awhile.

[bloodstone]

Maybe people should look into opening resturants that are gluten free, or gluten and dairy free, they would make a fortune, maybe someone could suggest it to macdonalds!!, i live in hope!!
No, i'm not the emtotional type, until all this started now i can look at a news story and just burst into tears, i came across the news of the storms and what had happened on my home web page and couldn't stop crying... that's definately not me!!!
I'm not sure if i'm having withdrawel from gluten symptoms today or not, i was really light headed this morning when i woke up and boy did my bowel have fun for about two hours!!!
This is what? day three for me i think, so i guess i gotta expect some kind of kick in the pants right??
Did you have withdrawal??
And the acidophillus doesn't appear to be doing it's job so well anymore, the first few weeks my tongue was clear and now it's started to coat up again, it come's off with brushing, but it's just really annoying, i've increased the amount i'm taking in the hope that it does something..

[Sunshne24]

I did have a worsening of symptoms for I think a week or less and then I started feeling really good. I don't know if its withdrawl or what...alot of people seem to experience it though. When I started (I consider the start of my candida diet as the beginning of going gluten free even though I wasnt aware at the time) I felt very nauseaus in the morning with lots of loose stools. I got lightheaded and was extremely tired. I was already practically on my death bed before changing my diet so during these days I thought I was dying for sure. All of a sudden I had massive chemical sensitivities...this was the craziest thing to ever have happened to me....I thought I might have to live in a bubble. Thank God it only lasted 3 days. I think it was during my second week that all of a sudden I had energy and my depression was gone..I started cleaning my house and doing yardwork...nobody could believe it. It was like a miracle. I keep a food/symptom diary so I can really see the changes I've made...it helps me to try and figure out what foods might bother me too. I've been doing this since January...when I was still eating normal food. When I read back that far...OMG...Its scary what I was going through back then. Well I felt really good the first few weeks on the Candida diet...like I was healing and I had endless energy. When I started with all the supplements and antifungals is when I went downhill...also I bought some Spelt bread cuz people said it was ok for candida diet (it even said on the package it was great for those on candida diet)...I ate the bread for a few days and got even worse. Now I know that Spelt bread has gluten and so do the supplements but before I just thought I'd fed the yeast and I was real angry at myself. I never really got back to feeling like I did those first to few weeks cuz I continued with the supplements. I only got diagnosed on Aug. 15th and at least twice now I've gotten gluten by accident...I'm still learning and its hard. The last time was this past Monday...I get bad symptoms for a few days...my stools start changing and I can tell I'm not absorbing very much. This is when I'll lose weight easily. As I start to feel better my stools start looking more healthy and I'll feel like I'm absorbing...gaining some lbs. back. It takes 2 weeks or more to recover from one incident I think. When I get all the way better it shouldn't be so bad if I mess up but right now its like I'm back at square one and the healing is just beginning all over. I get frusterated cuz I want to get better overnight...I'm impatient (aren't we all).
OMG...as far as the emotions go. Well anyone who knows me will say that I'm totally unemotional (when I was healthy). I very rarely cried. The entire time I was sick...EVERYTHING made me cry...I was overly-sensitive and things easily hurt my feelings. I'd overreact to everything. I was constantly depressed. It was hard for me to be this completely different person who had no control of her emotions. Now I'm kind of back to my old self as far as that goes...not 100% but I'm definately not crying everyday. I also couldnt read or write during that time...I wasnt able to retain any information...brainfog was horrible. All of the stuff affecting my brain cleared up right away...the dpression, fog, memory loss...it was better in one week. Then the aches and pains went away. The only problems I have now are the absorption ones...and some symptoms I think are related to vitamin/mineral deficiencies. I get bloated...have fluid retention...too many stools....this is what I've been dealing with since Monday...but each day is getting better.

[burchets]

I was taking antibiotics for acne as a teenager, and now I have lived with problems for around 18 years. I think if you have yeast you know it, because the back of your tongue is white and certain intimate places itch. The problem is that yeast symptoms and other types of problems mimic eachother, so it is hard to always guess whether it is a yeast problem or some other type of problem.