Candida & possibly IBS - newbie to this
 

Hi all,

This is my first post. A quick summary: for the past year or so, on and off I've suffered stomach issues, ranging from bad constipation to diarrhea (usually in the morning/afternoon) that prevented me from wanting to leave the house some days, and feeling anxious when I had to. I also suffered nausea quite often (but nausea I've dealt with for longer than a year, possibly also due to anxiety or nerves).

I went to two doctors, both whom asked a couple questions and dismissed it as IBS. I had a stool sample and blood test done which both came back fine (negative for coeliacs disease too).

I started taking small amounts of Benefiber daily, which has helped with regularity on good days. I stopped having C issues but the D was still a bit of a problem. I then also started on a gentle probiotic supplement (Schiff's Digestive Advantage IBS).

At the beginning of this month, I had a food intolerance test done to find out for sure. It was an eye-opening experience. Along with quite a few intolerances (mushrooms, grapes, garlic, all dairy except for goat's milk, peanuts, etc.), the nutritionist saw that I was having a bad reaction to yeast and sugar and that it looked like I had an overgrowth of yeast. She recommended the candida diet.

I've been on it for just over a week now - MAN is it tough. Even more so because I've just flown home to China to see my family for Christmas and it's been ridiculously hard finding stuff I can eat over here. We haven't eaten out once yet.

I feel mostly better - I haven't had any C or D issues in the past week - my bowel movements were a little looser today but I am on my 2nd day of my period (sorry if that's TMI!) and that usually affects me a little.

I've also been taken 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (the kind with 'mother' at the bottom) daily which I'd like to think is helping. (All vinegar is banned on the ACD except for ACV - unfermented - it's been known to have candida fighting properties. There are mixed opinions on this but it hasn't caused me any issues in the 4 days I've been taking it so I'm going to keep going).

I'm just wondering what die-off symptoms others who suffered candida-related stomach issues have had, and how long they've lasted for you? A day or two, a week, on and off?

Also, how do you all manage eating out? I feel just terrible because one of the great pleasures my parents and I take in life is eating, and I'm only back visiting for 3 weeks with such a limited diet. Plus it's been hard on my boyfriend back in England; he and I also share the love of dining out and the poor guy's had to deal with me looking at menus and going "I can't have that. Or that. Or this or that." So, any tips or suggestions?

Another Q - after however many weeks/months of being on the diet, has anyone gone back to eating carbs, breads and sugary foods again? I don't intend to go crazy when my candida is sorted (I've already decided I now love dark chocolate and will try that instead of milk choc when I'm better) but I don't want to never be able to have some fruit, eat a normal sandwich or bake a banana cake ever again without panicking about setting my stomach off.

I'm so, so sorry this was so long!

I'm not a fan of some of the food intolerance tests, they're often a scattershot approach and can come up with a lot of false positives.

I think doing an elimination diet is a better bet. You can google that, or do what I do. Eliminate everything but meat and slowly add stuff in and wait to see how you react.

For me, my IBS issues are caused by: Nuts, chocolate, GLUTEN (the worst one), dairy (in excess), certain raw veggies.

Some of these I can eat in moderation, but not gluten. It is evil.

I think gluten is probably behind the vast majority of IBS, but if you're like me, you eliminate it and you're 90% better... then you gotta keep digging to find the other 10%.

Thanks for your response, Nancy.

I was also sceptical at first of the food intolerance tests, but after doing a lot of internet research and asking around, I found one in London that used what seems to be the highest regarded method in the field (BER method) and figured I had nothing to lose, doctors hadn't been much help in giving advice!

So far on the no yeast/sugars diet I've been feeling a lot better. I'm hoping that's what the main issue has been.

I did test okay for gluten, and have been baking some breads/cookies at home using whole wheat flour without issues (so far, at least). If I start to feel worse again I'll try cutting out gluten as you recommend.

Other than the occasional home-made piece of bread and tiny bit of rice with some meals (now replacing with millet), I have been sticking pretty much to meat and veg. After a month or so I'll probably try as you say and add a new item in, a week at a time or something.

Thanks again for the advice.

I'd still give the gluten a shot. You might want to check out the book: "Wheat Belly".

Looks like I'm a little late to this thread, but I wanted to ask how you did with the Candida Diet. Were you able to stick with it after the holidays?

All of the research I've read sort of indicates that the diet works as an elimination diet itself, as you add foods slowly to figure out what is making you ill. That said, you may find you don't want to eat sugars and carbs again later on. Your body may just not want them any longer (and will tell you that by making you feel ill).

Interested in your results...