I have an unusual problem. My heel itches--severely. The same spot, on the same foot. The weird part is that it itches whenever I take Nystatin. My doctor originally prescribed Nystatin in late June for my candida...I took it for a few months after that (I don't recall if the itching started then or if I had it to some degree before that). Sometime around November, my doctor mentioned that I might try NOT taking it to see if my candida symptoms returned or worsened. I did that, and didn't notice any significant changes. So far so good, and during that time no itchy foot. I recently decided to start taking it again after some of my symptoms returned (and after taking a cruise where I had a little too much fruit every day). Since I started taking it (started this week), my foot has been itching like crazy...same foot, same spot. I've mentioned this to my dermatologist who doesn't find anything wrong. I have yet to see my allergist. Does it sound more like allergic reaction to the Nystatin or some type of die off affect?

Sorry for the lengthy explanation!

Hi Donna:
It sounds like a die-off reaction.

Speak to your doctor about taking DIFLUCAN instead of Nystatin. Nystatin is known to depress the immune system and that makes it hard for you to overcome the fungal infection. There is a reason Nystatin is cheap and Diflucan is about $22 a pill (and not just because Diflucan doesn't have a generic here yet, in Canada, the Diflucan generic is about $8 a pill - so that gives you an idea how effective and worthwhile this drug is).
I also take 3 to 6 pills of acidophilus a day. I purchase it at my health food store and ONLY purchase the refrigerated, NO MILK pills. This is really important because most of us WILL develop a dairy allergy as the gut fungus gets more intense and you don't want your body busy battling the allergic reaction with the very pill you are taking to make you better.
After LCing for over 6 months and taking DIFLUCAN (my doc gave me a 30 day supply of 200 mg and that really took it down a notch) I feel much better. To keep my fungal infection under control, I take about 1 a week if I'm not feeling grand.
I also have to watch the kind of LC sweets I eat. Splenda seems fine but some of the sugar alcohols can really do a number on your fungal growth - particularly mannitol and sorbitol - the worse offenders and maltitol isn't that great either. Look for products with inulin, isomalt and erythritol in them that are OK to ingest and still give you a sweet craving relief without too much grief for your gut.

Thank you for your reply! Your reply makes sense! When I first started the anti-fungal program my doctor prescribed Diflucan, but my insurance company would only authorize ONE pill! Yes, just one! So I did take it. I'll ask him again when I see him. Maybe I'll just skip the Nystatin altogether and just rely on my GSE. I do take a probiotic that is not milk based so that at least is good. I have been eating too many sugar alcohols though. Okay, time to get serious again! Thanks again!

I'll PM you too so you'll get the answer to the Diflucan mystery ASAP.
I had the same problem and you know what it is? Doc's are so used to prescribing the 150 mg for Vaginal Yeast Infections that they give out that dose on the prescription and then NO INSURANCE COMPANY will give more than one (just the way it goes) because you only take that 1 150mg for a vaginal infection.
Tell your doc to either prescribe a 100mg or 200mg pill.
With the 200mg pills I usually snap them in half (I have my doc prescribe twice the amount I need because my deductibles are ridiculous). I have had to use the 200mg when my infection is bad.
My system is funny: two days after taking the pill, I become increasingly cranky (this is day two, right here and now - yuck). I'm more likely to be combative although I feel fine. Just a warning so you can plan your life around that day. Tomorrow I will feel fun and fine again (must be hormones involved in the die-off reaction).
HTH
Jeannie

Thanks again Jeannie...I would have never known to ask for lower dosages to get more pills! I'm off to read the PM now!

I'm sorry Donna. I didn't realize you were a new forum person. The system is set up to not let you receive PM (Private Messages) until you post "X" amount of times (I don't know how long it takes).
I pretty much said the same thing as I did above - I just wanted to make sure you got the message quickly.
The 200 mg. Diflucan pill is pretty strong and you might not want to take that one all at once but I took 1 a day for 30 days back in October and it did wonders for me. I really started to drop weight on Atkins after I finished that round of meds.
My weakness is the pre-packaged candies made with sugar alcohols - they feed the fungal infection. I bought some erythritol (a sugar alcohol) that is known for its very low caloric count and low reaction in the gut. I use that with liquid splenda in cooking to make the sweetness believable.

Hi again Jeannie! Yes, I lurk more than I post here, LOL! Yes, I'm finding that those sugar alcohols just seem to creep into my life! I really have to be more diligent. I've been using a little Davinci SF syrup, but trying not to use too much and I bought some Xyritol (or something like that--hum, maybe it's the one you have), but haven't tried it yet. The next time I see my allergist I'll ask him about the Diflucan. In the meantime I'm using my GSE liquid extract along with a probiotic. I stopped the Nystatin a couple of days ago and already my heel isn't as itchy.

Xylitol (I think that is the way it is spelled) is supposed to be one of the better sugar alcohols. I've never noticed a reaction with splenda with my gut but if you do notice obscene gurgling you could get stevia extract powder. It is 100% stevia and it is a natural plant leaf substance and contains no sugar (just has a sugar taste).
I know what you mean about lurking. I have an online computer Info course for college this semester and my dang professor is requiring we post 2 SIGNIFICANT (what the heck does that mean?) messages a day, 5 days a week. I can't think of that much to say on the subject of computers because this is a mandatory course for my degree and I already know all the material (bah humbug!) ALERT! The last few sentences were mental tangents!

Jeannie

You are allowed mental tangents any time you like (at least on my threads!).