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??

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...

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???

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...

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

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...

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!!!

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

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.

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.

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.