I think I need to find a penpal, or someone who has experienced similar things as I have. Two and a half years ago, I went through a period of EXTREME stress due to two grown stepkids, one grown daughter, and the "distress" they brought into my household. I could feel myself sinking and feeling worse and worse day by day. I was having stomach pains (center of body), and adrenaline rushes that lasted all day long. Then one night I went out with some friends and hubby and had a margarita. I got home, and a couple of hours later, woke up from a sound sleep with my stomach just feeling like it had a life of it's own. It felt like something was jumping all around in it, my heart was racing and beating hard, my skin was cold and clammy, but I didn't want covers on, and the weirdest thing was that I had to go urinate about 7 or 8 times in a row with about 10 minutes in between each time! I mean my bladder was full! I had no idea what was wrong with me, and when I finally got through the night and into the next day, it was noon before I was strong enough to get out of bed. (I tried, and I would be very dizzy and nauseated and have to sit back down). My journey began, and I started doing metabolic balancing which helped some, but periodically I would have another one of those awful spells. Always after having ingested sugar or alcohol. It took me almost two years to figure out that candida was most likely the culprit, and after colon cleanses, many different types of anti-fungals, probiotics, etc., I still find myself having to really watch out, or I will have another spell. I usually have them 4 - 6 weeks apart. My big thing is that I always fall off of the diet wagon. I will do really well, and then eat sugar or have a drink. And I can usually get away with it for a while, and then WHAM! Another disabling spell.

Question: I am nearing menopause, I'm sure, at 50, and I'm wondering if some of this could be hormonal, or caused by excessive estogen, and if so, would natural progesterone cream help? I'm so tired of feeling like the "freak." Right now, I am rotating anti-fungals so that the candida doesn't find it's way around any of them, but in doing so, I experience these symptoms more often. I'm assuming these spells are a form of die-off? Any suggestions or empathizing is welcome!!!

Hi Joanie,

I can *really* sympathize. I've been under heavy stress for about a year. Six months ago, some circumstances changed for the worse and my stress level skyrocketed.

Within a matter of a week or so, I started having a variety of odd, often unpleasant, symptoms: intense itching in unusual places (ears were the worst), plus itchy/watery eyes, itches up my nose, very low energy, low moods, mood swings, frequent little cough for no reason, lousy sleep, low body temperature, short periods of racing heart, irregular heartbeat, etc.

I'm not much of a sweets eater, but suddenly I was craving sugar, bugging my teen-age daughter to make pies and cookies, drinking mocha coffees, raiding my wife's chocolate stash (I pay her back at the rate of about two for one, so she's very happy to share), and becoming interested in beer.

Then, too, there were headaches (which I virtually never get), joint aches, mental fuzziness, nasal congestion, feeling shaky when hungry, and more.

So I started doing all kinds of research at the library, and even more so online. (I like to do research, so this was fun for me.) I researched hormonal issues, inhalation allergies, heart issues, food allergies, MSG, psychological issues, mercury poisoning, even carbon monoxide.

I worked through a bunch of different lists of symptoms and online questionnaires. I have a strong background in the biological sciences and in psychology, so I was able to target my research pretty precisely.

But nothing was making much sense until I started looking into Candida. Bingo. I found a number of different Candida questionnaires online. The best of them was done by Wm. Crook, M.D., author of The Yeast Connection. I took his questionnaire at www.yeastconnection.com/pdf/yeastfullsurv.pdf (It's a free instant download with no commercial messages of any kind.)

When I got to the end of the questionnaire, it said, "Yeast-connected health problems are almost certainly present . . . in men with scores more than 140." My score was well over 200.

So I started experimenting off and on with high-protein, low-carb, low-glycemic meals this week. Many of my symptoms are much improved after a low-carb meal, and markedly worse for some time after a high-glycemic meal. (And I'm not talking about regular carbo crashes or sugar crashes. I've been aware of those for a long time.)

Today, for example, I have had nothing except light Zone-type / paleo meals. I've been awake for about eight hours and my moods and energy level have remained consistently high. There has been very little itching or congestion, no cough, no shaky feelings. Yippee!

Now, I'm looking at ways to get rid of the Candida for good, or at least cut it way back. Most of the anti-fungals I've been reading about online require visits to an M.D. ($$$$), a prescription, and the drugs have potentially harmful side-effects. I don't want to go that route if I can help it. The most promising thing I've read about so far is something called Lufenuron. It doesn't require a prescription. The person whose name is most associated with it online is Sarah Vaughter. If any other lowcarbers have any experience with this product, I'd like to hear about it.

As far as hormonal issues go, there are a couple of places you can go online to get all kinds of blood tests and saliva tests for hormones without a prescription. Two of the most-recommended places I've found are HealthCheckUSA and ZRT labs. You can get three or four different hormones professionally tested for less than $100, and they send you an evaluation by mail.

In contrast, a couple of months ago, I visited the website of a local M.D. who specializes in hormones. An initial appointment would be $300. Testing for one hormone, if I recall correctly, was $125. Then there were the follow-up appoints for prescribing, evaluating, etc., billed at the rate of something like $250 per hour. Those numbers mount up real fast.

If you want to do some reading about the hormonal issues you might want to visit YoungAgain.org. It's a non-commercial site that has a number of free articles and free, downloadable ebooks on hormones, hormone testing, hormone balancing, etc. (The site favors macrobiotics and low-protein ideas, but the hormone info is very helpful anyhow.)

Well, it's time for my next low-carb meal!
Best Wishes to you, Joanie.
Tobey