Candida update
Jul. 28th, 2010 04:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mamagotchaSo I started the anti-candida diet about two weeks ago, but after a few false starts and sorting out information and a jolly bout of stomach crud, I really think I got into the groove about a week ago.
The regimen goes like this:
Wake up. Drink a bit of water, followed with psyllium and bentonite (bleah) and a bunch more water.
Hour or so later, eat breakfast (usually a bunch of different veggies with an egg or two). No coffee for now.
With breakfast, take caprylic acid, evening primrose, vitamin E, probiotic.
A few hours later, take serrapeptase.
Lunch is usually a big salad with olive oil, lemon or lime or apple cider vinegar, some herbs.
Snacks might be cashews, cherry tomatoes, popcorn, half an avocado, hummus, GF crackers and sour cream with herbs, sliced red peppers, yogurt, leftovers, big glass of Pellegrino with some grapefruit juice (unsweetened).
Dinner has been steamed or sauteed veggies (with rice or pasta for the rest of the family) topped with some sort of sauce, red or yellow or green curry, Italian tomato & peppers, that sort of thing (it freezes well for Bill's lunches). Emphasizing garlic, onions and coconut oil/milk (all good anti-fungals).
With dinner, take another caprylic acid and probiotic.
Bedtime, take omega 3-6-9, liquid calcium/magnesium, multi vite, glucosamine/chondroiten.
Drink lotsa water.
I tried a mocha with Stevia, but it hasn't won me over yet, so I'm just not doing sweetened things at all. I've got some mangoes to do the green mango salad again, and some blueberries to have with the yogurt, but other than that, no fruit for now.
I apply coconut oil or Doo Gro oil every third day or so to the worst patches on my head, either right when I wake up or the night before, and leave it to soak in. The itchiness and burning are still there... some mornings, it feels inflamed and throbbing. The oils do soothe the fire, and help loosen the crud to wash it out. The Nizoral doesn't seem to do anything, and neither does the fancy "calming" conditioner I got, but they don't make it worse so I'll use 'em up, at least.
This last week, the infection has moved into my ears, which hardly seems sporting. I'm dotting oil in there and doing my damndest not to pick at it, but it's pretty maddening. The patch on the elbow hasn't really changed any.
I know I need to be patient, that it takes a while to clear the gut and then another while for the immune system to react to the change... I'm trying really hard not to stare at the patches and imagine some small improvement, and instead just sit back and let the whole thing just unfold at its own natural pace. I'm not very good at this.
I've got a call in to an integrated medicine doctor; the one I had in KC was awesome, and while I'm not so much down with homeopathy, a lot of the other alternative therapies don't sound so crazy to me. It's the wholistic view of health rather than the far-out treatments like aromatherapy that appeal to me... and if that stuff works for some folks, well, more power to 'em. Anyway, I've been meaning to find a local IM doc anyway, and from what I hear about this one, she won't just write a scrip for steroid cream and blow me off like the doc I have now. I should have seen her before I started all this to get a baseline starting point, but I didn't. We'll just have to do the best we can for now.
The last two days, I've felt really sluggish and tired, just totally wiped out. I know I'm not anemic, so I suspect it might be actually a good sign... there's a description of something called "candida die-off," where all the dying yeast actually causes a rise in toxicity and some backlash symptoms, before you start improving. I hope it's over soon, because Julia's coming tomorrow and Lorraine next week, and I really want to have a good time with them. Tyger suggested licorice root, and I found some in tea form at the store today (I looked for milk thistle too, but no luck).
I'm sleeping well, for the most part, and although I'm NOT doing this for any kind of weight control, I've lost about seven pounds (though I attribute most of that to the gastro hell of last week). My left ankle usually swells during the hottest days, and I haven't had one bit of swelling in the last two weeks, so that's good. My joints are aching today, although it could be the changing weather... but that usually just hits my fingers. Right now, everything feels creaky and ouchy.
So. Probably not of much interest to anyone out there, but it occurred to me that I would like to have some sort of record of what I've done so far and how things have progressed, so I can pass the info along to anyone else trying this same program.
The regimen goes like this:
Wake up. Drink a bit of water, followed with psyllium and bentonite (bleah) and a bunch more water.
Hour or so later, eat breakfast (usually a bunch of different veggies with an egg or two). No coffee for now.
With breakfast, take caprylic acid, evening primrose, vitamin E, probiotic.
A few hours later, take serrapeptase.
Lunch is usually a big salad with olive oil, lemon or lime or apple cider vinegar, some herbs.
Snacks might be cashews, cherry tomatoes, popcorn, half an avocado, hummus, GF crackers and sour cream with herbs, sliced red peppers, yogurt, leftovers, big glass of Pellegrino with some grapefruit juice (unsweetened).
Dinner has been steamed or sauteed veggies (with rice or pasta for the rest of the family) topped with some sort of sauce, red or yellow or green curry, Italian tomato & peppers, that sort of thing (it freezes well for Bill's lunches). Emphasizing garlic, onions and coconut oil/milk (all good anti-fungals).
With dinner, take another caprylic acid and probiotic.
Bedtime, take omega 3-6-9, liquid calcium/magnesium, multi vite, glucosamine/chondroiten.
Drink lotsa water.
I tried a mocha with Stevia, but it hasn't won me over yet, so I'm just not doing sweetened things at all. I've got some mangoes to do the green mango salad again, and some blueberries to have with the yogurt, but other than that, no fruit for now.
I apply coconut oil or Doo Gro oil every third day or so to the worst patches on my head, either right when I wake up or the night before, and leave it to soak in. The itchiness and burning are still there... some mornings, it feels inflamed and throbbing. The oils do soothe the fire, and help loosen the crud to wash it out. The Nizoral doesn't seem to do anything, and neither does the fancy "calming" conditioner I got, but they don't make it worse so I'll use 'em up, at least.
This last week, the infection has moved into my ears, which hardly seems sporting. I'm dotting oil in there and doing my damndest not to pick at it, but it's pretty maddening. The patch on the elbow hasn't really changed any.
I know I need to be patient, that it takes a while to clear the gut and then another while for the immune system to react to the change... I'm trying really hard not to stare at the patches and imagine some small improvement, and instead just sit back and let the whole thing just unfold at its own natural pace. I'm not very good at this.
I've got a call in to an integrated medicine doctor; the one I had in KC was awesome, and while I'm not so much down with homeopathy, a lot of the other alternative therapies don't sound so crazy to me. It's the wholistic view of health rather than the far-out treatments like aromatherapy that appeal to me... and if that stuff works for some folks, well, more power to 'em. Anyway, I've been meaning to find a local IM doc anyway, and from what I hear about this one, she won't just write a scrip for steroid cream and blow me off like the doc I have now. I should have seen her before I started all this to get a baseline starting point, but I didn't. We'll just have to do the best we can for now.
The last two days, I've felt really sluggish and tired, just totally wiped out. I know I'm not anemic, so I suspect it might be actually a good sign... there's a description of something called "candida die-off," where all the dying yeast actually causes a rise in toxicity and some backlash symptoms, before you start improving. I hope it's over soon, because Julia's coming tomorrow and Lorraine next week, and I really want to have a good time with them. Tyger suggested licorice root, and I found some in tea form at the store today (I looked for milk thistle too, but no luck).
I'm sleeping well, for the most part, and although I'm NOT doing this for any kind of weight control, I've lost about seven pounds (though I attribute most of that to the gastro hell of last week). My left ankle usually swells during the hottest days, and I haven't had one bit of swelling in the last two weeks, so that's good. My joints are aching today, although it could be the changing weather... but that usually just hits my fingers. Right now, everything feels creaky and ouchy.
So. Probably not of much interest to anyone out there, but it occurred to me that I would like to have some sort of record of what I've done so far and how things have progressed, so I can pass the info along to anyone else trying this same program.
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(no subject)
Date: 2010-07-29 12:18 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-07-31 11:35 pm (UTC)About your aching, ouchy joints -- I don't remember if you know, but my arthritis was eventually diagnosed as "psoriatic rheumatoid arthritis". Psoriasis can go along with a variety of inflammatory arthritis that tends to start in fingers and toes, but can hit most of the joints, and it doesn't show up on bloodwork -- "rheumatoid factor", "sedimentation rate", etc., all turn up normal. It's an auto-immune disease, of course.
Whichever kind of doctor/health person you see, it'll be good for them to know that your psoriasis is accompanied by joint pain. I, at least, will be very interested to hear about suggested treatments.
Good luck. I'm sorry the psoriasis is sucking. Mine usually just itches. I also find it hard not to pick at patches in my ears. :/
(no subject)
Date: 2010-07-31 11:52 pm (UTC)The joint stuff has been off and on for the last 20 years, worse with cold and inflammation. The latest bout, I think, might have been part of the die-off (fingers crossed!).
No, I didn't know you were struggling with this, on top of your other challenges. Bleah!
Where are you? Are you happy? What's going on? xoxo!