• Welcome to Phoenix Rising!

    Created in 2008, Phoenix Rising is the largest and oldest forum dedicated to furthering the understanding of and finding treatments for complex chronic illnesses such as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), fibromyalgia (FM), long COVID, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), and allied diseases.

    To become a member, simply click the Register button at the top right.

Candida & immune system

naoise

Senior Member
Messages
287
hi

I have been tested for candida and it was positive. I still haven't started treatment or the diet because I can't help but think it's pointless! I have a low immune system and little to no natural killer cells so will it not always come back?
Please do tell me if I'm wrong cause I would give anything to get rid of the cravings and sugar binges!
 

SB_1108

Senior Member
Messages
315
I can't help you with your question because I struggle with the exact same thing but I'm just curious what test were performed?
 

South

Senior Member
Messages
466
Location
Southeastern United States
I like the following blog, written by a woman who recovered from candida a number of years ago. She doesn't sell anything other than an optional ebook, but everything in the ebook is there on the web blog for free, she acknowledges freely. The approach she used seems logical compared to some others I've read (specific diet, and products to use while on the diet). She recovered her gut health in 30 days, although she continued on the program for another month or two after that, to try to prevent it from coming back. It worked for her.

It's possible that for some people the immune system will improve simply by clearing the candida overgrowth in the gut. Other people argue with that, so I'm not sure.

I haven't had the will power to try it myself though:

http://candidarecovery.com/
 

naoise

Senior Member
Messages
287
Thank you for that. I'm not convinced diet can cure ME..if it were that simple people would be getting cured everywhere...but I do believe it will help. So I need to just dig deep and do it once as for all.
 

South

Senior Member
Messages
466
Location
Southeastern United States
. I'm not convinced diet can cure ME
@naoise

You are right, that blog isn't about ME, only about candida. I don't know what portion of immune problems can be caused by gut dysbiosis and what portion is due to other reasons (like ME).

That blog was just about candida, in the gut (not ME). She didn't just use diet though, it was diet at the same time as taking certain things that kill candida. She did both areas together, for 30 days and then another 2 or so months. The combo worked for her, for her gut candida, at least.
She doesn't have ME, it is true.
 

naoise

Senior Member
Messages
287
@South i suppose I need to see candida as something separate and treat that too. Wish I could give up the sugar and carbs easily!
 

Jeckylberry

Senior Member
Messages
127
Location
Queensland, Australia
hi

I have been tested for candida and it was positive. I still haven't started treatment or the diet because I can't help but think it's pointless! I have a low immune system and little to no natural killer cells so will it not always come back?
Please do tell me if I'm wrong cause I would give anything to get rid of the cravings and sugar binges!
Hi there @naoise. I have a microbiology/immunology background. I don't know huge amounts but I do understand how it works. Candida occurs naturally in the gut but it is one of the main culprits to overgrow in an immuno compromised patient, regardless of diet. NK cells kill your own cells that are infected with a virus or mutated in some way like tumour cells. They don't target candida. Macrophages gobble it up and help to create antibodies to target it. Other immune proteins called cytokines also help to target it.

I'm not sure what has caused your low immune count. It can mean the system is being overtaxed constantly leading to exhaustion and depletion, or it could mean there is an autoimmune issue going on which is killing them off.

Low lymphocyte count is more likely to make candida a problem. This can cause overgrowth and just too much work for the immune cells to cope with and win. It is our immune system that makes us feel ill. Good diets and accurate treatments help stop the candida from overgrowing everything and putting pressure on the immune system which responds with immune cell activation and inflammation. The chemicals sprayed out by some immune cells are cytotoxic and cause all sorts of problems with malaise and fatigue especially when they are doing that on a regular basis. It's not pointless as it could really help because it's not about killing off the candida as much as lowering the immune response and to do that you need to reduce the numbers of enemies. Unfortunately it's just like housework, though - never finished.
 

naoise

Senior Member
Messages
287
@Jeckylberry thank you so much for all that! I'm not sure what's causing my low immune system either...doctors are saying ME but I'm not convinced so got tested for lymes.

Yeah I need to eat better. I guess by having a healthy gut it certainly can't make things worse anyway!
 

Jeckylberry

Senior Member
Messages
127
Location
Queensland, Australia
Yes, it's important to keep up the nutrients. If it is a mitochondrial problem the cells aren't getting enough nutrients from your food as it is. Can you tell by looking at your results what immune cells are low volume? Or are they all in the red? If you have had an ANA test, this will usually tell you if you have an autoimmune issue. If it's negative then you are probably looking at depletion from exhaustion and I guess that would be consistent with ME, although you would probably know more about that than me as I am new to ME. As I understand it so far it is a systemic disease that affects all systems and is compounded by the system's impaired responses. When your immune system is affected, the whole body goes down in a big way regardless of the origin.
 

Silence

Senior Member
Messages
102
Location
Northern CA
Hi Naoise was curious if you ever got your candida under control. What symptoms did your candida produce. I know you said you found it on your stool test. Did you have diarrhea?
 

naoise

Senior Member
Messages
287
Hi Naoise was curious if you ever got your candida under control. What symptoms did your candida produce. I know you said you found it on your stool test. Did you have diarrhea?

Hi well according to results it's gone but I now have sibo, leaky gut, dysbiosis and gastroparesis. Since this post I have also found I have chronic Lyme disease.
I mainly suffer from pretty severe constipation but occasionally have diarrohea. Bloating and pain everyday too.