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Candida is killing me...

optimist

Senior Member
Messages
434
Location
Norway
Hello everyone!

I am getting a bit more desperate these days as my Candida seems to be getting worse and worse. The reason for desperation is it is increasing my leaky gut to the level where I alsmost can't eat any more. My greatest problem is with proteins. I can barely eat 150 g (roughly 30g protein) meat per day now, with out being in torture of nerve over stimulation over the whole body, worst in arms and legs. My doctor has never heard of any one else having this, and I cannot seem to find anything like it searching the web.

My big problem is that if I kill Candida with e.g. Nystatin, it seems it exposes areas of the gut that are damaged as the fungus dies off, which again lowers my tolerance for proteins... I have not dared going for a long round of Candida killing, as I am not sure how little proteins I will be able to eat and for how long before the gut will heal, and if my body can take it, and whether or not the Candida will grow back again, become resistant, and so on...

I am a bit in a turmoil, and confused about what to do...
 

Mary

Moderator Resource
Messages
17,321
Location
Southern California
Have you tried l-glutamine? It's supposed to be very effective for healing the gut. There's a ton of info out there about it. Because it's an amino acid, it should be taken on an empty stomach. So this might enable you to start getting rid of your candida.

Re candida - I had very good results with virgin coconut oil. It was very effective, I had to go slow because it caused quite a strong herx reaction. If you were going to try it, I would start with 1/2 to 1 tablespoon a day and see how you do, and very slowly work up to 2. Coconut oil has lauric acid and caprylic acid and maybe some other things which kill candida.
 

minkeygirl

But I Look So Good.
Messages
4,678
Location
Left Coast
I saw info on liquid bentonite shakes. I posted It's here somewhere. Bentonite with either diatomaceous earth or psyllium. Google it.

It coats your stomach and draws out the critters.

I was told watch glutamine if you have ammonia issues.

I am having some luck with oregano oil.
 

optimist

Senior Member
Messages
434
Location
Norway
@Mary: Yes, I take 5 mg x 3 L-Glutamin a day, but I cannot say if it is of any help... I eat about 70g of coconut oil a day to be able to get some kcal. It is my main source of kcal.

By far, the most helpful suplement I've found is butyrate. When I stop it it gets much worse.

I also do zink, vitamin A, flaxseed oil (omega 3) and licorice, all which are said to be helpful for leaky gut.

I am also planning to start arginine (must be taken with lycine) and lithium which are boosting neutrophils, which are the body's way of killing Candida. My blood samples show low neutrophils, which probably is caused at least to some extent by Candida.

The long term solution for me is likely chelation, but that can take years, and this is getting quite urgent.

@minkeygirl I think both of those are said to be not good in regards to heavy metal (the Cutler protocol). I have tried some psyllium, and some times it has irritated my intestines, but the last time it did not. Today I have started experimenting with cellulose, and so far my intestines seem OK with it. It should be able to stimulate butyric acid production, which is what I need.

The problem with oregano oil is that it will kill more Candida, which will have the same affect as Nystatin...
 

Helen

Senior Member
Messages
2,243
I am a bit in a turmoil, and confused about what to do...

Hi Optimist,
Your situation is obviously serious. Did you see a specialist in gastroenterology ? This seem to be more problematic than to be treated by oneself - and Internet friends.
 

optimist

Senior Member
Messages
434
Location
Norway
No, I haven't... my doctor says he sees no reason to send me to one... I have kind of lost faith in doctors too, because they seem to not accept Candida, leaky gut or anything. I talked with one doctor with a specialisation in the gut (he had been working with it for 30 years) who said it was the first time he had heard about leaky gut. His answer was that the gut is supposed to leak... duuhhh! I did not have the knowledge or strength to argue with him.

I am actually a bit afraid of them, because their theories seems to be doing more damage than good when it comes to these terretories. They want to put you on mental drugs, rather than admit that you are truly sick.

I tolerate carbs very poorly, I can't eat thiols as I get headache, tinnitus and burning skin, I can't almost eat proteins... what to do...
 

optimist

Senior Member
Messages
434
Location
Norway
Anyway, I have asked for an apointment with my MD and my functional MD to discuss more... but, I am not sure what to expect.
 

Beyond

Juice Me Up, Scotty!!!
Messages
1,122
Location
Murcia, Spain
Hi Optimist,
Your situation is obviously serious. Did you see a specialist in gastroenterology ? This seem to be more problematic than to be treated by oneself - and Internet friends.
The problem is that often we are forced to rely on ourselves or Internet friends because of the astounding lack of interest and/or incompetence of the common health professionals.

Unless you have the last stages of gut inflammation (UC, Crohn´s) they will say you have "IBS" (hah! hah! What a comical name! Its great!... "Irritable Bowel Disease"...) and alltogether not treat you at all.

However, Optimist´s situation does look a bit more extreme than what we see normally, and visiting as many specialists as possible looks like a good idea along with self-experimentation.

@optimist Common sense dictates that you ought to find something that actually heals/rebuilds your gut lining along with something that kills candida. Glutamine won´t cut it, despite what papers and people say. Quite inert in my experience and of others. When inflammation is present you need something antinflammatory. I have found that high dose propolis, fresh cut Aloe Vera and Chlorella do what the papers said: reduce intestinal inflammation and increase nutrient absorption. These two things and others have the benefit of being strong "Th1" boosters, which in my case seemed to boost some symptoms, specifically hives. Aloe Vera is the weakest but helps. People also recommend Gelatin and a plethora of things. Even Non-Denatured Whey Protein or pre/probiotic foods could help. Hint: pills tend to be useless. Not to mention all the foods you should not be eating.
 
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Beyond

Juice Me Up, Scotty!!!
Messages
1,122
Location
Murcia, Spain
Plus, since butyrate seems so helpful maybe Resistant Starch or Clostridium Butyricum (Miyarisan) could help.
 

minkeygirl

But I Look So Good.
Messages
4,678
Location
Left Coast
I thought the dose for glutamine was 5 -13 grams.

My Gi is clueless. She said I can't have sibo because i don't have diarrhea.
 

optimist

Senior Member
Messages
434
Location
Norway
Not being able to eat isn't a good enough reason for your doctor?

I think it is because he doesn't understand what is going on, or that he does not believe me...

I thought the dose for glutamine was 5 -13 grams.

My mistake, I meant g not mg :)

My Gi is clueless. She said I can't have sibo because i don't have diarrhea.

Sigh! It is hard enought to be sick. Having to fight and teach the medical personel makes it a lot harder.
 

optimist

Senior Member
Messages
434
Location
Norway
Thanks for the reply @Beyond! How high dose of propolis do you suggest? Can I take it long term?
I will go and buy some Propolis tomorrow and aloe vera too. I have Chlorella, but Cutler strongly advice against it when having mercury, which seem to be the root of all my problems (I get increased symptoms on 6.25 mg DMPS, did one round last week). I suppose I can try Chlorella just a couple of days to see if it calms down the intestines at least. Problem is though, it is very high in proteins. I added 3-4g of collagen to my apple soup today, and I got nerve stimulation from it, and one dose of Chlorella is 6g of proteins...

I take different probiotic pills and S. boulardii. The latter is said to be very good.
 

Beyond

Juice Me Up, Scotty!!!
Messages
1,122
Location
Murcia, Spain
Thanks for the reply @Beyond! How high dose of propolis do you suggest? Can I take it long term?
I will go and buy some Propolis tomorrow and aloe vera too. I have Chlorella, but Cutler strongly advice against it when having mercury, which seem to be the root of all my problems (I get increased symptoms on 6.25 mg DMPS, did one round last week). I suppose I can try Chlorella just a couple of days to see if it calms down the intestines at least. Problem is though, it is very high in proteins. I added 3-4g of collagen to my apple soup today, and I got nerve stimulation from it, and one dose of Chlorella is 6g of proteins...

I take different probiotic pills and S. boulardii. The latter is said to be very good.

Ah yes, forget about Chlorella, I didn´t realise that a 60% protein supplement is a bad idea in your case.

It took 6 pills of 500 mg of 2x extract of Y.S. Bee Farm to feel a really strong antinflammatory effect. It took down a bad immunological response to raw honey. Besides, studies shows it reduces bacterial traslocation in rats (human studies are preferable but it is better than nothing), which is to say it reduces "leaky gut". Yeah long term is fine, if it works.

Funny, but getting raw propolis from a guy locally gave me bad gut pain. I guess beeswax is really bad for me.

I cut the aloe vera myself and ate it. I don´t know if something more processed works the same.
 

PeterPositive

Senior Member
Messages
1,426
@optimist
Are you sure it is candida? Were you tested?
I ask because I have had candida-like symptoms for a long time but all my stool analyses have been negative for all pathogenic yeasts, but where positive for some parasites and bad bacteria.

It's quite difficult to discriminate candida from any other bowel condition (such as SIBO etc...)

While even tests cannot be entirely conclusive they can at least give you an idea of what might be wrong, and possibly suggest a course of action. Like you I assumed it was candida and it wasn't so I wasted quite a bit of time barking at the wrong tree, so to speak :)

Does your diet include food with yeasts, leaven or raising agents? Some people find relief from reducing foods containing those ingredients and limiting white flour products (which is another form of sugar)...

cheers
 

optimist

Senior Member
Messages
434
Location
Norway
Hi @PeterPositive! I am not 100% sure, but I react the same way when I take Nystatin, which is to me sort of proof. I have not tested directly for Candida, no.

My diet is this: Avocado, minced meat (pork, becuse it is the only way I can tolerate thiamine), both types of celery, squash, appels and pears. I also eat various types of fat, salt, pepper and ginger. That's about what I can eat, and what I eat every day. Not much to reduce on as you can see.
 

optimist

Senior Member
Messages
434
Location
Norway
I had a very interesting conversation with my Functional MD today. He has a theory that it can be the be excitatory amino acids that is causing it: Aspartic acid, glutamate and cysteine. If I can find proteins that does not contain these, I can eat more of those!
 
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Silence

Senior Member
Messages
102
Location
Northern CA
Hmmm.... You sound very similar to my condition. I cannot tolerate a whole bunch of foods ex: proteins-- to much glutamates-- my ears ring like crazy, get headaches, pins and needles, anything with sugar- makes my oral yeast and insteatinal yeast worse, and facial seborrheic dermatitis worse. But i also cannot tolerate fats because the lining of my small insteatines is so damaged from god knows what, but i suspect that it may be yeast. Do you have a lot of amalgam fillings?

There is one remedy i found , through many trial and errors, that works extremely well for yeast anywhere along the alimentary canal, Cinnamon Basil. It is not very common and kind of hard to find. You might want to try your local farmers market. Ive tried regilar basil, lemon basil, thai basil, clove basil and many other types of basil but this basil is a miracle for yeast. When i get oral thrush all i do is grab a handfull and steam them for 1 min and eat them for breakfast lunch and dinner. The next day the thrush is completely gone! but it also depends on how bad the yeast infection is...it might take longer.

Hope this helps.