Omg...i Might Be On To Something

[dlp252]

Hum, water bottle...glass wouldn't be very portable if you're like me and dropping things all the time, lol. I use a hard clear plastic sports bottle, and generally only use it on choir nights, so the water isn't sitting in there a really long time. I have a water pitcher by my desk at work and just pour into a glass.

[Fiddle-Faddle]

Yeah....they always say that glass bottles are the best choice. I dunno where the heck to find water thats bottled in glass though....I havent seen it yet....except one kind but it had added minerals.

Hmmmm---I have always insisted that I thought water tasted best in glass glasses rather than plastic cups or paper cups (which my mom insisted on using when I was growing up--ugh, all our drinks tasted like wax). It never occurred to me that chemicals might be leaching into the water, though (I know, I know--DUH!).

[Eliza13]

Hi Eliza

You could be reacting to sulfites. Most grapes are sprayed with this preservative. It sounds like it might be something like that. Do you also get a similar reaction to red wine or dried fruits such as apricots?? That would indicate a sulfite sensitivity.

I really really really really hate dried fruit....won't touch the stuff....maybe it's my body already reacting???

Hmm...interesting on the sulphites....I throw up when I drink red wine, but I seem to be okay with white wine....even if I only have one cup!

[Rachel--24]

Corona ... that would be bad for you on SOOOO many levels!!

Yeah...very bad indeed!!

Believe it or not....I totally forgot about the gluten factor!

Oh how I miss the Corona's though. BOO-HOO

There will be NOOO Corona's in the forseeable future.

For anyone waiting to hear about how foods went....SORRY...it didnt happen.

Foods got kicked to the curb tonight. They got my test results back...from the bloodwork they did a few weeks ago.

She had ordered the test after I reacted so severely to all of the mold and candida panels.

Well the test had different stuff on it and these were the results....

****Intestinal Barrier Function*****

IgG Dietary protein 7 (0-41)

IgM Dietary Protein 72 (0-48)

IgG Yeast antibody <400 (0-2475)

IgM Yeast antibody 8196 (0-2248)

IgG Aerobic Bacteria 7 (0-53)

IgM Aerobic Bacteria 111 (0-48)

IgG Anaerobic Bacteria 12 (0-76)

IgM Anaerobic Bacteria 44 (0-73)

Soooo...obviously I have a serious candida issue...as the BioSET lady had predicted. BUMMER.

I dont know about the other two abnormalities. I didnt have Anna (the main Bioset lady) for my treatment tonight....she only briefly popped in to talk about the yeast issue and about where we'll go from here....because the other lady couldnt really answer any of my questions. Next time I see her I'll ask about the other two but for now its pretty darn clear that I've got BAD Candida.

So this is the main cause for all my sensitivities and intolerances. I still dont know for sure what gave the candida such a strong foothold though. Lyme, mercury, stress, antibiotics...what combination of these things??

If I didnt have Lyme that would be great. I'd much rather just be dealing with yeast and heavy metals. Who knows...I might be perfectly fine after dealing with the yeast...will have to wait and see. Chelation might be necesassry at some point though.

I obviously wont take any antibiotics after seeing these test results but I'll just continue to take the Cats Claw. I see my Dr. on Monday....he treats heavy metals and Candida so I'll have to see what he thinks when I show him these results.

Well I obviously have leaky gut and Candida is a cause......but other infections or factors can cause it too....so I could never be 100% certain it was Candida creating the problem.....but I think now I can be sure of it.

She said that she only has one other person with yeast anibodies higher than mine....his is over 9000. She said the candida pretty much has my gut acting like a seive right now. Its whats causing me to have all these problems....the main reason for my symptoms.

She said I need to alkalize my body....get my PH level in the normal range and all that. She wants to put me on a homeopathic protocol but because of all my sensitivities shes not sure I can handle it cuz its alot of different supplements taken 3 times a day. She wanted to start me out on one thing....it had a bunch of vitamins and minerals and I got scared...told her I react to all the stuff.

She asked if I've tried anything since I've been cleared for things.....I told her I havent. She says I've been cleared and shouldnt have a problem but to be sure she gave me a couple packets of magnesium powder to be mixed into water. If I do ok with it she wants me to start taking the other stuff.

She said I'm holding all my treatments so far but if we dont correct the ph problem and if I dont alkalize....everything is going to build back up again. I have to get ph strips and start testing my saliva. Whole Foods was all out so I gotta go to a different store tomorrow.

I told her that one time I had a urine test and they said it was TOO alkaline....(some of you may recall that from hundreds of pages back).

She laughed and said "NO WAY...you're gonna see it when you start testing your ph."

She said it might take up to 6 months to get this under control. 6 months is nothing to me.

I asked if now I'm gonna be struggling with freakin yeast for life.....and never be able to eat sugar??

She said I can eat anything once my gut is healed. She said the door is wide open right now.....letting everything in.....it needs to be closed in order for me to get better.

Damn....I HATE candida!!

Well the BioSET testing was showing yeasts/molds/mycotoxins as being the most problematic thing for me. I guess the bloodtest backed that up....so I got even more faith in the Bioset testing now.

Obviously foods is gonna play a big role in this too.....when we get there. I dont mind being on the candida diet so long as I'm not reacting to the foods I *can* eat. At least the treatments will help with that. Its good to know that I have major candida and leaky gut before we started the food treatments cuz I'm sure I'd get re-sensitized fairly quickly if the yeast was ignored.

She said anti-fungals is not the priority. I used to focus on diet and anti-fungals when I was treating candida awhile back. She said if I just take antifungals....I can come back in 3 years and take this same test over again and probably have even higher numbers.

Sooo...since antifungals/diet obviously didnt work for me...I'm gonna do it her way this time.

Back then I didnt have anyone to guide me through. Also having the Bioset testing available all through the process is invaluable because it actually *tells* you whats going on with your body whereas before I was just blindly going about things and doing guesswork.

So then Bioset lady #2 did my treatment. She said they were bringing back all the candida/mold panels and doing more detailed treatment with them because its such as huge problem. So I had to go through all of the panels over again. I didnt react as badly as the first time around but still not great. I had one full glass at the end.

One of the panels was pathogenic molds and all the different candida strains. I try to read the labels as I go along and try to guess whats gonna be a problem or not. I'm used to the sounds the computer makes now and I know which ones need to be put into the glass w/out the lady telling me.

I was moving along.....reacting to some and not others....then I saw CANDIDA ALBICANS....and I was almost scared to touch it. I touched it and the computer made the deadest sound.

I stopped and kept staring at the vial...then the lady leaned over to see what I was staring at. She said "Ahhh...do you know what strain of candida you have making you sick?"

I said "Yeah...Candida Albicans".

Then I bursted out and said "STUPID CANDIDA"

I developed bad feelings about Candida.

I think its because of all the "hype" about candida and all the "miracle" pills and expensive supplements and a gazzillion websites telling you they have the "answer" to your Candida problems. Its turned into a big money maker and you cant get any *real* help with the problem unless you find someone who understands and who will look at the whole picture and figure out why this happened. Thats why I like BioSET...I dont feel like someone is just making a *guess* about my state of health and how to go about treating me. I feel more confidant about whats going on because I can *see* the whole process right before my eyes.

I feel like we're peeling layers of the onion back and getting answers.

So after we went through the panels she checked what was being affected.....as always my emotions and hormones are showing up. Also my large intestine, my skin and I forgot the rest.

Once everything was in the glass and my body systems were being tested against it......the computer showed my energy went way down. The bar wasnt going up anymore and the sounds were really dull. She said "Wow...you always have very good energy levels...usually over 80 but these are dragging you WAY down." The bar was barely going over 30.

After my treatment I was really tired and brain-fogged but its improved already and I'm feeling ok. I keep thinking this year things are really gonna come together for me.....lots of good things are gonna happen...thats how I feel. I dont know if its because of the Cats Claw or what but ever since the day I started it I've been happier and have had more energy.

I remember that I had a major Herx from Grapefruit seed extract. Its a powerful antifungal. I had started out with a heavy dose of 10 drops twice a day. On the second day I herxed so bad I never touched it again. Obviously it worked on my yeast so I probably wanna add it into the program at some point but at MUCH smaller doses.

So thats it till Thursday. I wonder if we'll be starting foods then??

Stupid Candida!

[Rachel--24]

Hmm...interesting on the sulphites....I throw up when I drink red wine,

Yeah....I'd say thats a pretty good indicator that you might be sensitive to sulfites.

Also very high in sulfites

grape juice

dried fruit

saurkraut juice

lemon and lime juice (not frozen)

wine

and anything with these ingredients...

sulfur dioxide,

sodium sulfite,

sodium bisulfite,

potassium bisulfite,

sodium metabisulfite,

potassium metabisulfite.

[diamondheart]

Miamia....good luck today!! I'll be thinking about you and hoping that all goes well with the injections and the tests.

Does a person still have to take lots of probiotics when antibiotics are administered intraveneously??

As far as I know, if you have to take antibiotics, getting them intraveneously is the way to go as it bypasses your gut and doesn't kill all the good bacteria the way taking them orally would. Good luck Miamia!

Rachel, even though Candida sucks, at least you know what's causing your leaky gut and can work on it. So, what does this mean for liquid ice cream in your future?

Chocolate is my vice . I hate that I can't find dairy free chocolate in our vending machine at work . Is it normal to crave chocolate when you are ovulating? I had a major craving for chocolate today that could not be rationalized away, and this is the only thing I could attribute it to. I think my hormones also may have thrown my intestines out of whack, but don't know .

Claire

[AndreaB]

Rachel,

Sounds like another productive appointment. I'll be curious as to what Anna says about the other numbers as well as what your doctor says next week.

Everyone,

Please remember Patti in your thoughts and prayers. She has surgery in the morning about 7:30 eastern time.

[Rachel--24]

Rachel, even though Candida sucks, at least you know what's causing your leaky gut and can work on it. So, what does this mean for liquid ice cream in your future?

BOO-HOO

[Rachel--24]

Please remember Patti in your thoughts and prayers. She has surgery in the morning about 7:30 eastern time.

Lots of prayers and good thoughts going out to Patti.

[miamia]

Lots of prayers and good thoughts going out to Patti.

yes patti-

I will be thinking about you-

you better relax after!!! no cleaning or cooking- just resting!!!

Miamia

[miamia]

Rachel-

I am so in your club I HATE CANDIDA!!!!!!

It seems like no matter what I do I can't get rid of it. I am supposed to retest for it now that I did the diflucan but I still haven't becasue I have had so much other stuff going on. I just feel like there must be something else going on or I woulden't just keep getting it or I should say not getting rid of it I know I don't follow the right diet to ta tee but I can't handle most of the foods they reccomend. I do my best but I do have some yeast in my diet and some carbs. I just react to so many thing I feel like anything that doesn't make me really sick I have to let myself eat.

Miamia

[Fiddle-Faddle]

{{{{{{Good thoughts for Patti}}}}}}}}}

Rachel--I'm probably oversimplfying and over-hoping, but--maybe if the candida and mercury get dealt with, the Lyme might end up being something that stays BENIGNLY in your system? Maybe the candida and the mercury act as catalysts to the Lyme, and once they are out of the picture, the Lyme might be something like the chicken pox virus, and just lie dormant in your body most of the time?

There is a similar theory about HIV, by the way (Peter Duesberg, etc), which according to my husband (remember, he is a PhD chemist, but not a virologist), makes perfect sense, and he (hubby)could not find anything to shoot holes in theory.

Claire, I usually crave chocolate the week before my period, Well, actually, I crave it every day, but more so then!

Can you go to Sam's Club or Costco and buy a big bag of Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate chips to keep at your desk?

[Daxin]

I am sure we will all see Patti very soon. None the less, I am keeping her in my thoughts today.

Well, the screening went well. The doctors see no reason why I can not go out of the country to a fairly major american facility that employs chefs that have anyines best intetrests at heart. I still have to take Bobbi (DW) to see the base Social Worker with me next week. They now have to know if she will be able to cope with my gone for so long. She jokes she will ask if I can leave sooner.

Rachel -- Sorry about the Corona. I know how you feel.

Hot ice cream seems but a pale comparison.

[dlp252]

Ryan, great that you've been cleared! I'll bet DW will clear too, lol.

I PM'd my good wishes to Patti yesterday, but I'll send them along today as well!

Rachel, okay, I'm even more excited about the BioSET thing now, lol. I can hardly wait until Saturday. I MUST remember to take all my supplements...don't know if they have a glass big enough for those, lol.

I have a question about "yeast". I had a stool test done back in November, which is how they knew about the H.Pylori and Klebsiella, but on that test "yeast" showed nothing. Is "yeast" the same thing as Candida?

My old ENT was positive I had Candida Albicans, for many reasons, but mainly cuz of all the antibiotics he had given me plus my many symptoms. I've always felt better on a low carb type diet, and actually do not get as many infections when I do...but if Candida is the same as yeast, it didn't show up. Hum, perplexing.

I just can't wait to see what BioSET has to say about me.

[CarlaB]

Is it normal to crave chocolate when you are ovulating?

It indicates a magnesium deficiency.

[CarlaB]

Patti, you're probably done with your surgery by now, prayers that it went well!!

I hate candida, too. After a 21 day round of doxy, I had to do an anti-candida diet for about 6 months ... I ate almost no carbs. The interesting thing was that I GAINED 10 pounds on a low carb diet!! That was a good indication my gut was healing (gluten, candida). I even drank breve lattes (made with half-n-half) instead of regular milk to avoid the sugar. I probably felt the best I've felt in my life on that diet.

The samento/cat's claw seems to be giving me more energy, too. I ordered artemisia annua the other day ... it's for babesia, which I have all the symptoms of having. With all this building up of my immune system and starting to see improvement in my health, I'm afraid to go on antibiotics. It will be interesting to talk to the LLMD about this. I've lived with this for 30 years and always had an energy level that other women envied, yet still with some Lyme symptoms ... if I could get back to that, I'd be happy. I just want to get my energy/health back and keep the bacteria at a low enough level that it doesn't cause damage. If I can't get rid of it all no matter what, this seems to be the goal anyway.

LLMD coming up in just a couple weeks.

[AndreaB]

I still have to take Bobbi (DW) to see the base Social Worker with me next week. They now have to know if she will be able to cope with my gone for so long. She jokes she will ask if I can leave sooner.

Ryan,

It's going to be hard on her. I'm sure she'll miss you. It's just whether she wants the opportunity for the better assignment your are after when this is over. I'm sure the Social Worker will clear her as well. You need to think of all sorts of things to keep her feeling secure in your love for her while you're gone.

I just can't wait to see what BioSET has to say about me.

I'm very excited for you and your bioset appointment. I hope you'll be able to post when you get back from that.

LLMD coming up in just a couple weeks.

Sounds like you are doing well Carla. I also can't wait to see what he has to say. Was it the 19th?

[CarlaB]

Sounds like you are doing well Carla. I also can't wait to see what he has to say. Was it the 19th?

Better, yes. Well, not really ... The appt is the 19th.

[covsooze]

(((prayers and hugs for Patti)))

Donna, can't wait to hear how your bioset appointment goes

Carla, that's interesting about the magnesium deficiency link with chocolate cravings. I pigged out on chocolate at the weekend (very naughty as it makes me depressed) in anticipation of not being able to eat anything much for the next few months. I really want some now!!

This is the second day of my elimination diet and I feel like my body is crying out for all the stuff I can't have. I'm also extremely irritable. Is it too early to be having withdrawal symptoms from all the bad stuff, or is this all just in the mind?? I hope for DH's sake as well as mine that this irritability doesn't last long....

[CarlaB]

I've always had the withdrawal symptoms right away. Can you take supplements while on the diet?

[covsooze]

I need to go to GNC to see if they've got any supplements that are everything free! The ones I've got from there at the moment (calcium etc), are mostly allergen free but do contain potato starch, which is a no no. Also, I want to see if my stomach symptoms will settle down before introducing supplements, as they have often irritated my stomach in the past. Any particular things you would recommend for supplementing with? I would like to try some healthy oil capsules (not fish - blah!) as I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to be low fat to get my stomach right cos of the GERD symptoms.

[CarlaB]

My husband, daughter and I all find that a tsp. of pure apple cider vinegar in a glass of water completely eliminates gerd. Daughter (8 years old) drinks it every day as a preventive measure. She even takes it with her in her water bottle to school. I drink it when I eat something spicy or that has tomatoes. I try to remember to drink it every day as it's alkalinizing to the body even though its an acid.

Also, the salt/vitamin C cure for Lyme has something to do with the acid in the C, since I can't take much C (I'm finally up to 3000mg), I take the vinegar to provide the acid. It's similar to the theory of making pickles ... salt and acid = no bacteria. I'm trying to become a pickle.

It's probably a good idea to stay off the supplements for a time in the beginning ... I had to stop all mine for a week or two. Then I added mine back to see which one was bothering me. It was the vitamin C.

[Rachel--24]

Rachel-

I am so in your club I HATE CANDIDA!!!!!!

Yeah...we are the CANDIDA-HATERS CLUB

Stupid Candida....taking everything away....now its threatening even my hot ice cream!

I'm going to war....for my health and for my ice cream!

I read like 4 candida books and spent a long time on the candida boards but its HARD to get things right when you cant see inside your body and understand whats gone wrong.

Some people used to stress the importance of alkalizing but I just concentrated on other stuff because it all gets overwhelming when your trying to treat yourself.

Having an acidic body creates disease....this is the environment that candida and yeasts thrive in. So yeah...creating an alkaline environment promotes health and doesnt give the yeast a perfect place to live. I couldnt really do this on my own and I was reacting to all the supplements and foods so hopefully the Bioset lady and my Dr. can get things going in the right direction.

Certain circumstances that occur can basically give the candida the opportunity to take over. Alot of people blame antibbiotics but I always think theres more to it....or else everyone would end up with candida overgrowth at some point.

I think maybe I had created the perfect environment with my diet and chronic stress. Then I had the Graves Disease putting stress on my body....plus I smoked. Who knows if I have Lyme or not but I'm just gonna pretnd I dont right now.

So I'm sure I had an acidic body and was setting myself up for bad things to happen.....then I get exposed to mercury and all hell breaks loose. Then I get radiation treatment..more stress on my immune system. Then I'm on like 4 different antibiotics during that first year....without taking probiotics.

So yeah.....it seems like the antibiotics killed of my good guys and the candida exploded. I'm sure thats what happened but alot of *other* things happened *before* I took the antibiotics....making it the perfect environment for the yeasts to thrive in.

It all depends on the persons body I guess....it could have been just chronic stress and bad diet + antibiotics = candida.

I think the mercury is involved though.

It makes sense that if you dont change the "environment" that allowed for this to occur to begin with......you cant get rid of the candida. Thats why when people stop taking antifungals everything comes right back. The antifungals cant really get *rid* of the yeast cuz everyone has yeast anyway...they can scale the yeast back but when you stop taking them if the environment is still perfect for yeast to thrive....they will come right back.

Thats what happened to me.....I felt better on the candida diet but everything came back. I couldnt stay on the diet because of my weight and because I continued to develop intolerances anyway.

So I guess you have to fix the environment by getting rid of the bad stuff....heavy metals, lyme, parasites, gluten....whatever it may be....and at the same time you have to create an alkaline environment so that they CANT thrive....and also re-populate the gut with the good guys.

Damn....CANDIDA SUCKS!!

[rinne]

Hi everyone, I am so behind in my reading.

I hope the surgery went well for Patti.

I have been feeling better though I hesitate to say it, not that I am feeling well but I do feel that something has shifted and my health is on the upswing. This started over a week ago and though I am not hugely energetic the pain is receding and I am optimistic for the first time, in a very long time, that I am going to get well.

My current regimen includes Samento, Noni, Vitamin B12, Vitamin D, Vitamin C/ Salt, manganese, my diet is gluten, dairy, soy, nightshade, cumin and cinnamon free with lots of protein, vegetables and nuts being mainstays. I've been lazy about the infrared sauna but will get back to them soon, (my eyes were burning again this morning and I think that means I need to detoxify) and likewise with the yoga. I've been sleeping a lot and it feels like just what my body needs to do.

I am looking at Lyme as only one aspect of my health collapsing but that by treating it I am also supporting other problems being resolved. My digestion is working better these days than it has in a very long time and as my sweetie has pointed out I am eating and wanting to eat which could not be said about me last winter.

And a belated Happy New Year.

[Anonymousgurl]

Hey everyone...how is everyone feeling? I hope that everyone is having a good couple of days of the new year! Anyone feeling BETTER? I felt pretty good on the 1st which I took as a good sign. So hopefully you all had a good day too.

I haven't been here for a little while and i sure did miss a TON and haven't read all of it yet...but I skimmed this page and saw a whole bunch of "I HATE CANDIDA" LoL. Well I do too. Mine just keeps getting worse and worse because since I'm trying to gain weight, everyday there ends up being WAY too much sugar in my diet. It's all natural sugars, but I'm sure it doesn't make that big of a difference. Candida...what an ugly monster.

Anyways...did I miss anything good? LoL. Hope you all are well.