CFIDS and Yeast

[DanaG]

I have suffered from chronic fatigue for years. Due to other sypmtoms, I self diagnosed myself with candida which I have always thought I had. I got my doc to prescribe me Sporonax and started the candida diet. Within 5 days, I felt like a new person! I couldn't believe it. I just can't believe that all of this time, none of my doctors related these 2 things together. Even my chronic fatigue doctor who gets my blood test results that always show my candida levels high, just told me to take some over the counter acidopholous. I am back at the gym and have lost my brian fog. Unfortunatelt due to my IC, I suffer from very bad nocturia, so I am still tired from not sleeping well, but now I am tired like a normal person, not dragged down by horrible faitgue.

Anyway, I just wanted to post this in case there was anyone out there who suffers from CFIDS and may also be suffering from yeast-related problems. I think the 2 may go hand in hand.

Dana

[Roxie2007]

HI! I fight yeast constantly because of the PPI's that I take. Do you just eat less sugar with the Candida diet? I haven't heard of it before. Thanks! Roxie

[DanaG]

The Candida Diet is not easy, I will preface by saying that. Wherever you research, you will find some differences about what exactly you can and cannot eat and how long you need to stay in different stages of the diet. There is a great book called The Yeast Connection that talks all about yeast related problems and there is even a chapter on IC! I choose to follow what this book teaches. Basically, for the first 3 weeks, you are on absolutely no carbs or sugar. That includes fruit and anything with sugar in it (ketchup, etc). Basically you can have proteins, vegetables and nuts. After 3 weeks, you can try and reintroduce things one by one (like fruit) and see if it bothers you. The downfall is that any form of true sugar (basically anything that ends in -ose) is off limits pretty much forever. It's not to say you can't have a piece of birthday cake on your birthday, but it should be something that is once in a while and also down the road once you've been on the diet for a while. There is a product called Stevia which is an all natural herb product that you can cook with to substitute for sugar. It is a major renovation on how you eat and I am on week four and I've already cheated a little bit - it's not easy! Basically, yeast feeds off of sugar and carbs which turn into sugar when you digest. My suggestion is to start out by going to the website www.yeastconnection.com and reading a bit about it and see if it is right for you. I am by no way connected to this book/website - I am just offering what has worked for me. I also found a website called Whole Approach (www.wholeapproach.com) which offers great recipes and a lot of support from others who are dealing with yeast related problems. I attempted this diet years ago with no luck, but that was without the meds. Taking an antifungal med along with this diet has been the key for me. There is a 'die off' period in the beginning which is killing all the yeast in your body. I didn't have it too terrible and once I hit day 5, I was shocked at my energy level. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me!

Dana

[Roxie2007]

HI! Thanks for all the info. I'll check out those sites you listed. I use Stevia already......tho I don't bake much to be able to use it! lol
I can't take any of the yeast meds like Sporonax because it causes severe acid reflux for me and I have Barrett's Esophagus. It would make life a little easier if I could though. Thanks again! Roxie