MY BATTLE WITH CANDIDA

Most people describe their personal battle with Candida from the time they start experiencing symptoms. This is quite normal. The only problem with this mentality is that we are underestimating the amount of time that Candida has actually been overgrowing in your body. Just because you don’t feel sick, doesn’t mean that you aren’t “becoming” sick. I have two bulging discs in my lower back. These discs didn’t become herniated overnight. It was years of abuse to my back from football, lifting weights, strenuous exercises, etc. It’s a wonder I still have a functional back. Yet now that I have the knowledge about proper back care, my back pain is very manageable. My point is that nobody educated me about the damage I was doing to my back with all these activities. I had to find out the hard way. If I had known how to take better care of my spine, chances are I wouldn’t have the problems I do today.

The same idea goes for dealing with Candida. Most people do not change their habits until it is too late. Until they have multiple unexplainable symptoms. Until their health begins to suffer on a DAILY basis. At this point, your body has most likely been slowly overtaken by Candida for YEARS! In my opinion, Candida will be the next biggest health epidemic in the United States. I will explain.

The reason I added all this nonsense above was to try and find a starting point from where I began my battle with Candida. But honestly, I can’t tell you that for sure. So I will take an educated guess…the first time I took antibiotics (I will get to this more in a minute). Most of my notable health problems began in college. I began having dizzy spells and overall sick or weird feelings from time to time. I began taking Zoloft for a year and it seemed like that fixed my anxiety attacks. But I still am not convinced that I had some sort of mental problem. I mean, I was about as happy and healthy as anybody I had ever met. Next, I began having allergies and other unexplainable cuts on the inside of my mouth when I would wake up in the morning. After leaving college in 2002, I didn’t have any notable health concerns for about a year. Then in 2004, I began taking medication for an infection that I DIDN’T HAVE! This is the straw that broke the camel’s back. Also the straw that totally screwed up my digestive system. Whenever you take antibiotics, doctors don’t tell you to follow the medication with “pro-biotics”. Probiotics are beneficial bacteria that replace the bacteria you need in your digestive tract. Why aren’t doctors required to share this information? Wish I knew. One day this will change, I can promise. But until then, millions of people will suffer the same problems I recently have. So back to my story. I took 3 months of antibiotics. One month of which was a broad-spectrum antibiotic. This means that it will indiscriminately kill off ALL of the bacteria in my gut. I also took 2 weeks of Medrol, which is a corticosteroid and an immune killer. Slowly my body began to act up. It began with allergies and rashes. Then it was feeling drunk or hungover in the mornings whenever I had one or two beers; and most of the time it happened whenever I didn’t even drink the night before! That’s right, I had a hangover and didn’t drink one sip of alcohol. How many people do you know that have had this complaint? I know quite a few who have had a hangover after a night of only drinking one or two beers. Candida thrives on alcohol and other sugars. So then, towards the end of 2004, my problems began to surface on a daily basis. I was more irritable than normal at stupid little things. I had reflux, heartburn, and indigestion at nights, and I lost many hours of sleep. I had bloating, gas, and nausea for no apparent reason. I was full of anxiety and anger and did not like the person I was becoming. Then, I had an unexplained cyst on the floor of my mouth which I had surgically removed. The funny thing about that cyst is the reason I had the cyst in the first place. You want to know what the doctors have concluded from all their years of research on this cyst? THEY HAVE NO CLUE! That is the explanation you will find anywhere you look. Nobody really knows why these cysts show up and usually don’t go away. My bet is the same organism that causes thrush (Candida infection on the tongue), is the same organism that caused my cyst. This is something that I will push the medical community to pursue. Nevertheless, I still have not gotten to my most chronic symptom.

From the beginning of 2005 until July, 2006, I woke up every morning feeling sick and bloated. Most nights, I would have to prop my bed up so I would not have reflux. I suffered from night sweats and disturbed sleep. This was a daily torture. I had every test known to man performed on me, only to find out that I was perfectly healthy (what?!!!). I was told it was caused by stress and that it was all in my head. Perhaps you too have been told that. I went to numerous GI doctors and internal med docs, to have blood tests, tests for H. Pylori, endoscopy, ultrasound, stool tests, and probably others that I am forgetting about. As you can see, I spent A LOT of money on all these. The only good thing I got out of it was peace of mind that I didn’t have anything too serious like cancer. Yet I still was not satisfied. I knew something was wrong with me and I was not going to live my life in misery while just “dealing” with my symptoms.

So in April of 2006, I decided to attack this thing with all I had. I put my faith in those who went before me and trusted that the information I was given would someday help me get back to feeling normal again. First, I began with garlic (antifungal), aloe vera juice complex (soothes the intestinal lining), and psyllium (helps to bind and carry away toxins). I began to see small changes, but nothing groundbreaking. So I decided to try a product called "Threelac". After the first month, I noticed small changes such as getting better sleep and feeling less stress. The following month was the month that made me a believer in Threelac, and also a believer that I did in fact have a Candida overgrowth. Most people thought I was crazy and I was making up some sort of imaginary sickness. I became very frustrated and had nobody to turn to for support. I knew however, that my mind and body were telling me that something was just not right. Please learn to listen to your body. No doctor in the world is smarter than your own body's signals.

In June of 2006, I got married and went on my honeymoon. I cheated a little, so that I could have at least some fun. But I did so in moderation and I took with me all my supplements. I managed quite nicely and needed the getaway very badly to relax! For the next few months, I began taking different products to aid in my recovery process. These included products for detoxification, antioxidants, immune boosters, fiber products, and others to compliment the Threelac I was taking. Just know that it takes some time for your body to remove the overgrowth of Candida. Especially since this organism is a normal part of your intestinal flora. You must first strengthen your immune system, so that your body's natural defense mechanisms can function properly.

Beginning in August, I decided to try another form of cleansing. Originally, the only reason I tried it was because I became constipated due to my diet and some of the supplements I was taking. It soon became a weekly treatment for me. The results were more liberating than any of the other cleansing products I had tried. It soon occurred to me that most of the Candida survives in the colon. Your colon is a VERY toxic environment and could even be compared to a septic tank. Basically all of the waste, toxins, and leftover mucous, putrefied meats, and disease causing organisms love to inhabit your colon. Therefore, simply put, if you clean your colon on a regular basis (weekly/monthly) you will without a doubt experience better health. I can assure you that the source of most of your symptoms stem from a toxic colon. I had no idea. Most people probably have no idea. And even though it may seem like an uncomfortable or embarrassing experience, I urge you to give an enema a try. Please send me your opinions once you do. I always love feedback.

The knockout blow to my Candida overgrowth came in the final 4 months of my treatment/maintenance. I used a product called Formula SF722. I took 4 pills, 3 to 4 times daily. I usually took them on an empty stomach for faster results, but you can definitely take them with food if you would like. About 2 months into taking these pills, I went back to the doctor to get my Candida antibody levels checked. Finally, after all this persistence, I was back to normal! I continued taking another month or so of the SF722 and I continue to take Threelac on a daily basis. I am now in a maintenance mode and basically stay on my suggested diet plan. If I stray, I do so in moderation and I take antifungal supplements to help. I have read so many stories about people who return to eating sugary foods and bad diet decisions. Most of these people have a relapse of their symptoms. I am going to avoid that at all costs! I love being healthy again! I want to thank all of those brave souls who made it their passion to find the answers to this new epidemic. I plan to spend the next several years sharing my knowledge and experiences with those who are suffering.

You may think I have been through a lot. You may wonder how I dealt with all these health issues. Let me surprise. First of all, before I began treating myself for Candida, I would have called myself a very healthy individual. As a matter of fact, I honestly did not remember most of the health problems I have had in the past until I was forced to look back. Does this sound like you? Have you ever had some weird health concern that you just blew off. Or maybe some unexplainable annoyance that you just deal with? I bet you do. And I bet if you think back, you will be able to think of more periods in your life where you experienced symptoms out of the ordinary. Now I am not saying that “everything” is caused by Candida. You should always visit your physician whenever you have a health concern. All I am saying is that it strikes me that there is loads of documentation about symptoms that have been tied to Candida. Also, how these symptoms seem to “magically” disappear whenever a patient is treated for a Candida overgrowth.

Most doctors do not see Candida as a pressing disease state. So for now, all we have is the support of other sufferers who can share their experiences and how they were able to defeat their own battle with Candida. I want to send a sincere thank you for all of you who took the time to read what I have to say. I certainly hope that in some way, this information will transform into making you or someone you know, a healthier, happier person.

UPDATED 11-1-07!

After 2 years of struggling with the after effects of Candida, I have finally found the missing piece to my never ending puzzle. I can now eat and drink whatever I would like without having to worry about it ever coming back. You see, I finally discovered that the source of my problem was not the Candida itself, but the condition that allowed the Candida to thrive. Thankfully, I had a powerful product like Threelac (which I still use by the way) to get me through. I have found a procedure that has not only improved my digestion, but it has lowered my cholesterol, eliminated my allergies, and given me much more energy. If you would like to read how you too can gain back control of your digestion, then click here!