One thing to remember about fungal infections, you must not only treat yourself but if you have an environmental contaminant, you must fix that as well. The first thing I noticed upon doing peripheral blood smears is that I saw yeast in my blood. Try as I might, they remained there despite my treatment efforts. Only when I had my entire AC unit and duct work replaced did I no longer have yeast in my smears. One of my ducts wasn't large enough and water was condensing inside the duct. It was a breeding ground for fungus. Within a week of getting the new AC unit, I found no yeast in my smears.

I didn't have any specific signs of having a fungal infection but it was taxing my immune system and compounding my problems. Once it was gone, I was able to become somewhat normal again.

I answered!

GH—

That is an excellent point—thank you so much. I hadn't really ever noticed any environmental influence for me but it would be very difficult to know. I don't have an air conditioner or central heating system or fans (I live in a pretty temperate climate)—my concerns are more about mold.

However, I have a neighbor who contracted ringworm (fungus) overseas and it has literally taken over her body. She has finally found a product that she can afford that seems to be kicking it but to successfully eradicate the fungus and spores, she has to change her bed linens DAILY, wash clothes and towels after one use, vacuum DAILY, and has purchased a couple of expensive specific air cleaners. She has to take a holistic approach or she will continue to reinfect herself.

-p

Jane—

First of all I am thrilled that this was helpful. I get a little worried about such long posts with so much detail. I know on my bad days (and sometimes even on my good days) that I get frustrated with long posts/conversations to read and I really just want shortcuts and cliff notes. LOL

But also, I wouldn't know what I know, and I wouldn't be where I am, and I wouldn't have made any progress out of a very very dark place in my illness if others had not shared detail like this about their own experiences. I am indescribably grateful for their generosity and hope that I can pay it forward by doing the same. I believe it was the moderator Traveler who mentioned that is why she contributes the way she does here (which is incredibly time-consuming as other moderators know) because she wants to give back.

I am working on a much more cohesive and coherent and organized post on yeast/fungal issues to include in the "New to lyme?" thread, but it's taking awhile… ;)

WOW—you had a lot going on there. And I cannot tell you how thrilled I am that you tackled it all with the yeast/fungal treatment. I know so many others in the world are struggling like we have—but it's just not a well-understood condition, on top of the lyme & co. Lucky us. BUT—LUCKY US! We won. I really really really hope others can win this battle too. We have a war on our hands with lyme & co and yeast/fungal issues, while a NASTY intruder, are pretty straightforward to resolve once you know what the key issues are. And very few doctors and NDs do.

I have had bad hearing my whole life. I always attributed it to my brother shooting off cap guns in my ear as a child (because someone told him not to do it……..) And I think that caused the damage but with my 23andme data interpretation I found out that a couple of the mutations I have makes my ears more vulnerable to noise damage! Fascinating. BUT—I think your discovery with the water logged ears and probably also yeast/fungal issue growing in your head, thus your ears, is affecting hearing. I think that also affected my balance—would get dizzy every now and then whether I was sitting, standing, lying down.

Regarding the 677 mutation—If you only have that mutation, then yes, I believe nearly all your support needs to be in the methyl form. But I recently learned (again, with my 23andme data interpretation) that I have quite a few other methylation mutations that suggest B6 is not good for me and that the methyl forms are actually not the best for me—the hydroxy forms are, which are one step down from the methyl forms but easier for my body to process. So, without that knowledge, you should stick to the methyl forms but start out very slowly. If the supplementation starts to stir up symptoms, etc then back off the dose or you might want to invest in further tests to understand your methylation status.

Hmmm….. $1000 test for yeast? I've never heard that. But he's spot on about the treatment—the yeast/fungal issue is kind of black-and-white. It's either there, or not. And the treatment will work if it is there. He's also right that the symptoms do get worse when you start treatment due to the yeast/fungal die off, which just floods your body with toxins. But as long as you can detox them right out the "door", you're definitely healing and relief happens really fast (as long as you're detoxing well) and it is so so so wonderful. ;)

If you don't get rid of your lingering yeast/fungal sx with the Nystatin and probiotics very soon...I would do two things:

1. Kick up detox a few notches.

2. You also need to be on a systemic anti fungal, given your history. Yeast/fungal overgrowth in your GI tract (which is likely) creates leaky gut problems (check out the leaky gut thread) and yeast/fungus spreads throughout your body quite efficiently through your blood stream. So you need a two-pronged approach: a systemic anti fungal like Diflucan, Ketoconazole; and a local anti fungal like the Nystatin.

After writing that paragraph I'm wondering if you are on a systemic anti fungal but I forgot… I'll just leave the paragraph in case you are not. If you are, you might want to change to a different type—the yeast/fungus do sometimes develop a resistance. Stool tests like Doctor's Data can tell you which remedies (natural and Rx) are most effective.

And—the systemic is short-term. You'll want to make sure you get your liver enzymes tested. Milk thistle seed and burdock root are helpful.

Sorry if my post is repetitive—I forget what I've contributed to this conversation versus others… ;) But I KNOW you're on the right track!! So happy for you. There is so much needless suffering due to yeast/fungal overgrowth and this is a huge triumph. Please let us know how things progress. We're rooting for you!

-p

Post Edited (Pirouette) : 1/14/2015 4:07:42 PM (GMT-7)

Thanks, Pirouette, for sharing your knowledge and insight! I will do all you recommended.

Did you do the stool test through your doctor?

I have never had a herx or experienced worse symptoms from treatment, so I discontinued the detox baths and dry brushing. Do you think it's necessary to detox when that seems to have no effect at all, except to feel good?

I'm also lucky in that I've never had a herx. But I have gotten better with treatment and I have gotten rid of almost all my symptoms, including night sweats, motion sickness, nausea, anxiety attacks, rage, joint pain (only in hands and feet), occipital neuralgia (different headaches now, and not constant), popping joints, and those I mentioned from yeast.

And, by the way, I do take milk thistle and other supplements recommended by one of the doctors who wrote a Lyme treatment book, possibly Jernigan (sp?).

Pirouette, you have helped tremendously! Thanks again.

Thanks H98! SO glad you have treated it successfully! Makes a huge difference in the lyme & co treatment…

-p

Pirouette, This is an amazing amount of info on yeast. Thank you so much!! Little question, I just did my first anti-yeast treatment, Diflucan for 2 weeks. After 1 week of no die-off symptoms I thought I was in the clear, but then this last week I believe I was sick from die-off (bloated, super dizzy, couldn't eat, wanted grains instead of my usual veggies, and white stuff coming out my mouth). It was pretty awful! I just finished the 2 week course and am supposed to start Nystatin now. I'm looking into getting the powder rather than this bottle of pills I have. I'm wondering, it sounds like you'd expect some serious die-off with the Nystatin, too. How long does it last? Is there anything to help? Thank you!! Rachel

marigold -

For the benefit of others reading, you really should take both the systemic anti fugal (diflucan) AND the local anti fungal (nystatin powder) simultaneously, or take the local anti fungal first. Most people who develop y/f overgrowth develop it locally in their gut first, due to the abx, so this needs to be addressed first. And due to the damage the y/f causes to the mucosal lining of the gut, the y/f seeps out into the blood stream, causing systemic y/f problems.

But for you, since you took the systemic first for 2 wks (which may not be an effective course), you're now starting the local. If your problems started in the gut, which sounds pretty evident by your symptoms, you can expect more die off. Sorry, I know that's probably not what you wanted to hear! I'm not sure what symptoms you had that indicated a systemic overgrowth or if your MD just prescribed the systemic for y/f w/out understanding that there is a safer local anti fungal… many MDs do that…

Regardless, I'd take the nystatin for awhile to really hit the y/f hard and keep it from figuring out another way to grow. If you don't have any systemic symptoms, then maybe you don't need more systemics. If you do take more, please make sure your MD also checks for high liver enzymes. If you test high, just incorporate some milk thistle seed or burdock root.

Hope that helps! Good luck w/ the powder and let us know how it goes!

p

sarah -
If your sinus infection clears w/ antibiotics, it was bacterial in nature, not fungal. If it's fungal in nature, the abx either won't make any difference or will make the infection worse due to the fact that the abx kill good bacteria as well, and it's the good bacteria that help keep yeast/fungus in balance.

happyjo -
MD should be able to swab for a sample. If the y/f overgrowth is in the sinus, you'll likely not see much in the stool unless the y/f overgrowth is also throughout the gut.

Yes, Nystatin requires a prescription although I did find a Canadian pharmacy that sells it (w/out Rx). Unfortunately, many MDs also prescribe steroids (and many of the nasal sprays are basically steroids), which you're right, do harm the tissues.

Sugar cravings are not a natural digestive state… the ONLY reason to have cravings is because the y/f is desperate for more sugar to breed with… So I think you're on to something.

Sorry, I don't remember where I read the "scare" about sinus infections and risk to brain infection.

I believe the BEG spray, which addresses the mold probably requires prescription as well but there are other lymees here who know more about it than I do.

So sorry your husband is obviously struggling as well. Hope you get some answers!

p