Pointless to treat for biofilms with diet high in fats?

I've been taking enzymes, trying the cistus incanus, taking meds away from meals, but I can't help but feel like it doesn't matter. I eat a lot of fats, upwards of 150 grams daily. High fat, high protein, low, low carb.

I'd like to eat differently, but I have other issues keeping me from doing so. I'm trying to address them, but not making much progress.

It's either not feed the biofilms, or contribute to leaky gut and/or dysbiosis. There's also the chemical sensitivities issue, but the biggest obstacle is the fungus.

Though, I imagine that enabling the biofilms is helping the yeasties and whatnot as well, so.. yeah.

It's all counterproductive, no matter what I put in me.

I just need pure calories, human energy liquefied, with vitamins and minerals. That'd be cool.

Thoughts?

Will see later.

Thanks!

I don't really. I mean, I try, but trying isn't doing.

I definitely have a list. Vitamins and minerals, avoiding any deficiencies, then diet, gut, yeast/mold, and heavy metals are all near the top.

Though, I'd like to have some basic things going for Lyme/co, as I'm so affected, which is where the biofilm concerns come in.

Hard to pick which one to go for first, because all of those are sort of working together.

I'd like to change my diet, because it's worsening X, but Y is preventing me from making those changes, etc.

It's one big math problem, a really big one.. and I hate math.

I don't know though, I guess I'll just keep going 'til I fall into something.

;D

I haven't had sugar in months, at least nothing processed.. or even from fruits.

I'm on a ketogenic diet, which is very, very low carb. High in fats, moderate amount of protein, and low in carbs. I average around 30 NET carbs a day (carb count after fiber is subtracted), all of which come from veggies, the lowest in starch.

The diet basically forces the body to run off of fats instead of fats.

I gradually worked my way into it without really knowing what it was, the more sensitivities to food that I developed.

Once I found out, I started tracking my intake, to be sure I do not exceed the carb limit to stay in ketosis (body running off of fats, basically), and to make sure that I'm getting enough calories.

I am on Prescript-Assist and a good S. Boulardii. I plan to add another high quality probiotic to alternate with the PA.

I would like to eat fermented foods, but I have reactions to both kefir and sauerkraut.

I cannot afford much organic, apart from the chicken I eat.

Avocado is great, but I have reactions to it as well.

Many of the things I have sensitivities to are either high in one or more chemicals (phenols, salicylates, et cetera) or set off something fungal, such as with things like avocado, brown rice, the small amounts of alcohol in tinctures.

Some things could overlap, but.. things like avocado, rice, and the tinctures, they evoke very strange reactions that definitely "feel" fungal, it's a totally different sensation from other reactions. Like I have said, I have kinda just learned to go with my gut on some stuff.

I even have similar reactions to certain vegetables that are considered super safe on yeast diets, such as carrots, zucchini, cabbage.

I have considered SIBO, because of this, as they are high in fermentable fibers. I noticed that the reactions seemed to worsen, when using a digestive enzyme, and I found that it could be due to one of the enzymes breaking down the vegetables more thoroughly, making the sugars more available to the bacteria.

I'd like to go low FODMAP keto, but I have issues with things on that list due to chemical sensitivities, so.. not sure what to do about that.

I'm terrified to eat bread, even if others say that certain types are fine for those dealing with yeast concerns.

But, yeah, you're right.. diet/gut should be number one on my list, and it is.. kind of. Those other things just tie right in. It all ties together, and makes for one big headache.

I have been throwing all sorts of antifungals at it, probiotics, taking certain recommended supplements (molybdenum, biotin, the usual), and trying to keep the poopoo moving, etc.

Planning on doing more to boost the immune system soon, if possible, to see if that'll help.. not sure.

I've started using my homemade sauna more, to get my body temperature up into 98 for at least a few hours daily.

Dunno.. it's a lot for my little mind to handle. Plus, as I mentioned elsewhere, I will be taking on a few more responsibilities outside of my health in a couple weeks that are going to increase my load even more.

Why? Want to improve my life in other areas as well as health, but might end up screwing myself over.

Too ambitious.

Oh well, try, try, try..

Sorry if this post is a mess. I took off my makeup for the day, if you know what I mean. :D

Post Edited (NotQuiteAntonio) : 5/31/2016 9:48:11 PM (GMT-6)

Ever tried diatomaceous earth?

Yes, Jackie, I just said screw it, and started eating the foods that were least offensive to me, squeezing in the extra calories with fats. I know it's bad for biofilms, an aspect of treatment that must be addressed, but I'd rather not be a walking skeleton anymore.

My current diet is the one I feel safest for me, even if it has its problems as well.

It is either I eat this and offset chemical sensitivites or eat that way and contribute to or at leaat aggravate yeast/mold.

Traveler, I've considered that, yes. Though, I wonder if it is a combination of things. Kefir and sauerkraut are very high in histamines.

I forgot to reiterate that some of my sensitivities are no doubt due to a dysfunctional methylation cycle, rather than just y/f issues. That is why the vitamins, minerals, deficiencies is near the top, because I am addressing gene defects. Forgot to mention.

Anyway, yes, was having reactions to kefir and sauerkraut before a lot of the other foods I've mentioned, and they did not feel fungal in nature, at least most. My first dose of kefir ruined me for a period of a few days, you might remember (I was emailing you, freaking out about it) - total personality change, made me psychotic, inflammation, physical symptoms as well. I'm not sure how to read that experience, good or bad. My gut said it was very bad, but for what reason? It may have been that I introduced too much at once, and there was a large shift in the flora. Dunno.

But, yeah.. I will take a look at P's post. Though, a lot of what I am already doing has been taken from reading her posts over the years. Still, maybe will find something..

Georgia Hunter, DE? No, but have tried charcoal and clay. I think they are similar? I'm assuming you mean as a binder, to wipe away the yeast?

I am kinda afraid to use them regularly, because constipation is such a struggle, and I worry about wiping away too much good flora.

But.. yeah.. like I said, will try to figure it all out. Thanks for the suggestions..

Again, I appreciate you guys.

Hi Antonio -

I missed this thread previously... I have some thoughts to share but will have to do that another day.

I have battled back from some serious GI issues where I could not eat food unless it was liquid. And due to serious leaky gut, I had reactions to everything I ate. And other problems. So I've been down a similar road but want to make sure I understand a little more about your situation first.

Would you mind repeating for me in a consolidated post exactly what general conditions you think you have (what TYPE of GI issues you think you have and then also what you are treating "microbially" and how you're treating it... and include symptoms, if you can.

THX!

-p

Fats feed proto..but are needed for cell wall phospolipids and mylin repair ...catch 22

I know, right, Blue? Fat feeds proto. Carbs have the potential to feed yeast/fungus and bacteria, contribute to intestinal permeability. Large amounts of protein can be a problem, because of the ammonia. If it's not one thing, it's another.

But, yeah, working on it now, P. I have offered the info elsewhere, but not really in depth, and all of my posts are always littered with some measure of personal feelings on whatever the matter is at hand, so it can get kind of hard to sift through.

Lyme brain's messing me up right now actually. Some of my symptoms and whatnot only come out when I eat certain foods, and I haven't eaten them for quite awhile, so hard to remember just what all the experience is like.

holy cannoli - your post looks like some of mine. ;)

OK - thanks for that and I will work through it tonight and will hopefully respond tomorrow with a few thoughts, if I can muster any.

-p

OK – here are some initial thoughts:

DAGNOSES
We have some similar challenges compared to when I started out lyme & co treatment. I was one sick puppy (I also had at least 4 reactivated/high levels of viruses so at least you don’t have these—that you know of).

One huge piece of advice for you is to break things down and compartmentalize cause/effect/response. You cannot do it all and your brain is not really a computer so it’s just too much all at once. It’s stressful and probably not real effective, either. I think you might have better luck with a “ratcheting” forward approach where you make some good progress w/ healing your gut, then focus a little on reducing microbial load, then advancing the whole body systems so they can be of more support, then increasing the microbial treatment—something like that. You will eventually find your unique rhythm.

Also—you might not understand what I mean by this except in retrospect after you’ve made some progress. But it’s kind of easy to let the parasites and yeast/fungus/mold… “get into your head” and it’s easy to start to be paranoid about them and attribute things to them and sense things that aren’t really there… this, by no means, is to suggest that what you’re feeling isn’t real but let’s just say, for now, that this illness can mess with your head into over-interpreting every single sensation in your body.

Plus, we’re so desperately trying to figure out what is wrong with us so were trying to be aware and diligent. My advice about that is to breathe… and to hold faith that when you exit on the other side of this former life you had—you will see it all with refreshing clarity.

This is how I would group your “conditions” due to priority and similarity and it might help to view an approach toward solutions this way, too:

Group 1
GI issues/leaky gut/SIBO
Histamine sensitivity???
Bacteria issues???

Group 2
Yeast/fungus/mold
Chemical sensitivities

Group 3
Microbial infections (lyme, bart, babs, FL1953)

Group 4
Adrenal/thyroid (not sure if you have these issues but they go hand-in-hand with GI issues and lyme & co)?

Group 5
Biofilms
Devices inserted by alien abductions

I would focus mainly on groups 1 & 2 right now. Make some progress, then introduce some treatment for group 3 and circle back to groups 1 & 2. Kind of like ratcheting up the ladder of recovery.
- Groups 1 & 2 can cause problems with absorbing/processing food and meds/supps and can overburden your immune system. Nothing else is more important right now.
- Groups 1 & 2 cause similar symptoms and the symptoms can also over lap w/ group 3.
- Addressing the y/f/m can help lessen the burden on your GI and immune system, which will help anything that follows tremendously.
- Additionally, chemical sensitivities can be triggered from y/f/m. So that’s also killing that bird with the same stone.
- And diets for groups 1 & 2 are similar.
- Group 4 can occur simply when Gi is imbalanced—the hypothalamus/pituitary/adrenal axis (HPA) works in sync w/ digestion and neurotransmitters to control So SO SO many of our body functions.

I also added a couple of other issues to explore –
- I think you’re right to suspect a histamine sensitivity with your reaction to the GoL probiotic and some food reactions you listed in your symptoms section, which can exacerbate the leaky gut and cause your immune system to really interfere.
- And your reaction to Betain HCL also makes me suspect you have some gut bacteria that shouldn’t be there… I had the most horrible reaction to just a couple of capsules – thought the HCL batch I had was bad, called the company, customer service was so awesome and suggested that if it was killing bacteria/protozoa in the gut it can cause a nasty herx… I was so excited by that because it confirmed what I had suspected was causing GI problems that we couldn’t get to show up on tests. Low acid can occur for many reasons and not only does this really interfere with digestion, but acids also help control yeast/fungus/bacterial/protozoa, etc. And of course these microbes make GI issues that much worse.

PROTOCOLS
So – you’ve tried a lot of approaches… it’s really tough to know what is working, what isn’t if you have GI issues because of absorption and leaky gut problems. Also, like me when I started, I think a lot of people don’t give protocols enough time to work, do too much at once so it’s hard to know what is causing/addressing what, etc.

RECALIBRATE
So, don’t toss out everything you’ve learned, but entertain this suggestion of recalibrating and starting over, kinda. So many people have problems w/ ANY treatment because of GI issues—when there is little wrong with the treatment and everything wrong with the vessel used to administer the tx (the gut since almost everything we do is done orally).

PRIORITIES
First priority is to heal your gut. Healing your gut goes a long way towards boosting your immune system. This involves healing the lining and also addressing that which is damaging it. This takes awhile but hopefully you’ll start to have fewer issues with food as you go, and you’ll gain more from foods/meds/supps as you go and as your gut heals more.

Then you’ll be more “ready” for lyme & co treatment. Some people have GI issues they think are caused by lyme & co – but I still think for most people, spending a little time trying to heal the gut will be beneficial and then once you’ve made a little progress, your antimicrobial protocol will be that much more effective.

DIET
A regular diet is your reward after you make progress w/ lyme & co (which is like, step 4---it’s gonna happen but it’s way out there right now). So whenever you get discouraged that you’re in “denial mode”, think about how happy you will be to do more normal things once you’re past all this. A reward of sorts.

Although, you will likely have to maintain some improvements—like keeping sugar and high carb in take low and making sure you really protect your gut. So think of some of the changes as not a diet but a new way to feed yourself that your body will reward you for.

Histamine response
Your diet looks good (I know it’s not a lot of variety right now but it’s better than mine was when I couldn’t eat solid food for a year!) – you might want to cross check everything with histamine response-triggering foods. Most ways people have of controlling histamine reaction is by control triggers, which are mainly foods.

leaky gut
With leaky gut, you’re in such a very difficult situation because you’ll eventually develop issues with every food you eat—even the good ones. But you have to eat and some reactions are not as bad as others, meaning some foods are still OK to eat even when antibodies show up high on the tests.

The wider variety of veggies you can find the better, but it’s more critical to do other things to heal the gut right now. Legumes are a good source of protein but can be difficult for us to digest—I still react to beans. Brown rice should be OK in small doses.

If you can find a good, inexpensive nutritionist to help you out with this, the better. Eventually, you can graduate to different foods but the simpler the better right now.

Soothe
And now I’m going to suggest that you try not eating solid food for awhile! Maybe a couple weeks, if you can or maybe do this for all but one meal—maybe eat regular bkfst and then liquid lunch & dinner so that your body doesn’t have to work so hard at night.

Try veggie smoothies, soups and purreed veggies for awhile. No raw veggies for now—the raw fiber is to hard to digest. Due to my methylation problems, I couldn’t tolerate high quantities of anything, including veggies so I would have horrible diarrhea with juicing. But I broke it down into very small, frequent doses and I was fine. Bone broth, chicken broth, vegetable broths, miso… drink aloe vera juice, and try looking for GI repair support.

Incorporate omega 3 fish oil—only if you can afford the really top quality salmon oil (vital choice is an excellent source but it’s not cheap). Flax seed oil in small doses, and coconut oil with everything – add it to tea, soups, eat raw. So no the fats might not be optimal for biofilm but first things first – let’s heal the mucosal lining.

Sounds silly but snack slowly, chew carefully, savor the moment, meditate, think of food as your healer—not the enemy (which sounds odd but when you develop so many issues with food like we have, it’s easy to grow contempt and this isn’t good for you).

Move
“Slow digestion” – this can cause so many problems. First, instead of full, infrequent meals, snack all day. Try eating something small at least every 2 hrs. Lot’s of liquids and slimy stuff. Split up the aloe vera to 2 tablespoons every other snack or something like that. I like adding a little tart cherry juice (1 tablespoon—it’s high in sugar) to the aloe vera juice, which helps with constipation. But the best remedy I’ve found is pure cholestyramine—it’s a little expensive but it’s the best binder out there and will definitely help w/ keeping you regular. Don’t bother with the manufactured versions (like welchol).

You want to keep everything you eat moving through your body so this is where binders are essential. But go very easy on any fiber—save psyllium husk for another time. Try sprouted chia seeds—they are like digesting happy little jelly fish so easy on the mucosal lining but they also help move fecal matter. The best vehicle for delivery is to plump them up with a fruit puree/juice but not for you. Instead, try mint + water, cinnamon + coconut milk, cocoa + almond milk, pureed cucumber + lemon oil. You get the idea.

DETOX
Detoxing is key, of course but for those with GI issues, it’s even more important because of all the gut/brain connections and challenges to stay regular, which otherwise holds in more toxins. So, you need to use all methods – binders to move toxins out of the gut, dry brushing to move toxins through the circulation and in/out of nodes, sweating and baths to draw toxins out of the skin—it’s the largest organ – use it! And other support for liver, etc.

You haven’t mentioned you have concern about heavy metals and from your sx it doesn’t sound like that is a predominant issue, if you do. So please hold off chlorella and cilantro for now—if you’re not ready for it, these products can leach heavy metals that get reabsorbed if not done properly. You have enough on your plate right now.

PROBIOTIC
I like the idea of rotating probiotics. I’m not familiar with PA but I know you need much more than just S. Boulardii. You need the max amount of strains as possible – and Garden of Life has the most strains of any probiotic that I’ve found—but anyone please correct me if I’m wrong about this).

Another idea regarding your reaction to GoL is that a high dose of good bacteria is likely killing off some yeast/fungus so that might be the reason why you had a reaction to it (you didn’t describe the reaction so this is a guess. I always had some die off response).

Make sure you arrange your schedule so that probiotics are the last thing you take before bedtime so that GI body has a chance to get the most benefit from it.

BOOSTING IMMUNE SYSTEM
Again, healing your gut is step 1. There are also several immune-boosting herbal remedies for your gut, which can help it get ready to attack. You might also consider doing some testing to discover how well it is functioning and in which ways. This will help you target your support.

ATTACK FOCUS #1 - Y/FO
Let’s see how far you get with exploring a histamine issue and if that might affect some of your symptoms that also sound a little like Y/FO. I was about to list which one of your sx suggest yeast/fungal overgrowth but realized that it’s most of your sx. So, I think this is strong enough indication that you need to ramp up Y/FO protocol.

I’m not wild about pulsing antifungals. From everything I’ve read, if you have a significant overgrowth you need to hit Y/FO hard and fast and consistently and pulsing almost ensures resistance.

I think MDs pulse to help out the liver—but there are better ways to do this (milk thistle seed, burdock root---I needed both), liver flushes. And many people don’t need systemic antifungals. But it seems like you’re on Ketoconazole full-time? Definitely try out the pure nystatin powder, which will help bypass absorption/susceptibility/resistance problems that might be occurring w/ the diflucan and ketoconaszole and treat the mucosal lining “topically” from the inside…

The natural antifungal blends are best used for a “twice a year” cleansing approach, really. They have so many ingredients (that are good to hit everything since you usually don’t know exactly what y/f strains you have and what is susceptible to what antifungal.) But y/f can grow resistant to natural antifungals and they should be used only 2 at a time (so you don’t run out) and rotated every couple of weeks. The blends don’t lend themselves to consistent use.

ATTACK FOCUS #2 - MOLD
Implementing a good binder like cholestyramine will be helpful for the mold but I would get familiar with other remedies (check out Dr Shoemaker’s site survivingmold.com and/or post for input about this—I’m not currently treating for mold so don’t have much to offer other than the investigation I did. Solving mold and Y/FO will likely solve most of your chemical sensitivity symptoms.

But please know that you really need to figure out how bad your environment is in perpetuating a mold sensitivity. You have a huge road block in treatment if you can’t control whatever mold is entering your body from your environment. And many experts suggest you’re not going to get far with lyme & co treatment if you have an mold issue going unadressed. Consult with others about this.

ATTACK FOCUS #3 - PARASITES
So, once your gut has healed a bit and you make some progress w/ Y/FO (say, 2-3 wks) let’s do more for parasites. I think some of your sx (reaction to HCL Betaine, “stringy, whitish stuff on feces” after enemas, mucus) are pretty strong indications of parasitic activity. And w/out proper digestion, it’s easy for parasites to flourish. But antiparasitics can be very tough to manage and are hard on the liver and can really drain you. This is why you need to make a little progress with healing first. We can talk more about this when it’s time.

Also, with a new “killing” protocol, you’ll need to step up your detox protocol.

ATTACK FOCUS #4 - LYME & CO
When you’ve made progress with parasites and your gut has continued healing, then I would introduce one antimicrobial for whichever infection is dominant (I would study Burrascano’s symptom guide or I can share with you my LLMD’s more detailed questionnaire).

And as you do this you need to increase detox one more notch.

ATTACK FOCUS #5 - BIOFILM
Biofilms… I need to think about this more and can discuss another time. I had a conversation w/ my LLMD about biofilms and she said it was OK to wait awhile before attacking. I want to ask her about this again because I can’t remember what she said about it, but also, biolfilms is one of the hardest things to solve so it’s beneficial to start off with the easier stuff first, make big strides in recalibrating your health, then you can tackle the big stuff.

******
So—I’m sure I’ve missed some things but hope this is helpful. As you can see, I think you’re a ways off from being ready to treat lyme & co. but this also helps you focus on one thing at a time. My LLMD and I spent a couple of months healing gut, boosting immune system, reducing viral and yeast/fungal load before even attempting antimicrobials for lyme & co and I swear I would not have lived through it if she hadn’t. Everyone is different so you’ll find your own groove and I can tell by your self-analysis that you will come up with excellent steps moving forward.

Don’t hesitate to ask questions and may the force be with you—we will be!

-p

Hi Antonio -

Glad you had a chance to review my ridiculously long post...

I wanted to clarify a few things that might have been confusing and then also answer a couple of questions you had. Remember - I'm sharing from my experience and from what I've learned, you will find your own path. So, just take this info for what it's worth.

So - that was a TON to digest—too much, in fact.

STAGES
But instead of “sitting down and making a plan for each category/stage” I suggest a different approach. All of this can be overwhelming—to the point of feeling paralyzed because there’s no way you can address it all or even figure out how to address it all, much less devise a plan to address it all. So—don’t.

Copy and paste the post and put it somewhere safe – you can label it “1 year target”. And you don’t even have to look at the whole thing again—instead, all you really need to think about here and now - the first stage – heal your gut, support your immune system.

And in the back of your mind, just know what the next target will be, say in 3 months (say, stage 2). Then figure out your 6 month target (say, stage 3)… that is enough to get you started. And then put it away. You’ve looked out into the near future a little bit but your focus right now is your end-of-June target.

When I was in my initial stage, I would swing back-and-forth between being hyper focused on this prep before lyme & co tx and being worried that I wasn’t actively treating lyme & co… it took me awhile to get comfortable with staging it all and then focusing on just one part of it but I now know I would not have progressed at all had I not broken treatment into manageable chunks of reality.

PRIORITIES
I know you are also busy working and doing other things. The daily grind is tough—even without chronic illness. But you also have to be realistic and let some things go. Worrying about the next thing on your “before 30” bucket list Isn’t going to get you too far when you can’t manage a normal meal, right? So, that kinda stuff goes into the “reward” stage, where you are able to get back to the life you’ve worked so hard for and the life you deserve when you have energy and feel well and you're a whole new outstanding man ready for the world. It will happen. But there are other priorities now.

PSYCHO-NEURO PITA
When the bugs or the toxins take over our brains sometimes—it’s important to have something tangible to reference. Hence, the written plan. The written schedule, the reminders, etc. That’s your homing device when you feel like you’re wandering around reality and you just can’t hit it. That’s how you remain in charge. It’s the constant reminder that YOU can do this, you ARE doing this.

If you want, add images of a reward (an image of an island to remind you of a trip you've wanted to take, a cap and gown to remind you of the degree you want to finish, a pair of running shoes to remind you of the hikes you want to take again, etc.)

And remember—the feelings of paranoia and wanting to check out—they’re normal and many of us know exactly what you’re talking about. And it’s the infections, not what’s in your heart, not what your soul wants. So, let that jive move through you and back out into the universe, and go look at your list to see what’s next for the day.

You say you’ve caught glimpses of who you really are—but the person who is going to emerge from this mess is probably someone so awesome you can’t even imagine yet. We come out of this experienced--changed. You are going to be a whole other being and you’re going to be amazing. That is also something to look forward to - getting to know that amazing person.

FOODS
Whenever you try a new food – always try small portions. I really like your idea of splitting up your meals – much less to prepare. But really try to eat small portions. We’re conditioned socially to have these grand meals, which then get entrenched as a psychological response to happiness and satisfaction and self-worth. But I promise, your body will adjust to feeling satisfied in a different way, your energy level will be a little more consistent, you'll have fewer reactions to food at lower portions, you’ll start enjoying the little short respite snack times that give your brain a rest from work and allow you to be quiet for a moment… etc.

Try liquid lunches and dinner or maybe breakfast and dinner (or at the very least, dinner) for just a few weeks – it's definitely not forever. Although once you get into a groove you might really like it. It's OK to eat a snack before bedtime (in fact, your adrenals can benefit from a very small portion, say 2 oz. of protein and complex carb before bedtime so that it can kind of recalibrate to help you sleep through the night--but no sugar).

CHOLESTYRAMINE
So – I forgot to ask you why no MD? No insurance? Other issues? If you’re really interested in the cholestyramine, maybe go to an urgent care place and literally ask an MD to write you a script for “digestive support - you no longer have access to your MD and need to continue taking it” or something creative like that. I do have a source (Canadian pharmacy) that doesn’t require prescriptions but I checked and they don’t have the cholestyramine. But you could call and inquire... where there's a will, there's a way. You're a creative guy, get creative!

CHELATORS
Regarding chlorella and cilantro – I don't think changing doses changes how these guys function, but it's your call. You have so much on your plate already, something needs to give. LOL

HVY MTLS
I don’t think heavy metals “accompany” lyme & co because the microbial infections cause you to attract heavy metals or anything like that. I think many people who react to the lyme & co infections with symptoms do so because they have whole body system issues or a weakend immune system at the time of infection. Maybe they already have a gut issue, or pre-existing viral loads, or heavy metals or a combination of dis-ease… there are some infections that like the same dysfunctional or “dysbiotic” environments but having one doesn’t necessarily mean you have the other. I do think that yeast/fungus attracts heavy metals and I can't find my reference about that right now - but it's a chemical reaction/attraction.

$
I know money is really tight. So think about what stage you are in, and what you need to support it, vs. what you are taking that is really addressing a later stage and consider doing a trade off so that you have more money available for something that is most beneficial for you right now.

Y/FO
Yeast/fungus can grow within hours. You’re still pulsing by switching off every other day since the two systemic antifungals you’re alternating are effective against different strains. Yes, the systemics are hard on the liver—so why take them if you don’t need them and when the Nystatin powder could be even more effective? If they aren’t set to expire any time soon, you can come back to them if healing your gut doesn’t effectively resolve any systemic issues.

If you really need to finish them, I’d start taking good doses of the milk thistle seed and burdock root and you’ll need to get your enzymes checked every month. I’d finish what you have (take the Diflucan every day and finish it, then do the same for the Ketoconazole). But then I’d switch to the Nystatin powder for all the reasons I already stated.

So – I’m talking about the PURE Nystatin powder---not the pills or liquid. There’s a huge difference. Have you tried the powder before? I’m not sure what you mean by “It’s still expensive for what it is” – it’s probably the same cost as what you’re paying for the systemic antifungals? Also, it’s an investment—so consider what you need to invest in. The pharmacist have to open a package to fill an order so they basically sell you the whole package – it’s a month’s worth in a jar for $60 at my pharmacist. But you start out taking very small doses and graduate to higher doses – so the first month basically evens out. After that, you might need to maintain high doses until your symptoms subside, which could take another month. But then a maintenance dose should be a lower dose, which means you’re refilling your prescription on a monthly base – like you’re doing with the systemics… unless I’m missing something.

MOLD
Yea, this is a problem for you, isn't it... You just gotta turn the corner on this somehow and get very creative about figuring out a way to cordon off your bedroom, closing off your room from the air conditioning vents, rigging a fan that blows/draws this air out, recycling fresh air through---something. Anything you do is going to help. I can’t solve it but you can’t settle for “there’s nothing I can do”. It’s your health and you need to figure something out.

OK – hope this was helpful. Again, take just the month of June. I have NO DOUBT you won't fold--that is not the kind of guy you are. You just gotta get started in the right way. You can do this!

-p

LOL - I hear ya about the cholestyramine and MDs. However, I convinced an urgent care doc exactly what to prescribe for my mom's thrush. It takes a little savviness and confidence and an open-minded doc and some luck. But it's worth a try.

But also, why in the world are you wasting time w/ a group of MDs who aren't helping you with your health care? It's a pain to switch but I think this is also something you need to just DO. Most of us have had to switch MDs, clinics, even health care plans. It is usually well worth it in the end--if not critical for our healing...

Have you ever used a hand-held "immersion blender"? These can be useful to blend cooked veggies and make puree's and such. I'm not recommending this specific product but this is what I'm talking about - VERY easy to clean (just dip it in warm soapy water and turn it on):
tinyurl.com/z9mylgc

Nystatin powder - yeah, much more expensive w/out an Rx. Again, I think you need to find a doc who can partner with you during this insane treatment. Otherwise, what are you paying him/her for? Would you pay your car mechanic top dollar to "do less than the minimum"?

Please let me/us know if you have any other q's... you're on a roll now!

-p

OH man... I just hate that you experienced such... ignorance and unprofessionalism. I'm so sorry.

The ND sounds VERY promising - please continue to pursue her. Can't believe she takes your insurance. What a find.

-p