Posted 8/19/2014 10:25 PM (GMT -5)
Hi gingeranne—
I don't think most people can manage the antibiotic medley without taking an anti-yeast/fungal, to be honest. I don't know why MDs aren't prescribing them. Probiotics and a sugar-free diet usually aren't enough for many of us.
A quick history—throughout 2013 I struggled with chronic sinusitis and bronchitis and was prescribed about 8-9 rounds of various antibiotics and steroids. This was before I had a clue that I had lyme & co. Of course, no one prescribed probiotics or antifungals. It turns out that the sinus infection was also due to a fungal/yeast problem and had probably spread to my chest, hence the bronchitis. The abx were actually making me sicker.
Anyway, all the abx brought on significant lyme & co. sx, which finally made it clear that I needed to get to an LLMD. But I had to wait 6 mos for my appt and in the interim, I went on a very strict no sugar, no simple carbs, no grains, no dairy, no gluten, no caffeine diet. I started taking diflucan 200mg and nystatin 5,000u 2x/day. Two months went by and I saw no change (I also had problems with ear aches, throat aches, eyes, vaginal yeast infection, and tons of GI problems—that were attributed to the fungal problem). So I switched to Ketoconazole and a powder form of nystatin (which coats the mouth, throat, and GI). Another two months went by and I finally felt relief. A HUGE difference.
I have read from several sources that a yeast problem is extremely difficult to get rid of—some say impossible—and that once it takes hold you will always have to fight it and that also, it doesn't take much for it to tip the scale to BAD. I believe you can manage it but that is also not easy. You're doing all the right things from what I've researched, but you should also be taking some anti fungal meds…All of the natural approaches I took didn't make a dent. And with all the abx you're on, I doubt anything but meds is going to help at this point. Once the fungal growth gets out of hand, you really need to throw everything you can at it.
A few more thoughts—the diflucan is a systemic anti fungal and very hard on the liver. My liver enzymes skyrocketed after a few doses—doc had me take milk seed thistle and burdock root and they are now normal. The diflucan is not intended to be taken long-term. The nystatin is GI-specific and safe to take indefinitely, from what I read. I will likely continue taking it for the duration of my treatment.
Also, for awhile, you will likely need to omit ALL sugars and foods that turn into sugars (simple carbs, bread)—especially fruit. Sorry, this is no fun and it was so hard for me. But you've got to get the upper hand, which takes awhile, then after a month or so maybe you can reintroduce them once a wk like you're doing. Once the antifungals started working for me, I really lost all cravings and the taste for sugars/carbs so it got really easy after a point.
Hope this helps—
-p