OK, so apparently I've got CFS right
- It's kind of the official term for 'we acknowledge that something is wrong but we don't know what'.
Which is fine, but what annoys me is that everywhere you turn you have medical professionals saying that CFS is not caused by Candida......they don't know what does cause it, but they know that the Candida fungus isn't one of those causes - huh?
Do a quick search of 'Candida CFS' or Does 'Candida Cause CFS' and you will find many stories of people who have gone on Candida diets and found some relief, only to get a relapse when they lapse off the diet.....
Or is it a case of 'what came first - the chicken or the egg'. Could our Candida actually be a symptom of our CFS.
Is it our Chronic Fatigue that is compromising our immune systems - much the same way as people who have leukemia suffer from persistent infections.....and maybe the Candida diet works so well because it is a fantastic diet for our immune system.......
Hmmmm.
I do know that for the last few weeks I have felt really good mentally and I was even able to get out in the garden for an hour before hitting the 'physical wall'.
I also know that for the last few days I have felt like crap - my parasthesias have returned, my energy has plummeted, I have had leg spasms for the last 3 nights, my jaw has seized again and all other symptoms are returning with a vengeance...... Unfortunately this relapse/flare-uphas co-incided with three events;
1) A stressful week - Our son had a follow-up kidney scan that was not as good as we had hoped for. He also has another ear infection and has been up screaming for 4 nights and My nanny was sick for two days last week. Me stuck with 4 young kids with no help and no ability to work.....very dodgy!
2) Physical work - Having to look after the kids meant that I had to push myself physically. So much so that by the end of our 'playgroup' I physically could not stand and I had to get a friend to drive us all home. That was an eye opener!
3) Cheating - It would be fair to say that I had cheated a bit at the beginning of the week too. Ummm actually a lot. In-fact we had two days where fish and chips, homemade bread rolls and Kate's yummy biscuits featured highly among the salads, walnuts and scrambled eggs!
So it is back to the drawing board and I am now noting every food into the diary.....sheesh!
Phil is also feeling like crap - but I think that it it more to do with the 4 nights of non-sleep. Between our son and me the poor darling doesn't get a wink either. He has got a week off work next week, boy are we looking forward to that!
Needless to say the liver flush has been put off again :o) (tee hee)
See ya next week
Sandy
Monday, June 28
Monday, June 21
The Candida Diet - Week 9
Thank goodness for apples and Woolworths!
Apples are right in season here at the moment and thank goodness! After last weeks tirade against my not so tasty lettuce someone mentioned that I try adding apples to the mix and Bingo! My salads now taste half decent again - Yay!
Actually, come to mention it, add some apple to your cottage cheese and feel that flavor explode. Sprinkle some cinnamon on it for another variation Yum!
The second thank goodness is for Woolworths - the 'other' local supermarket who has started stocking our favorite Dovedale bread.
Ahhh, kosher bread toasted and topped with cottage cheese, apple and cinnamon - with a handful of our nutty, seedy, dried berry mix as a chaser - bliss :o)
Anti fungals for the week are back to Garlic and Grape Seed Extract
Our fibre shake is still flaxseed based.
Other supplements include;
HMD - my heavy metal detox concoction
A liquid multi mineral
Vitamin C - buffered
Vit B complex
Flaxseed Oil - for our omegas
After last week Phil did go back on the Candida diet very strictly and guess what? No more white film on his tongue! He's a much happier camper now!
I have lost another kilo - putting me right on my goal weight - yippee!
(not bad - 8kg lost without any exercise!)
A very good week,
See ya!
Looking for a cure for your Candida infection? Head over to www.thebestcandidacures.com
Apples are right in season here at the moment and thank goodness! After last weeks tirade against my not so tasty lettuce someone mentioned that I try adding apples to the mix and Bingo! My salads now taste half decent again - Yay!
Actually, come to mention it, add some apple to your cottage cheese and feel that flavor explode. Sprinkle some cinnamon on it for another variation Yum!
The second thank goodness is for Woolworths - the 'other' local supermarket who has started stocking our favorite Dovedale bread.
Ahhh, kosher bread toasted and topped with cottage cheese, apple and cinnamon - with a handful of our nutty, seedy, dried berry mix as a chaser - bliss :o)
Anti fungals for the week are back to Garlic and Grape Seed Extract
Our fibre shake is still flaxseed based.
Other supplements include;
HMD - my heavy metal detox concoction
A liquid multi mineral
Vitamin C - buffered
Vit B complex
Flaxseed Oil - for our omegas
After last week Phil did go back on the Candida diet very strictly and guess what? No more white film on his tongue! He's a much happier camper now!
I have lost another kilo - putting me right on my goal weight - yippee!
(not bad - 8kg lost without any exercise!)
A very good week,
See ya!
Looking for a cure for your Candida infection? Head over to www.thebestcandidacures.com
Monday, June 14
How To Cure Candida - Week 8
OK.
I have officially had enough of salads!
It's not that I don't like them usually - its just that we are well into winter here and all the yummy types of lettuce greens are long gone or hellishly expensive, which just leaves us with good old 'iceberg'.
Now Iceberg is great with a variety of accompanying foods - like cheese, red peppers, tomatoes, hang - anything that has a modicum of taste. Unfortunately everything that has a modicum of taste is either out of season or not allowed......
GRRRR......
Oh, well, thank goodness for stir fries and soup.
Also this week my local friendly supermarket stopped stocking our one kosher treat - yummy rice bread - you remember - the stuff that is terrible raw but divine toasted! Honestly I could eat a whole toasted loaf in one sitting YUM!
Well, apparently we must be the only ones who think so, because no more deliveries boo hoo.
I wonder if I can find a supplier online........
Anyway - not much to say for this week.
Phil has had a shocker - there have been treats provided for him at every turn and he has had a right knees up! The interesting thing is that he has come back down to earth with a crash.
He has always had a really white tongue, but for the last three weeks it has been clear, a fact that he was really rapped with. Well, this morning he looked in the mirror and 'hello' a big thick white layer of icky!
Talk about gutted!
So Phil has decided that maybe he should keep on with at least most of the program......bless :o)
See ya
I have officially had enough of salads!
It's not that I don't like them usually - its just that we are well into winter here and all the yummy types of lettuce greens are long gone or hellishly expensive, which just leaves us with good old 'iceberg'.
Now Iceberg is great with a variety of accompanying foods - like cheese, red peppers, tomatoes, hang - anything that has a modicum of taste. Unfortunately everything that has a modicum of taste is either out of season or not allowed......
GRRRR......
Oh, well, thank goodness for stir fries and soup.
Also this week my local friendly supermarket stopped stocking our one kosher treat - yummy rice bread - you remember - the stuff that is terrible raw but divine toasted! Honestly I could eat a whole toasted loaf in one sitting YUM!
Well, apparently we must be the only ones who think so, because no more deliveries boo hoo.
I wonder if I can find a supplier online........
Anyway - not much to say for this week.
Phil has had a shocker - there have been treats provided for him at every turn and he has had a right knees up! The interesting thing is that he has come back down to earth with a crash.
He has always had a really white tongue, but for the last three weeks it has been clear, a fact that he was really rapped with. Well, this morning he looked in the mirror and 'hello' a big thick white layer of icky!
Talk about gutted!
So Phil has decided that maybe he should keep on with at least most of the program......bless :o)
See ya
Monday, June 7
How To Cure Candida - Week 7
This week I have learned that coffee = indigestion - DRAT!!!!!
The 'Strange but true' discovery of the week is that if I do not keep up with my 2.5 liters of water a day then my heavy metal detox stuff will make sure that I sweat out my toxins!
Phil has discovered that maybe he shouldn't be drinking bourbon as his once a week treat - either that or maybe he should leave the coke out!
Last week I though that there may have been a link between my leg spasms and my sugar intake, but having had no sugar or any other cheat food all week my legs decided to go off all by themselves.....double drat!
On a good note, Phil is holding his weight and I have dropped another kilo - very happy with this ;o)
So at week 7 what are we eating?
Just the same -
Phil has upped his carbo food and now definitely includes potato, wholegrain pasta, brown rice etc in with his meals.
We have found a muesli which meets all our requirements so this has replaced the scrambled egg breakfast.
Our anti-fungal regime is still in rotation. This week we are on garlic and colloidal silver.
We have a nettle tea or two during the day to help flush the kidneys.
I know that we were supposed to do a liver flush this week - but we had an eventful Friday, so decided to flag it this week. Also, our young son is still not sleeping through the night, so we are really hesitant to do one until we know that we will get at least 5 hours sleep!
The 'Strange but true' discovery of the week is that if I do not keep up with my 2.5 liters of water a day then my heavy metal detox stuff will make sure that I sweat out my toxins!
Phil has discovered that maybe he shouldn't be drinking bourbon as his once a week treat - either that or maybe he should leave the coke out!
Last week I though that there may have been a link between my leg spasms and my sugar intake, but having had no sugar or any other cheat food all week my legs decided to go off all by themselves.....double drat!
On a good note, Phil is holding his weight and I have dropped another kilo - very happy with this ;o)
So at week 7 what are we eating?
Just the same -
- stirfries,
- salads,
- soups,
- fruit - pears, kiwi, berries, apples, bananas
- eggs
- seeds and nuts (watch for the mold on the walnuts - yuck!)
- rice crackers - with or without hummus, cottage cheese or salmon/tuna
Phil has upped his carbo food and now definitely includes potato, wholegrain pasta, brown rice etc in with his meals.
We have found a muesli which meets all our requirements so this has replaced the scrambled egg breakfast.
Our anti-fungal regime is still in rotation. This week we are on garlic and colloidal silver.
We have a nettle tea or two during the day to help flush the kidneys.
I know that we were supposed to do a liver flush this week - but we had an eventful Friday, so decided to flag it this week. Also, our young son is still not sleeping through the night, so we are really hesitant to do one until we know that we will get at least 5 hours sleep!
Monday, May 31
How To Cure Candida - Week 6
I think that we may finally be seeing a bit of a pattern here....
While we have still been largely sticking to the diet I have been a bit curious as to why I have been able to cheat occasionally with many different foods without noticing any immediate reaction. There was only the cheesecake at Mom's in that first couple of weeks which really sent my heart rate through the roof that has been an instantly noticeable difference.
I have added more yogurt, more cottage cheese, more whole grains, more potatoes, tomatoes..... just to try and get some discernible reaction from any food group and nothing.... nada.
I guess I had just decided that there was so much mental fog and fatigue going on normally that I probably wouldn't notice much of a reaction if I did have one! So on we battle.
Except I think that I may have found a link between my sugar intake and my leg spasms.
It is only a theory at the moment - but when I go back through my diary, the last two episodes of spasms have happened after a sugar rush - remember the cheesecake? That night was the start of a 4 night episode.
And then Phil and I went out for dinner on Friday - and we really weren't too naughty - except for the 2 bourbon and cokes before dinner and the hot chocolate at the end of the night.
That night was the worst bought of spasms that I have ever had - I ended up taking 60mg of Baclofen during night and it was barely touching the pain.
It has taken another couple of nights to settle down.
Now, there may be a direct link between them, there may not - you'd understand my reluctance to eat a cup of sugar to get a definitive link - but maybe in a week or two I'll try having something slightly sweet again - just to test it.
The other interesting thing is that my cystic acne has started returning and the only thing that I can put that down to is the increased amount of yogurt that I am eating - so I'll knock that back and see how we go there too!
We haven't done the liver flush yet - gathering the courage for this Friday night - will let you know how we get on!
See ya
Sandy
While we have still been largely sticking to the diet I have been a bit curious as to why I have been able to cheat occasionally with many different foods without noticing any immediate reaction. There was only the cheesecake at Mom's in that first couple of weeks which really sent my heart rate through the roof that has been an instantly noticeable difference.
I have added more yogurt, more cottage cheese, more whole grains, more potatoes, tomatoes..... just to try and get some discernible reaction from any food group and nothing.... nada.
I guess I had just decided that there was so much mental fog and fatigue going on normally that I probably wouldn't notice much of a reaction if I did have one! So on we battle.
Except I think that I may have found a link between my sugar intake and my leg spasms.
It is only a theory at the moment - but when I go back through my diary, the last two episodes of spasms have happened after a sugar rush - remember the cheesecake? That night was the start of a 4 night episode.
And then Phil and I went out for dinner on Friday - and we really weren't too naughty - except for the 2 bourbon and cokes before dinner and the hot chocolate at the end of the night.
That night was the worst bought of spasms that I have ever had - I ended up taking 60mg of Baclofen during night and it was barely touching the pain.
It has taken another couple of nights to settle down.
Now, there may be a direct link between them, there may not - you'd understand my reluctance to eat a cup of sugar to get a definitive link - but maybe in a week or two I'll try having something slightly sweet again - just to test it.
The other interesting thing is that my cystic acne has started returning and the only thing that I can put that down to is the increased amount of yogurt that I am eating - so I'll knock that back and see how we go there too!
We haven't done the liver flush yet - gathering the courage for this Friday night - will let you know how we get on!
See ya
Sandy
The How to Cure Candida Experiment - Diagnosis?
We are finally on the right track!
YAY!
.... Ok, let's back up a bit.
(See my first post for my symptoms)
My regular neurologist has me down as suffering from BCS or benign cramping syndrome - which didn't go anywhere near explaining everything else that goes on - and meant that he was able to pop me in the 'completed' file and just prescribe stronger and stronger drugs without worrying whether they were actually working or not.
After two years of dealing with this attitude 2 weeks ago I found another neurologist who was fantastic, absolutely 'got' what I was on about and came to the conclusion within 5 minutes that this was not just a BCS, but something that affected my whole central nervous system. It could be viral, metabolic or something else - they just didn't know at this stage.
He even went and got his radiologist to re-check my MRI's for lesions. Awesome service!
So definitely not MS (whew) but something similar, which puts me into the "we don't know, but we do acknowledge that there is something wrong" category called Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS).
That's OK - at least we are finally on the right path.....
YAY!
.... Ok, let's back up a bit.
(See my first post for my symptoms)
My regular neurologist has me down as suffering from BCS or benign cramping syndrome - which didn't go anywhere near explaining everything else that goes on - and meant that he was able to pop me in the 'completed' file and just prescribe stronger and stronger drugs without worrying whether they were actually working or not.
After two years of dealing with this attitude 2 weeks ago I found another neurologist who was fantastic, absolutely 'got' what I was on about and came to the conclusion within 5 minutes that this was not just a BCS, but something that affected my whole central nervous system. It could be viral, metabolic or something else - they just didn't know at this stage.
He even went and got his radiologist to re-check my MRI's for lesions. Awesome service!
So definitely not MS (whew) but something similar, which puts me into the "we don't know, but we do acknowledge that there is something wrong" category called Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS).
That's OK - at least we are finally on the right path.....
Monday, May 24
How To Cure Candida - Week 5
Well, another week has gone by and along with it another kilo of weight has dropped off - Phil anyway. I seem to just be hangin around the 68kg mark, so I guess this is where I'll stay for now.
We have run out of our pre-mixed kidney cleanse potion, so have resorted to nettle tea - which actually doesn't taste so bad - and a heck of a lot cheaper too!
We have also been on a pre-mixed 'liver support' brew but are seriously beginning to contemplate jumping in and doing a total liver flush - as prescribed in the course. Although I have to admit, it does sound awfully scary! I think that maybe we'll wait for the weekend before doing it.
Other than that, things are ticking along nicely.
The Candida diet is well and truly entrenched in our routine and the hardest part now is remembering which anti-fungal we are up to and which we were supposed to take for morning teas vs the ones for afternoon tea!
We are still allowing for a bit of a diet 'blow out' now and then, but Phil reckons that one of his intolerance foods has to be fish and chips 'cause he feels like crap after eating them! Darn it!
Having got through stage one OK, I'm also finding it interesting to see what meals I can cook for the whole family that Phil and I can comfortably eat, but that will also give the kids the same food energy levels that they need - oh and that don't cost a packet too!
I though that I should mention at this point that the team at How To Cure Candida have been really great to deal with.
Part of our basic package was one month free consultation and we made good use of that. But every question was answered quickly, personally and in a really friendly manner so a big thumbs up to Ryan, Jessica and Dean there!
That's it for now, See ya
Sandy
We have run out of our pre-mixed kidney cleanse potion, so have resorted to nettle tea - which actually doesn't taste so bad - and a heck of a lot cheaper too!
We have also been on a pre-mixed 'liver support' brew but are seriously beginning to contemplate jumping in and doing a total liver flush - as prescribed in the course. Although I have to admit, it does sound awfully scary! I think that maybe we'll wait for the weekend before doing it.
Other than that, things are ticking along nicely.
The Candida diet is well and truly entrenched in our routine and the hardest part now is remembering which anti-fungal we are up to and which we were supposed to take for morning teas vs the ones for afternoon tea!
We are still allowing for a bit of a diet 'blow out' now and then, but Phil reckons that one of his intolerance foods has to be fish and chips 'cause he feels like crap after eating them! Darn it!
Having got through stage one OK, I'm also finding it interesting to see what meals I can cook for the whole family that Phil and I can comfortably eat, but that will also give the kids the same food energy levels that they need - oh and that don't cost a packet too!
I though that I should mention at this point that the team at How To Cure Candida have been really great to deal with.
Part of our basic package was one month free consultation and we made good use of that. But every question was answered quickly, personally and in a really friendly manner so a big thumbs up to Ryan, Jessica and Dean there!
That's it for now, See ya
Sandy
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