I am not sure if I have candida or not. I have been having some bloating. That has at times been really bad (got hospitalised for two days through pains - suspected appendicitis - 10 DAYS AG0).

I had been fine but noticed that certain foods do create gas and bloating for me. Well most got eliminated through doing Atkins. Fruit and nuts seemed to create problems sometimes so they went too. Same for dairy. However the problem still remained.

I am on my second script for nilstat plus I am taking acidophilus. The problems however are still there. I never noticed any die off effects when I started the meds so I am not convinced that it is candida. Maybe I have an irritable bowel. Note I am generally really healthy.

I do have problems with constipation since doing Atkins and the psyllium sometimes helps. I am trying a product called colon cleanse at present (magnesium supplement).

I would love it if anyone has any feed back.

Boy, Trisha, it's hard to say whether you have candida or not. You might have food allergies. I have them, and before I was diagnosed, I suffered many of the same symptoms you are experiencing.

If you look for a post from m1whowaits, she has a link to a test that asks questions to determine if you have a possibility of having a yeast problem. I would start there.

Second of all, if you don't already, keep a food diary. Write down everything you eat, and the reactions you have. This will help determine a food allergy. A gluten allergy can cause some serious digestive woes, so that is possible. Give up all grain if you haven't already. Some common food allergens are eggs, dairy, wheat, chocolate, citrus. I, myself, am allergic to bananas, plums, all varieties of melon, pineapple, sunflower seeds, rye, eggs, and zucchini. A weird list, huh? I went through heck until I was tested. I recieved a skin test from an allergist.

If you go to your physician and tell him/her you suspect food allergies, they should send you to an allergist for testing. Even mainstream doctors take food allergies seriously, and would want you to be tested. Like I said, even on Atkins, I would still be having trouble if I didn't know what I was allergic to. Let's say you are allergic to squash. It is a legal food on Atkins, but if you are allergic to it, it will cause problems. Do you see what I am getting at, sometimes I can get confusing!

Good luck and keep us posted. There is an answer out there, you just need to find it. We will all try to help you.

-Jess

Not to sound like a broken record but some people with undiagnosed or loosely diagnosed GI complaints can have celiac disease (it is estimated that 1:250 people have celiac and many are undiagnosed). My symptoms pre diagnosis were similar to yours. I had trouble with fiberous foods, fruit with the peels, nuts, sometimes salads all of which gave me bloating and usually diarrhea. Celiac disease is when a protein in wheat (part of the wheat gluten called gliaden) induces an autoimmune destruction of the nutrient absorbing cells in your small intestine. It has a genetic linkage but can lie dormant until some stress activates the immune response. Because it creates an environment in the gut with inflamation and where nutrients aren't absorb you can get yeast overgrowth and the undigested unabsorbed food acts like a laxitive. In some people however the irritation stops gut motility and they get constipated. Some people get really skinny but many like myself didn't lose weight but seem to still be nutrient deficient from malabsorption and also have a really slow metabolism that compensates for the lose of nutrients to some extent.

There is a blood test but you have to be eating gluten when you take it. A lc diet is generally low in gluten (except if you eat the lc breads and bars and products which use high gluten flour) so it makes sense that some of your symptoms would go away on a lc diet. However if this is what you have you need to completely remove gluten from your diet which is a pretty big task so it is worth finding out via a blood test and then a small intestine biopsy before starting on any gluten free diet. Lots of doctors don't think to look for this disease in adult patients because many were taught that it is a rare disorder generally only seen in children. Celiac does occur in children but it is now know that it can first show up in adults as well. The blood test is easy and your doctor can order it.

Thanks Jessea and Promenea,

I had an allergy test done by my allergy specialist a while back. I showed up for a heap of airbornes and some animals. Food was not a problem even though I obviously have an intolerance to some foods.

Most of the problematic foods have been eliminated with low carb and some I had even cut out when going low fat. I am mixed with fruit maybe it is a problem now because I haven't had any in so long and when I do I tend to eat a lot. Same goes for nuts. These foods also stall my weight loss.

I have also wondered about celiac disease. I had chronic constipation as a child. It eased off as an adult and then completely went after I had my two girls in my late 30's. Came back unfortunately when I did low carb. Still my symptoms are not full blown ones for this condition.

I must do the quiz by Dr Crook.

Trish, I have two girls, too, and had them in my thirties! I am starting to think you might have leaky gut syndrome, while you are reading up on candida, check that out, too. I have both, lucky me. Clearing up the candida, if you have it, is the first step.

Let me know your results from Dr. Crook's test. I checked out his book from the library, very infomative, and easy to understand.

After you read some of that, and take the test, get back to me and let me know. Drop by my journal if that's easier.

Take care, and keep reading!

-Jess

Liz, Jessea and Promenea I did the test and I scored 125 which means yeast is probably present. If I had done the test just a few weeks ago it would have been much lower but it has been higher since being in hospital. If I had done the test anytime in 2001 I would have scored higher. (prior to me me eliminating yeast and sugar). The more foods I have eliminated the better I have felt so now my version of Atkins is pretty good for me.

I do want to be able to eat fruit again one of these days and possibly some of the dairies ricotta, cottage, fetta, parmesan and cream. I don't miss any of the grains.

I eat a lot of eggs and sometimes I am a bit suss about those (just because I like them so much). It seems the things I really like are the things that are no good for me. Sane goes for the soya mayonaise I have ( Norganic). That should go too if candida is the issue as it has in it apple cider vinegar and some honey.

I love tofu and tempeh but have decided to give those a miss for now. Mushrooms should really go too even though I have not noticed a problem with those even though I am sensitive to mold (have had desensitization needles for that one as well as dust, dustmite, grasses).

Jessea I have always had a problem with allergies but they got a lot worse with both my pregnancies. The specialist said that sometimes happens for some people. That is when I put on weight too as I got incredible cravings for sugar and carbs. I always felt that getting pregnant threw my whole system way out of whack and it is only in the last few years that it has started to recover. Low carb, eliminating other suss foods and having the desensitization needle have both really helped.

Trisha, I read that when you are pregnant, you are more prone to candida because of high progesterone levels. That is why pregnant women get yeast infections more often.

I also read that mold allergies are an indicator of candida. I am also allergic to mold.

Since your levels are probably low, just following the diet will probably help you immensely. I would recommend a good probiotic if you aren't already taking one. Also, I have great success with L-Glutamine, an amino acid. L-Glut. helps to heal the intestinal lining, allowing for better digestion. Here I go talking like a doctor again! These are things that I am currently doing, and have read in many areas that they are recommended by experts on candida. Just wanted to clarify that!!

-Denise

If you'll let me know your blood type I can also pop my 2 cents in about foods certain blood types may need to avoid....anything that may help you identify and eliminate whatever is bothering you is worth a try!

Hi Denise, I am taking a really good probiotic. Also taking Nilstat and have started a colon cleanse (high in magnesuim) which is supposed to make the environment in the intestine not a happy one for candida to reproduce.

I have no die off symptoms which I am suprised at especially as I am taking the nilstat and probiotic three times a day. I haven't even had cravings for sugar since very early in the new year.

Hi kjturner, my blood group is 0 positive. My SIL does the diet and has the same blood group as me. I think from what she has told me that I am not having any of those foods anymore. Whoops I do have cabbage and I think that was a no no.

Hi Denise,

I would love to take L- Glutamine again as I have heard wonderful things about it. I felt good when I was on it for a while last year. When I can afford some (it is expensive here) I will add that to my list of supplements.

See if iherb.com does international orders. I bought my l-glut there and it wasn't expensive.

Thanks Liz I will check that out. I suspect postage though will bump the price right up. I am at the end of the world here!

Blood type O: No wheat at all, *very* few of other types of low gluten grains. NO MILK! Perhaps a tiny bit of mozerella cheese every now and then. Ghee would be better for you than butter. Avoid caffeine. If you drink de-caf and must lighten it, you are better off with heavy cream rather than half-and-half. If you have arthritis, cut out the nightshade veggies. If you have a thyroid problem, avoid the cruciferous veggies, except kale. Eat red meat at least twice a week. Some soy is OK, but don't overdo it. There are other small do's and don't, but that's it in a nutshell for O's. Frankly, low carbing is IDEAL for O's, who generally have a higher protein requirement than the other blood types.

Thanks kjturner! IT looks like I am doing the right thing food wise. I have no grains at all. I generally don't have dairy even though I had a tiny bit of parmesan tonight. I eat lots of redmeat (mostly organic), I also have a lot of fish (mostly tinned or frozen) plus some times some organic chicken. I eat lots of eggs. Apart from fleshy foods I eat lots of veges. I have no problems with arthritis, nor with my thyroid.

The only beverages I have drunk this year are herb teas and water. Oh I did have a couple of dandelion coffees one day last month with soya milk.

I don't eat very much soy. Just some tofu at times but not for weeks.

KJ, I'm curious now. I'm B+. What does it say for me. Want to see if it jives with what I'm doing. Thanks.

Liz