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Thursday, August 23, 2012

Candida what? It sounds like a Harry Potter character...

So this post is going to be a bit more serious, long and personal, but hopefully it will help others out...


It all began in high school with horrible cramps and irregular cycles. I always had irregular hormones, but I started to feel different, less like "myself". Through the years I just assumed it was typical "growing" pains, as in growing up.  Your body changes so why would I expect it to "feel" the same.  But as I got older and things never changed, I started going to the doctor, trying to find out why I just did not feel "right".  I was getting nauseous A LOT.  I was starting to get brain fog and was having a harder time with school (which began a slow decline in self-esteem...). I was always feeling tired (but I figured I was doing too much). My stomach was in a consistent cramp. And to top it all off, I was SOOOO irritable. I was told from test after test after test that I was fine. Such a small powerful word that you would normally expect to be received happily, but really just made me feel like I was a hypochondriac.

Then, one fateful day in October, while getting ready for school, I crumbled into a ball in the shower unable to move because of the pain.  Now, usually I had felt similar pain during my cycle, but NEVER this bad and for this long.  Nothing I did alleviated it. It was just there and it was HORRIBLE. I finally mustered enough energy to wrap myself in a towel and go get my mom who was in her room and ask her to drive me to the ER. I was completely FREAKED OUT.

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It turned out that I had 2 cysts rupture, which is what caused the pain. I was given a few prescriptions and sent on my way with some recommendations to see a few doctors. I made the appointments so the doctors could assess how I was doing. I was doing fine, but I was told that I may have fertility issues. I was devastated to say the least. I was sitting here planning my wedding and now I had to tell my future husband that we may not be able to have kids. We were bombarded with a whole new world. Hormones. In vitro. Surrogates. Adoption. It was overwhelming to say the least.  So we talked about it and made peace that whatever God willed was what was best for us.

About a year later I was at a client's site, working away, a happy newlywed when I started to feel nauseous. I figured I must have eaten something, so I did not give it much thought. But during my drive home from work it just kept getting worse.  And worse. AND WORSE. I changed into yoga pants and a t-shirt in hopes that an increased comfort level would decrease the pain. But it kept on getting worse, and I started to have HORRIBLE pains like I did when my cysts ruptured. I called my sister and asked her to take me to the ER (hubsman was still at work). She rushed over and drove me there.  As we waited I started to feel a bit better but I couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't quite right.  After various tests, I was deemed fine and was told it was nothing. However, the OB who read my file asked to see me again for a follow-up.  I went to the follow-up and was greeted by a doctor who took the time to really see what I was feeling. He sat there and listened to everything I had to say with follow-up questions.  SUCH different bedside manners from the other OBs I had seen.  He told me that what I had been feeling all this time, through all these years seemed to point towards a thing called endometriosis.  Unfortunately, the only way to truly tell besides ruling out other things that it might be, was to have invasive surgery which would undoubtedly leave a scar.

So, after much ruling out I was left at a cross-roads, assume it is Endometriosis and go on hormones to treat it or go through with the surgery (which my doctor really did not want to perform) and get a definitive answer. Only having these two options seemed silly to me. Why is it that in modern medicine we are always told either surgery or drugs? I am a strong believer that God has given us most of our medicine in the form of food and by having the ability to listen and feel what our body is telling us.  So, I decided to try a holistic approach, because really what did I have to lose?

I contacted a friend of mine who was a Holistic Nutritionist and we set up an appointment. We began my testing and found out that my ENTIRE system was weakened. So, we put me on a balancing regimen and set-up a follow-up appointment. At my follow-up appointment I had come far enough along to be able to test for specific sensitivities. I head mentioned my concern with Endometriosis, so we decided to test for that. What we found out was that my candida albicans was off the charts. I mean WAY off the charts.  So, I was put on a strict diet for a month along with supplements to help balance me out. And let me tell you... it was life changing.

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 I began to feel like me again. The foggy brain began to disappear. I started to lose the weight I had gained, and in addition, all the fluid I had been retaining from an overstressed immune system  was gone. I no longer felt "squishy". If ever there was a moment in real life where clouds part, the sun starts to shine and a harp starts to play, this was it for me. Once I got the candida albicans under-wraps, I no longer suffered from the symptoms of Endometriosis. In fact, I had my OB/GYN do a blood screening for my hormones and to determine where I was fr having kids, and everything came out fine. In fact, it came out more than fine. It came our EXCELLENT.  I had never had a blood test for hormones come out any better than borderline normal.  So you can imagine the elation.

Want to know the best part?  Less than a year after starting holistic treatment for candida albicans, I became pregnant with my beautiful little man. Yup, I was able to conceive just fine.

So, what was the purpose of this post?  It was to shed some light on a topic that I knew little about when I began my journey.  I had no idea what candida albicans was. I had no clue what Endometriosis was. So, I especially had no clue of their correlation. I am consistently amazed at how "Eastern" and "Western" medicine can so seamlessly work with each other when given the chance. I just wish that Houston had more people out there who performed Meridian Stress Assessments (the friend I went to has since closed shop). So sadly, I am unable to give a recommendation. I am on the hunt at the moment and fingers crossed I may be on a lead... I'll be sure to let you know if something materializes.

In the meantime, I have come across some websites that I plan on using to help me perform my own cleanse as I feel that I am coming down with all the same symptoms again (minus the weight gain). Of course, do not do anything without consulting your doctor. I am not trained in this field, everything I am writing here is based upon my own experiences and research:

http://myjourneywithcandida.blogspot.com/2010/02/candida-diet.html
http://www.livestrong.com/article/96868-candida-cleanse-diet-plan/

I would love to know your thoughts on the matter or if you too have had experience with candida albicans. Or even if you know of a holistic professional who performs MSA. I would love to be steered in the right direction! Feeling like "yourself" is the best feeling in the world.  Everyone should have a chance to feel it...


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6 comments:

  1. Wow. What a story! It's so great you were able to find a solution that worked for you.

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    1. Thanks Breonna!! I was super lucky and extremely blessed :)

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  2. Thankfully, I have not been in a position that I have had to seek medical help like that. However, my husband and I have agreed that if a severe condition (even cancer) ever came up, we would be seeking holistic help first and leaving surgeries and chemo as a last resort. I'm so happy to read that you had such success with a Holistic Nutritionist! I believe in a BALANCE of Western and Eastern medicine. Both can be so effective.

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    1. I agree completely Lindsay. You should never depend on ONE thing in your life. I can't wait to find another Nutritionist. I will definitely be writing up a post once I find one :)

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