![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 10 of 10. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Jimmyboy on November 19, 2007, at 11:16:48
I have a major suspicion that my depression is related to low grade inflammation in my body, whether this is from food allergies or candida infestation, I am not sure. I tend to have a lot of anxiety and have noticed severe depression after very big meals of carbs and sugary stuff. I had a candida test and it came up relatively high and an allergy test that said I was highly allergic to corn and moderately allergic to wheat.
I have been trying to reduce inflamation by raising PGE 1 synthesis n the body by using vitamins and GLA supplementation. I have not been taking Omega 3's with this ( which increases PGE 3 - which I understand keeps a good balance between PGE 1 and PGE 2??)
I am going to start Omega 3's today and was wondering what a suitable dosage to reduce inflammation , but at the same time not completely take over the GLA supplements I have been taking?
I read somewhere if you increase PGE 1 too much and lower PGE 2 enough that PGE 1 basically takes the place or whatever.. has the net effect of increasing PGE 2 more? Anyone know about this?
Also, has anyone had any success by doing the anti-candida diet? It seems really hard to do... also if you do the diet and eliminate the candida, are you then cured and can eat whatever afterward, or is that a diet you have to follow the rest of your life?
Thanks,Sorry for the long post
JB
Posted by Sigismund on November 19, 2007, at 18:36:15
In reply to Candida and fish oil questions, posted by Jimmyboy on November 19, 2007, at 11:16:48
A moderate version of the anticandida diet is quite easy.
What I did (mostly still) was this:
1. Make sure that the only sugar you eat comes from (recently) fresh fruits and vegies.
2. Some protein with every meal.
3. Nyastatin. I took a low dose for the best part of a year.
Posted by rskontos on November 19, 2007, at 18:42:19
In reply to Candida and fish oil questions, posted by Jimmyboy on November 19, 2007, at 11:16:48
I have a friend that is a supplemental specialist and doctor, she recommends between 2000-3000 for inflammation reduction but to work up to that with 500-1000mg. to start. She also says if you take the Omega 3 and it upsets your stomach by burping it up later you can freeze it with no ill side effects and take it frozen, with a meal. Your digestion system will handle it just fine. I started it because I have a rare form of collitis and that is ok inflamation in the colon. I hope it is helping. She also suggests that magnesium and B-12 will help with inflammation as well. rk
She prefers Nordic Naturals brand of Omega which is lemon flavored. and can be ordered online.
Posted by Jimmyboy on November 19, 2007, at 19:36:43
In reply to Re: Candida and fish oil questions, posted by rskontos on November 19, 2007, at 18:42:19
Thanks for the responses,
I just started taking an anti-fungal ( not nyastin- but the other common one) and just started Omega 3's. I am starting out from now on , eating no carbs for awhile and of course no sugar.
I also got back some tests that said I was allergic to corn and wheat. Last weekend, before I got my tests back , I ate a huge bowl of past and went from being ok to obsessing on suicide and falling asleep immediately within about an hour of finishing my food. Then I get this back that I am allergic to wheat. I used to eat bread all the time.. could this simple thing be the cause of all my depression?
JB
Posted by Sigismund on November 19, 2007, at 21:31:28
In reply to Re: Candida and fish oil questions, posted by Jimmyboy on November 19, 2007, at 19:36:43
It could be the cause of your tiredness.
I know people for whom that is true.
Posted by bleauberry on November 20, 2007, at 19:21:55
In reply to Candida and fish oil questions, posted by Jimmyboy on November 19, 2007, at 11:16:48
Candida is marathon not a sprint. Whether you use prescription antifungals or herbals, it seems it takes a long time to get them under control. It also takes a modified diet, which is basically no sugar. Grains should be limited or eliminated too. Certain fruits have too much sugar. Honestly though, if you look at the diets recommended by different websites, books, or doctors, you will find huge discrepancies. One will say something is ok and another will say it's not. I have heard of people at forums (mercury detox forums, where candida is a huge problem) that did fine with a little bit of sugary stuff and grains, though avoiding outright refined sugar. Moderation is the key I believe. I have heard of plenty of people who did a strick diet of just meats and non-starch veggies for many months who did not get better. It is a two pronged approach of diet modification of some sort (mostly less sugar) in conjuction with an antifungal agent.
Powerful herbs include grapefruit seed extract, oregeno oil extract, and some others. Some say they are more effective than the meds. Candida can mutate and become immune to the meds.
No matter what you do, take a high quality probiotic the entire time, as well as at least 3 months after, to create an inhospitable environment for candida to repopulate. It will also help with your food intolerances. It will replace your existing probiotics killed by the antifungal.
Hey, avoiding wheat seemed like the end of the world when I first found out. Not so. Some supermarkets sell gluten free wheat free pizzas in the natural food section that taste awesome. At some grocery stores and natural food stores you can buy bread mixes that are easy to make and taste just like Grandmas homemade bread. Very very good. Brownies, cakes, cookies, etc. I just bought some wheat free gluten free orea cookies that taste like real orea cookies. Red Mill is a brand that makes wheat free gluten free hot cereals and all kinds of different flours. Some grocery stores have wheat free gluten free cereals. Beware if an ingredient is barley malt. That's as bad as wheat. Whole Foods Market sells a variety of cereals that are wheat free gluten free and most are pretty good.
Don't bother buying the premade millet breads or rice breads. They suck. Make your own, it's easy, with the mix I mentioned. Tastes fabulous.
The big question though is where did these intolerances, candida, mood problems come from? The most likely source is mercury. Do you have or have you had amalgam fillings? Have you had multiple flu shots? Any other exposure to mercury vapor or solid? Some people have lifelong problems from the little bit of mercury that was in childhood vaccinations.
To me a gluten/wheat reaction feels exactly like major depression, except with the flu mixed in at the same time. Any food intolerance is bad news for the body and brain. For those of us with probs, it makes sense to take care of the most underappreciated and overabused part of our body, the part that makes everything happen...the intestines.
Anyway, best wishes on your journey.
Posted by Jimmyboy on November 21, 2007, at 18:56:59
In reply to Re: Candida and fish oil questions, posted by bleauberry on November 20, 2007, at 19:21:55
Thanks again for the response, it was very informative..
I have found the diet to be hard, but well worth it b/c I feel a million times better. I have lost 16 pounds though, so I am a little worried about losing too much weight. But oh, well, most people would love that.
To answer your question, actually, have never had any dental work done except teeth cleaning. No fillings or braces, nothing. Of course I did have vaccines as a child. But my guess at why I may have candida is that I have taken anti-biotics very frequently my whole life.. Took tetracycline for acne for years when I was younger. I know that can wipe out your good flora and give candida a chance to take over.
JB
Posted by bleauberry on November 22, 2007, at 13:50:10
In reply to Re: Candida and fish oil questions, posted by Jimmyboy on November 21, 2007, at 18:56:59
Ah yes, I am relieved. I just asked you on the pharm board about amalgam fillings. So glad you don't have them.
You probably nailed it when you said frequent antibiotic use. That is the #1 cause of candida problems. Heavy doses of probiotics should be in order for you, as well as a prescription or herbal fungal treatment. When buying a probiotic, here is the best way to know a good one...look for the guarantee on the bottle...it should say guaranteed to date of expiration. Most only say guaranteed at time of manufacture, or no guarantee at all. I'm sure at Yahoo there are Candida forums where you could ask others about top brands of probiotics. You will need good ones and high doses of them. Getting the gut back in balance takes time, usually a few months of heavy focus.
I know I mentioned it already. Digestive enzymes. Mainly protease, amylase, and lipase. Hemicellulose and cellulose are good too if they happen to be in there, but the first three are most important. Enzymes with every eating, and possibly adding either straight Vitamin C or Beataine HCL will, will go a long way to breaking foods down completely and take the strain off your already strained intestines.
There is a product called GlutenEase. It is a digestive enzyme specifically to break down gluten. Twice in the last month I took a chance and had a Big Mac with the bun. Normally that would put my in the dumps. The bottle says to take one cap with any meal with gluten. I took 3 caps. If I had any reaction at all, it must have been very minor because honestly I felt only maybe a tiny bit more tired, which could have been anything. There was no major reaction. With GlutenEase I can actually enjoy a former food once in a while.
Wish I knew a remedy for the weight loss. I was skinny to begin with. I eat a lot. I think gluten makes people fat! :) And they have all these exotic diet books. Anyone who wants to lose weight and yet eat all they want should just replace wheat foods with gluten free equivalents.
Thanks again for the response, it was very informative..
>
> I have found the diet to be hard, but well worth it b/c I feel a million times better. I have lost 16 pounds though, so I am a little worried about losing too much weight. But oh, well, most people would love that.
>
> To answer your question, actually, have never had any dental work done except teeth cleaning. No fillings or braces, nothing. Of course I did have vaccines as a child. But my guess at why I may have candida is that I have taken anti-biotics very frequently my whole life.. Took tetracycline for acne for years when I was younger. I know that can wipe out your good flora and give candida a chance to take over.
>
> JB
>
Posted by nolagirl on November 23, 2007, at 9:15:17
In reply to Re: Candida and fish oil questions » Jimmyboy, posted by bleauberry on November 22, 2007, at 13:50:10
Hi Jimmyboy,
I believe that we stumbled upon eachother in an earlier thread about pyroluria. While I did have success with that, I also have had bad candida and have started addressing it with diet and supps. Did diet alone a few years back but that only helped a little and it came back with a vengence.
At present, I am using colloidal silver and coconut oil. It is helping a good deal. I had an awful case of thrush (like a white shag carpet on my tongue) for several years that has gone away in just 4 days. I have ordered this threelac stuff and am going to give that a try, as well.
I am so hopeful about this. I will be turning 47 in a few weeks and have been so depressed because I simply can't function. My overall mood was helped tremendously by the pyroluria supps but the achy, no energy and anhedonic candida stuff has continued.
Good luck to you and please follow up as to how you are progressing.
Nolagirl
Posted by Jimmyboy on November 27, 2007, at 16:43:49
In reply to Re: Candida and fish oil questions Jimmyboy, posted by nolagirl on November 23, 2007, at 9:15:17
I have not posted in awhile, because my treatment has been working so well, I honestly forget to come to the board when I am feeling good.
I have been addressing my gluten and corn allergies by religiously watching what I eat, and trying to drastically cut out all sugars, yeasts, and whatever else candida lives off of.
I took your suggestion Blueberry and have been taking large does of probiotics with my Diflucan ( anti0 fungal for candida). Also a moderate dose of fish oil.
But overall I think the two things that have made the most major improvement have been the diet and taking GLA containing supplements ( I use Borage oil now, its eemed to work better than Evening Primrose, plus its cheaper and have to take less pills).
The last 2 weeks have been nothing short of a miracle for me, i feel like I have gotten my life back. I went from being an exhausted, anxiety addled hermit who was severely depressed, to the person I feel I "am". I am definitely not hypomanic, just feel normal, and its great.
So I hope the success continues! I would reccommend anyone out there who has tried everything to at least be open to the idea that you may have hidden food allergies/intolerances.
I had always been a " hard science" skeptic type who because of my closed mindedness discounted "alternative" causes of my depression and all that got me was 10 + years of misery and a cabinet full of half used anti-depressant bottles.
Blueberry, thanks for the informative posts, those really helped out and I certainly agree with just about everything you are posting. Good luck to you
JB
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Alternative | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.