Here is a concoction thaIt I make in my blender and have about once a week.  The ginger root is good for the digestive tract and the garlic is good for the liver.  You can customize it to your liking-thats the nice thing about blender recipes.

Crush a clove of garlic (a clove of garlic is just one piece of the garlic chunk you buy) and let it sit a few minutes. This is to generate allicidin, the ingredient that is the antifungal in garlic. Cut a one inch chunk of ginger root. Add them with a glass of water to the blender.  Add stevia for sweetening.  I add milk thistle and N-acetyl cystine for the liver.  You can add vitamins, cod liver oil, hemp seed and whatever else you want.  

 

I learned the hard way its important to detox prior to and during antifungal treatment.  After failing to make any progress using prescription antifungals, I moved to herbal antifungals.  I was doing a four day rotation of three different herbal antifungals that was supposed to take nine weeks.  The first two weeks were fine.  Then I started feeling more and more wiped out and achey.  By the fifth week, even one capsule of the herbal antifungal would make me feel worse, so I stopped treatment. I realized that I was having a die-off reaction, also known as herxheimer reaction.    

At that point I figured out that my body was too toxic to handle anti-fungals.  I was very gun-shy about trying more antifungals after being through the three rounds of prescription antifungals followed by the herbals.  I still had all of the candida symptoms and was more exhausted than ever. At this point I knew that I had to improve my immune system and detoxify before going on with another antifungal treatment.

Since I have to watch what I eat I learned to read the labels of practically everything that I ate, including supplements. Having a history of candida, I avoid sugar.  Its amazing how sugar is used in so many things.  Sugar goes under many names including dextrose, mannose, dextrin, sucrose, glucose, and fructose.  Also, I noticed that liquid supplements often contain alcohol, which is also bad for candida patients. I've had doctors give me supplements that contained alcohol, yellow and red dye, yeast, and carnuba wax which is used in car wax.  The point is that you should simply read the labels for yourself before eating a new food or trying a new supplement, and don't just take anyone's word for it. 

If you are going through the candida protocol or have a history of candida, you ideally don't want to have to take antibiotics.  However, sometimes there are times when you may really need to take one.

First of all, ask your doctor if  you really need an antibiotic to treat a particular infection, or is it just a preventative measure. Also, check into a natural method for a particular infection and discuss with your doctor.  For example, D-mannose works just as good as an antibiotic for most UTI infections.  If you get a bacteria infection and need to take an antibiotic, talk to your doctor about taking something like a Z-pack, which you only need to take for 5 days.  That’s what I did.   And if you have to go on an antibiotic, go on a probiotic and stay on a it for a couple of weeks after you are done with the antibiotic. Its a good idea to have a plan set up with your doctor just in case you need to take an antibiotic.  So don't wait until you have an infection, discuss this with your doctor on your next visit.

If you have candida or have been through candida you need to be careful with antibiotics.  Antibiotics kill both good and bad bacteria.  If your friendly bacteria is depleted enough, then your intestinal flora will be out of balance and candida can get out of control.  

First of all, you should definitely listen to your doctor if he or she says you must take an antibiotic.  However, there are times when a doctor will offer an antibiotic as a preventative.  For example, I was bit by a dog last year. and I got a tetanus shot.  My doctor wanted me to take an antibiotic as well.  I asked if it was necessary and he said no, it was just in case the bite wound became infected.  So I took the script but never had to get it filled.  Another example is I hd to have my wisdom teeth taken out shortly after getting over the candida.  The periodontist initially wanted me to take an antibiotic as a preventative.  After discussion with him and our physician, I decided to not take the antibiotic. I had the script just in case.  Rinsing out my mouth with salt water several times a day for a week after the extraction was all that was needed.  

Some candida websites and articles suggest you do not need a doctor to help you get rid of candida. However, there are several good reasons why you should get a doctor's help.

1. A doctor can make sure that you don't have some other digestive disease or condition other than candida. There are other conditions that result in some symptoms that are similar to candida. For example, irritable bowel syndrome can cause stomach pain, belching, bloating, and gas.
2. If you have other on-going health conditions or are sensitive to medications and supplements then its especially good to have your primary physician be your gate keeper for your health concerns, including lab tests, medications, and supplements.
3. You will need a doctor to order the comprehensive stool analysis test if you want to have it done.  
4. You will need a doctor if you decide you want to go the route of using a prescription antifungal.
5. Your primary physician can advise you when you have other health issues come up during your treatment of candida.  For example, I had to have my wisdom teeth out and had to deal with the issue of whether to use an antibiotic or not for the surgery.  

I did go several months without a doctor because I doctors that I went to initially could not help me. But I was definitely better off once I found a doctor that could help me. (See my entry on How to Find a Doctor).

If you already have a doctor that understands your health condition and candida, then great!  If not, you should consider getting a doctor who can help you.  Heres how I found my doctor.

After going through my regular doctor, the city hospital, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Office, and a M.D. doctor that practiced alternative medicine, I was pretty frustrated.   I was getting no advice or direction.  I had had taken three prescription antifungals and my symptoms were worse than ever.  So I began asking people if they could recommend a doctor that they thought could help me.  I got to know the people at the local health food store because I went there to buy supplements that I hoped would help.  I found that everyone there was very friendly and had their own health related story to tell. They recommended  a doctor that they thought could help me.

This particular doctor was a D.O., a doctor of osteopathic medicine. I did a little research on D.O.'s and found that they tend to be more holistic as compared to a medical doctor because of their training.  I found that people I met that had difficult and chronic health conditions were all seeing D.O.'s as their primary physician.  I'm not saying to get a D.O. over an M.D. for your primary physician, but you may want to consider it.    

In February, 2012, I got candida.  My candidiasis symptoms were bloating, thrush, toenail fungus, and yeast infection. It took over a year to be cured of candida.  As of this writing, which is 5 months later, I have been adding back in foods and have had no candida symptoms (yeast infection, toenail fungus, white tongue, bloating, gas, belching, abdominal pain).  I was retested using the comprehensive stool analysis test and it showed my candida was cured.  Of course, the real test is not having symptoms and being able to eat a healthy diet.

This blog is not exactly done in chronological order.  Instead, I discuss key learnings, such as "How to Find a Doctor" and at the same time relate my experience with regards to that particular topic.  The blogs are tagged so you can open them according to topic if you want.  

I have found that one of the very best ways to know how to do something is to learn from someone else who has done it. So I hope that this blog, candida protocol, and website will help you get rid of your yeast infection or maybe even help somebody you know.