Gut flora, fungal infections etc
Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2013 8:41 am
Hello everyone.
I’ll try my best to make this as concise as possible…
I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis back in 2006, and started medication a few weeks after (Avonex). Up to 2011 I kept at it dutifully, despite no improvement in my symptoms and a handful of new plaques on each new MRI (which was why I switched to Tysabri after 4 years). By this time I almost hated the side effects of the meds more than the disease itself.
In the summer of 2011 I watched a video with Dr. Terry Wahls. After a lot of reading I cut out dairy first, within weeks grains and refined sugars followed. I stopped the meds cold turkey too. Within months my symptoms decreased dramatically, and haven’t visited me since.
The only remnant of my symptoms is fatigue and decreased sensitivity in my fingertips due to constant tingling, a big success considering I had tingling in most of my body, severe vertigo, facial numbness and stiff and unwieldy limbs (not all at once!). For me this diet changed my life.
Though my symptoms decreased dramatically, nothing happened to the seemingly non MS related issues. It only recently dawned on me that I had none of these things listed below on a SAD diet, except acne. (Hence the inquiry here.)
Dry scalp (entire flakes coming off all the time)
Dry face (which nothing seems to alleviate, not even shaving or scrubbing, or both...)
Somewhat dry skin over my entire body
Acne on face (back acne disappeared after removing dairy, a significant improvement in my face after removing virgin coconut oil/fat, but still it persists)
Dental caries forms easily (a teaspoon of honey for a week and my teeth object- it doesn’t take much longer before a dark splotch emerges on a tooth)
Nail fungus
Athlete’s foot
(these two are on my left foot solely, plus the skin on my big toe, from the base right up to the nail
is hard and cracked like an elephant’s, and it itches like crazy)
I also have these strange hard bumps on my soles, on both feet, little balls of hardened skin, that come off in one piece and leaves a crater.
Cuts and nicks take weeks to heal, and the mark is there for months sometimes.
I’ve been to several dermatologists about this, but the remedies they prescribed (ointments/creams) did nothing for me. I looked inwards.
Convinced I had candida, I did(summer of 2012) a pretty strict diet for about 6-8 weeks, low carb with lots of Oil of Oregano and other antifungals, with subsequent zombielike fatigue (herxheimer?) for about 2 weeks. Once that passed, I felt great. Still unsure whether it actually was a candida overgrowth…
I have tried cutting out the following to no avail, giving it at least 6 weeks each;
Eggs
Nightshades
Nuts & Seeds
I recently discovered that coconut fat/oil does me no good (stomach gurgling), and I had been eating 1-2 tablespoons a day since I started my modified Paleo diet.
These are the supplements I take;
Vitamin D (D3) around 4000IU a day
Vitamin B12 1000µg a day
Occasionally omega 3, and a combination of calcium-zinc-magnesium (perhaps twice a week)
digestive enzymes (13 different in one pill)
probiotics (6 billion, 10 different strains)
naturally fermented pickles, homemade kimchi, homemade and storebought sauerkraut
Eggshells for the calcium
Recently started eating oatmeal, either soaked or fermented with raw cocoa (the oatmeal is gluten free, and since i don't feel strange after eating it, I go for it)
What’s strange is that when I exercise (mostly with weights) I sometimes start yawning in the middle of it, and have to push myself through it as a massive fatigue comes over me. But once I’m finished, I feel great, my mind’s lucid and my whole body is happy.
I have tried figuring out the cause/causes of this, asking myself whether it might have been any of these things;
Antibiotic treatment for acne repeatedly as a teenager (from age 13-16) which damaged my gut flora
Impaired organ/organs due to the MS meds
Nutrient deficiency
Food allergy/sensitivity
Candida or other fungi/bacteria behind it (behind the MS?)
I recently had another MRI, which showed a bunch of new plaques. My doc wants me back on meds, but I refuse. He says it’s just a matter of time before a severe handicap occurs...
Does anyone have any thoughts on the correlation between plaques and handicap?
How long should I wait before I see the full effects of a new diet?
All thoughts are greatly appreciated, since I feel like I’m at a dead end.
Thanks for your time
Best wishes EinHippo
I’ll try my best to make this as concise as possible…
I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis back in 2006, and started medication a few weeks after (Avonex). Up to 2011 I kept at it dutifully, despite no improvement in my symptoms and a handful of new plaques on each new MRI (which was why I switched to Tysabri after 4 years). By this time I almost hated the side effects of the meds more than the disease itself.
In the summer of 2011 I watched a video with Dr. Terry Wahls. After a lot of reading I cut out dairy first, within weeks grains and refined sugars followed. I stopped the meds cold turkey too. Within months my symptoms decreased dramatically, and haven’t visited me since.
The only remnant of my symptoms is fatigue and decreased sensitivity in my fingertips due to constant tingling, a big success considering I had tingling in most of my body, severe vertigo, facial numbness and stiff and unwieldy limbs (not all at once!). For me this diet changed my life.
Though my symptoms decreased dramatically, nothing happened to the seemingly non MS related issues. It only recently dawned on me that I had none of these things listed below on a SAD diet, except acne. (Hence the inquiry here.)
Dry scalp (entire flakes coming off all the time)
Dry face (which nothing seems to alleviate, not even shaving or scrubbing, or both...)
Somewhat dry skin over my entire body
Acne on face (back acne disappeared after removing dairy, a significant improvement in my face after removing virgin coconut oil/fat, but still it persists)
Dental caries forms easily (a teaspoon of honey for a week and my teeth object- it doesn’t take much longer before a dark splotch emerges on a tooth)
Nail fungus
Athlete’s foot
(these two are on my left foot solely, plus the skin on my big toe, from the base right up to the nail
is hard and cracked like an elephant’s, and it itches like crazy)
I also have these strange hard bumps on my soles, on both feet, little balls of hardened skin, that come off in one piece and leaves a crater.
Cuts and nicks take weeks to heal, and the mark is there for months sometimes.
I’ve been to several dermatologists about this, but the remedies they prescribed (ointments/creams) did nothing for me. I looked inwards.
Convinced I had candida, I did(summer of 2012) a pretty strict diet for about 6-8 weeks, low carb with lots of Oil of Oregano and other antifungals, with subsequent zombielike fatigue (herxheimer?) for about 2 weeks. Once that passed, I felt great. Still unsure whether it actually was a candida overgrowth…
I have tried cutting out the following to no avail, giving it at least 6 weeks each;
Eggs
Nightshades
Nuts & Seeds
I recently discovered that coconut fat/oil does me no good (stomach gurgling), and I had been eating 1-2 tablespoons a day since I started my modified Paleo diet.
These are the supplements I take;
Vitamin D (D3) around 4000IU a day
Vitamin B12 1000µg a day
Occasionally omega 3, and a combination of calcium-zinc-magnesium (perhaps twice a week)
digestive enzymes (13 different in one pill)
probiotics (6 billion, 10 different strains)
naturally fermented pickles, homemade kimchi, homemade and storebought sauerkraut
Eggshells for the calcium
Recently started eating oatmeal, either soaked or fermented with raw cocoa (the oatmeal is gluten free, and since i don't feel strange after eating it, I go for it)
What’s strange is that when I exercise (mostly with weights) I sometimes start yawning in the middle of it, and have to push myself through it as a massive fatigue comes over me. But once I’m finished, I feel great, my mind’s lucid and my whole body is happy.
I have tried figuring out the cause/causes of this, asking myself whether it might have been any of these things;
Antibiotic treatment for acne repeatedly as a teenager (from age 13-16) which damaged my gut flora
Impaired organ/organs due to the MS meds
Nutrient deficiency
Food allergy/sensitivity
Candida or other fungi/bacteria behind it (behind the MS?)
I recently had another MRI, which showed a bunch of new plaques. My doc wants me back on meds, but I refuse. He says it’s just a matter of time before a severe handicap occurs...
Does anyone have any thoughts on the correlation between plaques and handicap?
How long should I wait before I see the full effects of a new diet?
All thoughts are greatly appreciated, since I feel like I’m at a dead end.
Thanks for your time
Best wishes EinHippo