Heal Thyself!
~ Food Has Power ~
Rachel Ernst profile
I am finally getting this profile of me together because I want to dig
deep and get some of these things fixed. I do have some news from today
toward the end, but still lots of questions. I would appreciate your help. I hope the fact that I was thorough--and this is long-- is more help than not.
I came from Pat's suggestion
http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=1181051&h...
-----------------------------------
Rachel Ernst
Age 35
Two children age 5 and 3
Dental:
4 "small" amalgams, no root canals
I am very sensitive to caffeine--this runs in my moms' side of the family, along with restless leg syndrome. Grandpa's side came from
Netherlands. I gave up caffeine a long time ago. I am not addicted to
chocolate, though I like it (I hope to eat chocolate once per week once
the candida is under control).
I did this saliva test this morning:
http://www.candidasupport.org/test_saliva.html
In one minute, there were strings forming. In 30-40 minutes I came back and the saliva was all broken up with particles in the water.
Do you think that saliva test is valid? It indicates I MAY have a candida problem because the saliva is not "healthy."
Even without a saliva test, I could tell you: something is different about my mouth. I got in a new white composite filling about
a year ago (maybe 1.5 year?). Ever since that wake up call I've noticed
that there is more of an odor and dirty feeling to my mouth,
particularly upon waking. I would expect that if I didn't brush my
teeth before bed, but generally I do remember to brush. (I'm not saying
the composite filling is the cause, only that it was my chance to
notice what was going on. It had been going on before the filling.)
Now, I slowly went through a bottle of Tom's of Maine Mouthwash for
sensitive teeth which is lemon-lime flavored and has xylitol in it. I
think it also had flouride in it. Anytime I would use that before bed,
my mouth felt particularly worse in the morning. Furthermore, my most
recent dental cleaning had one item particuarly noteworthy to me: it was the first time in my life that the hygienist scraped so hard, remarking how
I had quite a lot of build up since the last cleaning 6 months ago. She
also advised I get some sensitive toothpaste because my gums are
wearing down (I'd heard that before years ago, with only a warning to
not brush too hard). Prior to this, as a kid and adult I'd heard so
many times that I was an "easy clean." So, the scraping of tartar this
time was very notable.
------------------------
Pink Pee Beets Test:
Stomach acid
I had heart burn pretty bad at times when I was pregnant. And after that
pregnancy, 4.5 years ago when I was making beets for my baby boy who
was starting solid foods, and as I was getting into Nourishing
Traditions, I ate beets and DID have pink pee. It was for sure pink,
because I remember it! However, this could just be because I was still
recovering from pregnancy (couldn't it?).
Recently, no pink pee:
Feb 5 - I ate beet soup from fresh beets WITH an Enzymedica Digest enzyme capsule. NO Pink pee.
Feb 6 - The next morning I ate it again, this time with no enzyme capsule. NO pink pee.
Feb 7 - Then the next day I ate beets from a can with canned beans and an enzyme capsule. NO pink pee.
Need I continue testing and eat more beets without an enzyme capsule? Was
Feb 6 the most valid test? Should I stop taking enzymes for several
days before repeating the test?
-------------------
Background:
***Itching in ears and "nethers" (anus and vulva) coming and going in phases/bouts,
for two years prior to summer 2009, and then...***
We had gotten a dog in the house, and I was the main caregiver of the dog. This was
stressful and a lot of hard work for me (german shepherd from working
dog lines, housetraining, two small children).
To make life easier, I started doing "protein shakes" for breakfast which consisted of two raw eggs plus cocoa, blackstrap molasses, and
some fluid. I think I started this with raw milk, can't remember.
HOwever, I know that I was definitely doing this with coconut milk by
the time I went dairy free (see below). I now learn that raw egg whites
are high in histamine!
No immediate reaction to the dog. She arrived in March.
By mid-summer, I was in a full-on bout of "hay fever."
Namely lots of mucus coming out of my sinuses, following a general pattern of:
a) No noticeable mucus at night.
b) Lots of mucus within a short time of waking up, which would happen even before I ate anything.
c) Increase in mucus after dairy products.
I stopped eating all dairy except butter and this was very helpful at
lowering the mucus to the level of post-nasal drip which didn't bother
me very much. However, in the meantime, my ears had acquired a constant
"full" feeling. I went to an allergist MD and two other doctors. The
concensus was they didn't take a test for fungus, they didn't see
anything too abnormal, maybe would admit a little bit of swelling or
redness (at the drum?). Said it would take several months for the ears
to drain (the last doctor said to take Zyrtec or similar and
homeopathic pulsatilla, a probiotic and use the neti pot daily, I tried
that for awhile, but didn't stick with it. Wasn't getting any better
and felt that I could get at the root cause rather than just using a
decongestant).
Retrospectively, are my ears really full of fluid? Or are they just swollen as in a histamine reaction? I get ringing in my ears and also I
can always hear a crackle if I do the yawning motion with my jaw.
Actually, going off dairy seemed pretty good overall, except that I wasn't
getting any probiotic, and wonder if this may have led to... bowel
changes and possibly candida?
I started having looser stools on a regular basis. One week I had really watery diarrhea for seemingly "no reason" at all. But usually
just very soft. The ears weren't clearing despite the fact that my
mucus was under control by a non-dairy diet.
Remember, I was still using the "protein shakes" with raw egg and coconut oil--along
with stevia, cocoa and blackstrap molasses. I started getting terrible
gas pains at night, but this decreased by a LOT when I stopped using
stevia with FOS. I now avoid FOS, but my stools are still pretty loose.
I also still get gas if I eat high amounts of fiber. The gas doesn't
occur so much now that I usually take the digestive enzymes.
Also note that I had discovered GT's Kombucha and I would sometimes get
2 or 4 bottles every so often at the health food store. Love that
stuff. And, I had it several times this summer for a couple days at a
time. I never associated it with any particular reaction. I can't
remember the first time I started trying it.
Before I started considering candida as a possibility, I noticed I
started getting a different reaction to red wines. I used to drink it
occasionally, but something changed.
--------------------
Candida? Parasites?
I have taken the Dr. Crook test several times recently and I always score a 9 which is
"MAY have candida overgrowth" but not a 12 (definitely have candida
overgrowth). Even my score of 9 is not certain, because in order to get
a 9 I am unclear about a couple of the questions as they do not state
"recently" or "ever". Like, yes, I was on birth control pill for 7
years, but that was before I ever got pregnant and since then I've had
2 babies. Or, anti-biotics: Yes, I took several times when I was a kid
but haven't taken them for many years (exception: I had an infection on
my toe this summer and despite my reticence to take antibiotics, I was
prescribed one and I took the first day's worth. I didn't take the full
course, because my neighbor-allopathic-ER -doc said that it wouldn't
hurt to discontinue, even though I voiced concern about stopping.)
Could one day of a high-powered antibiotic coupled with a non-dairy, non-probiotic diet have triggered a yeast overgrowth? Is
this just added on top of an existing histamine problem that was
already there? Or was the first symptom of itching ears caused by
parasites or candida from the beginning?
When I was a child: I had a couple of years of pretty severe (uncomfortable) hay fever with itchy eyes. I took a nasal spray with
steroid in it. Interestingly enough, I was also prescribed this same
one by an allergist MD this past summer, 2009.
The only other time I know about for steroid use was that I got a
series of steroid shots into my foot in 2001, with a foot surgery in
2002. I didn't know whether to consider these uses of steroid when answering the Candida Questionnaires.
-------------------------
Recent changes:
I have been continuing to modify. When I first suspected candida, I started going
all out, like trying no sugar and no starches, no grains. Then I got
the Yeast Connection cookbook and learned about the connection between
yeast and allergies, and wondered if my itching were really candida or
histamine. I didn't want to assume I have candida. Then I added soaked,
non-gluten grains and some fruit back in.
-Dairy free since mid-summer, about 6+ months to date
-Eliminated butter and eggs and gluten about month ago.
-Trying to do the epsom salt bath every day (skip a day or two per week).
-Taking more supplements*
*Current Supplements:
Doc's Best Multi
Cod Liver Oil
Enzymedica digestive enzymes - forget it before some meals.
Folinic Acid
Vitamin C
Magnesium - Peter Gillham's Calm
Epsom Salt Baths almost daily
Barlean's Greens
Nuts - eating more nuts such as cashews, almonds, brazil, pecan
Much more greens/veggies than before
More wild-caught fish, sardines
More rice, millet
Will also be doing garlic powder in capsules.
Probiotics: I will
be trying the SoDelicious coconut kefir on regular basis (perhaps 2-4
oz daily). I have one bottle in my fridge and will have to order more.
On order: Biotin 5-16mg per day
One of these days I'll get it together and start taking my basal temp.
My father is hypothryoid (he takes bio-identical thyroid medication)
---------------
2-09-10 Update: I continue to have itching in ears and nethers. I also feel some itching now in random places all over my body.
2-10-10: After the saliva test this morning, I started a 21-day course
of Nu-Zareba from Thaumaturge http://www.thaumaturge.net/--click on
Remedies-- (considered waiting til 5 days before the full moon as
directed, but I can't stand it. If it's candida, I just have to get
going on it). I also took garlic in capsule.
BIG REACTION today - I either am getting a cold OR I had a kind of
reaction to Nu-Zareba (die off?) in which I got lots of postnasal drip
so that my throat is sore. It came and went several times.
However, the itchies went away today! I will update later on this treatment.
I"m thinking that I will do the probiotics even if I'm getting a
histamine reaction to them, which I can't tell yet. But, if I am
killing off yeast, then I want the good bugs in there now!
Considering:
Oil pulling/swishing
Coffee enemas
Betaine HCl
Sublingual B12
Electro Dermal Screening for parasites
I have been totally off of all sugar for several weeks with a couple of
exceptions. Very possible that flare ups happened in a delayed reaction
to twice when I had a treat. I use white stevia. Xylitol gives me too
much gas.
1) should I use only a tiny bit of xylitol and try to get used to it?
2) should I avoid the raw honey at bedtime until I see what's happening
with this Nu-Zareba killing off yeast, fungus and parasites? Or, if I
am going to take a probiotic before bedtime, should I take honey with
it to maximize it?
deep and get some of these things fixed. I do have some news from today
toward the end, but still lots of questions. I would appreciate your help. I hope the fact that I was thorough--and this is long-- is more help than not.
I came from Pat's suggestion
http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=1181051&h...
-----------------------------------
Rachel Ernst
Age 35
Two children age 5 and 3
Dental:
4 "small" amalgams, no root canals
I am very sensitive to caffeine--this runs in my moms' side of the family, along with restless leg syndrome. Grandpa's side came from
Netherlands. I gave up caffeine a long time ago. I am not addicted to
chocolate, though I like it (I hope to eat chocolate once per week once
the candida is under control).
I did this saliva test this morning:
http://www.candidasupport.org/test_saliva.html
In one minute, there were strings forming. In 30-40 minutes I came back and the saliva was all broken up with particles in the water.
Do you think that saliva test is valid? It indicates I MAY have a candida problem because the saliva is not "healthy."
Even without a saliva test, I could tell you: something is different about my mouth. I got in a new white composite filling about
a year ago (maybe 1.5 year?). Ever since that wake up call I've noticed
that there is more of an odor and dirty feeling to my mouth,
particularly upon waking. I would expect that if I didn't brush my
teeth before bed, but generally I do remember to brush. (I'm not saying
the composite filling is the cause, only that it was my chance to
notice what was going on. It had been going on before the filling.)
Now, I slowly went through a bottle of Tom's of Maine Mouthwash for
sensitive teeth which is lemon-lime flavored and has xylitol in it. I
think it also had flouride in it. Anytime I would use that before bed,
my mouth felt particularly worse in the morning. Furthermore, my most
recent dental cleaning had one item particuarly noteworthy to me: it was the first time in my life that the hygienist scraped so hard, remarking how
I had quite a lot of build up since the last cleaning 6 months ago. She
also advised I get some sensitive toothpaste because my gums are
wearing down (I'd heard that before years ago, with only a warning to
not brush too hard). Prior to this, as a kid and adult I'd heard so
many times that I was an "easy clean." So, the scraping of tartar this
time was very notable.
------------------------
Pink Pee Beets Test:
Stomach acid
I had heart burn pretty bad at times when I was pregnant. And after that
pregnancy, 4.5 years ago when I was making beets for my baby boy who
was starting solid foods, and as I was getting into Nourishing
Traditions, I ate beets and DID have pink pee. It was for sure pink,
because I remember it! However, this could just be because I was still
recovering from pregnancy (couldn't it?).
Recently, no pink pee:
Feb 5 - I ate beet soup from fresh beets WITH an Enzymedica Digest enzyme capsule. NO Pink pee.
Feb 6 - The next morning I ate it again, this time with no enzyme capsule. NO pink pee.
Feb 7 - Then the next day I ate beets from a can with canned beans and an enzyme capsule. NO pink pee.
Need I continue testing and eat more beets without an enzyme capsule? Was
Feb 6 the most valid test? Should I stop taking enzymes for several
days before repeating the test?
-------------------
Background:
***Itching in ears and "nethers" (anus and vulva) coming and going in phases/bouts,
for two years prior to summer 2009, and then...***
We had gotten a dog in the house, and I was the main caregiver of the dog. This was
stressful and a lot of hard work for me (german shepherd from working
dog lines, housetraining, two small children).
To make life easier, I started doing "protein shakes" for breakfast which consisted of two raw eggs plus cocoa, blackstrap molasses, and
some fluid. I think I started this with raw milk, can't remember.
HOwever, I know that I was definitely doing this with coconut milk by
the time I went dairy free (see below). I now learn that raw egg whites
are high in histamine!
No immediate reaction to the dog. She arrived in March.
By mid-summer, I was in a full-on bout of "hay fever."
Namely lots of mucus coming out of my sinuses, following a general pattern of:
a) No noticeable mucus at night.
b) Lots of mucus within a short time of waking up, which would happen even before I ate anything.
c) Increase in mucus after dairy products.
I stopped eating all dairy except butter and this was very helpful at
lowering the mucus to the level of post-nasal drip which didn't bother
me very much. However, in the meantime, my ears had acquired a constant
"full" feeling. I went to an allergist MD and two other doctors. The
concensus was they didn't take a test for fungus, they didn't see
anything too abnormal, maybe would admit a little bit of swelling or
redness (at the drum?). Said it would take several months for the ears
to drain (the last doctor said to take Zyrtec or similar and
homeopathic pulsatilla, a probiotic and use the neti pot daily, I tried
that for awhile, but didn't stick with it. Wasn't getting any better
and felt that I could get at the root cause rather than just using a
decongestant).
Retrospectively, are my ears really full of fluid? Or are they just swollen as in a histamine reaction? I get ringing in my ears and also I
can always hear a crackle if I do the yawning motion with my jaw.
Actually, going off dairy seemed pretty good overall, except that I wasn't
getting any probiotic, and wonder if this may have led to... bowel
changes and possibly candida?
I started having looser stools on a regular basis. One week I had really watery diarrhea for seemingly "no reason" at all. But usually
just very soft. The ears weren't clearing despite the fact that my
mucus was under control by a non-dairy diet.
Remember, I was still using the "protein shakes" with raw egg and coconut oil--along
with stevia, cocoa and blackstrap molasses. I started getting terrible
gas pains at night, but this decreased by a LOT when I stopped using
stevia with FOS. I now avoid FOS, but my stools are still pretty loose.
I also still get gas if I eat high amounts of fiber. The gas doesn't
occur so much now that I usually take the digestive enzymes.
Also note that I had discovered GT's Kombucha and I would sometimes get
2 or 4 bottles every so often at the health food store. Love that
stuff. And, I had it several times this summer for a couple days at a
time. I never associated it with any particular reaction. I can't
remember the first time I started trying it.
Before I started considering candida as a possibility, I noticed I
started getting a different reaction to red wines. I used to drink it
occasionally, but something changed.
--------------------
Candida? Parasites?
I have taken the Dr. Crook test several times recently and I always score a 9 which is
"MAY have candida overgrowth" but not a 12 (definitely have candida
overgrowth). Even my score of 9 is not certain, because in order to get
a 9 I am unclear about a couple of the questions as they do not state
"recently" or "ever". Like, yes, I was on birth control pill for 7
years, but that was before I ever got pregnant and since then I've had
2 babies. Or, anti-biotics: Yes, I took several times when I was a kid
but haven't taken them for many years (exception: I had an infection on
my toe this summer and despite my reticence to take antibiotics, I was
prescribed one and I took the first day's worth. I didn't take the full
course, because my neighbor-allopathic-ER -doc said that it wouldn't
hurt to discontinue, even though I voiced concern about stopping.)
Could one day of a high-powered antibiotic coupled with a non-dairy, non-probiotic diet have triggered a yeast overgrowth? Is
this just added on top of an existing histamine problem that was
already there? Or was the first symptom of itching ears caused by
parasites or candida from the beginning?
When I was a child: I had a couple of years of pretty severe (uncomfortable) hay fever with itchy eyes. I took a nasal spray with
steroid in it. Interestingly enough, I was also prescribed this same
one by an allergist MD this past summer, 2009.
The only other time I know about for steroid use was that I got a
series of steroid shots into my foot in 2001, with a foot surgery in
2002. I didn't know whether to consider these uses of steroid when answering the Candida Questionnaires.
-------------------------
Recent changes:
I have been continuing to modify. When I first suspected candida, I started going
all out, like trying no sugar and no starches, no grains. Then I got
the Yeast Connection cookbook and learned about the connection between
yeast and allergies, and wondered if my itching were really candida or
histamine. I didn't want to assume I have candida. Then I added soaked,
non-gluten grains and some fruit back in.
-Dairy free since mid-summer, about 6+ months to date
-Eliminated butter and eggs and gluten about month ago.
-Trying to do the epsom salt bath every day (skip a day or two per week).
-Taking more supplements*
*Current Supplements:
Doc's Best Multi
Cod Liver Oil
Enzymedica digestive enzymes - forget it before some meals.
Folinic Acid
Vitamin C
Magnesium - Peter Gillham's Calm
Epsom Salt Baths almost daily
Barlean's Greens
Nuts - eating more nuts such as cashews, almonds, brazil, pecan
Much more greens/veggies than before
More wild-caught fish, sardines
More rice, millet
Will also be doing garlic powder in capsules.
Probiotics: I will
be trying the SoDelicious coconut kefir on regular basis (perhaps 2-4
oz daily). I have one bottle in my fridge and will have to order more.
On order: Biotin 5-16mg per day
One of these days I'll get it together and start taking my basal temp.
My father is hypothryoid (he takes bio-identical thyroid medication)
---------------
2-09-10 Update: I continue to have itching in ears and nethers. I also feel some itching now in random places all over my body.
2-10-10: After the saliva test this morning, I started a 21-day course
of Nu-Zareba from Thaumaturge http://www.thaumaturge.net/--click on
Remedies-- (considered waiting til 5 days before the full moon as
directed, but I can't stand it. If it's candida, I just have to get
going on it). I also took garlic in capsule.
BIG REACTION today - I either am getting a cold OR I had a kind of
reaction to Nu-Zareba (die off?) in which I got lots of postnasal drip
so that my throat is sore. It came and went several times.
However, the itchies went away today! I will update later on this treatment.
I"m thinking that I will do the probiotics even if I'm getting a
histamine reaction to them, which I can't tell yet. But, if I am
killing off yeast, then I want the good bugs in there now!
Considering:
Oil pulling/swishing
Coffee enemas
Betaine HCl
Sublingual B12
Electro Dermal Screening for parasites
I have been totally off of all sugar for several weeks with a couple of
exceptions. Very possible that flare ups happened in a delayed reaction
to twice when I had a treat. I use white stevia. Xylitol gives me too
much gas.
1) should I use only a tiny bit of xylitol and try to get used to it?
2) should I avoid the raw honey at bedtime until I see what's happening
with this Nu-Zareba killing off yeast, fungus and parasites? Or, if I
am going to take a probiotic before bedtime, should I take honey with
it to maximize it?
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