A: The problem with loratadine is that it’s suppressive. Sure, it’s supressing your annoying allergy symptoms, but there’s going to come a point where that’s not going to work anymore if you’re not healing your immune system. Allergies happen when your immune system isn’t healthy.

Like you, my husband is allergic to cats, mold, and almost everything green that grows outside (as well as bugs and a couple WEIRD food addatives.) His biggest allergy was by far the candida though. For YEARS, he’s suffered with allergy symptoms, skin symptoms, digestive symptoms, joint pain, fatigue… When he finally went to the allergist and found out that he was so allergic to candida, he was told, “If we get the candida under control, the other stuff will fall into line.” He was prescribed a candida diet and Diflucan. (I don’t necessarily agree with the Diflucan thing, but that’s for another time.) Anyway, as he’s strengthened his body and immune system and taken the antifungal, his allergy symptoms have lessened to the point where he HASN’T had everyday sinus trouble and he’s been without his Zyrtec and Nasonex for about 3 weeks now.

Don’t get me wrong, he’s got a long way to go. But it turned out that the antihistamines were just kinda sorta dealing with symptoms that were caused by something entirely different.

I should also mention that we have a cat. Now, we don’t let her sleep with us, but other than that, my husband’s doing great JUST addressing the cnadida.

It’s amazing how many health issues are related to candida. Once you strengthen your immune system and get that candida under control, a LOT of
issues disappear.

People often think that yeast in or on your body (vaginal yeast, thrush, skin yeast, athelete’s foot) exist in isolation, but the fact of the matter is, they don’t. If you’ve got yeast on your body, it’s systemic, and it needs to be treated systemically. This involves eating the right foods (and NOT eating the wrong ones), using supplements that support your immune system and nourish your body, and limiting (as much as possible) your exposure to environmental toxins. You have to give your immune system a fighting chance at getting the yeast back to its friendly form, but once it’s overgrown and turned ugly, this can be a long process.

Meat aversions are tough. Under normal circumstances, I’m one of the biggest carnivores you’d ever meet, but during early pregnancy, the last thing I want to look at is meat or eggs (let alone actually EAT them!) The fact is though, pure animal fats/proteins are essential to good health. Animal food contains nutrients that you can’t get any place else, and pure animal fats (lard, tallow, butter) are invaluable when it comes to healthy living.

Dealing with meat aversions is well worth the effort because with good fat and protein, your body can more efficiently use the nutrients you give it.
This means you can heal better.

Most people think that yogurt is good for people with yeast, but in many cases, we candida sufferers are very sensitive to any dairy but butter. I never would have believed this a year and a half ago, but once I gave up dairy (other than butter), it was easy for me to see why I had to do it.
For financial reasons, I’ve been eating dairy recently (including heavy cream which is quite low in carbs), and I’m definitely having some yeast issues that I never had without the dairy (SEVERE epigastric pain, sinus/ear problems, vaginal yeast, yeast on my skin…)

While yogurt does contain beneficial bacteria, you don’t get nearly enough to outweigh the issues that the dairy itself can cause for candida sufferers. Taking a good quality probiotic is a much better choice in my opinion as you’re curing candida.

I have PCOS (polycystic ovaries), and it’s absolutely AMAZING how quickly these things resolve themselves as we start to treat candida. The same thing can be said for endometriosis. As you heal your body and deal with the candida, your body is more able to use (and appropriately react to) all your hormones including reproductive hormones, insulin, thyroid, adrenal, and pituitary hormones.

I read an excellent article on about.com that talked about hypothyroid and “normal” TSH (since most doctors will only check TSH, see that it’s “normal”, and then say, “Aaah, you’re fine!”) Apparently, the group to which many endocrinologists belong (American College of Endocrinologists or something like that) have found that a “normal” upper boundary for TSH is something like 2.2 as opposed to the 4.5-5.0 that most labs insist is “normal”.

I fought and fought with two different doctors after I had my son because I was having horrible hypothyroid symptoms (including the inability to breastfeed my son because of such an inadequate milk supply). My TSH was 3.7, and both doctors said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Your
thyroid numbers are fine.” One doctor even went so far as to say, “You’re having trouble ’cause you’re legally blind and it takes a lot more out of you to parent your two children.” (Needless to say, I switched doctors immediately!)

Curing your candida will help your thyroid function as well as your adrenals, but I understand how frustrating it can be to wait when you’re suffering. The good news is, if you take the slow and steady route, you’ll likely be able to avoid medication and a life-long battle with other issues that are made worse by candida overgrowth.

This morning I woke with my typical candida “symptoms” (sinus congestion, achey joints, etc) I will assume the garlic tea was too strong and I am now a bit overloaded with toxins…off to my Epsom salt bath and some dry skin brushing
I’ve decided to try an antifungal enema. I could not even retain it for 2-3 minutes. It seemed as thought as soon as the solution hit my gut my legs
started tingling, my gut felt “weird” (for lack of a better word) and I had the urge to expell immediatly.
I can assume the reactions are caused by killing off candida, so they are normal die-off. I think the tea was too strong, and I’ll put less garlic in it next time.

~ nausea,
~ headache,
~ swollen glands,
~ bloating,
~ constipation or diarrhea,
~ increased joint or muscle pain,
~ elevated heart rate,
~ chills, cold extremeties,
~ itching, scratching, nail biting,
~ unusual perspiration,
~ fever (usually low grade),
~ hypotension (low blood pressure),
~ Itching, hives and rash (sometimes assumed to be an
allergic reaction)

Symptom intensifiers:
Two common sources: decreasing the blood flow, which
allows the toxins to accumulate, or, increasing the
die off of parasites.

~ fear,
~ anxiety and worry,
~ hormonal imbalances,
~ enzymes, bromelain, pancreatin, etc.,
~ clotting agents, heavy foods,
~ excessive exercise, tiredness,
~ fatigue, exhaustion,
~ cold temperatures,
~ air pollution,
~ anti-virals,
~ anti-bacterials,
~ anti-fungals,
~ anti-parasitics,
~ chronic illnesses,
~ high doses of vitamins,
~ some forms of chelation treatments

Symptom reduction

Two common strategies: improving the blood flow to
clear the toxins faster (see vascular constriction),
or, neutralizing the toxins (or both).

~ antihistamines,
~ relaxation techniques,
~ Enemas, Colemas, Colonics,
~ increase in blood thinning supplements,
~ Lemon/Olive Oil liver/gall bladder cleanse,
~ 2 Tbsp Lemon Juice (Organic) or 1/2 lemon rind),
~ 1 Tbsp cold pressed Extra Virgin Olive Oil,
~ flavanoids (widens blood vessels),
~ hydrogen peroxide intravenous,
~ aerobic oxygen supplementation,
~ lymphatic massage,
~ anti-inflammatories,
~ bentonite clay,
~ charcoal tablets,
~ diatomaceous earth,
~ pain medication,
~ muscle relaxers,
~ hot baths / hot tub,
~ steam bath or dry sauna,
~ infrared Hot House treatment,
~ a cleansing bath: add 1 cup salt, 1 cup soda, 1 cup
epsom salts, 1 cup aloe vera, to a hot bath, remain in
and keep hot for about 1-1/2 hours all the while
consuming about 2 quarts of warm water.

Personally I use Bentonite clay, hot baths with espom
salts and ocassionally saunas.