Trust Me, This CAN Help!

I haven't been blogging about it, so now you get the full spill! A few months back I was having some horrendous stomach issues. It all started with my belly button hurting. Weird, although it happens on occasion but usually goes away after a few days. However after a week of this, plus not being able to eat anything without getting bloated, horrendous stomach pain, etc. I decided to go into the doctor. At first, they thought it was my gallbladder and wanted to have it removed. In a panic I hurried home to find on the internet a homeopathic gallbladder flush. Boy was that miserable! But, totally worth it because I felt much better after! Good new is that when they did the gallbladder ultra sound, it was clear of stones! Bad new is that as soon as I started eating again, all the problems came back! I went back to the drawing board again, and the doctor thought maybe it was ulcers, although I did test negative for H-Pylori which is the bacteria believed to contribute to stomach ulcers. I usually try to avoid medications as much as possible, and asked the doctor about essential oils and homeopathic remedies but got a neutral to fairly negative response because (in summary of the doctor's words) "they are not regulated by the FDA, and science has proven inconsistencies in the chemical composition of oils derived from batch to batch." So, I reluctantly started a 7-day regimen of medication to help treat ulcers, although in my mind I was sure that wasn't it as I have had ulcers before and this was totally different to me.

After 3 days and no sign of improvement, I started wondering about different possibilities of what could be causing all of this havoc in my body. I decided after all to go the natural way and consult a LMT and get an Ionic Foot Detox Cleanse. WOW! That was pretty nasty! But the amazing part is, I believe it helped to figure out what was wrong with me! As soon as she saw how nasty the water had become, she pointed out a few things and told me that I had Candida overgrowth. When I got home I searched all over the internet from site to site to find out as much as I could about Candida, and discovered that not only did it explain all of the crazy things that were going on with my stomach now, but it also explained a few other health problems that I have been dealing with the past few years that the doctors have never been able to figure out! It was amazing!

So began the journey of my new Candida-free diet and detox. My dear sweet husband said that he would do the diet with me in an effort to give me support. He had no idea what he had agreed to!!! The candida stage 1 diet is a gluten-free, grain-free, carb-free, yeast-free, sugar-free, food free diet! (My husband added the last one in, as he doesn't consider vegetables to be a food, and since that is all we can eat during stage one, he says we are basically starving ourselves!) And it did feel like that for the first few days! However, we have introduced chicken (which is on the stage 2 list of foods okay to eat) and that has helped him tremendously with feeling satiated. I must tell you, the difference this has made has done wonders! In a matter of days, my stomach bloating/swelling has reduced dramatically, stomach pain has decreased dramatically, and, even though I am pretty much living off of green vegetables, I feel much better! My energy level is a low (which is expected during the first part of the candida diet due to Candida die-off, or Herxheimer reaction), and it has been somewhat difficult to keep on schedule with my RAGNAR training, but I feel better than I have felt in quite some time! Each day I feel better and better and I am gradually getting more energy.

So, that is where I am at! Why did I decide to start blogging about this? Because Candida overgrowth is a serious problem, and affects millions of people. Some don't realize they even have a problem with candida overgrowth, as they simply write it off as indigestion, until it has become a much more serious auto-immune disease such as Multiple Sclerosis or Crohn's disease! So PLEASE take a look at these websites I have found to be very informative and helpful. Study up on the symptoms, take the test at Whole Approach, and decided if you need to change your diet to save your quality of life!

http://www.wholeapproach.com
http://www.thecandidadiet.com
http://www.candida-albicans-cure.com
http://www.holistichelp.net/candida
http://nationalcandidacenter.com/candida-self-exams/