Yeast infections and candida overgrowth are VERY common with hypothyroidism, symptoms overlap, etc. A very simple way to check for candida overgrowth is the "spit test". Simply spit/hock in a glass of water, first thing in the morning, before brushing. Normal spittle will float and dissipate, while candida overgrowth spit will get white spindley threads and may sink. It seems to be the actual candida itself that you are seeing, as I've talked with a person with parasites who did not have it show up, but known candida patients do.
Now, about WHY we get candida overgrowth (also called candidiasis):
1) First, when your thyroid and adrenals are out of whack, it messes up your acid balance (your ph), making it an environment hospitable for candida overgrowth. Also, the autoimmune problems mean you are not fighting off things properly (fight off the wrong things and not the things you should be!).
2) Next, most people have quite a mercury load from dental work (those "silver" amalgam fillings), vaccines, fish, etc. Mercury FEEDS candida.
3) And then if you have a sugar problem, that feeds it even more. If you tend to stay low (hypoglycemia, often due to low cortisol levels), then often you crave sweets and give them a feast. And if you have diabetes (can be low cortisol levels or high), then your sugar levels stay high and give them a steady supply.
So, now that you're all grossed out, you can see what it is so horribly common for people with our afflictions to have candida overgrowth. The thyroid and adrenals balance each other, so if the one is out, the other often is too. The most of us have been vaccinated and have fillings or crowns. And we all eat too much sugar.
Now, you say, but I don't have those symptoms like the bloated belly and I don't have candida overgrowth. I think many people have it long before they realize. It was only when mine was EXTREMELY bad and my thyroid crashed rock bottom and I was falling apart that I got the "Buddha Belly", bloating after carbs, etc. Just starting a good acidophilus product helped with that. But I did develop Acquired Food Allergies and some increasing Chemical Sensitivities. Very unhappy.
So, then if a person has candida, what are they to do? The answer is as obvious as the way you got there: deal with root problems. And in fact these ideas are not original to me, I repeat them from my doctor who learned them from some German doctor (and I don't know a book that discusses them, though there probably is one in German).
1) Stabilize - raise thyroid and adrenals, deal with vitamin deficiencies, etc. (He calls this "nutritional therapy".)
2) Detox heavy metals, etc. - Mercury must go if you are to conquer the beasties. (He lumps this under "neural therapy" which is muscle testing to determine and treat weakness in the body.)
3) Ozone and natural antifungals - "rectal ozone" is my doctor's primary method of candida killing, parasite killing, etc., as it is very effective for this as well as healing the leaky gut from the candida (or that allowed the candida in the first place, depending on your situation).
4) Allergy therapies - NAET, BioSET, or EPD to deal with allergies, autoimmune problems, remaining hypersensitivities, etc.
Now, I will give some links in a minute, but I think it is important to say that the ORDER of things is important. If you try to kill off the bad bugs without dealing with the root problems that allowed their overgrowth in the first place, you end up feeding them while you try to kill them. Hence the easy bugs die and the hard ones survive, leaving you worse than when you started. Prescription anti-fungals are known to do this, leaving resistant beasties that are even harder to get rid of. Unhappy.
Also, I soon should have a whole section about mercury detox. I feel very strongly about the need for it to be done safely and carefully. And you definitely want to have the other things in order like thyroid and adrenals before you tackle it. Also, to find a helpful doctor, you can try my search tips page, as I have links for ACAM and AAEM, as well as the state-by-state listing.
Oh yes, now for some links!
great candida info connecting all our problems!
Crook on candida - Note that I do not agree with his suggestion of using prescription antifungals, as I feel they can cause rebound and do not deal with root issues.
Karen Tripp's candida site - Very encouraging, discusses SF-722. But she does not mention MERCURY
Mercola discusses progesterone and candida
www.NEEDS.com has a good acidophilus product, great books, supplements, phone help, etc.
a place selling SF-722 - note I have not ordered from them; I just thought their site was interesting
good info on candida and parasites
info on mercury and candida, with extensive technical references
more on mercury, CFS, and candida
a place to research ozone and candida killing
