And, then comes along a leaky gut.....

I did ok for about a year on the Armour. My health wasn't optimal as I could never lose that last size even with all the exercise and healthy eating I did. I also had a rash on my upper arms that would not go away, but I had no idea it was related to a yeast overgrowth going on in my gut. But, I started to get sick about every few weeks and became too weak to exercise in November '07.

How did I get diagnosed with leaky gut?
I went to my primary doctor for lower bowel pain. The tests came back as a ovarian cyst. When I was in for this diagnosis, I also told her about my concern with wheat. I noticed when I ate wheat in particular that I had lots of gas and bloating which got me to ask for a gluten intolerance test. She didn't think these symptoms were from gluten but she agreed to the test. Her solution to the cyst was to put me on hormone replacement therapy (HRT), which is estrogren basically. I disagreed, and told her I prefered to try progesterone. She really wasn't familiar with progesterone, which surpised me. But, she was willing to talk to my thyroid doctor upstairs who had mentioned the progesterone at my last appointment for a reason I cannot remember. My primary doctor came back from my thyroid doctor with a prescription for compounded progesterone and blood test orders for the gluten and food allergies. The blood tests revealed several food allergies as well, which found the yeast antibodies. The levels were so high that they were indeed creating a leaky gut.

What is leaky gut?
Leaky gut is a condition caused by yeast overgrowth or candida, which is an overgrowth of bad bacteria in your gut. The yeast overgrowth causes constant inflammation, which in turn creates micro holes in the intestional walls. Food particles leak out of these holes into your body instead of getting small enough to flow into your blood stream. The by-products cause all kinds of symptoms within your body.

Some symptoms of yeast syndrome include: chronic fatigue or malaise, sweet cravings, thrush, bloating, gas, intestional cramps, rectal itching, alternating diarrhea and constipation, vaginal yeast infections, frequent, bladder infections, menstral irregularities, decreased libido, depression, irritability, trouble concentrating, allergies, chemical sensitivities, lowered resistance to infection.

I was immediately put on an anti-yeast diet and also not allowed to eat anything that had many allergy anti-bodies from the food panel blood test. I was not allowed to eat: eggs, soy, dairy, oranges, corn, peanut or wheat. In addition, I was also forbidden to eat any grains, starchy vegetables, fruit, vinegar, sugar or caffeine. So I was basically on a very low carb diet, eating just non-starchy vegetables, meat and herbal tea. I was allowed to add foods back in at certain points, but here it is 10 months later and I'm still on the diet.

I was also put on a strong anti-fungal to kill the yeast, as well as a daily probiotic and enzymes with each meal.

Here's the probiotic I'm on: HLC Probiotics http://www.rockwellnutrition.com/view_Category.asp?cat=34

and here are the enzymes: http://www.klaire.com/enzymes_cat.htm (VITAL-ZYMES™ COMPLETE )

I've been on three different anti-fungals: first 30 days, fluconazole 100mg once a day, then Ketoconazole, 200mg 3 times day for the next 4 months, and I'm now on the mildest one, compounded Nystatin, 1 MU, 3 times a day. I'll be on the last one for months. My prescription is for 6 months.

Taking the anti-fungals does kill the yeast, which in turn helps with the sugar cravings. The first week, the yeast "screams for help" and you are hungrier. It's hoping you'll feed it sugar. Then it will level off. I just ate that first week whenever I was hungry, and I still lost 7lbs. Within 5 months I had lost 23lbs total. I finally hit my goal size even though I was not working out nearly as much. It just goes to show you that inflammation in the body is what was keeping my body at an unhealthy size.

~kate