Re: Lets treat ourselves: Update- Unexpected development?

Hi Guys!

So it's been just over a month, and I've decided to give you guys an update on what has happened recently!

At the start of December, I started taking the candida diet more seriously, as per the website "The Ultimate Candida Diet". I started keeping a food diary everyday, as little grains as possible, no fruit (bar grapefruit), no alcohol and no Sugar at all, apart from small amounts in probiotic yogurts, which I'd have about 100g of each day. I was also having a tblspn of apple cider vinegar and a 10 billion probiotic everyday, though I had to take these 30 minutes apart, since when I took them together the reaction seemed to give me constipation. Alongside this, my sleeping patterns were erratic as I have started a job with alternating shifts, and I attempted to exercise as much as possible, with an emphasis on sweating.

The results were hard to define, especially since I obtain them from the reactions of others. There did seem to be a decrease in the intensity, people I would seat beside in the canteen would not be subtly covering their noses, but it was in no way eradicated. On other notes, I lost a bit of weight, which isn't great for me but I'm sure would delight others, and one day at the beginning of the diet I had uncomfortable palpations and shortness of breath, which eventually went away.

With all the will in the world, it was approaching Christmas, and as a strapping young man I knew I couldn't avoid everything. So, on the 19th I went out for a few brews, then we had a Crimbo dinner a few nights later with potatoes and carrots and loads of gin and sugar-free tonic, and later in the night I took some ecstasy and smoked a joint (don't judge my drug habits, they're out of the scope of a Body Odor forum and what we're trying to achieve!). Then for Christmas, as much as possible I avoided Sugar and grains, but allowed myself spirits and carbohydrates in roast potatoes and the likes.

I then noticed over several days that I developed painful boils on my groin and penis. Fearing an STI, as I had slept with someone, I went to a clinic on the 28th, and he informed me it was folliculitis and prescribed one doxycycline a day for 7 days, and recommended washing with an aqueous soap. I made it very clear to him that I had been on a candida diet, and explained that my aim was to eradicate my anal odour. As I was saying this, it was like his eyes glazed over and he metaphysically left the office for a period, because when I finished he kinda jolted and didn't address what I said at all and just started talking shit about something else, which is a sidenote but something that many of us have seemed to have experienced from doctors at some stage!

Nothing doing, I had to start taking the doxycycline, knowing I was meeting a lady friend over the holidays, though I upped my probiotic to 3 a day and took the diet strictly again. However, it was spreading, so on the 3rd I went to a specific dermatology doctor, and she upped my dosage to 2 50mg doxycycline tablets a day, topical application of an anti-fungal on my rash for 3 days called Lamisil, with 1% terbinafine hydrochloride, before switching to a topical application of a 1% Antibiotic called clindamycin.

A note on the folliculitis- I have never in my life had anything like this. At maybe 14 (before my FBO) I had a small amount of acne, so I used a face wash in the shower. However, it was getting worse, so one week I stopped using it, and the Acne started to improve. Was the small, mundane amount of Acne exacerbated by the eradication of natural facial biome by the face wash? That's what I came to think myself. Then, extraordinarily, I go on an anti-candida diet, and once I go off it for several days, I develop a folliculitis, something which I never had before. Had I eradicated a large amount of candida with my diet, and then by relaxing the diet I has led to an explosion in candida growth again, which had manifested itself into symptoms which I had never even previously had? Has anyone else had an experience like this? Because if so, people should be made aware of these considerations when undertaking the diet.

With all this being said, of course I was soooooo suspect about taking any of the Antibiotics , since the entire lexicon of Anti-Candida says that we should avoid Antibiotics at all costs, the rationale being that the resulting dysbiosis is what allows the fungus to take hold. However, something unexpectedly nice has happened; I seemed to have, unintentionally, drastically reduced my odor! Again, I am not certain it is 100% eradicated, but I have comfortably spent 2 days with a girl I am seeing, something which I would usually never do, as typically I gauge people's reactions and cop that they are uncomfortable with something and presume it's me, but certainly it is reduced.

Which is helpful in a part, because this is some sort of result, the next thing now is this- what caused it? Was it the increased dosage of doxycycline Antibiotics ? If so, then this smell has been bacterial all along instead of candida based. While it would be a relief to finally know the source too, the next issue would be how do I identify this specific bacterium, and ensure that it remains under control once I complete the course of antibiotics. Is it the increased probiotics? Perhaps, this seems to have worked for many before. Or a combination of the two, a system sterilized by antibiotics and constantly repopulated with healthy probiotic bacteria? Or was it the candida diet finally starting to pay dividends? Unlikely, since I followed it quite poorly, but again I'm a rookie with regards to this so maybe I'm wrong, and others in this forum seemed to have cured their FBO by simply avoiding grains, which despite my diet indiscretions I've been largely doing.

What's next is more evidence is needed. If I continue to notice no odor, then the smell-causing bacteria is kept at bay by the antibiotic. However, I suspect that it will come back, and this prolonged course may result in it gaining Antibiotic resistance. I should probably go get a GI testing done asap, but this may seem counterintuitive while on antibiotics.

What do people think? Has anyone else experienced anything similar on antibiotics, or considering everything I've told you, is there something I'm missing, something else that could help us all? I feel that any result is a good result and it should be shared, even if it's not the complete correct answer, it can help us build on a theory of what is actually going on.

Thanks for reading this essay, peace out compadres, and please give us yo feedback, and of course, HAPPY NEW YEAR LET'S SORT THIS SH*T OUT IN 2018 WOOO Tweet