Hi all,

Before i go into specifics, I will give a brief intro/history.

I am a 25 year old female with a history of hormonal imbalance, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive tendencies, panic attacks, etc. In addition to having VERY heavy periods, I experience terrible PMS symptoms such as mood swings, panic attacks, brain fog, fatigue/mania, acne,.. the list goes on. I also have a hard time keeping weight on. When I cut refined carbs and sugars out of my diet, my symptoms improve. I have noticed that when I consume poor quality food, especially large quantities of wheat, sugar, and preservatives , I will often wake up the following day with facial puffiness and a hung over feeling, including a slight swelling in my upper lip which subsides within a few hours.

Around New Year's, I decided to experiment with eliminating (or at least dramatically reducing) my intake of gluten. I also began using a natural progesterone cream. This all helped, but did not totally alleviate my symptoms. I would occasionally "fall off the wagon" and notice that I was feeling more anxious or depressed, or that my Acne was flaring up, but basically I've been taking pretty decent care of myself since New Year's, with a few slip ups here and there.

This brings me to my present situation --

Last weekend, we had a friend from out of town staying with us. We showed him around the city, took him to lots of restaurants, went out drinking, etc etc. In one day I consumed a cheeseburger, a grilled cheese sandwich, and part of a beef gyro on white pita. That night I noticed that I felt a bit itchy, but I didn't think anything of it. The following day I was extremely depressed and anxious, crying, etc etc -- I really did not feel like myself. Also, the itching continued. By Monday the itching had worsened and I was noticing some red blotchy areas on my torso that would come and go. Tuesday it was basically a full blown rash (though not a severe one), and I went over my lunch break to the walk in GP who prescribed me an antifungal/cortisone cream, and oral antihistamines. The antihistamines helped tremendously and by Wednesday the rash was almost invisible. Today, Saturday, the rash still seems to be gone, though I have stopped the antihistamines and switched to regular OTC lotrimin instead of the cortisone/lotrimin cream he prescribed.

My question is --

Do you think this rash was yeast related, brought on by the sudden large intake of white flour and "bad" foods? Could this also explain the lingering, generalized itching I've been experiencing??

I just saw a great doc who practices holistic/integrative medicine and he is running a whole boatload of blood tests to check thyroid, hormones, yeast, celiac, cortisol, food allergies , etc etc. I'll be getting those results in 2 weeks but I was really interested to hear if anyone here -- because I know there are lots of experienced folks on this forum -- might have any insight into my condition.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my tale of woe and I do look forward to hearing your opinions!!