So I've posted on here several times about whether I had candida overgrowth or not, getting ideas from the community. I've had bronchial and sinus issues for a while now, and suspected some sort of fungal infection, but I'm not immunocompromised according to the doctors and blood tests, so I shouldn't have a fungal infection in my bronchials according to most doctors.
Anyhow, I had a fungal sputum culture come back last week with geotrichum species listed. The doctor that did it couldn't believe I had it, and attributed it to contamination of sorts and suggested it was allergies and gave me prednisone for 6 days, which didn't seem to help.
Then my stool culture (Genova labs) came back yesterday via a different, more flexibly thoughtful M.D. I'm still waiting on my copy, but she said it showed geotrichum in my stools at a high level (+2 on the pathogenic scale from 1 to 4 I think??). Otherwise things look good--I have a healthy level of good bacteria, and some bad things as well that could be a problem if I didn't have the good bacteria in there. And they did a susceptibility test on the geotrichum.
So I started on a course of Diflucam yesterday (200MG/day) along with some milk thistle extract (and tea), and am supposed to take it for 2 weeks. I've only taken it one day, so too early to see if it will help I think. But hopefully! I did seem to start coughing up more thick stuff today, but not sure yet if it is related.
Anyone else have anything similar happen to them? Any insight into this? I have no clue why I would be colonized with geotrichum, except extensive
Antibiotic use could have allowed it, and I guess my body never was able to overcome it after that?? I've had an HIV test, and my blood tests show a normal immune system I'm told, apart from some elevated things like eosinophils/red blood cells/IgG subclass 1/IGE. Elevated levels I'm told are good, because it means my immune system is working properly. I had MRSA last year, with 6 weeks of intensive vancomycin
Antibiotic treatment, so that could very well have done me in I guess.
But you would think if my immune system is working properly, I would eventually beat it back on my own--but that doesn't seem to have happened yet.
Thanks all for your thoughts.