I recently discovered that I have terrible Candida overgrowth and strongly believe that both of my young children have it as well. They are both vegetarian (always have been) with very healthy diets, and being so young, my guess is that they contracted it from me during birth. :(
The symptoms are much more obvious in my 3 year old than in my 1 year old. There are so many, I am sure to forget many, but they include:
Chronic constipation since about 6 months old. (the only "solution" the brilliant specialists have been able to provide me with in all this time is to leave her on a daily dose of miralax. That is not acceptable.)
A fading appetite that recently, has become a terrible problem, to the point that I have to force her to eat so that she gets nutrients. She just wants milk CONSTANTLY. Or cheese. Her cravings for sweets are monstrous, and I've never been big on giving her/them junk/sugar, but she literally cries for it now and begs all day every day for sugary junk/candy, etc.
She has terrible sleep disturbances, and that is once I finally get her to sleep, which is no easy feat. It takes hours, well into the wee hours of the morning. She tosses, turns, wakes up crying all night long.
Terrible night sweats.
Awful breath, despite a
healthy Diet and excellent oral hygiene.
Still is not yet toilet trained. Due to the severe GI issues, that has been problematic.
Yeast infections on the skin of her bottom as well as complaining of anal itch.
Very overly-emotional often times and hyperactive, yet always says she's tired.
Always complaining of tummy aches.
Constantly scratching inside her nose, sometimes until it bleeds.
The list goes on....and on....
After 2 years of taking my 3 year old to see a GI specialist (and allergists. And sleep specialists. And neurologists.), an endoscopy test was (finally) recommended. They will require that she be under anesthesia, which makes me very nervous. I am 99% sure, based on her multitude of symptoms that the problem is Candida, though I suppose it is always possible that it is a different issue, such as inflamed intestinal tract, as mentioned by the GI specialist....but I would bet on Candida.
In the opinion of those who are familiar with these things, should I allow the endoscopy, and the possible risks associated with anesthesia? Or should I put off this procedure and just start trying to treat candida (for both of them...as well as myself...) and see if the laundry list of symptoms improve?
I am inquiring here, as I have more faith in the opinions of the people here than doctors. The GI "specialist" completely blew off my thoughts that it could be candida, saying it was not possible.
And how would I go about treating this in a 1 year old and a 3 year old? I am barely able to get her to eat as it is, let alone able to get her/them to eat many of the things I've read are helpful in treating this. And that includes water. I have to FORCE her to drink water, and am lucky to get 2-4
ounces per DAY in her! It's terrible. And what about enemas? Is it even safe to attempt those on little people? They would NOT be still and I'd be concerned about causing damage to that delicate tissue by them moving. Can the Candida be effectively removed without enemas? Especially in a child suffering from chronic constipation! If it IS safe, what type to do? I am guessing ACV would be way to strong. And retention would be quite challenging.
Ugh!
Forgive my scattered rambling....I am just so exasperated at this point! From dealing with clueless, closed-minded doctors, and from not knowing how to go about healing my children now that I do believe I have FINALLY discovered the true problem (candida), given the limitations due to their ages and health challenges (constipation, probable inability to have enemas performed, etc.)
So any advice, personal experiences, and/or information would be so greatly appreciated!!! I can see more and more HOW MUCH she is being affected by this and HOW bad it is now. And my 1 year old will end up as bad by the time he is her age. It breaks my heart. :'(
Please help!
Thank you in advance.