I'll try to keep this short- for over a year, at least (it's hard to tell because the symptoms kind of crept up on me) I've had symptoms like: itchy skin, scalp, eyebrows and eyelashes, an itch inside my ears, fungal infections, yeast infections (usually around the time of my period), fatigue, and general depression. I had no idea what was wrong with me for a long time until I happened upon a candida website and realised that the symptoms listed matched mine. I probably developed it due to a period of stress (most recent dose of Antibiotics was when I had strep throat a couple of years ago, that could have caused it too?)

What confirmed this for me was that I went on the anti-candida diet and actually started to feel like a real person again. I also took probiotics (2 billion) and antifungals (garlic and aloe vera). I was relatively strict on the diet but I would eat small amounts of what you're not supposed to (like peanut butter or a yoghurt containing sugar). Recently I've been even more lenient with myself (one square of chocolate turned into.. a lot of chocolate) and so my candida symptoms have been creeping back, although not quite as bad as before.

I obviously want to just go back to eating normally again (not a high-sugar diet, just normal) but I'm not sure what I should do.

Some people say you need to alkalize your body, other people say you need to do liver cleanses, parasite cleanses, etc. I'm only 18 and I just can't afford to do all of that while taking probiotics and antifungals. I would like to see a homeopath but I don't know if I could realistically afford more than one visit (and even then, I see a lot of people on here that say they see a homeopath, and yet they still appear to struggle with candida?)

Some questions:

I know candida isn't easy to beat, but since I don't have an extremely severe case, (I have read of people on here who can't get out of bed due to candida, and I'm certainly not that bad) can I get rid of it with the use of a supplement like NowFoods Candida Support (which contains pau d'arco, oregano oil, Black-Walnut , caprylic acid) and a strong probiotic? (while on the diet of course)

How long could it take to get rid of candida in my case?

In terms of the diet, would I be slowing my progress by consuming small amounts of sugar? I read that 5g or less of Sugar a day is okay?

Has anyone been able to get rid of candida without cutting out dairy or grains?

I'm concerned that some people say candida isn't real? If it's not candida causing my issues, what else could it possibly be?

Sorry for the long post. I really appreciate this resource, I'm so thankful for the internet because if I wasn't able to google my symptoms I never would have known what was wrong with me. There's just so much conflicting information out there, and some of it is overwhelming. It's depressing to read that the only way to get rid of candida is through something super time-consuming/ something I can't possibly afford/ something I don't have access to.

If anyone has any simple solutions, advice or answers to my questions I would really appreciate it.