Yeah, if you have a strong reaction like you're getting ill after taking nystatin, it has to be a die-off reaction you are experiencing. This is a good thing to know. I have a feeling that many people on this forum think they have candida when they don't. The spit test is worthless.

I also had lots of burping when I had candida. If you don't treat it with antifungals and eat just whatever you want (go off the diet) you will have lots of gas formed from the fermentation. If you bomb the candida with antifungals you will have die-off and the dying candida will release lots of gas. There were times when I would have a belch spell and wouldn't know if it was because I broke off the diet or if the candida was dying.

Nystatin enemas hit the candida where it is most prolific, the colon. It is hard for most antifungals to reach this area because they get absorbed into the bloodstream and degraded by the liver before making it that far down. I used to experience tremendous burping after nystatin enemas due to the die-off. Why the gas didn't go toward my tail as a fart but instead went upstream to become a burp I can't say. I suppose when I sat up the gas simply floated upward.

Dvjorge made a recent post about using saccharomyces boulardii enemas to treat candida. I never tried it but in theory it makes perfect sense. Of course, SB is also a yeast so if you use it rectally as an enema don't also take any antifungal by enema.

I concur with dvjorge about the need to take steps to encourage the growth of good gut microflora (Lactobacillus and Bifido bacteria) to battle candidiasis. I feel that it was key to my getting cured. Because the restrictive diet not only inhibits candida growth but gut flora of all kinds, I found it necessary to supplement with the prebiotic lactulose. This particular prebiotic has been shown to not encourage candida growth but will feed the healthy gut bacteria. It is these bacteria that do what the antifungals can't do. They change the environment to acidic which discourages candida growth and changes fungal invasive candida to the benign bud form. And it is precisely these bacteria that can make it down that far into the colon and not only survive but thrive (if fed). It will take a while for these LABs (lactic acid bacteria) to displace the yeast from the walls of the colon and the nystatin enemas help with this tremendously. Once most of the yeast is dislodged from the colon walls and replaced by a layer of LABs the healing phase is in place and if protocol is adhered to, healthy floral balance should be achieved. Most people do not understand what it means when we say that a bacteria "colonizes" the colon. It means that they adhere tightly to the epithelial cells of the colon wall so that a complete blanket is formed. They will not be excreted and lost to the stool. This is key to attaining floral balance.

While I see the need to feed these LABs and in my case I did so using lactulose, I don't think all prebiotics are safe to take if you have candidiasis. I would avoid FOS, inulin, chicory root, raw onion. To be honest, I don't find much of any hard studies on this question of prebiotics and candida (except lactulose). I think that galactomune which is galactooligosaccharides is safe (that was my experience). But in any case, I think it is best that you wait to take lactulose or galactomune after at least 3 to 6 months of strict diet and antifungal therapy. When your symptoms have died down a whole lot, then you should introduce high dose probiotics (both capsule and fermented veggies/kefir). Take probiotics first thing in the morning (even if you have to set your alarm clock for 6 a.m.) Stomach acid is lowest and your gut is empty allowing for quick transit of the probiotics to the intestines. Take prebiotics right before going to bed (this is also the best time to take enzymes-biofilm busters).

I am about to investigate ionized reduced water which dvjorge mentioned in another post. I will get a Water Ionizer machine later this week to try this. Apparently, the healthy microflora thrives in an antioxidant environment. Reduced water supplies this. I will let you know later how it goes. I am hopeful. Here is an abstract of the article describing it:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15617863

what specifically do you guys use for enemas? i think dvjorge has mentioned fleet bottles before but is that enough liquid and can they shoot deep enough?

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Hi JoshOp... 30 years ago I ate a jar of Planters dry roasted peanuts afterHi JoshOp... 30 years ago I ate a jar of Planters dry roasted peanuts after lunch.. I became bloated all afternoon and when I laid down to go to bed at 11:00pm, my stomach started filling with air until I looked pregnant!.. I would sit up and burp a huge amount of air. It went in all night ever 30 minutes, fill up, burp it out.,the next day It felt like nothing digested from the day before, and by 10am I was vomiting everything up. Vomited several times within that 2 -3 hours and was stuck on the toilet on and off too. Ever since that episode, and for 30 years more, 2-3-4 times a year I would wake up feeling bloated and by 11pm that night, I would be going through the same cycle. However, the burps started smelling of sulfur after the first episode. I searched the web constantly, had ever test done that's possible, and finally got rid of the problem while trying to cure another problem with Apple Coider vinegar, coconut oil, oregano oil, and Great Lakes hydrolyzed Collegen. ... More in the next post( having a problem posting my long message)