Hello all. I've been a lurker here for a long time, but this is my first post. I also posted this in the Candida Forum .

I will try to tell my story briefly...

I had a c-section 10 yrs ago. After that I began suffering w/constipation and hemmorhoids. Also while I was pregnant I became addicted to OTC nasal spray. About 2 yrs ago I started gradually getting off the nasal spray and I'm now down to using a very small amount. As far as the constipation, over the years I tried everything from Aloe to fiber, etc. The problem never truly got resolved.

This past February I was at the point where I was feeling so badly that it was keeping me from really living my life. I had frequent headaches, brain fog and dizziness. I felt tired all the time. I was anxious and depressed. I had heart palpitations frequently. I had irregular BM's, cramping, bloating and gas. About once a month I'd wake up in a sweat and feel dizzy and nauseated. I went to see a Osteopathic Dr who also practices Natural Medicine. He diagnosed me w/a fungal sinus infection. He also suspected parasites and candida. My stool test did not show evidence of either of those, but my symptoms indicated that they were a factor.

Since I've started on my dr's program for me, I have made some good progress. My sinuses are getting better (only slight and occasional dizziness, fewer headaches), I feel stronger and less anxious and depressed, I have more energy than I did but it's not where it should be. I have regular BM's (1 - 2 per day) but still have bloating, occasional cramping, "gurgling", and fowl-smelling gas. I also still have some nasal congestion.

I kind of feel like I've hit a plateau. We've recently made some changes and I'm hoping they will do the trick. My doc recommended that I switch from the Olive Leaf to Diflucan. I have read some pretty nasty stuff about it, and felt like I was making progress w/the plant-based products and really didn't want to take a strong drug like that. I voiced my concerns and he told me to use Caprylic Acid instead.

I know there's some really knowledgable people here and I would just like to get some feedback about what I'm doing to see if there's something I'm missing or could be doing differently. Or maybe there's some people who've gotten better doing some of these things and could offer some encouragement. I just SO want to get better and start living my life again!!!

So here's what I'm doing at this point (per my dr's instructions):

I eat as little refined Sugar as possible (I use agave nectar, honey, and stevia as sweeteners, but I do cheat sometimes and have things made w/sugar)
I avoid processed foods as much as possible
I eat a big salad every day for lunch and for dinner usually eat lean meat and steamed veggies (We get all our meat from a co-op - no hormones or Antibiotics )
I avoid white flour and eat whole grains and sprouted breads.

Here's a list of the supplements I'm taking:

Before Breakfast:

Renew Life Extreme Probiotic - 1 (just switched from Primadphilus Bifidus)
Solaray Capryl - 1 (just started this today, switched from Olive Leaf)
Renew Life Organic Triple Fiber - 1 every other morning (I eat hi-fiber hot cereal on the off-morning)
Prescription nasal spray (contains anti-bacerial, anti-fungal, and a corticosteroid)


W/Breakfast:
Adrenal Support
L-Glutamine (I just started this b/c I read about its ability to heal gut lining)
Paragon (not the one you all talk about - it's from a company called Integris. It contains 94 mg Wormwood , 94 mg Garlic, 94 mg Black-Walnut , GSE, and a bunch of other herbs)
L-Glutithione
Leucine (Doc says the glutithione and leucine help the Wormwood to work better?)
Magnesium Malate 350 mg
Source Naturals Digestive Enzymes
Iodine supplement

W/Lunch:
Adrenal Support
Capryl - 1
Paragon (just added this one today)
Multi Vitamin (food based)
Floradix liquid iron
Digestive Enzymes

W/Dinner:
Magnesium Malate 350 mg
Paragon
Omega 3-6-9 Capsule

Before Bed:
Triphala - 1 (just heard of this and started it a couple days ago)
Capryl - 1
Primadophilus Bifidus - 2 (starting this tonight for the first time)

I just read on this site today that some of the stuff I'm taking may be killing my good bacteria? If that's the case, I'm wondering if I should be taking more probiotics. Any feedback or advice any of you have would be greatly appreciated!