Re: I can't go on.

First of all, thank you to everyone for your encouragement. Angel and Jorge: Thank you. My parents are loving, but you two know the pain of the battle like no one else does. We've been in this together for years.

Now I'm directing this question to Jorge and anyone else that has some medical knowledge: Does anybody have ideas of more stuff I should be tested for? First of all, I KNOW I don't have: Hepatitis C, HIV, Lyme, Diabetes, Syphilis(ha!) etc. I've been tested for all of them. But I've had a sneaking suspicion that I may have some kind of undetected bacterial or viral infection to go with the candida. What would I do to check for that?

I got rejected at Mayo clinic because I don't have the money. And I wanted to ask my most recent doctor to do a CULTURE! That's what they've never done for me. I've had throat and lung problems, digestive, genital, etc. My sputum culture found mold, my stool culture found yeast but it couldn't identify the strain. So I don't know what form of candida, if any, I have... at this point I don't have access to prescription antifungals and I don't know if I'll be taking them for now. But if I wanted virus or bacterial testing, what would I do? Just ask a doctor to swab my throat? Or do a blood culture?

I saw an infectious disease doctor last year... and forgive me, because I'm too weak to do to much medical reading.. but he never did a culture either. What he and I guess most doctors do is do a blood cell count and check CBC. And if that comes up normal, they say you can't have an infection. Can you still have candida, or virus or bacteria and still have normal blood cell counts?

You see, this condition is so hard to pin down, because there's no single definitive test. So FRUSTRATING! With diabetes they check your blood sugar. Strep throat they swab your throat. For candida, even the blood test isn't definitive. I once had a doctor tell me that even if I was positive on the candida antigen/antibodies test, he wouldn't believe it.

So at this point, after 4 1/2 years... I BELIEVE I have candida. I think I do. But I don't know for sure. But it's the best explanation I've got now, because I've got something. And I'm wondering whether I've got some other co-infection, but I just can't find the right doctor to test me. I'm writing to a specialist that's not even in my state now to ask for help.. I'm not giving up, I just don't know what tests or medicines to take now.

For now I'm just taking beta blockers for the palpitations, keeping a good diet and trying to keep a good attitude. I'm taking a break from antifungals, but I took for about 8 months again some strong herbal anti-fungals and anti-parasitics. The hard thing with this disease is.......you just never know. I know I've got something. I know I'm better. But I just don't know what it is.

The unknown is the fear. Even if you had Cancer.... not to compare myself with their suffering... but at least then you would KNOW what's wrong. You would have identified the enemy.

I took the cortisol test this morning... not expecting much, but I'm checking everything I can. Will do my best. Will never give up. Hope you all will find your answer.