Can some of you candida experts help me out?

Hi,

I'm new to this site but I've been reading up on various threads for quite some time now.

I'm a 22 year old male in Pharmacy school who has been suffering from seemingly inexplicable symptoms for the last six months. They are as follows...

-Severe brain fog
-Memory loss
-Inability to concentrate
-Hangover-like headaches
-Dizziness
-Chronic orthostatic intolerance
- Depression (no previous history of it)
-Anxiety (not as bad as the depression)
-Lethargy/fatigue
-Occasional G.I. upset (upper and lower)

It all happened suddenly a few hours after I ate some naan bread covered with peanut butter, chocolate hazelnut butter, and honey.

I have been collecting A LOT of empirical data on my condition by pure observation. I have concluded the following...

-My symptoms are directly linked to carbohydrate intake
-My symptoms are not linked to gluten specifically
-Symptoms are almost completely chronic
-Symptoms improved only slightly and temporarily on a gluten-free diet

The only reason I even suspected candida overgrowth was because of what happened last Thursday. I don't really drink soda. I decided to have a coke on an empty stomach and within an hour after ingestion, all of my symptoms got 1000 times worse. It was abundantly clear that the rapid Sugar intake was somehow linked to my worsening symptoms. This is classic for candida overgrowth. Plus, all of my other symptoms fit.

There are a few reasons why I'm doubting I have candida overgrowth. This is where I need help. Please tell me if I'm wrong.

-I don't have very many obvious LOWER G.I. symptoms (occasional gas if things are really bad)
-I haven't been on any anti-biotics in a long long time (but I had been eating a lot of glutamine, which apparently yeast love, and I had been taking heavy doses of acid suppressing medication)
-I didn't improve much on a low carb yeast diet (although I haven't given it much time)
-I have been on one million units of Nystatin every day for three days and have seen no improvement (although I've been told that I'm on too low of a dose)


I'm going to talk to my doc tomorrow about getting the Quest candida antibody complex blood test. I've heard that it can have a false negative however...

I'm also considering an ethanol/acetaldehyde test. I would get my blood drawn. Then I would gulp down a sugary beverage on an empty stomach. Then I would wait until my symptoms kicked in. Then I would get my blood drawn again. We would compare my ethanol and acetaldehyde levels from the two samples. I would assume that they would be elevated if I actually had candida.

I'm sorry this was such a long post. Thank you for reading it and I'd REALLY appreciate feedback and your opinions. I'm in dire straits here and I NEED my mind back so that I can continue with school!

-Thegron
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