Re: Constant Brain fog for almost a month. Ideas?

hi emzie! so sorry to hear what an awful time you've been having of late. first of all, i would go back to your gastric doctor and retest to find out if the nystatin cleared up the candida overgrowth. not 100% sure, but it's possible ALL the symptoms you describe could be related to that (maybe google it to check) including unusual weepiness etc. subsequent courses of other Antibiotics would be likely to have exacerbated the problem, since they can upset the natural balance of gut flora further, allowing candida to take over again (its an opportunistic little b***!). possibly the anaesthesia at the dentist and/or the hormonal changes from your miscarriage could also have contributed to this scenario. if you can't get an appointment for a while, you could try treating yourself in the meantime with a probiotic gut flora support formula i.e. like the stuff in live yoghurt - acidophilus bifidus etc - but you need much much more than you would get just from eating yoghurt. Where i live you can buy it at the health food store or pharmacy (drugstore). one thing to be aware of is that you can get an increase in symptoms as the candida starts to die off. you can help ease this by starting with a low dose and increasing gradually; but most importantly, drink LOTS AND LOTS OF WATER - 8 glasses a day is not too much. You can flavour it with a drop of peppermint oil or vanilla essence or lemon juice if you want. if u feel especially wretched when you wake up in the a.m., drink 2 glasses straight off. you have to flush the nasty stuff out of your body. check your wee - you should drink enough so it comes almost clear, or just pale straw coloured at most. it might not sound like it, but that's the good news, since candida overgrowth can be treated effectively. (in addition to more nystatin, you may be advised to make dietary changes too, at least for a while, particularly cutting out Sugar completely, since that's what the little darling likes to feed on and what makes it grow big and strong.) if it turns out not to be candida causing your problems, the other thing your symptoms and history sound like to me is ME/CFS - this goes under a number of different names, e.g. in the US it cd be CFIDS, or just M.E. or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. one fairly good indicator of this is if physical exercise makes your symptoms worse, not better, possibly as a delayed reaction 1 - 3 days later. Normally u have to have had these symptoms for at least 6 months for this diagnosis to be made, BUT if you do have the beginnings of it the sooner you know and get appropriate treatment advice, the better chance you have of a good outcome, so don't delay. But again google it,and read up all about it and see if you think it sounds like you. if it does, i would strongly advise you to find a local ME/CFS etc patient support group and ask THEM to recommend a reliable specialist physician in your area. this is because there is a real problem with this awful illness being regarded by some doctors as fundamentally a psychiatric/psychosomatic condition, and this can lead to completely inappropriate treatment with cognitive and exercise therapies which can in some cases cause irreversible damage..and worse. just for god's sake make sure you don't go anywhere near one of these. check them out very very carefully, before you tell them anything about yourself. i do have good reason to emphasise this. so now, having scared you witless with all this, the chances are, it is the candida come back and making a nuisance of itself. Do read up about it, and if you aren't completely satisfied with what your gastro dr is coming up with, you may be better off seeking out a well-qualified naturopath (check out where exactly they got all those letters after their name) since they sometimes seem to have a more thorough understanding of this sort of issue, in my experience. BTW i have ME/CFS and did have candida overgrowth too at one stage, as does & did my sister, so i do have some idea what i'm talking about. another BTW - if you can get a printout of your post it would be an excellent document to take along to the naturopath or ME specialist - u did such a great job of getting down all the symptoms and history - ALL of it highly relevant to either of the 2 diagnoses i've suggested, and you may not be able to remember everything so clearly when u see them especially if you're feeling foggy - or weepy! in the meantime i'd suggest u try & rest if u feel the need, drink water and keep your stress levels down as much as poss - perhaps your mum or that lovely husband of yours could help if you feel u can't cope with sorting through all this information, organising appointments, etc. i wish u all the very best and hope this rather long reply will be of some help to you and that u will get your life back really soon! XXXX