Re: Looking for people with similar symptoms/experiences

My situation sounds a lot like yours. It started with a severe bout of anxiety in June of 2004. Prior to that I had been treated for anxiety (milder) from July 2002 until February of 2004. Prior to that I had extended time period of very high stress from around 1996 until 2002.

My main symptoms didn't start up until the severe anxiety hit in June of 2004. Then the symptoms that you described (lower back pain - more severe on left side, dripping of the urine after urination, decreased sex drive, prostatitis, etc - PLUS loss of libido completely, erectile dysfunction, extremely cold feet, somewhat cold hands, tingling/stinging sensation in hands and feet, tinnitus, insomnia - and several other more "minor" symptoms) all came about within about 2 - 3 weeks of the severe anxiety.

I have been through numerous rounds of advanced testing since then. I was found to have sub-normal levels of testosterone and was put on testosterone replacement therapy (August 2004). I was found to have very high levels of cortisol (Sept 2004) and was at one point diagnosed with Cushing's Disease (more advanced testing ruled that out). A tumor was found on my left adernal gland and concern was raised that it was either Cushing's Syndrome or was a Pheo tumor. More advanced testing ruled both of those out.

P.S. There is some information on the web showing strong interactions between elevated cortisol levels and candida problems.

My cortisol levels were extremely high - almost six times normal ranges - in Sept/Oct of 2004 and then dropped slightly through the end of the year, then dropped significantly for a couple of months (but still well above normal ranges) and then recently climbed back up again to twice normal ranges. Also my urinary creatinine levels have been elevated above normal ranges on every 24-hour urine test that I have taken.

Most recent tests have also shown that my epinephrine were in low normal rnages and that my norepinephrine levels were well below normal ranges.

I have been involved in psychiatric therapy (both talk therapy also with EMDR and prescription medication to include my current Xanax for severely high anxiety) since last September.

I have only recently started looking into a possible candida interaction due to a questionnaire that was sent to me. I distrust questionnaire diagnosis conclusions strongly enough when it involves psychiatric fields, but I distrust them even more so when it involves medical conditions. Candidas is a physically existing substances. If you have a problem with candidas that has morphed from a friendly yeast into an evil fungus or that has spread to extensively, one SHOULD be able to determine that via physical testing, no?

As to the "spit test", everyone that I had try it failed it... of course the web sites that promote that test (and sell products of a claimed anti-candida nature) use that as evidence of their claim that just about everyone in the country has candida problems!

Don't get me wrong, as more and more of my possible diagnosis keeps coming up as a negative, I would sure as heck like to find out for sure if it IS a candida problem or not. But I'd like to find out for sure rather than spend a lot of time, energy and money fighting a non existing condition> Simply accepting a questionnaire's claim of candida and then spending months combating candida - when maybe one didn't have a candida problem after all (!) would be even more frustrating than where I am at right now.....

So what are the acceptable medical testings for candida problems?

I don't know, here's some possibilities that I've tracked down:

http://www.health-truth.com/articles/Candida01.asp
The Biamonte Method of testing for Candida consists of a urine and stool sample. The Candida test uses an advanced stool culture called the Chromagar. This identifies the species of Candida that the person has. .. The next part of the Candida test is an organic acid panel. Organic acids are produced as a by-product of our own metabolisms. Bacteria, yeasts and parasites produce organic acid unique to themselves. This can be thought of as chemicals that are produced by the organisms that are not produced by our own bodies...

Also:

Candida Antibody assay (also called Candida Antibody Panel)
Candisphere test

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