In 2006 I self diagnosed with Candida Albicans, a yeast overgrowth in the gut and body. I confirmed my diagnosis with kinesiology testing and advice from the Finchley Clinic in London and over the phone consultations with Gut Doctor. It took a while to come to terms with it and to accept all the things I would have to give up, but I wanted this parasite to be gone from me so I wasted no further time.

I embarked upon an anti-candida diet plan and supplement programme provided to me by the “Gut Doctor” which I followed to the absolute letter for 8 months. It was really expensive, costing me around £200 per month for the supplements. I visited another kinesiologist after 8 months who confirmed my food intolerances and candida had all re-balanced and eased. Unfortunately I took this as a green flag for eating what I wanted. 6 months later my symptoms returned and I had blood microscopy analysis which confirmed it was back with a vengence – I could actually see the yeast cells in my blood. I was horrified!

I tried the Gut doctor plan again but found it was a very difficult and strict plan to follow this time and it made my symptoms worse. I tried different things, sometimes re-trying the Gut Doctor plan and sometimes trying other plans on the internet and eventually in 2009 I decided to study Nutritional Therapy for myself so I could understand the reasons behind the diet more fully and be able to help myself. But little did I realise how difficult it would be to treat yourself as you can’t see the wood for the trees!! I also embarked upon a diploma in Homeopathy and thought this too may help to bring balance back. However finding the correct remedy for yourself is even more difficult as you can see yourself in most remedy profiles!!

So time went on and I tried other things such as Detox Foot Pads, zeolite, homeopathy, reflexology, other supplements such as high dose biotin, sauerkraut, enemas, MMS, most of which seemed to have some effect but no lasting effect. So in 2012 I formulated the diet and detox plan (in the My Personal Detox 2012 article) and set about a public detox diary (linked from the detox article). I based this upon all the things I had tried which I felt had given me most benefit over the years and felt a combination of all these may just work!

Results – So after finishing my month plan, July 2012, I had a negative Candida morning spit test! I also took the metabolic type test as devised buy William Wolcott (one of the original researchers and pioneers in metabolic typing) and found I changed from a protein type to a mixed type. This means I could cut back on meat and introduce some more carbs!

Throughout the rest of 2012 and 2013 I fell back into incorrect eating, and as there were many changes going on in my life (2013 itself was a very hectic year indeed) my symptoms returned, however this time they were different. My previous symptoms really failed into insignificance as my whole body began to ache more than before, my muscles became weaker and my will-power, confidence and energy plummeted. I begin to suspect there was something else that was not right, especially when I was becoming increasingly stiff despite doing Yoga, and it was becoming increasingly painful to sit on the floor on my mat.

When writing my book in 2012/2013 I had come across an apparent absolute cure for candida called Lufenuron, and a clinical test that could detect the antibodies if an infection were present. I ordered some Lufenuron but when a white powder with no instructions or support came through my door from Czech Republic, I put it aside and was quite afraid of taking it!

So early 2014 I tried my plan again but this time it did not work. This made me still wonder whether it was in fact candida causing my problems, so I did some more research on Lufenuron and ordered more including some tests. The test confirmed that I still had candida, and I became so weak and achy I decided to take the treatment.

Click HERE for my daily diary blog while taking Lufenuron.

I found the Lufenuron helped a great deal, and this was confirmed by a negative test after 3 weeks of treatment. However I my body still hurt, like it lways had done.

I soon began suffering aches and pains, anxiety and stiffness, and my condition went downhill until some mornings I can barely bend down to dress myself. I often felt like I had flu from the aches and pains, and I just knew something was very wrong.

My husband found an evaluation test online (at fmnetnews.com) that was recently devised and used by consultants in their diagnosis of fibromyalgia, and as I didn’t want to go through the years of persistence for a diagnosis by my GP, he suggested that he assessed me, including testing the painful trigger points. The test was conclusive, although I didn’t quite believe it until I did some research and realised that I previously had been diagnosed with fibromylgia by my GP in my 20s! I realised this after finding out it was previosuly called fibrositis, which I knew I had been told I had, but had been provided with no explanation at the time as to what it was! So it appeared to me that the candida had triggered this disease to intensify, whereas it had obviously been quite successfully managed by my healthy lifestyle which included Yoga, removing chemicals from my life and general detox and healthy eating (on the whole!).

So after further research, I have decided to start a juice fast (10th November 2014).

The blog for my juice fast is here: Juice Fast

UPDATE 2016
I visited a kinesiologist and osteomyologist early 2015 after the juice fast didn’t help me. He told me I had a twisted pelvis, which he corrected and gave me exercises, and i had parasites (that were not candida!). I took the HUlda Clark herbal protocol of wormwood, cloves and green black walnut husk tincture and followed a more-or-less anti-candida diet and after a few visits for the pelvic aligning plus some neurolymphatic resetting, I can honestly say that on repeating the fibromyalgia score sheet, I didn’t even make it to a positive diagnosis! These therapies made a huge difference!

Although I was feeling a lot better, there was still something not right. I could not lose weight no matter what I tried, but I was feeling generally a lot more ‘normal’. Early 2016 I felt a steady decrease in my energy and became quite reclusive, also losing a lot of confidence. I was very fatigued and struggled to keep up with household chores and home-schooling. It was late July that I discovered a lump on my breast, so large it was amazing that I had not noticed it before. My journey continues in the post: Breast Cancer – My Journey

If anyone is concerned about Candida, Breast Cancer or fibromyalgia I am happy to answer any questions. Please post a comment or drop me an email.

If you suspect you may have Candida you can download my e-book by going to the FREE RESOURCES section. I have found the plan I devised to be very effective for non-severe cases of candida, especially if you are willing and able to follow the maintenance. This is something I have found the most difficult, whether it be my own will-power, life circumstances, or otherwise. This is why my candida came back so aggressively that I had to resort to the Lufenuron approach.

Update 2017
After following the ketogenic diet for 6 months to treat the breast cancer, something was not right so I had a hair mineral test and this suggested I had candida back. It appears that candida can become adapted to using ketones for energy too! So not wanting to delay in getting the candida back into balance, and due to the complication of the ketosis, I opted again for Lufenuron. I had just one pack this time, and hardly any die off apart from a little aching, but I was very emotional! I began noticing my eyes were having problems focusing (I’m very short sighted -8.50 prescription) so I went to the opticians and my eyes have reduced in short-sightedness by 2 points each eye! This is the first time in years my eyes have changed! The same happened to my daughter when she did a candida cleanse. Interesting!