Movie Monday 12/29

Hope you are enjoying the holiday season! This is going to be an oddly timed Movie Monday - no holiday-themed movies for us the past two weeks, but my son and I binged on scary, creepy movies the week before Christmas! My husband was out of town, so we decided to watch all the movies we've wanted to see that he refused to watch us...which are the scary ones or thrillers where a child is involved. All of these were very good, though I did suffer from a few chase dreams that week! So, if your illness is such that your sleep can be disrupted by too much adrenaline, then better to watch these early in the day.

We started with The Call, a thriller starring Halle Berry as Jordan, a 911 operator working in L.A. Jordan is experienced and very good at her job, until the day she makes a mistake that results in a teen girl being murdered. That incident is so disturbing to her that she loses her confidence and moves into a training position instead. One day, taking a group of 911 operator trainees through the bustling call center, an inexperienced operator gets a call from a terrified teen girl named Casey, played brilliantly by Abigail Breslin, who's been abducted and is in the trunk of a speeding car with a disposable phone that doesn't have a GPS chip. Jordan instinctively takes over the call, as the city's emergency services mobilize to try to find the girl before it's too late. Jordan and Casey bond over the phone, as the situation becomes more and more dangerous. Eventually, Jordan takes things into her own hands and sets out to find the girl before she ends up like her previous caller. This is a taut, edge-of-your-seat thriller with excellent acting that we both loved.

Next, we watched a creepy ghost story we've both been dying to see, The Woman in Black starring Daniel Radcliffe of Harry Potter fame. I've heard rave reviews of both the original book and the movie adaptation. The story takes place in an isolated British town sometime in the past (I'm guessing maybe 1910-20 based on lots of horse-drawn carriages and one rare car in the town).  Arthur Kipps, played by Radcliffe, is a lawyer who's been sent to settle the estate of a woman who lived outside town in a house surrounded by a deep marsh that becomes a small island when the tide comes in. Paperwork in the house is a mess, and Arthur decides to spend the night there to sort through it all and finish quickly, so he can spend the weekend with his son and nanny (his wife died in childbirth). Something strange is going on in town, though, and the townspeople don't want him staying at the house - or even staying in town at all. He gradually discovers a ghostly presence bent on revenge. It's a very creepy movie, filled with dark, foggy nights and mysterious, spectral occurrences. We both enjoyed it very much, and my son was excited afterward to show me a trailer for a sequel!

Finally, we watched Prisoners, another thriller we've both been wanting to see that my husband refused to watch because it deals with two little girls being kidnapped (he still wouldn't budge when we explained it's about the investigation, not the girls). Hugh Jackman plays Keller, father of 6-year old Anna, while Terrence Howard plays the father of Anna's best friend, Joy. The two girls disappear on Thanksgiving evening playing outside, while the close family friends enjoy the holiday together. Jake Gyllenhaal plays Detective Loki who investigates their disappearance. Following a lead of an old RV parked in the neighborhood that day, Loki quickly apprehends Alex, a local man with diminished intelligence, but there is not enough evidence to hold him. Crazed with grief and panic, Keller turns vigilante and takes matters into his own hands, while Loki continues to investigate the case. This is a fast-paced and unpredictable thriller, filled with unexpected twists and turns that kept us guessing right up until the final moments - it was our favorite one of the three.

Have you seen any good movies lately? Scary thrillers or sweet holiday films?

And if you like to read, check out our Bookish Christmas, with the books we gave and received as gifts this year, and today's What Are You Reading Monday on my book blog to see what we've been reading this holiday week.

Weekly Inspiration: Laura Hillenbrand

Most people with ME/CFS are aware that our #1 celebrity who shares our illness is the highly-acclaimed author Laura Hillenbrand, who wrote Seabiscuit and Unbroken. Both books spent hundreds of weeks on the best-seller lists and were made into very popular and acclaimed movies.

Much of the general population, however, has no idea that Hillenbrand has been horribly ill for the past 27 years and is mostly housebound. Even fewer people know that her horrible illness is ME/CFS. Because she is rarely able to leave her D.C. townhouse, she's not in the spotlight like other brilliant authors. She's not able to give book readings at bookstores, go on talk shows, or even attend the recent gala premier of Unbroken. So, her inspirational story and her life often stay in the shadows.

I was thrilled to see that the New York Times recently published an excellent interview with Hillenbrand that highlighted her unique challenges and little-known illness in an article titled The Unbreakable Laura Hillenbrand. It's not a perfect article, and the description of ME/CFS is sparse (clearly not much background research was done), but it's a very good article. The author does focus on Hillenbrand's illness and mainly on its effects on her research and writing processes, and it provides some much-needed attention to our illness which is rarely seen in mainstream media.

For a more complete version of Laura's story of ME/CFS, check out the wonderful personal essay she wrote herself, A Sudden Illness, that was published in the New Yorker on July 7, 2003. Here on the New Yorker's website, you can see how the essay appeared and read an abstract. A blogger has posted the entire essay in a pdf file.

So, Laura Hillenbrand is this week's Weekly Inspiration, both for her efforts to help publicize her illness and the effects of ME/CFS and also for her amazing achievements in the face of such monumental challenges. As a writer myself, I find her accomplishments truly inspirational and nothing short of miraculous.

A Plan B Holiday Season!

I mentioned here last month that we had to cancel our Thanksgiving week plans to travel and see family because my college son came home sick with mono that week (on top of his ME/CFS, Lyme, and other tick infections). Well, now we've had to cancel two more trips! When I wake up feeling bad and have to cancel my plans for the day, I usually call it a Plan B Day (my way of coping and adjusting), but this is turning out to be an entire Plan B holiday season!

Staying home for Thanksgiving turned out to be a doubly good thing when my husband came down with the flu and spent a full week in his recliner. One week later, my 16-year old son came home from a soccer tournament with a concussion. We took him to Urgent Care the next morning but weren't too worried - we figured his headache would clear up in a day or two. Two weeks later, we took him to a special Concussion Clinic in our area to see our local specialist.

All in all, our younger son missed two weeks of school - he returned this week for the last day and a half before winter break. Medication prescribed by the concussion specialist helped his headache go away, but even short car rides make him motion sick. The specialist told us last week no car rides over 15 minutes.

So, we once again found ourselves cancelling travel plans - both our weekend plans to travel to CT to celebrate Christmas with our family (I invited them here instead, but they declined - a long story) and also our long-planned vacation in the Florida Keys this week and next. We were supposed to leave the morning after Christmas for a 20-hour drive! Yeah, way out of the question.

So, as always, we are trying to roll with the changes and make the best of things. Our older son is finally showing small signs of improvement after a month home sick - he managed two social activities at our house this past weekend - and our younger son seems to get better every day, as he recovers from his concussion.

The chance to spend the full holiday season relaxed at home is actually a rare opportunity. We normally leave for Oklahoma the day after Christmas to visit my father-in-law. We just moved him out here near us this fall (hence, the rare December vacation plans!), so it's been more than 10 years since we stayed home for New Year's Eve and weren't traveling the week after Christmas. The kids are glad to have some time during the break with their friends. And I am looking forward to starting off the new year not exhausted from travel and with a pile of unpacking and dirty laundry to face!

Hope you are also ready to enjoy the holiday season with your family and friends, no matter what life (or ME/CFS) throws at you!

Our annual Cookie/Grinch party with our oldest friends, a favorite holiday tradition!

Weekly Inspiration: Slow Down!

Did you know there's a whole Slow Movement going on? People advocating Slow Food, Slow Schools, and just generally slowing down your life. As technology continues to speed up our lives, this idea is becoming less fringe and more mainstream.

Those of us with ME/CFS were way ahead of the trend! Our lives are all about slowing down. Interestingly, I actually left my travel-heavy career two years before getting sick, in an effort to slow down our lives with two small children. Ironic, right? About the time I was considering going back to work part-time to bring in some income, ME/CFS came along and slowed me down for good.

But if you're like me, our fast-paced modern world still sneaks into my life (especially my online life), and I still battle some bad habits from my pre-illness days. In fact, while listening to this TED talk about slowing down to enjoy life more, I realized I was seriously multi-tasking, eating breakfast while making a grocery list while watching a talk on slowing down! Yes, I see the irony.

I really enjoyed this short talk - the presenter makes some excellent points, and I loved the story about reading to his son and their relationship. In this hectic holiday season, I think we can all use a reminder to set aside the electronics, slow down, and enjoy our families:



Hope you are enjoying the holiday season with your family!

How do you slow down and make time for family?

$500,000 Reserach Grant for ME/CFS Epigenetics Study

Great news for the new year!

The Solve ME/CFS Initiative (formerly the CFIDS Association) has been granted $500,000 to further the study of epigenetics (basically how our genetic profile interacts with our environment and affects us) in ME/CFS. They are partnering with well-respected ME/CFS clinician and researcher Lucinda Bateman and her Fatigue Consultation Clinic and also Patrick McGowan of the University of Toronto to further the epigenetic research they began in 2012.

You can read all about the details in this Solve ME/CFS Initiative blog post.

What a wonderful way to start a new year!

Movie Monday 12/15

We watched two holiday movies last week, both modern classics, as well as starting in on our collection of classic children's Christmas specials on VHS. My college son is home with mono and his younger brother has a concussion and can only watch a small amount of TV, so the familiar, short Christmas specials are just right for him.

I finally convinced my older son to watch Love, Actually, which is one of my favorite holiday movies - and also one of my all-time favorites generally. He wrinkled his nose and said, "It's a romantic comedy," but I explained it's really about all kinds of love including a father and his stepson, brother and sister, and even long-term friendship. Mostly, I think he agreed to it because I was upset that night - had a bit of a meltdown from all the stress lately - and he was humoring me. But, of course, he ended up loving it! You just can't help but love this feel-good movie. It takes place at Christmas time and involves a huge all-star ensemble cast (it was the first movie to take this approach of multiple, intersecting storylines peopled by big stars and has been much-copied since). It moves back and forth between different storylines, all involving some form of love, gradually surprising you with how some of them are connected. So, Hugh Grant plays the new Prime Minister of Britain who has a crush on his assistant, while Bill Nigh is fabulous as an aging pop star who is hoping that the horrible Christmas version of his big-time pop hit will be the #1 holiday song on the radio. Liam Neeson plays a recent widower trying to connect with his grieving stepson (who has his own first crush). Emma Thompson plays a busy mother whose husband is considering an affair. Keira Knightley plays a newlywed who wonders why her husband's best man doesn't like her. And Colin Firth is a jilted lover who escapes to a quiet country house in France to work on his suspense novel and forget about love. I've tried not to give away any of the surprises in this summary because that's half the fun. There are some sad points in the stories, but mostly, it is a joyful, fun movie with lots and lots of laughs. My son loved it, and I exchanged my depressed real-life tears for happy movie tears, even though I've seen it several times before. This is the ultimate uplifting holiday movie.

I also convinced both of my sons to watch a holiday movie from the 80's with us, Trading Places (are you seeing a pattern here? At ages 20 and 16, my sons usually meet any suggestion mom makes with eye rolls!). They were both sick and bored enough to give it a try. If you've never seen it before, Trading Places is a comedy starring Dan Akroyd, as a wealthy young man rising to the top of his stock trading firm, and Eddie Murphy, as a disadvantaged small-time con man who lives on the streets. Through some unusual circumstances, the two trade places, and it doesn't take long for Murphy's character to adjust to the good life and Akroyd's character to hit bottom. Jamie Lee Curtis also appears - wonderfully - as a hooker with a good heart and big dreams. Oh, and it takes place at Christmas time, so that's the holiday connection. It's all good fun, with plenty of laughs and a happy ending.

So, those are two good movies to watch this time of year, if you are looking for some light, uplifting holiday cheer (note that both are rated R so are not for younger kids).

Have you seen any good movies lately? What are your favorite holiday films?

Weekly Inspiration: The Art of Stillness

I enjoy - when I can find the time - inspirational videos or essays, and whenever I post one here on my blog, I get plenty of positive feedback. So, I thought I'd start a weekly feature, Weekly Inspiration, which will not only allow me to share these inspirational pieces with you, but will also ensure that I take a bit of time to myself each week to find and enjoy something inspirational.

I often find my best inspiration among the large library of TED talks, and this week is no exception. I listened to a talk by Pico Iyer, a travel writer, on The Art of Stillness and knew immediately that I wanted to share it with my blog readers.

Now, you may think this sounds a bit silly. Who knows more about stillness than those of us with ME/CFS, forced to rest every day and spend much (or all) of our time lying down, in bed or at home. But he is talking about mental stillness, not necessarily physical stillness.

I don't know about you, but my life has changed dramatically over the last 5-10 years. I find I am now constantly on my laptop, on the internet, checking e-mail, blogs, Twitter, interacting with my Facebook groups, etc. While the online interaction has been helpful to me in some ways, it has also definitely been a detriment to mental stillness. That's part of what Iyer talks about here - the need to take a break, to let your mind rest. Since rest is so critical to ME/CFS, we need to make sure we are taking time for real rest in this way.

Enough from me - check out this wonderful, inspiring talk:



Now, turn off that computer and discover for yourself the art of stillness.

Movie Monday 12/8

My son is still very sick with mono, so our movie and TV marathon continues.

We focused more on TV shows this week. We binge-watched season 2 of Orphan Black - BEST SHOW EVER! It is so compelling, it's absolutely addictive. To tell you too much about it would be to deprive you of some wonderful suspense, so suffice it to say it is about clones and is incredible. Give it a try - you won't be able to stop (we watched it free On Demand and on Amazon Prime). Now, we can't wait for season 3.

We also finished season 1 of Extant, a new sci fi show starring Halle Barry as an astronaut of the future  and featuring a life-like android child and an alien presence run amuck. It was also very good. We've also been watching Scorpion, Elementary, and all three of the NCIS shows. Only problem is that my husband and I are getting behind on the shows we normally watch together.

And we watched two movies:

Earlier this week, we watched After Earth, starring Will Smith and his son, Jaden Smith, and directed by M. Night Shymalan. When it was first released, we heard it didn't get great reviews, but all of us really liked it. It takes place in the future, when humans live on Nova Prime, after an apocalypse forces them to leave Earth. During a routine space mission, a ship crash lands on Earth, leaving the father and son as sole survivors on what is now an inhospitable planet. Dad's legs are broken, so it is up to his son to go on a rescue mission to the tail end of the ship, which landed a long ways away, to get the emergency beacon. The movie is nonstop suspense, and we were very impressed by Jaden's performance as a panicked and desperate adolescent alone in a strange place.

Last night, we watched The Lincoln Lawyer, starring Matthew McConaughey as swaggering defense attorney Mickey Haller. Despite the fact that my husband and I both read the book by Michael Connelly and saw the movie before, we didn't remember the details and enjoyed watching it a second time! And our son enjoyed it as well. It's a great suspense movie, with lots of twists and turns, as Mickey tries to defend a rich young man accused of rape and assault.

Our son also watched Gladiator starring Russell Crowe during my nap yesterday, and he enjoyed that one, too.

Have you seen any good movies lately?

My ME/CFS Blog Featured on Be Our Guest Today!

I wrote a guest post, Our New Normal, that is being featured today at the blog Mom's Small Victories for their weekly Be Our Guest feature!

Mom's Small Victories blog is written by Tanya, who has become a good online friend of mine. I found her blog because she writes about books, like I do in my Book By Book blog, but we have a lot more than that in common. Tanya, a mom like me, has Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), so she also writes about how chronic illness affects her life and her family. And if you're a blogger yourself, check out Tanya's weekly Small Victories Sunday link-up.

My guest post today is a brief version of my family's experiences with ME/CFS - from my diagnosis to my sons' diagnoses to treatments and coping. The focus on the post - as on this blog - is on being positive and finding the value in even painful experiences, so I also write about the unexpected benefits of our new life and what we've gained through living with chronic illness.

So, I hope you'll go check out my guest post and Tanya's blog!

Happy Friday!

Treating Yeast Overgrowth/Candida

Thrush on Tongue (Copyright: adam88x / 123RF Stock Photo)

(Updated 8/22/23) 

Overview:

If you have ME/CFS (myalgic encephalomyelitis / chronic fatigue syndrome), long-COVID, or Lyme disease, and achiness or cognitive dysfunction are prominent symptoms for you, and/or you’ve noticed some soreness or visible thrush in your mouth or itchiness in your vaginal area, you should see your doctor to look into the possibility of yeast overgrowth (candida) as an underlying cause. Yeast overgrowth is very common in ME/CFS due to our specific kind of immune dysfunction and in Lyme due to antibiotic use. 

It amazes me every time I go through this just how horrible it makes me feel and how it worsens all of my ME/CFS symptoms. With yeast overgrowth under control, I feel pretty good and have mental clarity--I even have energy!--and it’s the same for my son. Treating yeast overgrowth makes a huge difference in overall well-being for people with ME/CFS and Lyme disease (and other bacterial tick infections).

In fall 2014, my ME/CFS had been worse than usual for months. The source of that worsening was a flare-up (again) of yeast overgrowth aka candida, after I needed strong antibiotics for bronchitis/early pneumonia two months earlier. When I first wrote this blog post, I wasn't 100% back to my normal baseline yet but was improved enough to tell you more about what has worked for us (my son also struggles with yeast overgrowth after several years on antibiotics for Lyme). Another bad yeast flare-up in summer 2023 led to further discoveries.

Why Is Yeast Overgrowth a Common Problem in ME/CFS?

 

First, some basics. Many, many people with ME/CFS  and long-COVID have yeast overgrowth, even if they don’t realize it. One reason it is common for us is that it is related to immune dysfunction. This study from Pitt found that a particular cytokine, IL-17, helps to suppress yeast overgrowth, as did this NIH review of studies on IL-17 and yeast. Several studies specific to immune function in ME/CFS have shown our IL-17 is often low. Many studies and experts have found yeast overgrowth as a factor in many patients with ME/CFS. And this study digs into the details of immune dysfunction in ME/CFS and a connection to yeast overgrowth.

Yeast or candida is naturally occurring in our bodies and is not damaging normally. Problems occur when the yeast takes over. This often happens after a course of antibiotics because they kill off the good bacteria (aka probiotics) in our gastrointestinal systems that normally keep yeast/candida in check. Because yeast overgrowth often occurs when you take antibiotics, people being treated for Lyme disease and other tick infections are at especially high risk. Our Lyme specialist was the first one to prescribe antifungals for yeast overgrowth for both of us. In addition, the immune dysfunction of ME/CFS makes us more susceptible to bacterial infections than most, so many of us get recurring infections, like bronchitis, sinus infections, and ear infections, that require the use of antibiotics.

Symptoms of Yeast Overgrowth

 

Symptoms of yeast overgrowth can vary widely. Some people (like my son and I) get thrush in their mouths. Thrush looks like a white or yellowish coating on the tongue and is caused by yeast overgrowth. When it gets worse, it can make your mouth and tongue hurt or feel sensitive, especially when you eat sour or bitter foods. Some women develop vaginal yeast infections--another obvious sign of yeast overgrowth (interestingly, though I have struggled with yeast overgrowth for years and often get thrush, I have never had a vaginal yeast infection). Many of us with ME/CFS have yeast overgrowth that extends throughout our GI tract, even if we can only see it in the mouth.

However, many of the symptoms of yeast overgrowth in ME/CFS and Lyme are less obvious and far more debilitating. For my son and I, all of our ME/CFS symptoms get much worse: flu-like aches, sore throat, cognitive dysfunction, exhaustion, etc. For me, the worst part is the aches. I spent almost two months in fall 2014 wracked with achiness every single day. Amazingly, after experiencing yeast overgrowth so many times before, I didn’t realize what was going on for weeks, until I noticed my mouth was sore. I ran to the bathroom mirror and stuck my tongue out and sure enough, there was obvious thrush in my mouth. Duh. Similarly, with a more recent flare-up, in summer 2023, I couldn't figure out why I was so exhausted--much more than is normal for me--all the time, until finally I noticed my tongue was sore, looked in the bathroom mirror, and ... yup, again!

At first, in 2014, I tried all the usual approaches (see list below) but to no avail – there was still visible thrush in my mouth and I still felt absolutely awful and was barely able to function. At that point, I asked my doctor to prescribe antifungals (yeast is a fungus). At the normal dosage, even those barely helped. I had to double the dose to finally, finally begin to get the yeast under control. Even that was barely effective. When I went to see my doctor after more than a month on Diflucan (fluconazole, an antifungal), and she looked in my mouth and still saw the thrush there, she prescribed a stronger antifungal (Ketoconazole), alternating days with the Difucan. I finally started to feel better. I've had similar struggles in summer 2023, even though I was already on Diflucan every day! Sometimes, it takes ALL of the treatments listed below to finally get it under control.

Treatments for Yeast Overgrowth

 

Here are the treatments we’ve tried to get yeast/candida under control, in rough order of what to do first:

• Take strong probiotics and the right types. Probiotic strength is shown by the number of billions of active cultures in each capsule. We take probiotics every day, but when yeast overgrowth flares up, we increase the dose. Renew Life is a good brand that contains 12 different probiotic strains, including those that are important if you are taking (or have taken) antibiotics. When I take antibiotics or have a yeast flare-up, I switch to this stronger variety of Renew Life, with 50 billion units. With this latest yeast flare-up, our functional medicine specialist recommended TruBifido, in addition to the others I usually take. Saccharomyces boulardii is a specific type of probiotic that works against yeast, so you should take that (we take 2 twice a day) as well as general probiotics, with a variety of strains in them, daily. We take saccharomyces boulardii and regular probiotics every day, all the time. I add the Renew Life (50) and TruBifido when the yeast flares up. Probiotics must be taken away from (by at least 90 minutes to two hours) any antibiotics or even herbals with antibacterial properties (like olive leaf, oregano, or monolaurin) and work best on an empty stomach. We take them before breakfast and before bedtime.
  
• Eliminate sugar, yeast, alcohol, and grains from your diet. Depending on how severe the yeast overgrowth is, you may need to severely restrict your diet, at least temporarily. Yeast feeds on sugar and, to a lesser degree, on grains (especially refined grains). We already eat a Paleo diet (no refined sugar, very limited natural sugars like honey, no grains, no dairy), but I get even stricter to get yeast overgrowth under control when it gets bad. With this latest flare-up, in 2023, I've been strict no sugar at all, no refined grains (only a few occasional whole grains, like oats or a bit of brown rice), not even a sip of alcohol, and very little fruit. Yes, it is difficult at times, but it is better than feeling so horrible. First thing to eliminate is sugar in almost all forms. Check labels because sugar is added to all kinds of foods. Usually, a small amount of honey or coconut sugar is OK, and we still eat small amounts of fruit, but with this worsening, I've eliminated all sweeteners except xylitol and stevia (we like Truvia brand which contains stevia and erythritol). Most sugar alcohols (they end in -ol on ingredient lists and are present in many products labeled "sugar-free") also feed yeast ad should be avoided, but erythritol and xylitol have actually been shown to fight yeast. Normally, with the other treatments on this list, I can tolerate fruit, but when it's as bad as it has been recently, then I only eat blueberries (which are actually anti-yeast) and an occasional piece of watermelon (very low sugar). Avocados have almost no sugar, so they're OK, too. Search online for "anti-candida diet" to find lots of information and resources. Check out my delicious recipe for a Paleo Chocolate Smoothie, with great health benefits and options for a yeast-friendly smoothie. And for a treat, try my recipe for Sugar-Free Chocolate Bark.
  
• Take antifungal supplements and herbals. There are many natural substances that have antifungal properties that can be taken separately or together. Some combination products include multiple ingredients, but read the labels carefully to be sure you can tolerate all ingredients (for instance, Uva Ursi is a diuretic and not good for those with ME/CFS; some can not tolerate berberine because it lowers blood sugar, etc.) Natural antifungals include:

• Caprylic Acid
• Paramicrocidin (grapefruit seed extract)

•  Aged Garlic Capsules (we like Kyolic, which also includes ginger)

• Olive Leaf Extract, Oregano (we use ADP brand emulsified oil of oregano as it is easier on the stomach), Monolaurin--these all have natural antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal properties, so they help ME/CFS in other ways, too.

• MCT Oil - Medium-Chain Triglycerides, a component of coconut--contains caprylic acid.
  

• Coconut oil or other unsweeetened forms of coconut (note that coconut contains monolaurin, caprylic acid, and MCT oil)

NOTE: Careful not to take too much caprylic acid, MCT oil, and coconut oil together - they all come from the same source (coconut oil) and too much can cause diarrhea.

•  Use anti-candida toothpaste. This is a new one for us, but it is definitely helping. Thanks to a blog reader for suggesting it! Our dietician said she uses it, too. This brand contains probiotics, xylitol, grapefruit seed extract, and silver (note that some recommend swallowing silver solution, but that can have serious health risks). I am still brushing with my regular toothpaste, then rinsing, then brushing again (tongue and gums especially) with the probiotic toothpaste (you spit it out but don’t rinse after).
• Rinse with antifungals. We have used a few drops of tea tree oil in a small cup of water as a mouthwash (spit it out!), and our dietician recently recommended rinsing with Nystatin mouth rinse (requires a prescription). Do NOT use regular mouthwash that contains alcohol.
• Take prescription antifungals. For both my son and I, ALL of the above still didn’t get our yeast overgrowth under control. In that case, you need to see your doctor and ask for prescription antifungals. The three most often prescribed are Diflucan (fluconazole), Nystatin, and less commonly, ketoconazole. For stubborn cases (like ours!), it can be more effective to alternate between two or more of them. Ketoconazole should only be used short-term; I just took it for a month when my yeast flared up badly and wasn't responding to other treatments. Normally, I take Diflucan (fluconazole) every day to keep the yeast in check; my son alternates Diflucan and Nystatin. My doctor said chronic yeast overgrowth is also very common in HIV/AIDS and other immune disorders, and so she feels comfortable keeping me on prescription antifungals long-term, as she does for those other patients.
  

Whew. Yup, we are doing all that, and still struggling to keep the yeast overgrowth under control! But since I got more strict with my diet, switched prescription antifungals for a month, and added some extra supplements and probiotics, I at least feel a whole lot better (no more aches!) even if the thrush is sometimes still visible and I'm still a little more fatigued than normal. I'm definitely improving and on the right track (again). Our dietician (who is also a biochemist) says the diet is absolutely critical--you have to starve the yeast to get them under control.

I’ve felt much, much better the last two weeks, but I’m not out of the woods yet. The yeast overgrowth flares up with the slightest amount of sugar, so my diet is still super-strict. While I was updating this post today, I ordered the anti-candida toothpaste (I had forgotten about that option this time around!), so maybe that will help, too.

I want to emphasize that this regimen usually keeps both of us feeling quite good: no aches, no thrush in the mouth, no exhaustion (unless we overdo), and excellent mental clarity. When we cheat on the diet, skip probiotics, or reduce the antifungals, our symptoms flare up. In fact, last weekend, I splurged on a half cookie Saturday evening with friends and a chocolate croissant Sunday morning (I was craving a treat!), and things got worse again. I doubled up the antifungals, took extra probiotics, and got back to my strict diet, and within 48 hours, I was feeling better again. Hopefully, as I continue to improve, I will be able to relax the diet a little bit (at least add more fruit back in), and not see such a big effect. 

 

It's still amazing to me what a difference it makes in my overall illness to have the yeast overgrowth under control, and it's the same for my son.

Do you have yeast overgrowth/candida?

What has worked for you to help control it? Please share your tips and advice in the comments!

Note: This post contains affiliate links. Purchases from these links provide a small commission to me (pennies per purchase), to help offset the time I spend writing for this blog, at no extra cost to you.

 

 

 

 

 

Movie Tuesday 12/2

I didn't have time for a movie post yesterday because I was busy shopping online (Cyber Monday). I got most of my Christmas shopping done - hurray! But I didn't want to miss this post completely this week because we have watched a LOT of movies!

My college son is home with mono, and my husband has been knocked out with a nasty respiratory virus, so we cancelled our travel plans for Thanksgiving and have been watching lots and lots of TV shows and movies. Both of them have been too sick to even read much, so this has been our main form of entertainment, to help pass the time on these long sick days.

We've seen some really good movies this past week - I'll have to stick to short reviews to fit them all in!

We started with The Next Three Days, a unique thriller starring Russell Crowe as John and Elizabeth Banks as his wife, Lara, who is arrested and convicted of a murder she says she didn't commit. John, a mild-mannered college professor, becomes obsessed with proving Lara innocent, while he takes care of their young son. When her last appeal fails, he turns to less legal means to free her. He concocts an elaborate escape plot, with the help of famous escaped convict Damon, played by Liam Neeson. The tension builds as John obsessively works out his plan and finally puts it into action. We all enjoyed this suspenseful film that kept us on the edge of our seats.

Over the holiday weekend, with the library closed, we discovered a couple of good movies on Amazon Prime. First we watched The Perfect Host, starring David Hyde Pierce in a creepy, hilarious role.  John Taylor is a thief looking for a place to hide from the police. He finds a random house in a quiet neighborhood and bluffs his way inside, but the resident, Warwick (played by Pierce) has some secrets of his own. This movie is full of surprises and is a rare suspense movie with a great sense of humor. We all loved this totally unique movie.

Next, we watched The Oxford Murders, a classic murder mystery with a mathematical twist. Elijah Woods stars as an American student named Martin studying at Oxford who wants to find a way to work with the renowned Professor Seldom, played by John Hurt. When Martin's landlord, who is a friend of Prof. Seldom, is murdered and mathematical symbols are left as clues, the student and professor join forces to help the police solve the crime. This one was good but not great, a nice choice for those who like classic mysteries or fans of the TV show Numbers.

Saturday night, we actually convinced my high school son to watch with us (a rare occurrence with his busy social life) when our library request came in: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. My husband and sons have waited a long time for this one! I liked the book but don't think they needed to take a short book and turn it into 3 very long movies. Despite that, there is no question this is a spectacular movie, with the highest possible production values, great acting, and amazing scenery, costumes, and CGI. It's an epic fantasy, plain and simple.

Sunday, we watched another DVD from the library, Reasonable Doubt, a twisty thriller. Dominic Cooper stars as ambitious Chicago DA Mitch Brockden who is on the fast track to success. Driving home to the suburbs one night, after a drunken evening with his colleagues, Mitch hits a pedestrian who has run into the street. He calls 911 from a payphone but then flees the scene, afraid of what the scandal would do to his career. When the man's murder gets attributed to Clinton Davis (played by Samuel L. Jackson), an angry man who lost his wife and child to a violent crime a few years earlier, it seems that Mitch is in the clear. During the trial, though, Mitch's guilty conscience makes him help prove Clinton innocent. Things aren't always what they seem, though, and this fast-paced thriller keeps you guessing right up to the exciting end.

Last night, we watched another Amazon Prime movie, Flight, starring Denzel Washington as a brash, cocky pilot nicknamed Whip who drinks and snorts cocaine before flying a commercial airliner. Disaster strikes on the flight, and the only thing that saves the lives of most of the people on board is Whip's experience and calm in the cockpit. He might be full of himself and stoned, but he's also a talented pilot. Once the accident is over, the NTSB comes in to investigate, and Whip's intoxication comes to light. It's a taut and suspenseful situation - Whip saved the flight but he also never should have been in the cockpit. Washington gives an emotional performance - we all enjoyed this movie very much.

Whew - that's it for one week! Much more to come this week, I'm sure.

Have you seen any good movies lately?

Giving Tuesday 2014

Today is Giving Tuesday, so it's a great time to contribute to ME/CFS research and other related causes.

Here are some past posts with more information on how/where to contribute:

• Contribute while shopping, at no additional cost - I certainly did my share yesterday on Cyber Monday!
• End ME/CFS Project at Open Medicine Foundation
• 2014 ME/CFS Awareness Day - several ME/CFS charities around the world listed
• Solve ME/CFS Initiative

If anyone has other links to worthwhile charities/foundations related to ME/CFS, please mention them in the comments.

Happy Giving!