Any information or discussion is welcome.
--
Robert J. Kelley
Mentor Graphics Corporation

The basis for folks believing that this herb will help heal Candida
overgrowths is that it is the bark of a tree that grows in the Amazonian
rain forests without ever succumbing to any of the funguses that usually
attack both living and dead wood in such a wet environment.

There are many useful medicines which have been "discovered" by
noticing their effects in this way; however, to my knowledge, nobody
has ever done any controlled studies proving Pau D'arco's
effectiveness.  On the plus side, I've never heard of any serious or
irreversible problems arising from drinking the stuff, so it's worth a
try to see if it helps you (or whoever has the problem that you're
posting for).

When I was first diagnosed with Candida problems, I tried the
nutritional treatment route - rigorous low-carbo non-yeast diet,
lots of garlic supplements, and quarts of Pau d'arco tea every day.
It caused headaches and a "toxic feeling" which the chiropractor claimed
was due to the rapid kill-off of the candida and subsequent release of
the toxins in the lysed candida cells into the {*filter*}stream.  I really
had no idea whether that was correct, or if the headaches were directly
caused by the tea.  By decreasing the dosage and then working back up
to the full amount gradually, I was able to handle it.

I got enough relief that I was ok for a couple of years.  The second
time the Candida got out of hand, I wasn't able to force myself to stay
on the rigorous diet; the Pau d'arco tea by itself was *NOT* sufficient
to do any good.  I ended up going to an MD who prescribed Nystatin
(pure powder, taken orally in water 4x/day) along with a less rigorous
version of the diet.  The Nystatin produced some of the same side
effects (headaches and "toxic feeling") that the Pau d'arco had, which
would support the idea that the effects were a result of the kill-off
of the yeast.

My conclusion after several bouts:  Nystatin has it all over Pau d'arco
when it comes to knocking the yeast levels back to a normal level, and
you don't have to be as ascetic about the diet.  Of course, the more
disciplined you can be about avoiding sugar during either treatment, the
faster the Candida problem disappears.  For self-help when I start
noticing the first symptoms of overgrowth, I've found that a new
garlic preparation called Garlicin (Nature's Way) is effective.

Hope this helps...

Andrea Frankel, Hewlett-Packard (San Diego Division) (619) 592-4664
                "...like a song that's born to soar the sky"
______________________________________________________________________________
UUCP     : ...hplabs!hp-sdd!andrea from
           {ihnp4|cbosgd|allegra|decvax|gatech|sun|tektronix}
           or ...hp-sdd!andrea from {hp-pcd|hpfcla|hpda|noscvax|gould9|sdcsvax}


USnail   : 16399 W. Bernardo Drive, San Diego CA 9nd ibout
bout

But often when I have this response it's merely because I'm
uninformed. Why should one expect that a Saccharomyces-free
diet should help a Candida infection?

- Sean Eddy
- MCD Biology; U. of Colorado at Boulder; Boulder CO 80309

In fact, I found absolutely no ill effects from baker's yeast, or from
whatever it is that is used to ferment vinegar, soy sauce, or miso.  I
do have problems with brewer's yeast, natto, and mushrooms.  Blue
cheese and brie are ok, camembert gives me problems.  Since the
distinctions are pretty specific, my conjecture is that the effects are
attributable to sensitivities to the specific metabolic byproducts or
characteristic proteins of these flora and fauna, since all cooking.net">food
sensitivities (as well as reactivity to solvent fumes, perfumes, smoke,
etc.) seem to be exacerbated during a Candida uprising.

Andrea Frankel, Hewlett-Packard (San Diego Division) (619) 592-4664
                "...like a song that's born to soar the sky"
______________________________________________________________________________
UUCP     : ...hplabs!hp-sdd!andrea from
           {ihnp4|cbosgd|allegra|decvax|gatech|sun|tektronix}
           or ...hp-sdd!andrea from {hp-pcd|hpfcla|hpda|noscvax|gould9|sdcsvax}


USnail   : 16399 W. Bernardo Drive, San Diego CA 92127-1899 USA

-- AMB

HOWEVER. Andrea Frankel mentioned pure nystatin powder. I used that
for a while--then my new MD switched me to enteric-coated nystatin
tabs. Did I ever go through die-off all over again!! The powder hadn't been
getting to my gut at all, which is where most of the candida
is, according to my MD's research info. Instead it had been wasted,
since the stomach digests a lot of it. I've really zoomed in
improvement since switching to the new form.

In addition, I can't stress enough how important sticking to a
low-carb, low-mold diet is for getting well. The clients I've had
who've told themselves otherwise have eventually decided they
were fooling themselves (or else they didn't improve). Often other
changes are necessary too, depending on the person's allergic sensitivities.
My opinion is that the popular books available about candida
(The Yeast Connection, etc) are not realistic in their dietary
recommendations--perhaps they are afraid of scaring off potential
book-buyers.

-----------
Kevin McLoughlin                                Physics Board

UUCP: ...ucbvax!ucscc!chromo.kevin              Santa Cruz, CA 95064
408-429-2258

All this talk about candida infections raises what must be a really
naive question in my mind.  The answer is inportant to me cause my
wife has a really long-term {*filter*}l candida infection that is driving
us both nuts.

Some of these candida-related postings seem to be talking about candida
in the intestine and on the skin and so on.  Could someone explain the
relationship between these types of full-body infections and plain old
long-term {*filter*}l candida.  Is {*filter*}l candida perhaps a symptom of a
more widespread infection?  What are the differences in the therapy
appropriate to the two types of infections.  Etc.

Thanks in advance. -- TomA

Candida is one of the normal fauna in people, and most candida infections
are "topical", proliferating in areas where they might usually reside,
but for some reason are no longer being kept in check by the body's defenses.
This would include oral, {*filter*}l and esophageal "thrush", as well as some
cases of intestinal overgrowth.  Another localized infection is candidiasis
of the bladder, usually due to an indwelling catheter.  Now, these types of
candida infection, while of varying degrees of seriousness and deserving of
treatment, are localized and usually stay that way in an otherwise healthy
person.  In fact, the primary treatments (nystatin and perhaps amphotericin B,
clotrimazole and miconazole) are used as non-absorbed topical antifungal agents.
That is, you have to bathe the area (mouth, throat, esophagus, {*filter*}, etc.)
with the {*filter*}, which work locally and not systemically.  Nystatin, the most
popular drug, is not absorbed at all when administered orally or topically,
which is a good thing, because this almost benign drug is fiercely toxic
when administered parenterally.

Recurrent topical infections generally suggest that there's something strange
going on, although your doctor would really want to do a history and a workup
to begin to discover why.  Occasionally it's due to a degree of immune system
impairment, such as in uncontrolled diabetes or AIDS (however, I wouldn't
worry about something like AIDS when we're discussing a woman who is prone
to {*filter*}l candidiasis but is otherwise healthy.)  At other times, it's due
to the administration of {*filter*} which influence the environment where candida is
found; I'm referring to the effects of birth control pills in some women
and (more rarely) the effects of antibiotic administration.  This last item
has been overemphasized in the popular literature; the overwhelming majority
of people given antibacterial antibiotics do not have any problem with
candida overgrowth.  Also, it can be an issue of hygiene; pantyhose
trap heat and moisture which can facilitate the overgrowth of candida
in the {*filter*}.

True disseminated candidiasis is a particularly {*filter*} state of affairs,
and is usually seen only in severely immune-compromised patients, such
as those with AIDS, leukemia, or bone-marrow transplants.  It requires
the administration of systemic antifungal agents, most of which are very
toxic, such as amphotericin B, flucytosine, and ketoconazole.  I wouldn't
worry about having it; that is, if you can be sitting up and wondering
about it, you probably don't.
--
Steve Dyer

In reference to chronic {*filter*}l yeast infections: I have heard that
this can be an indicator of a (pre-)diabetic condition.  It would be
wise to have the necessary {*filter*}/urine/whatever tests to check this out.
Marginal conditions (of diabetes) that flare up only when diet or
exercise regimens change can cause recurring flare-ups of yeast
problems.  One acquaintance discovered a diabetic condition this
way, thanks to an alert doctor.

As Steve Dyer noted, birth control pills may make some women especially
susceptible to such overgrowths, but don't let your doctor dismiss it
as simply that (or pantyhose or whatever) without checking other
possibilities.
--
Gene Spafford
Dept. of Computer Sciences, Purdue University, W. Lafayette IN 47907-2004