Doctor for systemic fungal infection?

[kara902]

How does one get to the RIGHT doctor for an undiagnosed systemic fungal infection? I have a working Immune System and no other illness and I believe I have been misdiagnosed for 26 years with seasonal allergies and sinus infections. I can't even get a doctor to give me a scan because all of my tests appear so healthy. I feel very seriously ill and I am basically bedridden for the past 10 years. For 9 months now I have been trying to get help with this- but my Blood Fungal Test came up negative. I have already tried 6 months of strict diet and 2 months probiotics and all I have managed to do is shrink it, it isn't gone. I have used Baking Soda for 6 months  (with huge success) but do not feel comfortable continuing due to the risks.  Is there really no way to get help with this quickly? I read online that in HEALTHY people that have this there is only a 13% survival rate if you host it over decades- I am living the why behind that right now with the medical world. I can find no information supporting that I can rid myself of this with diet alone due to the fact that I have had it for decades. I can also find no information on possible damage left behind by something like this when you have hosted it for so long. Any information would be much appreciated!

[kev07]

I am writing to you wondering if I have yeast overgrowth. I am a 23 year old male living in Jefferson, OH and I believe that I got this from sleeping in a moldy basement for about a year. It all started after I slept in the basement for about a year and I ate a high carb diet that included a lot of oatmeal, chips, cookies, noodles, bread, etc. One night while I was asleep I was awoken to a very bad feeling in my body. It felt very strange and that I was "high" on medication. I'm not sure how to explain it, but the feeling was terrible. After that night my stools began to get worse as days passed. Eventually I couldn't go without stool softeners and it takes up to 3 days.

I called my doctor and made an appointment, but he just gave me miralax (for my constipation) and sent me back home. Eventually I got food allergies very bad. I couldn't eat eggs, meat, prunes, corn, dairy, grains, and I get very strange feelings when I eat any of them and also severe bloating and horrible constipation. I decided to go back to the doctors and they told me to see Gastrologist. They told me to do an Endoscopy and Colonoscopy and they found nothing wrong with me. After that I was still having problems and a few new ones happened. My stomach makes a loud sloshing sound like water is inside, especially when I eat wheat, I have terrible brain fog and memory loss and the constipation turned worse. I went back to the doctors and they checked my thyroid, cholesterol, urine, and did blood tests, but all came back fine. At that point I went and seen an allergy doctor to see if it was a food I was eating. A few foods showed medium allergy results, but nothing severe. I stopped eating those foods and the constipation got worse and so did my mental health.

I am now going to see an Infectious disease specialist hoping they can help find what is wrong. I still have a bunch of food allergies and severe constipation. The only thing that helps is stool softeners, but that seems to be slowly not working. Is there any way I can stop this?

Thank you,

Kevin

[mkh9]

Hi, we are not doctors on here but I am a clinical microbiologist and I can say you can't get a yeast infection just from eating starches in and of themselves. But being in the basement can possibly give you a respiratory or other type of fungus or other infection. So I would pursue that, as you are thinking of doing, with the infectious disease doctor. I think you haven't found the source of your stomach/intestinal problems. It may be related to food or having a problem like Crohn's disease, irritable bowel or some other intestinal problem. But perhaps the colonoscopy and endoscopy ruled those things out. So perhaps you can do an elimination of one food at a time and add them back in and see what triggers some of the problems. Since you have symptoms of Lyme you might want to get tested for those things too. Lyme can cause memory issues, brain fog etc. too. So you may want to get tested for that just in case. But if you get a fungus some can affect the brain. So maybe getting an MRI of the brain to see if there is anything wrong. They would be able to see a fungus ball or any other abnormality there too. Just some ideas.
Regards,
mkh9

[MabelMeow]

mkh9 I was exposed to aspergillus (cultured, confirmed) twice in my eye. Was told it lived in crappy a/c vents & lived in this space for 4 years. Otherwise healthy 30 year old my life has become hell, my doctor actually wrote "parapsychosis" in my chart when I mentioned that I believed my suddenly chronic chest/sinus/eye & skin issues were the result of the fungus. He refuses to test, treat or refer to a specialist. Is a "clinical microbiologist" the correct doctor to see? Right now my homocysteine levels are at 19 and this is destroying my life. I've read through the comments and cannot seem to see even a referral for the TYPE of doctor one would see in order to diagnose and treat this condition.

[Nickynew]

I understand your frustration.
You need a referral from a Dr.  AND FOR WHATEVER REASON THEY CAN'T GET BEYOND STANDARD CARE. OR EVEN TALK ABOUT FUNGUS.  I asked Hematologist to test me for yeast/fungus, he said in a sharp tone, Iam here to test you for Leukemia, I said WHAT???? I don't have Leukemia, Please test me for yeast. HE REFUSED. He did have to call me and tell me I did not have Leukemia.    Demand,  to see the REAL infectious disease Specialist THAT Specialize in FUNGUS. Standard testing does not show invasive fungus.
Great Article today FROM THE CDC, Finally talking about FUNGUS.  It also said:  It is EXPENSIVE and TIME CONSUMING TO TEST,
50 People a week are calling.  The Dr. I am trying to see,  said.  They Take the SICKEST First.
And lastly the CDC said, the outcomes are usually not good. The infectious disease Drs. are in the Hospitals where people are really sick, and from what i've been reading, is a breeding ground for Fungus in the first place.
I Myself am going to Go to China, I hope, and check into a TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE HOSPITAL.
Check them out!
I had Hep C and got involved with a man that had "jock itch". Between his butt crack.
Not only did he not tell me, he brought me a letter stating HE could NOT pass it to me from his Dr.s Nurse .  From day one bladder infection and 3 yrs of antibiotics , the three rounds of cipro dang near killed me, the reaction. They just kept prescribing. So no vaginal yeast infection shows on standard testing after years of antibiotics.
The Good News is the Harvoni worked and my liver Dr. was the one that kept telling me my white count was elevated.  Four almost 4 years I've been going from one to the next. My liver Dr. Said i am cured. So he didn't want to talk about it.
You are Not alone, you are Not crazy, start demanding, call the CDC, call the Researchers ask about clinical studies, there are lots going on.  In Today's World, you have to fight for your life. BE YOUR OWN ADVOCATE.
Prayers and Blessing to ALL

[Andiamo39]

On Oct 9, 2013 you had mentioned that you knew of a specialist in Santa Monica and it seemed at that time it was just a matter of you remembering his/her name. If this counts as a referral, I do apologize for asking but I am not really looking for a referral as such. I am just trying to gather as many local resources as possible in order to spare myself the expense of traveling out of state which I cannot afford. If you would/could remember this person's name, I certainly will not look at it as any sort of endorsement.  It's just that I am a Kaiser patient and they will do as little as possible for me unless/until I bring them a third party outside opinion. Then all of a sudden a whole slew of resources are now available. Thank you again.

[ShellyBelly2229]

C. Parapsilosis....doesn't show up in blood tests but may show up in nasal or ear wax discharge during infections

[mkh9]

C.parapsilosis can be seen in blood by PCR (molecular tests).
mkh9

[EricaM715]

Hello! ive had a vaginal yeast infection for MONTHS now, I have had several cultures come back positive but no treatment seems to work.  My last culture came back positive for C. Parapsilosis and supposedly Fluconzole was supposed to treat it.  I am now on a daily dose of 200mg fluconazole alone with oral Lamisil for 6 weeks.  I am almost at 2 weeks of treatment with ZERO improvement.  Is there anything else I could try?  Does this treatment just need longer to work?  I am at the end of my rope with this!

[EricaM715]

Hello! ive had a vaginal yeast infection for MONTHS now, I have had several cultures come back positive but no treatment seems to work.  My last culture came back positive for C. Parapsilosis and supposedly Fluconzole was supposed to treat it.  I am now on a daily dose of 200mg fluconazole alone with oral Lamisil for 6 weeks.  I am almost at 2 weeks of treatment with ZERO improvement.  Is there anything else I could try?  Does this treatment just need longer to work?  I am at the end of my rope with this!

[Bran202]

Hi Erica I;ve also been suffering from the same problem with very little to no improvements for the past 5 months . Right now Im taking oregano oil and grapefruit seed extract, probiotics along with a weekly dose of diflucan and hoping for the best. The best advice I can give for the constant yeast infection is collaidial silver gel. When inserted it kills yeast on contact and kills the itch without the burning sensation like youd get from monistat . This will not cure the systemic yeast overgrowth but will help you feel 1 million times less irritated as you treat yourself . I will soon be getting an endoscopy done and Im happy to keep you updated if I find anything that works and please do the same !