So my regular physician is saying it could be FM while my Chrio swears that I don't need medication I just need to do a yeast (Candida) cleanse to get all the bad yeast out and try to maintain a diet that keeps non-harmful levels of yeast in my system. The Chrio says that the increase of bad yeast in the body can cause similar symptoms to that of FM and that there is no need of medication....my only question is that can it continue for a long time and continue to get progressively worse?
I am not a hypochondriac (although I feel like one most the time) because I find myself telling my doctors what tests to do. I have had test all this: Lyme Disease, RA (they only will test my Rheumatoid Factor which of course is normal), Sedimentation rate, C-Reactive, Celiac, ANA, in addition to all my normal blood work.
I am asking now about Lupus and/or MS just to rule out everything before I go to Rheumatologist in a few months.
Should I not be managing my tests so closely and telling my doctors what to do? It just seems like they want to just put me on meds and forget about me. It sucks!
You have every right to take part in your life!!( treatment).
If you feel you would like to check( test) something a doctor should be willing and interested as well to find out or rule out !!
All the best
HUGGGGGS
Suzie
Hi James! It must be doubly hard for a guy who gets fibro, because in addition to all of the pain and fatigue, they have to put up a front of not hurting. It's great that you are willing to discuss your pain. And you've come to the right place for fibro info!
I personally think you are doing the wise thing in getting all of those tests taken, to rule them out. I've done it too, to the point where my sister half jokingly tells me I'm a hypochondriac. I just mentioned that to let you know you are NOT ALONE in your questions or your quest.
I don't know what a chrio is...do you mean a chiropractor or something else? I have never heard of anyone reducing yeast to improve their health. To me, that advice sounds rather suspect and I doubt that reducing yeast will reduce your pain...but you could always try it to see. However, if it's some very expensive treament/program/protocol, I myself would walk away from it.
My personal feeling is that your regular physician seems to be onto something when he suggests fibro as being the root of your pain. I think that following his advice seems like the most reasonable path to follow. Seeing a rheumotologist is also a good idea but you've taken most of the tests they will get from your blood. But you could have something else entirely, and they are the experts. I have no medical background and only suggest ways to look at things.
That being said, I hope you see your doctor again very soon, so he can put you on some medicine. The three biggies are Gabapentin, Lyric and Cymballa. Oh, and Savella.
Good luck!!!! My thoughts and prayers are with you in your journey through fibro.
Thanks for your reply! I am referring to my chiropractor who is a naturopath as well and tries to treat everything naturally. I asked my doctor about the yeast treatment and his response was
"You can test for yeast, with blood test, they will be negative, i generally do not agree with anything diagnosis that is made and then the remedy is sold out of the same office for profit"
I am currently taking Lyrica and have been on it for 2 weeks now so here's hoping!
Hi, James. Your physican sounds like a wise person. I also agree with that assessment. As for doctors putting you on meds and forgetting about you, you seem the sort of person who will take a proactive approach in your own health management… Between you, your physician and rheumatologist, I am sure you will sort this all out soon.
I would not trust your chiropractor on this, and do what your doctor says in this case. I am different than you, but I'd cross-check anything your chiropractor tells you with sources like the science-based medicine blog.
Yeast can increase the pain and inflammation, not cause it. It is also fairly cheap to treat naturally, without expensive treatments. Fresh oregano and thyme in a fresh salad every day for a couple weeks would take care of it for most people.
Always be an advocate for yourself... Believe me I know!!!! I was diagnosed with Fibro in May of 14... started the meds and all the good stuff... yet I knew something was still not so right... I too was telling my GP to run this test and that test...actually I told her to test me for EVERYTHING!!!! Well she failed to send me for a Brain MRI... a year later what I had been noticing is how my symptoms would become progressively worse with each exacerbation... I then began insisting that something else was wrong... I insisted I be sent to an MS specialist...to rule out MS... or rule it in... well I was RIGHT... I have MS... My Rhumy says I have Fibro too... and just so you know that Fibro is an MS mimicker. I got a double dose of YUCK!!!! Stay the curse!!! You keep pushing...it is a long and stressful journey to get to the root of the issues ... but if they have not tested you for ALL auto immune issues then a diagnoses of Fibro is junk...MAKE them rule it all out...You could be like me and have both or it may turn out that you only have Fibro. That would be a good thing to find nothing but ... one should NEVER accept a Fibro. diagnoses without testing for MS and all other Auto Immune junk that have similar symptoms.
It sucks to have all these tests done, but it doesn't hurt to do it (as long as you have good insurance coverage). Fibro is mainly diagnosed by ruling out everything else anyway.
However, the other posters are right. You MUST be your own advocate. Listen to your gut. If something doesn't sound or feel right, run. I once had a rheumy tell me to stop taking percs 4xday and instead take 4 tylenols 4xday. 60 hours later, I nearly ended up in the hospital and never went back to that doctor again. I had another doctor tell me I don't have physical pain, I'm just bipolar. I can't even tell you how fast I ran in the other direction.
I also had a chiro tell me that I had a candida problem and between a cleanse and a diet change, I'd be back to normal. I tried their approach for a few months with no change, so for me I knew it was something more that was wrong.
After 13 years now, I am having many tests repeated. I was a teenager when the problems started and didn't know how to advocate for myself. Something someone suggested to me: if you're not comfortable advocating for yourself, take a stronger personality with you to your appts. I've done that a handful of times and it was surprisingly successful. Of course, you'd want it to be someone you trust. At the time I was having issues with my doctor, I took my spouse, who ironed out a lot of issues that I was afraid to speak up about because of the whole "doctor knows best" mentality.
I'm going off on a tangent again, so I'll stop here. Good luck to you on your quest and I hope you find a treatment plan that works for you.