Save the cheerleader, beat the yeasties.

I wrote a good portion of this today in response to a friend who asked why I gave up using The Pill back in my early twenties. It was a longer answer than I anticipated, and hot dog, if it isn't a blog in itself. Here you go.



The Pill caused and contributed to many problems for me. Although it did bring my period back to a monthly cycle (I would skip several months, sometimes up to nine), the continuous flow of estrogen encouraged yeast growth. I already had yeast overgrowth due to many rounds of antibiotics. (don't EVER take antibiotics unless there is definitive proof that BACTERIA are the cause for whatever ailment you have. Even then, ask if there is an alternative.)

There is a natural balance of yeast and bacteria in your body. You need them to help you to digest foods and to have a working digestive system. However, if you kill off one side of the balance, the remaining side will take advantage and have overgrowth. That's what happened to me. Antibiotics and The Pill killed off my natural bacteria, allowing yeast to take over.

The Pill was like a catalyst for a yeast explosion in my body. I started taking it at age 19. I had already suffered often from yeast infections and awful, painful cystitis (bladder) infections. After The Pill, they were even worse. By the time I was living with Phil, my body was a wreck. I felt sick all the time. We had to schedule sex at least 3-4 days apart so that I wouldn't get cystitis. But, even that wasn't a guarantee.

I quit The Pill when I was around 23. Then I got fed up with the yeast problems and decided to ask a health food store worker if there were natural treatments. She told me, "It isn't easy. There isn't one thing to take or try. You need to read this." And she handed me The Yeast Connection, a book by Dr. William Crook. My eyes opened wide after reading that book. I was almost finished with my biology degree, and everything about how yeast and bacteria can become unbalanced in the body made sense to me. The problem was, no one was teaching me about it. And there certainly wasn't a public source of info or helpful doctors to teach me. Instead, doctors at that time ignored the issue because, in fact, doctors prescribing antibiotics CAUSED the issue. Hello, malpractice!

What helped me to get past yeast (Candida albicans) growth was this regimen:

• a complete change in diet. I started the wheat-free, dairy-free, sugar-free diet. I lost a ton of weight and looked fabulous for our wedding.
• daily doses of caprylic acid and cranberry extract, both found at the health food store. Caprylic acid kills yeast, and cranberry extract prevents bacteria and yeast from sticking to the urinary tract, thus preventing bladder infections.
• daily doses of probiotics - Acidophilus and other friendly bacteria - these are the bacteria found in yogurt (take a reputable brand, refrigerated, found in health food stores)
  
• garlic extract. Worked great for awhile, but now my stomach will not tolerate the pills. Fresh garlic is better.
• even after the diet was over, I avoid sugar. Sugar is fuel for yeast. It's worthless to take the supplements if you eat sugar. My body is sensitive enough that I can feel if I am going to get sick after eating sugar.
• And oddly enough, wine. Wine helped to clear out the remaining yeast overgrowth in the last few years of having it. I would say that I was seriously sick from 18 to 24. Better from 24 to 27, and now very much better after 27 because of wine. I bulked up with fat, though. So there's that. Alcohol is a byproduct of yeast, but good amounts of alcohol in your system can actually kill parasites and yeast. Just don't become a drunk in the process. heheh.

Here are a few links that explain things better than me.


http://www.mercola.com/2004/oct/27/birth_control.htm

http://www.yeastconnection.com/


I would imagine that even if you do not have yeast overgrowth, massive amounts of estrogen from The Pill would alter your body in many ways. Estrogen receptors are all over the body and do many different things. It could be contributing to a decline in your health, and interfering with your other organs' ability to function. If you have yeast overgrowth on top of that, all kinds of things can go out of whack.

For instance, one (or many) of the reasons that my illness mimicked a hundred other illnesses is because yeast were living, growing, and dying in my body. They were eating, metabolizing, and releasing waste into my system. Research has shown that there are at least 81 different toxins released by yeast overgrowth and die-off. Some of those toxins are pseudo-estrogens, which meant that not only was my body producing its own estrogen, I had poisoned myself with pseudo-estrogens from yeast AND from the estrogens in The Pill. It's really no wonder that I was so sick.

I'm a firm believer in limiting antibiotic use. It sickens me to know that parents are giving antibiotics to their kids for random ailments that have nothing to do with bacteria. Antibiotics kill bacteria - NOTHING else. They do not get rid of colds or the flu. Those are caused by viruses. So many people do not understand that. I didn't when I was a teenager, and neither did my mom. That's why we fully accepted that my doctor was handing us a bottle of "miracle pills" to get rid of my constant sore throats. He never took a culture of my throat to see what was actually causing my problem.

When I had my wisdom teeth removed at age 27, I was told that I would need to take a course of antibiotics to prevent infection afterwards. I adamantly refused to take them. The nurses were pissed at me because it wasn't the normal thing to do, but they did give me an antibacterial mouthwash I could use daily. And you know what? I didn't get infections. The mouthwash was fine, and I didn't need to swallow it to kill off bacteria in the rest of my body.

So, that's my story. Battling yeast will be a lifelong problem for me, although now I consider myself in the maintenance part of the program. If I feel like I ate too much sugar or didn't have enough water and I'm feeling the "yeasties" again, I take caprylic acid and cranberry extract. I don't take them every day anymore. If I know I'm going to have relations with Phil or even the day after we do the deed, I take caprylic acid and cranberry. I don't get yeast infections and cystitis anymore. We don't have to schedule sex anymore, either. I always wash my delicate lady parts before going to bed every night, whether or not we had sex. Always pee and wash genitals after sex as well.

It's a slightly annoying way to live, but it has made me healthier. It's good to not eat a ton of sugar every day. We read labels, avoiding foods with high fructose corn syrup, tons of sugar, and tons of sodium. There's just no need for the human body to be bombarded with that much crap. And in my case, it feeds the beasties that cause my troubles.

So, there you go. I'm a yeast survivor. haha.