Hello everyone,
My name is Janene and I have been suffering from Candida symptoms for probably around 5 or more years. I originally thought I had Irritable bowel syndrome, what with all the bathroom issues I had. I've never been constipated much, but I would have random bouts of diarrhea accompanied by severe stomach cramps. I suffered from mild depression, lethargy, body aches, skin conditions, dry eyes, brain fog...etc. Then last April all heck broke loose and I got this massive yeast infection. I figured it was due to stress as I was going through a divorce. No matter what I tried, I couldn't get rid of it; and to my horror and dismay, it turned into a rectal yeast infection which made matters worse. Then the awful rectal itch began tormenting my days and nights. Meanwhile, I decided to try several ideas I had read about online. Capprylic acid, coconut oil, garlic, tea tree oil, herbs, supplements, probiotics I found at health food stores. Nothing worked. Finally I went to the Doctor and he prescribed Diflucan and gave me an extra pill in case the first one didn't work well enough. I took one, then about 10 days later, took the other. That didn't work. Next I got a prescription for Nystatin. Guess what? It didn't work either. I was so disappointed as I was assured that one of those prescriptions would finally take this awful rectal itch away. Meanwhile, I was getting used to a life with horrible itching, tingling, raw patches and a permanent rash on my butt. It would crack and peel, bleed sometimes, and ooze a bit. This is not something I'm prepared to live with for the rest of my life. There HAS to be an answer.

Now, I'm not sure if I can say this here because of rules and all, but I broke down and ordered some Threelac. It had such good reviews and after researching the information about the bad probiotic in it, something having to do with a dangerous ingredient, I came to the conclusion that it was as safe as anything else I had tried that had failed. It can't be that healthy to scratch so much and have a raw tush. I needed a solution. It had been 10 months since I got this horrible condition and I'm about as patient to find the answer as a toddler at Christmas. I put myself on the Candida diet and have pretty much adhered to it for the most part. I stopped eating gluten all together which has helped me in other areas and only a bit with the Candida. I'm sure in the long run, the gluten free diet will make a big difference. I don't eat sugar or any processed foods. I use Stevia and drink Teeccino. (chicory coffee)

I started taking it on Feb. 27, so it's been almost a month. I noticed within just a few days that my symptoms were improving. But I didn't get excited because other things had the same results initially. I had some die off which was bearable with Benedryl. Within the first week, I could take a shower without nasty pain from rawness. Within 2 weeks, I could go most of the day without itching. Now I'm continuing to improve, although still itching, not nearly as bad. I've noticed other benefits from the Threelac too, like improved brain fog symptoms, less depression, more energy, normal bowel function, and a few others I can't really recall right now.
I went ahead and ordered a second box which I just started on. It's the only thing that has consistently worked at all. The drawbacks of taking it is that you DO have die off and when those toxins are released, in my case...they go to the skin. I have itchy bumps in various areas that act like a form of hives or bug bites. I decided to take Milk Thistle to help with that and plenty of vitamin C. I'm getting improvement with the itchy bumps now though and will probably not be dealing with them in another month.
The main thing is, all of my symptoms are bearable now and getting better finally. I will try and ween myself off Threelac and onto a regular probiotic later, but for now, I need something stronger. I take three of them a day which seems to be just right.
Hopefully my story will help someone, maybe give you some ideas on what you can try. I'm not pushing the Threelac, I know it's not for everyone and there are always risks. But with my horrible symptoms, and a job where I cashier at our local grocery store, on my feet all day, I HAD to get better. Itching rectally isn't cool at work. It's horrendous!
I'm not suffering with vaginal yeast symptoms now either which is wonderful. I did have it in both places for months and that was a nightmare!
If anyone has questions regarding my Candida journey, feel free to ask. I'm an open book and just want to help others get through it. I will post my progress as I go so we can all benefit from my experiences. The good news is I lost about 60 lbs. on the Candida diet and gluten free diet. I went from a size 16 to a size 7. Now I just want to be healthy AND thin. ;-)

Good luck everyone, I hope you find what works for you.

Janene

I disagree with you on that one. I've tried expensive health food store probiotics, cheap ones, good ones, NONE of them worked. This one actually DOES something. And NO, it's not my diet because that didn't work either. And NO, I didn't just try it for a week. I was on the Candida diet for 8 months with NO results other than losing weight. I'm not taking ANY other supplements, only the Threelac. And low and behold, after one month I'm at least 50% better. You do the math. For a probiotic that is supposedly the weakest on the market, it sure has a TON of awesome reviews. My friend at work has a husband that was dying from Candida, he was on death's door and he started using Threelac. In three months he was almost completely symptom free and still is. That was over a year ago. So don't knock what worked for me. I've done my research on this product as well as all the other things people are doing for Candida. I've spent the last 11 months reading more information about this awful health issue than I care to even admit. It's robbed me of my lively-hood.
I'm finally getting my life back and I wouldn't be saying that if I didn't start taking Threelac. Mysteriously, it only has a 2% return rate, so it must be doing something for several thousand people.
Also, before you accuse me of not sticking to the diet, don't bother. When your butt itches like no tomorrow and is raw and painful, you're not willing to risk more of that by eating the wrong food. I was so careful, I didn't even eat things that "might" be okay. Six months of that with no improvement and I was willing to try cow poop if it helped.

It was extremely rude of you to comment like that on my post. I'm trying to offer someone a bit of hope, not argue the effectiveness of Threelac. Go "poo poo" someone else's post and leave mine alone.

Oh brother.... I thought I would be able to come on this forum and actually do some good by telling my story. Instead, I get this. NO, I don't work for Threelac. What does that mean anyway? I bought it online from an ebay seller because they take paypal. I'm a cashier at the local grocery store in Idaho for pity sakes. What the heck is wrong with you?
Hey...whatever. If you don't want to try it DON'T. I'm just saying that it's working for me and many others. If you want to be stuck suffering from Candida symptoms for the rest of your pathetic life, go ahead. I personally don't really want to live my life like that. It's a miserable condition.
Apparently you don't want to get better. Again...the Candida diet didn't work for me. I don't even suffer from the horrible Candida symptoms that some sufferers do, mine isn't that bad. Yet, it still didn't work. 10 months later after starting it and the only progress I've made is from Threelac. Make of it what you will. I don't work for them. Geez!
This has got to be the worst Candida forum I've been on.

I don't think it's fair to judge an entire forum based on one thread you create and become aggressive in. I was hoping eliminating candida would reduce psychological symptoms like irritability and mood swings.

A lot of people don't like Threelac because it's so overpriced and has such a low strain and CFU count considering that fact. You shouldn't take criticism of a probiotic personally. Trying a higher count brand with more strains might even help you as well as save you some money.

Keep in mind that many studies testing the effectiveness of probiotic supplementation use something in the region of 400-billion CFUs per day, and that many of the bacteria in your Threelac capsule will be dead before you swallow it, and more will die on the way to the colon.

Anyway, I think a lot of people will be encouraged to read about your progress, so let's chill out and try to learn from each other's experiences. Unless that zero post-count means you've already deleted your account or something...

Okay...I'll bite. If Threelac isn't enough, then tell me, WHAT IS? I've got limited resources and no I didn't read posts on here before I joined. Who does? I don't stalk forums before I join. I was just wanting some support. You want to know why I got defensive? Your remark about a product I'm taking having very little probiotic in it. You could have went about that in a more mature way. You could have just given me information about a better one that you've used and been encouraging rather than treating me like an idiot for even using it. I'm desperate. Of course I will try anything at this point. What do you expect?
Then someone else accuses me of selling the stuff! Again...what do you expect? I'm going to get annoyed and defensive. If you shove a snake in the corner and start poking it, don't expect it to just roll over.
Plus, I belief certain things will work better with women than men. This is a condition that more women have than men from what I've read. You'll probably discredit that statement too and try and make me look uneducated. I didn't say I've read EVERYTHING there is on the topic, I've just spent WAY too much time researching a sickness that I'm tired of dealing with.
So...take off the sarcasm and belittling and I'll gladly hear what probiotic you suggest.

I'll sympathise with you that Able's tone came across a bit bluntly. It's hard to judge exactly how he intended it from text alone, but he's a helpful guy on the forum, so I hope you don't get the wrong impression. His follow up didn't do much to help the situation...

A lot of people here feel the same way as you, and I hope you can find the support you're looking for and continue with your progress. Like you said, the diet alone isn't enough, so it's the things like probiotics and anti-fungals and resolving other health factors that get you to where you want to be.

I think some other people reading this can give you better probiotic recommendations than me, so I'll leave that to them. Good luck with your treatment, and I'm sorry you got off to such a bad start on the forum.

Edited by user Monday, March 26, 2012 5:29:20 AM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

Javizy, you have a private message in your box.

Able

Hello, Patti. The bacteria you're talking about is Enterococci or Enterococcus faecalis, and you’re right, the Threelac company made the decision to add this bacteria as one of only three strains that Threelac contains.

A report offers this information;
“Enterococcus faecalis is a common cause of endocarditis and is known for its capacity to transfer antibiotic resistance to other pathogens.”

Reported by the “Clinical Infectious Diseases,” 1992 from the Oxford University Press.

Thanks, Able

First of all...thanks to everyone for encouraging words and for the apology. ;-) Secondly, my progress is just good enough to lessen my symptoms which I really needed. With months of horrible rectal itch and all that went with it, I was ready for anything that would even help. So I was already thinking that Threelac wouldn't be a permanent plan for me, but I was hoping SOMETHING would at least get the ball rolling in the right direction. I had taken everything from capryllic acid to oregano supplements, coconut oil, all kinds of blends for killing yeast and still no improvement. My mindset was this: find something that would at least take the edge off the symptoms so I could have a breather and go from there. I have a great friend who owns a health food store locally and we've been putting our heads together for almost a year trying to get the right "formula". LOL!
Okay, about the salesperson remark...that's funny. I only knew about the return percentage because I'm anal about researching a product and even emailed the people who sell it and have a forum dedicated to it. That guy told me that particular information, which I took with a grain of salt and was skeptical anyway. I bought it because I felt like I had run out of options having tried the expensive 50 billion probiotic blend at our local health food store. It was $40 a bottle which only lasted for 2 weeks. Can you really blame me for looking for something different? That fancy refrigerated probiotic didn't lessen my symptoms at all. I drank kifir, I eat plain yogurt with stevia....I am exhausted.

All that said, I'd like to get a better plan I can have confidence in. The Threelac is potent enough to cause die off if I take 3 a day, so I've backed it down to 2 because working with those symptoms is NOT an option. I'm miserable. I've had to put benedryl cream on my tush! Which only works for about 2 hours, then it's back to ITCH! You ever seen a horse rub it's butt on a fence? Well....I've thought of that. LOL!
Does anyone have websites I can order the right probiotics from? I plan on finishing this box of Threelac, then switching to a better one. I will always stay on the diet because I like it. Sometimes I eat gluten free stuff like the occasional pasta, but that's rare.
I don't think I have celiac disease yet, I never got the symptoms for it, I just had irritable bowel issues. I haven't had those troubles since I started eating right and lost weight.
Also, while I'm thinking about it, I drink lemon water all day, at least 64 oz. That helps a LOT. The only other beverage I have is Teeccino. It's VERY alkaline and healthy for Candida sufferers. I put flavored stevia in it with half and half. Small amounts of dairy don't seem to bother me. I eat a little cheese but try not to consume too much of it.
I tested the theory of the alkaline diet and believe me, it helps to be alkaline and balanced. My symptoms always get worse when I'm acidic. I got some test strips and used them off and on, testing different food combinations as well as the lemon water and Teeccino. If cancer can't grow in an alkaline environment, I would imagine it's a good thing for Candida sufferers to stay alkaline balanced.

Okay...knowing all of that history, does anyone have any input that can help? I'm open to suggestions. :-)

Thanks,
Janene

heyy.. I am so happy for you.. :D