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Systemic Fungal Infection: Can it cause thyroiditis and how best to treat?
Has anyone had experience with systemic fungal infection in a child with a normally functioning immune system? My daughter has a host of problems, including chronic sphenoid sinus disease with recurring polyp.
She just had her second sinus surgery. In the month prior to the surgery she had a urinary tract infection with positive urine cultures for Klebsiella pnuemoniae. Her only symptoms were feeling achy and having right flank pain. They put her on Macrobid. That didn't resolve her symptoms of right flank pain and she still felt achy, so they put her on a round of Septra.
She saw an ENT at that point because she has chronic sinusitis and thick nasal mucus with cough. A CT showed showed significant ethmoid sinus infection and a sphenoid nasal polyp--the same symptoms she had prior to her first surgery a few years ago.
Because of a similar history with her brother and because he presented with the unusal symptom of oral thrush a year before, a doctor told me to be sure that if she be checked for fungal infection. I asked the ENT to culture for fungus when he submitted her tissue for culture following this recent surgery.
Her cultures were negative for bacteria, but positive for Candida albicans, a fungus/yeast.
From what I have read and from what a general practitioner advises, she could have a systemic fungal infection. He put her on Diflucan four days ago. Now she is having the symptoms of "die off." Fever, sweating, feeling flu-like.
I'm cautiously optimistic that we may have figured out what has eluded us for years as an explanation of her various symptoms.
Has anyone here experienced a systemic fungal infection that was effectively treated? She is not immunocompromised. She does have multiple antibodies of type 1 diabetes and has autoantibodies for thyroid peroxidase and thyroglobulin. But from what two rheumatologists have told us, her immune system is working perfectly fine.
She has thyroiditis shown on PET scan. Is it possible her body is attacking various tissues because of fungal infection? If this is a systemic problem, can anyone recommend a doctor to see? The ENT is referring us to an infectious disease specialist locally, but if anyone knows of someone particularly qualified to handle this condition, I would love to have those recommendations.
Thanks for any input.
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above post from me
I took probiotics of Therelac and Tru fFlora this summer, switched every other week and after about 6 weeks I got a burning tongue... finally figured out that it must have stirred up the yeast that resided in my body and was growing out of control. I too went to drs. to ask why my tongue was white and I craved sugar and my tongue had slits on it that sometimes were so painful and no one could help me... until I discovered I had hyper thyroidism... after changing my diet to the Paleo diet, and going dairy and gluten free plus homeopathy and taking supplements I am totally off all thyroid medicines. They wanted to kill my thyroid but I did not want radioactive iodine in my system, It took 8 years and would have healed sooner if I had cut out all foods that weren't on that diet but I still had sugar and things with sugar in them. Now I have a good thyroid but the yeast is in die off and it has been awful... flu like symptoms and burning mouth which has calmed down with swishing cayenne pepper in it... I am retracing symptoms right now that I had the past 8 years. Some in my family are telling me that I am diagnosing myself and want me to go to Mayo. Well, I am not sure they will find anything as my last physical did not show anything.
I am using acupuncture to help keep the lymphs open and flowing plus I am using caproyl oil to kill the yeast, bentonite clay to cleanse the toxins and psyllium fiber to pull it out with a good probiotic. I think I have gone thru the worst and am on the curve to recovery. I am unable to eat much..I am on the candida diet of no sugar, fruit, yeast, vinegar, processed foods... and I have lost LOTS of weight.
I feel good for a couple days and then it hits. Right now I am not taking anything to kill the yeast except the diet and supplements to build my body up as I was detoxing so fast and hard that my tongue was raw and mouth burnt up and full of white yeast especially in the AM>
I HAVE STARTED DRINKING pAU D ARCO TEA... BUT ONLY A CUP A DAY SO i WILL INCREASE IT. i HAVE ALSO STARTED OIL PUOOING IN MY MOUTH WITH COCONUT OIL BUT NEED TO SLOW DOWN AS THE TONGUE GETS SO SORE.
MY DAUGHTER INSISTS I GO TO MAYO BUT I AM ONLY COVERED BY A SPECIALIST AND WHAT SPECIALIST DO I SEE TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS CANDIDA HASNT MANEFESTED INTO SOMETHING MUCH BIGGER LIKE OTHER AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES, ETC?
STACY
I have the book. Conquering Yeast Infections Chronic Illness and the Candida Connection...by S. Colet Lahoz, RN, MS, LAc It explains non drug ways to get healthy again. Acupppuncture plays a role as does diet and supplements to curb the yeast.
Hello;
I believe one of the potential side effects of the systemic antifungal meds is flank, or flank and back pain. It could be additive your daughter's case.
Seems something as simple as stress can cause a weakening of ones immune system.
Oddly, I believe a dept. of Dermatology can evaluate candida.
I am curious what your results were as l have suffered with a similar type of situation.
Hi. I know your post is really old, but is still relevant. I came across it while Googling.
Two months ago I became ill with a sinus infection from flying, and I began antibiotics. They helped--for a month. Then I caught a cold, which became p bronchitis, which meant antibiotics, round #2. The antibiotics didn't work; x-rays showed pneumonia, so the doctor put me on 10 days of antibiotics. The pneumonia emotions improved, but I simultaneously felt worse! My eyes burned, I had hot and cold spells with no fever, my back and shoulders ached, Iots of throat mucous and cough but no phlegm, constant fatigue and dizziness, insomnia. This went on for several weeks.
After a visit to a different doctor who prescribed a very extensive blood test, the results showed THYROIDITIS and ABNORMAL IMMUNE SYSTEM ACTIVITY, as well as super high IgG and IgM numbers. In other words, some kind of internal irritant. But no infection, per se. Nothing else wrong with me, I am a super healthy 50+ woman. So it was a mystery why I felt so crummy and had weird test results. Oh, did I mention I am gluten and lactose intolerant, but I had been eating those foods without a second thought?
The new doctor, young and progressive, suggested I might have an autoimmune issue, and asked if I had any allergies or intolerances. Bingo! I explained the gluten/lactose problem, combined with all the antibiotics over 3 months, and she suggested Diflucan "as a test", before jumping to any other conclusions. At the outset she prescribed Diflucan /Flucanozle tablets 2x a week (the drug stays in the body for like 96 hours) over the course of a month, with elimination of dairy and gluten for the month, and then a re-check blood test.
Well it has been only 72 hours but already I feel like a new person! Dizziness, cough, sinus congestion, burning eyes, swollen ear canals, aches, pains, chills, tummy upset.... Gone, gone, gone.
I assume your daughter's problems are resolved, but anyone else reading this thread, consider candida as the cause, and good luck.
Hello.... May I ask how to get in touch with you? I have This identical issue and I cannot get anyone to listen. Thank you
Tracy
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