At the age of 15 I began to get chronic urinary tract infections, vaginal yeast infections, and bacterial vaginosis. My parents dragged me from doctor to doctor desperately seeking a cure for my problems, but our concerns fell on deaf ears and we were usually sent on our way with the usual 7 – 10 courses of antibiotics and/or anti-fungal medications.

Usually, for about a week or two after I had taken the prescribed medication, I would feel better but without fail my symptoms would return with a vengeance. I would usually just ignore the discomfort and try to make it a few months due to my reluctance to explain my symptoms to yet another doctor and in turn, just have my explanation belittled. It was very frustrating.

The teenage years are difficult to begin with and my physical problems just made things that much more difficult. I guess in a way feeling that uncomfortable with myself all of the time, kept me away from boys and caused me to focus on my school work and sports. I was a pretty hardworking kid and eventually went off to college to continue to succeed.

My first year of college was pretty uneventful, but the vicious cycle of getting urinary tract infections, vaginal yeast infections and bacterial vaginosis continued. I immediately became pretty familiar with everyone in the Student Health Services Practice. Additional symptoms began to surface around the second semester of my first year of college. I am sure my new college diet of mostly Ramen Noodles had contributed significantly to this. These new symptoms included chronic stomach aches, gas, bloating, depression, joint pain, lack of concentration, and fatigue.

I was eventually diagnosed with an ulcer and given medication to destroy the ulcer causing bacteria in my stomach. I did feel better after this treatment, but many of my symptoms persisted. I continued to seek treatment at the Student Health Service Practice, but after a while they gave up on me. I was eventually turned away as they expressed to me that I was just exaggerating my condition. They referred me to a psychiatrist. I felt demoralized and just plain crazy. I honestly felt that something was wrong with me and I did not know where to turn to make things better.

A year later after becoming severely depressed that I almost flunked out of school, I did see a psychiatrist and started taking Wellbutrin. This helped lessen my depression and I began to at least function again, however, full health continued to evade me. I struggled with my original candidiasis symptoms, but I figured that this was just my lot in life. I was not sure why I was put here to feel like crap but I tried to accept this and do the best I could.

It was not until  years later that I began to hear about candida. I did not really know what candida was, but I recognized the symptoms of the people who I read were suffering from it. Their symptoms were my symptoms. I began to make the connection and learn about how many people have suffered from and who had eventually overcome candida overgrowth.

I tried the candida diet for a 6 month period in 2006. The results were nothing short of phenomenal. I could not remember another time in my life that I had felt so healthy. I was finally candidiasis symptom free. Slowly I did slide back into my old eating habits and today many of my symptoms have returned. So here I am 3 years later trying to once again regain my health back from Candida. I know that I can do it. I am armed with information and the determination to once and for all succeed at ending candidiasis.

Submitted by Tennille