I Found The Cause Of My Dry Eye

[painintheeye]

Can't help but to jump in the candida discussion!!!

Hi all,

As some of you may have read my posts before regarding my probable autoimmune induced dry eyes and then dry mouth symptoms. I was and still am using LDN (low dose naltrexone) therapy to treat my autoimmune Sjogren like symptoms.

I first started LDN therapy last November, 07 and I got some improvements to my dry eyes and complete reversal of my severe dry mouth in over a week. My success with LDN therapy lasted for over 5 months until I suddenly developed acute urinary tract infection. And what LDN was able to help with my dry mouth, all of a sudden stopped working. I panicked and was asking fellow LDN users on what went wrong. My answer was: candida overgrowth!!! I think my candida yeast problem was a direct result from several rounds antibiotics to combat my recurring bronchitis a year prior to my dry eyes and later prolonged use of doxycycline to treat supposedly inflammed dry eyes. I didn't know then that antibiotics could actually kill all good and bad intestinal flora. I should have replenished with probiotics. BTW, some doctors claim that this may actually induce a leaky gut syndrome which will induce an auto-immune reaction!!

Although I never had a formal bloodwork done to verify if it was candida overgrowth; according to old timers, LDN can sometimes bring dormant candida yeast into the forefront causing LDN to lose its effectiveness. What I did was to take Diflucan and 3 hours after I took my first Diflucan, my salivary gland started to flow again albeit very little in volume but it was secreting saliva where there was none!

For the next 5 months, I took various forms of anti-fungal medications together with the strict anti-candida diet (no soy, no gluten, no dairy, no yeast and most importantly, no sugar). I am happy to say that my eyes have continued to see improvements although it can fluctuate at times; i tear A LOT when I yawn, cry or laugh!! I don't need panoptx but only wear it as a preventive measure on tough conditions. As for my salivary gland function, I've been able to regain almost 95% function and I don't feel miserable or dry anymore. But I must say that I lost almost 18 pounds and is at only 108 pounds (my thinnest yet!). I think I may have even become vitamin deficient because just these past 2 weeks I have some unusual hair loss, intermittent burning tongue sensation and lightheadedness.

My die off reaction was very strong. I was incapacitated for almost a month feeling gastrointestinal distress, bladder problems, dizziness, nausea and lost of energy. But after over 5 months now ( I plan to continue a little bit longer to hopefully clean my body up from all the toxins), I am feeling a lot more energy, my Sjogren's symptoms are considered mild as compared to 18 months ago. As for my recent symptoms, I am getting blood work done tomorrow to see if it is indeed anemia or something else.

I must say we ARE what we eat!!! I am so grateful that LDN was able to work more effective for me again after I deal with the candida issue. It is a tough thing to get rid of. It takes a lot of persistence and self control but I think at the end of the day, it is well worth it FOR ME.

For anyone who is interested in LDN therapy in autoimmune diseases, I believe there is a new book on LDN therapy being published and you can pre-order it on Amazon.com. It is written by someone who suffers from Graves disease and was helped by LDN together with interviews with reputable doctors who are using LDN therapy. There was a nationwide LDN conference this past weekend in LA and I can't wait to hear if there's anything new being discussed and discovered. You may read more on the official LDN website: www.lowdosenaltrexon.org.

Wishing good health to everyone on this site as the people on this site provided so much warmth and hope for someone who was once hopeless and desperate 18 months ago.

p.s. I do recommend "The Yeast Connection Book" by Dr. Crooke. There's a lot of good information on candida yeast.

Chris C

[painintheeye]

Interesting Video on Food allergy

Here's a video link that my fellow LDN users found on food allergies which is very interesting. It's worth thinking about the food that we eat!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYuYr...eature=related

Chris

[kurt]

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candida_(genus)

Alternative medicine practitioners use the term Candida to refer to a complex with broad spectrum of symptoms, the majority of which center around gastrointestinal distress, rashes, sore gums and other miscellaneous symptoms. Candida is accorded responsibility for symptoms as specific as hayfever, as vague as "foggy brain" and as common as weight gain or flatulence. These symptoms are attributed by alternative medicine practitioners to the "overgrowth" of intestinal candida albicans, which they claim leads to the spread of the yeast to other parts of the body via the bloodstream...

[Rick]

Here's a video link that my fellow LDN users found on food allergies which is very interesting. It's worth thinking about the food that we eat!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYuYr...eature=related

Chris

This is a video by Dr. Russell Blaylock. When he started linking food allergies to schizophrenia, I almost fell out of my chair. Schizophrenia involves a genetic predisposition and a stress trigger, and has nothing to do with food. He is a prime example of how body language combined with confidence and charisma can do great harm and mislead.

He's also listed on quackwatch: http://www.quackwatch.org/11Ind/index.html

[jp2084]

You cannot go on a candida elimination diet alone, you need help, there are specific vitamins and steps you need to take to rid yourself of it. I have seen much improvement. I follow Dr. Biamonte's regimine, for those that are interested.

[Mika]

interesting post and congratulation on ur improvement! candida.. well who would have though next? I hope that as time goes by, more people will get answer they seek for!

Well this candida post urged me to go buy probiotic..!! probiotic is one of the most used method for candida diet!...
I tried them for 1 month and no effect. Can't say that my pro-bacteria was weak- i took 10 billions!...
I am stubborn as ever and am trying for the 2nd month.
but what i find strange is that:

probiotic increases cytokine production!!!!!
well u'll say... wat the hell is cytokine?..
its the same element that RESTASIS is trying to stop!!

Extract:
How RESTASIS® Ophthalmic Emulsion Works:

It has been shown that patients with Chronic Dry Eye experience increased activation of T-cells. These T-cells produce cytokines that may result in

* Increased cytokine production

Extract from probiotic website: (http://www.bio-medicine.org/medicine...No-21-14573-1/)
However, the ways in which probiotic bacteria elicit their health effects are not fully understood. One of the action mechanisms could be the ability to induce cytokines that further regulate innate and adaptive immune responses.

another onehttp://www.foodsciencecentral.com/ix...button=summary)

Supporting this theory is the fact that lactic acid bacteria have been shown to enhance the production of several cytokines by human peripheral blood mononuclear cells in vitro.

So what to believe????

[miki-mama]

LDN and dry eye connection

Hello, Chris C. (painintheeye),

I have read your post on LDN and your experience being on it with great interest. I have also visited the LDN site. Could you tell me how you got started on LDN? What specialist, if any do you need to see if you are interested in trying LDN therapy? I had Stevens-Johnson Syndrome 17 ears ago which caused irreversible damages to both my eyes. No tear production, dry, inflamed eyes, etc. I am wearing the scleral lenses which help tremendously. I was also diagnosed with Sjogren Syndrome in 2007. I do suffer from dry mouth, and it probably is doing number of things to my eyes, as well. Any information on where you get your LDN regiments, and how you were started on it would be very helpful. I am definitely interested in looking into it for myself. Thanks for very useful information.

Miki