Overcoming Yeast Infections: A Ten-Step Program of Medical Care and Self-Help for Candidiasis

OVERCOMING

YEAST

INFECTIONS

Cover: Yeasts are oval cells that grow by forming buds. Under starvation conditions, yeast cells form filaments called pseudohyphae that lack cross walls. In the presence of serum, Candida albicans yeast cells form germ tubes that are true hyphae with cross walls.

Copyright, © 2021, Marjorie Crandall

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Name: Crandall, Marjorie (Ann), 1940-

Title: Overcoming Yeast Infections: A Ten-Step Program of Medical Care and Self-Help for Candidiasis / Marjorie Crandall, Ph.D.

ISBN 979-8-9864890-0-1 (Paperback)

ISBN 979-8-9864890-1-8 (eBook)

First Edition

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Printed in the United States of America

Dedication

To Morris Cohen, Ph.D., whose friendship and support made this book possible.

Acknowledgments

Special thanks to C. Orian Truss, M.D., and William G. Crook, M.D., whose 1983 books helped me regain my former good health, and opened up a new area of study—chronic candidiasis.

I am indebted to the thousands of Candida sufferers who have shared their personal experiences with me about the difficulties they faced trying to obtain proper medical care for chronic yeast infections from their physicians.

I obtained the knowledge I needed to self-publish this book from membership in the Authors Guild, Independent Writers of Southern California, and Publishers Association of Los Angeles.

Thanks to the following persons for help with this book:

Susan Jamele drew the graphic of yeasts and hyphae on the book cover.

Deanna Hockett drew the graphic of my logo for Yeast Consulting Services and YCS Press.

Bob Cook, at Business Printing and Imaging, prepared Figure 1, Figure 2, and the circular graphic indicating YEAST INFECTIONS prohibited.

David Wogahn, at AuthorImprints, designed this paperback and the ebook Overcoming Yeast Infections.

Disclaimer

The suggestions in this book are designed to help otherwise healthy, immunocompetent people overcome superficial yeast infections and yeast allergies. You must be under the supervision of a medical doctor or other licensed health care professional to receive the medical tests and therapies described herein. Before self-treating with natural remedies, obtain diagnostic testing. Since every patient is different, you need a treatment program based on your test results, and individual susceptibility factors. Your response to antiyeast treatment is influenced by your other health conditions, and how closely you follow your personalized healing plan. Therefore, the information in this book must not be viewed as a prescription for anyone. The author disclaims any and all liability for any adverse reactions you might experience while following this ten-step program. If you have a problem while following this program, consult your physician immediately.

Contents

Preface: Why I Wrote This Book

My Story

My Candida Crusade

My Mission

My Qualifications for Writing This Book

Part I: Spectrum of Yeast Infections

Introduction: Your doctor said what!?

Purpose of this Book

How to Get the Most from this Book

Chapter 1: Diseases Caused by Candida

What Yeasts Are

Harmless Flora or Dangerous Pathogen?

Spectrum of Yeast Infections

How Candida Causes Symptoms

How the Immune System Causes Symptoms

Chapter 2: Yeast Infections in Women

Terminology

Incidence of Yeast Vaginitis

Symptoms of Yeast Vaginitis

Self-Tests for Yeast Vaginitis

Medical Diagnosis of Yeast Vaginitis

Medical Treatment of Yeast Vaginitis

Self-Treatment of Yeast Vaginitis

Recurrent Yeast Vaginitis

Vulvodynia

Categorizing Vulvodynia

Pathogenesis of Vulvodynia

Doctors’ Plague

Diagnosis of Vulvodynia

Diagnostic Tests for Vulvodynia

Genetic Predisposition and Immune Dysregulation in Vulvodynia

Treatment of Vulvodynia

Vulvar Pain Clinics

My Critique of Vulvar Pain Clinic Protocols

Chapter 3: Yeast Infections in Men

Symptoms

Candida Balanitis

Diagnosis

Treatment

Circumcision

Predisposing Factors

Sexual Transmission

Pathogenesis of Prostatodynia

Chapter 4: Yeast Infections in Children

Colonization

Symptoms

Diagnosis

Treatment

Risk Factors

Prevention

Probiotics

Is Candida Linked to Autism?

Chapter 5: Intestinal Yeast Infections and the Hall of Fame

Definition of the Yeast Syndrome

Doctors’ Plague

Intestinal Candidiasis

Heroes of the Yeast Revolution

Symptoms of the Yeast Syndrome

Explanations of Symptoms

Candida Autoimmunity

Genetic Predisposition

Think Yeast!

Future Research on the Yeast Syndrome

Chapter 6: The Candida Controversy and the Hall of Shame

Why Do Doctors Deny Patients Medical Care for Yeast Infections?

Origin of the Controversy

Consequences of the Controversy

What to Do If Your Doctor Won’t Listen

History of Science

Part II: A Ten-Step Program of Medical Care and Self-Help for Candida Infections and Candida Allergy

Overview

Step 1: Diagnostic Tests for Yeast Infections

Standard Diagnostic Tests for Superficial Candida Infections

Vulvar and Vaginal Tests

Tests for Intestinal Candidiasis

Blood Tests to Check for Risk Factors

Tests for Candida Allergy

Research Tests for Intestinal Candidiasis

Rule Out Other Disorders

How to Obtain Diagnostic Testing for Candidiasis

Unproven Tests and Therapies

Step 2: Antifungal Treatments

General Considerations for Prescribing Antifungal Drugs

Topical Antifungals

Oral Antifungals

Oral Nonabsorbed Antifungals

Oral Systemic Antifungals

Ineffective Drugs

Antifungal Resistance

Sensitive but Dose Dependent

Combination Antifungal Therapy

Antifungal Synergy

Natural Antifungals

Pros and Cons of Natural Remedies

Protocols

Checklist for Preventing Relapses

How to Obtain Medical Treatments for Candidiasis

What to Do If You Are Denied Medical Care

You Need a Plan

Step 3: Precautions

Contraindications

Liver Toxicity

Drug Interactions

Yeast Die-off

Other Side Effects

Step 4: Anti-inflammatory Drugs

Corticosteroids

Antihistamines

Leukotriene Receptor Antagonists

NSAIDs

Step 5: Candida Allergy

Definitions

Incidence

Candida Allergy

Diagnostic Tests for Allergy and Immunity

Treatment of Candida Allergy

Protocol for Allergy Shots

NovaDigm Vaccine

T.O.E. Vaccine

Unproven Treatments for Allergy

How to Obtain Candida Allergy Testing and Treatment

Step 6: Avoid All Risk Factors

Red Flag Warning

Risk Factors

Medical Risk Factors

Hospital Risk Factors

Physiological Conditions

Predisposing Diseases

Transmission

Step 7: Lifestyle Changes

Irritating Chemicals

Personal Hygiene Practices

Laundry Care

Clothing Choices and Physical Habits

Birth Control Methods that Can Cause Yeast Vaginitis

Birth Control Methods that Do Not Cause Yeast Vaginitis

Sexual Practices

Environmental Mold Contamination

Step 8: Candida Diet

Test Before Treating!

Origin of the Low Carbohydrate, Yeast-free Diet

The Low Carbohydrate Diet

Feast without Yeast

Avoid Other Food Allergens

Adverse Food Reactions

Diagnostic Food Testing

Step 9: Probiotics and Prebiotics

Definitions

Bacterial Probiotics for Intestinal Disorders

Health Promoting Activities of Normal Intestinal Flora

Safety of Probiotics

Clinical Conditions Prevented by Probiotics

Saccharomyces boulardii vs. Candida albicans: A Tale of Two Yeasts

Prebiotics

Eat More Fiber

Butyric Acid Helps Heal Leaky Gut Syndrome

Probiotics for Yeast Vaginitis

Lactobacillus Vaginosis

Fecal Microbiota Transplantation

Pitfalls with FMT

Step 10: Antifungal Prophylaxis

Prevention Is Better Than Cure

Preventive Protocols

Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care

List of Tables and Figures

Table 1. Summary of Your Medical History

Table 2. Candida Continuum

Table 3. Yeast Questionnaire (Santelmann et al., 2001)

Table 4. Checklist of Yeast Syndrome Symptoms

Table 5. Development of the Yeast Syndrome

Table 6. Tests and Labs for Intestinal Candidiasis

Table 7. Addresses of Diagnostic Laboratories

Table 8. Test Results for Candida Allergy

Figure 1. Pathogenesis of Vaginal Candidiasis

Figure 2. Sugar Metabolism

The Hall of Fame

The Hall of Shame

Part III: Literature Cited

PREFACE

Why I Wrote This Book

My Story

I AM A CANDIDA RESEARCHER AND FORMER CANDIDA PATIENT. My unique insights into yeast-related problems have been gained from my decades-long battle against Candida infections and my academic research on candidiasis.

Initially, I struggled against the idea of going public with my medical history in this book, but finally decided to tell my story to help other people avoid similar problems.

My yeast infections started during my twenties. Soon after I was married in 1960, I developed honeymoon cystitis. This bacterial infection of the bladder often develops in women after vaginal intercourse. None of my doctors told me that the diaphragm I used for birth control predisposes women to develop bladder infections due to the physical trauma to the bladder during intercourse. Neither did my doctors tell me that spermicidal jelly used with the diaphragm causes chemical irritation of the vaginal mucosa, which predisposes women to develop vaginal yeast infections.

Adding insult to injury, none of my doctors told me that the antibiotic prescribed for my bladder infection makes women susceptible to vaginal yeast infections. Neither did they offer prophylactic antifungals to prevent recurrences. The antibiotic-induced vaginal yeast infections caused urethral inflammation and swelling that prevented me from emptying my bladder completely. Urine left in the bladder allowed bacteria to grow and produce another episode of cystitis, followed by another episode of vaginitis, leading to a self-perpetuating cycle of cure and relapse. These bacterial and yeast infections could suddenly appear overnight and fulminate into highly symptomatic episodes that required immediate treatment.

Self-Perpetuating Cycle

I still remember my despair at not being able to see my doctor right away when I felt that old familiar itching and burning again. When I called for a doctor’s appointment, the receptionist would always say, Is next week okay? Each time, I had to explain that I could not tolerate the symptoms and needed immediate treatment.

During my thirties, my episodes of yeast vaginitis became more and more frequent. I was trapped in a whirlpool of yeast vaginitis alternating with bacterial cystitis that dragged me down physically and mentally. I was willing to do anything to get relief from my chronic vulvar and urethral pain. I endured many urological procedures including a cystoscopy with removal of polyps from my bladder, filling my bladder with silver nitrate, painful urethral dilations with a long rod (I call this urethral rape), and worst of all—surgical removal of the Skene glands surrounding the urethra. Called the Richardson Operation, this surgery was supposed to remove the reservoir of infection in my periurethral Skene glands causing recurrent cystitis. The bad news is that all these procedures failed to cure my recurrent bladder infections and produced additional problems.

At that time in my life, I thought physicians knew everything about their specialty, and I agreed to whatever they suggested. It never occurred to me to question my doctor’s recommendations. There was no discussion about the risks and benefits of this surgery, no informed consent, no second opinion. I trusted my urologist and anticipated that this surgery would solve all my urogenital problems. Well, I was wrong!

Immediately after the surgery, I developed another bladder infection, and was back in the urologist’s office! After being treated with antibiotics—again, I developed another vaginal yeast infection—again. My urogenital inflammation became even worse, and my self-perpetuating cycle of alternating vaginitis and cystitis continued unabated.

Not only that, after the Richardson operation, my urethra was wide open, exposing the internal mucosal lining of my urethra to chemical irritants, or to friction during intercourse. This made me even more susceptible to bladder infections because bacteria were more easily pushed up my urethra during sex. Furthermore, certain sexual positions became painful or impossible, and I started to leak urine whenever I sneezed or coughed. The bad news continues: I am not the only unfortunate victim of this ill-designed, experimental surgery. The only good news is that urologists no longer perform the Richardson operation, which never received official board certification.

Take home message: Do not agree to the removal of any urogenital tissue without a valid medical reason such as cancer, and always get a second opinion. Uncomplicated infections and inflammation should be treated with medications and lifestyle changes—not surgery!

After more antibiotic and antifungal treatments, my condition evolved into chronic vulvar pain and inflammation, which is now called vulvodynia. To make a very long story very short, once my gynecologist realized that I could correctly recognize symptoms of yeast vaginitis, he prescribed a refillable prescription for clotrimazole vaginal inserts. (These inserts were less irritating than vaginal antifungal creams, which also contain alcohols and detergents. Unfortunately, clotrimazole vaginal inserts are no longer available.)

Having antifungal medication on hand greatly improved the quality of my life because I could obtain prompt treatment without having to wait for a doctor’s appointment. Since none of my physicians had a permanent solution for preventing my long-standing yeast problems, I became obsessed with learning everything I could about Candida infections.

My Quest for a Cure

So, in 1978, I switched the focus of my university-based laboratory work from basic research on yeast genetics to studying the medically important yeast, Candida albicans. I started by reviewing the research literature on candidiasis. My Eureka moment came one day while I reading medical journals in the library and I came across one study showing that yeast infections don’t just occur on the surface of skin and mucous membranes, but yeasts also invade underlying tissues, and grow inside epithelial cells!

This fact led me to realize why yeast infections tend to recur after standard antifungal therapy and resolution of symptoms. The answer is that after short-term antifungal treatment, some yeasts remain inside tissue cells in a hibernating or latent condition. Even though these intracellular yeasts are not actively growing, they continuously release antigens into tissues thereby causing immune reactions that produce inflammation. Thus, after your first yeast infection, you are in a different state. The yeasts remaining inside your subsurface tissues can start growing again the next time you are exposed to a predisposing risk factor.

I also learned from my review of the scientific and medical literature on candidiasis that there are dozens of risk factors that make people susceptible to Candida infections. Before I became aware of all these predisposing conditions, I discovered a new risk factor each time I had another vaginal yeast infection. My personal risk factors were antibiotics for cystitis, use of spermicides with the diaphragm, personal hygiene products, estrogen-based contraceptive pills, swimming in chlorinated pools, becoming pregnant, and wearing pantyhose. These risk factors were cumulative, and worsened my yeast condition.

Progressive Yeast Disease

Initial episodes of yeast vaginitis become recurrent, and then chronic. Subsequently, I also developed oral thrush and chronic intestinal candidiasis. As time went by, I developed associated diseases including allergy, idiopathic (Id) reactions, inflammation, autoimmunity, and endocrine disorders. With this clinical condition, I became a textbook case of autoimmune polyendocrinopathy immune dysregulation candidiasis hypersensitivity (APICH):

My autoimmune diseases include endometriosis and multiple sclerosis.

My endocrine disorders include hypothyroidism, premature ovarian failure, and type II diabetes.

My immune dysregulation is deduced from my 40-year battle with candidiasis.

My hypersensitivities include allergies to Candida and many other substances, multiple food intolerances, chemical sensitivities, and medication-induced photosensitivity.

In 1980, I accepted a research faculty appointment, at the Associate Professor level, in the Division of Infectious Diseases, at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, in Torrance, California. There I continued my federally funded research on Candida, published papers, and networked with colleagues studying candidiasis at other institutions.

I learned that in 1983, two pivotal books for the general public were published independently by community-based physicians: The Missing Diagnosis by C. Orian Truss, M.D., and The Yeast Connection by William G. Crook, M.D. Both described a syndrome caused by chronic intestinal candidiasis that offered me the first ray of hope for escaping from my Candida quagmire.

Following the publication of these two books, several research laboratories developed blood tests that measured levels of anti-Candida antibodies, Candida antigens, and Candida immune complexes for diagnosing chronic intestinal candidiasis.

I asked my primary care physician to order the test for anti-Candida antibody levels. When the results came back higher than normal, I asked for a prescription for Nizoral (oral ketoconazole). Diflucan was not yet available. (At that time, I was unaware of the importance of taking oral nystatin powder at the same time as a systemic antifungal for intestinal candidiasis.) I took Nizoral for about nine months, stopping occasionally to recover from side effects, and gradually my oral, intestinal and vaginal yeast infection symptoms subsided.

At the same time, I asked my allergist to test me for allergy to Candida and other substances. My scratch tests were positive for many allergens including Candida. So, I started long-term allergy shots containing all my allergens including Candida. Finally, I was on the road to recovery. But antifungal therapy and immunotherapy do not produce overnight cures.

There were many bumps along the road to my recovery. I relapsed whenever I was exposed to a new risk factor. To prevent recurrences, I had to avoid vaginal contact with all chemicals, use an antifungal concurrently whenever I took antibiotics, and treat each new yeast infection promptly in order to nip it in the bud!

My Candida Crusade

While still dealing with my personal yeast problems, I continued pursuing academic research on Candida. In 1986, I was interviewed about my research at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance, California, by Linda Marsa, a freelance journalist. Her article, The Infection Women Don’t Talk About, was published in Parade Magazine on August 17, 1986. That morning, my phone started ringing, and it hasn’t stopped since.

People who had read Marsa’s article called or wrote me because they could not obtain proper medical care for chronic or recurrent candidiasis from their personal physicians. After receiving so many distressing inquiries, I embarked upon a crusade to correct the confusion in this field. I began writing evidence-based guidelines for the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of oral, vaginal, and intestinal candidiasis.

Initially, I wrote a one-page handout that I distributed at my Grand Rounds lectures to physicians in the Divisions of Infectious Diseases and Allergy and Immunology at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. By the time I retired from academia in 1988, I had read thousands of medical journal articles on the causes and cures of candidiasis, networked extensively with scientists and physicians who were studying and/or treating yeast-related disorders, and I had been invited to give lectures at several Candida conferences.

At this point, I realized that I knew more about yeast infections than most doctors, and that Candida sufferers needed accurate information about their yeast conditions. So, I switched the focus of my career from laboratory studies of Candida, to writing about candidiasis for the general public. To achieve this goal, I founded my business firm, Yeast Consulting Services, in Torrance, California, in 1988.

My Mission

The mission of Yeast Consulting Services is to help people overcome yeast infections. I counsel people on the telephone, discuss their symptoms and medical history, review their Candida test results and medical conditions, answer their questions, and make recommendations. I have also given lectures to support groups, offered expert witness testimony, and consulted for industrial firms on research and development of new antifungals and diagnostics.

As part of my mission to improve medical care for people with candidiasis, I wrote letters to medical organizations, researchers, and self-help groups, and published articles in medical journals and online. Here are some of my outreach efforts.

In 1988, I sent a letter to many members of the Infectious Diseases Society of America urging them not to adopt the draft IDSA guidelines for the yeast connection written by Edwards (1988b).

In 1989, I published a short booklet entitled, How to Prevent Yeast Infections. Over the following years, the helpful tips in my booklet grew into a detailed Candida Information Packet with supporting references.

In 1990, when the sale of vaginal antifungals over-the-counter was being decided by a panel of experts at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), I wrote them a letter in support of their proposal. The FDA approved OTC sale of antifungal treatments for vaginal yeast infections in 1991, thereby improving the lives of many women by making prompt treatment available.

In 1991 and 2004, I wrote letters to journal editors, objecting to their negative—and incorrect—articles denying the existence of the candidiasis hypersensitivity syndrome.

In 1996, I founded my website, www.yeastconsulting.com, to sell my Candida Information Packet and telephone consultations.

In 2008, I sent letters to Paul Fidel, his coauthors, and their Institutional Review Board at Louisiana State University, objecting to their 2004 Infection and Immunity study. These researchers inserted living Candida cells into women’s vaginas and, afterwards, one-third of the women subjects developed vulvovaginal candidiasis. I warned patients, if you are asked to participate in such an objectionable research protocol, just say No!

Also, in 2008, I published an article on www.empowher.com explaining that if Candida vulvovaginitis is not treated long enough with a sufficient dosage of an antifungal, women are left with residual Candida vulvitis (chronic atrophic erythematous candidiasis), which produces chronic vulvar pain (vulvodynia).

In 2021, my Candida Information Packet finally became this book. Overcoming Yeast Infections contains the most comprehensive scholarship available on superficial Candida infections.

My Qualifications for Writing This Book

Evidence-based information in this book is based on a synthesis of everything I have learned from all sources including:

my personal experience with recurrent vaginal yeast infections and chronic oral and intestinal candidiasis since the 1960s

my comprehensive review of the medical and scientific literature on candidiasis since 1980

my experience counseling Candida patients since 1988

my professional contacts and personal acquaintances with:

-physicians who discovered the yeast syndrome and developed best practices for clinically diagnosing and treating chronic candidiasis in their 1983 books

-researchers who developed and validated diagnostic tests and screening questionnaires for Candida infection

-academic skeptics who denied the existence of the candidiasis hypersensitivity syndrome and the yeast connection to chronic disease

By taking charge of my health and learning everything I could about yeast-related conditions, I was able to overcome my long-standing problems with yeast infections. Now you too can benefit from what I have learned. By following the evidence-based guidelines in my ten-step program, you can overcome chronic candidiasis and prevent recurrences by obtaining appropriate medical care, make lifestyle changes to avoid risk factors, and obtain antifungal protection when some predisposing conditions are unavoidable. Form a partnership with your physician and offer her/him a copy of this book. They will find my evidence-based protocols valuable to other patients as well in their medical practices.

If my career efforts to help people overcome yeast infections are successful, then I will consider my Candida crusade to have been worthwhile.

My best wishes for a yeast-free future,

Marjorie Crandall, Ph.D.

Founder and Owner

Yeast Consulting Services

www.yeastconsulting.com

drcrandall@aol.com

Helping Candida patients since 1988

PART I

Spectrum of Yeast Infections

INTRODUCTION

Your doctor said what!?

WHEN YOU DESCRIBED YOUR WHOLE-BODY SYMPTOMS and said you thought they were yeast-related, did your doctor say something like this?

The yeast connection is quackery!

No studies have been done!

Everyone has yeast in their intestine!

It’s all in your head!

There’s nothing more we can do for you!

Learn to live with it!

Stop taking antifungals, and let your body heal itself!

If your doctor made such uninformed, unsympathetic, and disrespectful comments, you are not alone. Candida sufferers routinely tell me they receive insulting dismissals of their symptoms, and want to know: Why don’t my physicians want to help me?

The answer is that physicians in community practices have been influenced by skeptical academic physicians who wrote negative position statements denying the existence of a yeast connection to chronic illnesses (see Chapter 6. The Candida Controversy and the Hall of Shame).

Even though these negative papers by academic skeptics lacked scientific data and were based only on opinions, they influenced community-based physicians to deny patients medical care. Nowadays, most doctors refuse even to test patients for Candida—let alone treat them! This is tantamount to medical malpractice and condemns patients who have chronic yeast infections to needless suffering and disability.

Some adults with chronic Candida infections become so debilitated that they can no longer work or attend school. As a result, they lose their health insurance and must go on disability, live off their credit cards, and/or ask their parents or acquaintances for financial support and housing after having previously lived independently.

Children with chronic candidiasis cannot describe their discomfort. Instead, they misbehave or act out. When parents seek medical help for their child’s presumed yeast infection, they are usually denied testing and treatment ironically by the same pediatrician who prescribed the antibiotics that caused the child’s yeast infection in the first place!

Purpose of this Book

The purpose of this book is to educate patients about how to diagnose, treat and prevent chronic and recurrent candidiasis and yeast allergies.

Then, through Candida patients, to educate doctors about accurate scientific articles on yeast-related diseases published in medical journals. Doctors who claim that the yeast connection does not exist or the candidiasis hypersensitivity syndrome is quackery will learn how wrong these skeptical comments are, and how much suffering they have inflicted on Candida patients.

Overcoming Yeast Infections offers everything you need to know about conquering Candida infections and related yeast allergies. It is a guide through the confusing maze of myths, misinformation, misconceptions, misnomers, contradictory statements, controversies, and errors found on the internet, in popular books, and—yes—even in some academic publications!

Because there is so much nonsense written about yeast infections, you cannot believe everything you read. In your quest for a cure, keep in mind that science and medicine advance by confirming previous findings. When independent researcher groups report the same results and form a consensus, then you can believe it. That is why this book mainly cites controlled clinical studies that were published in medical and scientific journal articles. These are called primary sources of information and are the most reliable. To help you understand medical articles, scientific terms are defined the first time they are mentioned.

Overcoming Yeast Infections explains:

how to recognize yeast-related symptoms

what screening questionnaires and diagnostic laboratory tests for Candida have been validated in controlled clinical studies

what treatments are proven effective for candidiasis and Candida allergy

what risk factors cause yeast infections in susceptible people

how to prevent candidiasis from recurring

To receive proper medical care for yeast infections, you must take charge of your health. Advocate for yourself. Discuss the information in this book with your doctor. Ask for tests and treatments that are tailor-made for your individual case.

Be assertive. Just say "No!" to any test, treatment, or procedure that sounds phony. If something seems hokey, it probably is! Unproven procedures offered by some alternative practitioners are named in this book.

Please be assured that yeast-related illnesses can be cured if you obtain effective medical care and make appropriate lifestyle changes. You should not have to endure symptoms of candidiasis for weeks or months—or even years—when definitive diagnostic tests, effective treatments, and preventive protocols are available. You can conquer Candida!

How to Get the Most from this Book

To get started right away on your healing plan, first read the Introduction and Chapter 1 to learn important background information. Then read the chapter that applies to your yeast condition, and fill in Tables 1, 3 and 4 in Part I. Then read the Overview of the Ten-Step Program in Part II.

Table 1. Summary of Your Medical History

Download this questionnaire from www.yeastconsulting.com, fill in your answers, print it out, and give a copy to your physician. Ask for the tests recommended in Steps 1 and 5 that are relevant for your yeast condition. If the results are positive for Candida infection and/or Candida allergy, ask for treatments recommended in Steps 2 and 5 that are appropriate for your case. Lend this book to your doctor or buy another copy for her or him.

Information you provide about your case will help your doctor make a preliminary evaluation of your yeast condition, and decide what diagnostic tests to order. After performing a physical examination and evaluating your medical history, risk factors for candidiasis, and diagnostic test results for Candida and other illnesses, your physician can arrive at a more accurate diagnosis of your condition.

Name, age, height, weight, and male or female:

Current signs and symptoms:

On a scale from 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest), fill in the number that best describes the degree of pain and discomfort you feel:

On a scale from 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest), fill in the number that indicates how much your yeast condition interferes with your work, relationships, and recreational