If you suffer from candida infection, it is more than likely that you have heard about “Candida die-off”. But what exactly is candida die-off? How scientific is the concept? Is there really something to it? You may have found a lot of information on die-off around the internet, some vouching for it, while others calling it a myth. This can cause a lot of confusion. This article will throw light on what is known and how to navigate through this information.

Before I continue with this article, you should know I've recently compiled a list of science-backed ways to get rid of candida yeast infections. You can download my free Candida Report here if you haven't yet.

Watch the video for more information:

What is die-off?

History:

Die-off is also called “Jarisch-Herxheimer reaction” (JHR), “Herxheimer reaction”, “therapeutic shock” or more commonly “Herx”. This reaction was known as early as 15^th century when arsenic ointment was used to treat syphilis. However, it was documented for the first time in 1895 by Adolf Jarisch, a dermatologist from Austria. He noted that the lesions of syphilis got worse when treated with mercury. Later in 1902, German dermatologist Karl Herxheimer reported a similar phenomenon.

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Herx was defined as a transient immune reaction in patients within 24h of undergoing antimicrobial therapy for syphilis. The symptoms reported by Jarisch were fever, chill, tiredness, muscular pain and worsening of syphilis lesions. Since then this reaction has been noted in other infections caused by other spiral bacteria (spirochetes) – like lyme disease, leptospirosis, tick borne relapsing fever and louse borne relapsing fever. The reaction occurs a few hours after starting antibiotics against these infections. Symptoms reported are headache, fever, shivering, tiredness, low blood pressure and sweating and worsening of the symptoms of the infection that one is being treated for.

For syphilis, JHR was found to be more severe in early stages of the disease. According to the 1976 report by Mesilin and Bremer, JHR only happens when there is a critical number of the infecting organism – if this number is not reached JHR will not occur.

Die-off from treatment of other infections:

JHR has been reported to also be caused by bacteria other than spirochetes and protozoa although there are only some case reports and not much is known.  In 2009, a case was reported by Cheung and Chee from Singapore that showed worsening of inflammation of the eye after start of the treatment for tuberculosis. This was the first report of JHR affecting the eye. There is a 1983 report, by Berkowitz and colleagues from South Africa, about JHR during treatment of meningitis caused by meningococci bacteria. There are several other bacterial infections where cases have been reported to experience JHR after starting treatment. Another 1984 case report by Kofoed from Denmark described JHR in a patient with malaria (which is caused by a protozoan) after treatment.

What symptoms are included for die-off?

Die-off symptoms are similar to the symptoms of sepsis – where your whole body has an inflammatory response to an infection. The exact symptoms may vary from person to person and may also depend on the overall health of the person. The most common symptoms include fatigue, joint or muscle pain, sensitivity to light, dizziness, sweating, chills, fever, headache, low blood pressure. This can be accompanied by worsening of some symptoms of the infection that the patient is being treated for.

Why does it happen?

Despite the advances in medicine, not much is known about JHR. Theories have been proposed and tested, however, there is not a single theory yet that has given the same results in experiments carried out by different scientists. Here are some of the theories on this reaction – the actual cause could be a combination of some or all of these:

• Endotoxin theory: According to this theory, it is the endotoxins that are released from the dying bacteria that trigger this reaction. While some studies have detected endotoxin in the blood of patients with die-off symptoms, others have failed to detect them. The conflicting results could be because of different quantities of endotoxins and different sensitivities of the test assays in different studies. It is reasonable to think of endotoxins when it comes to certain types of bacteria called the Gram negative bacteria like the bacteria that cause meningococcal disease (Neisseria), syphilis (Treponema), lyme disease (Borrelia) etc. This is because this type of bacteria have special molecules in their cell wall – the lipopolysaccharides (LPS) – also known as endotoxins. These molecules elicit a strong immune response in our body by binding to many of our immune cells which makes them produce inflammation causing molecules like cytokines, nitric oxide and eicosanoids. They also cause symptoms of sepsis.
• Cytokine increase theory: Certain types of our immune cells secrete molecules called cytokines which regulate our immunity and have a specific effect on communication between our cells. This theory suggests that treatment of an infection results in a transient increase in the release of cytokines. A study by Negussie and colleagues from the UK, published in 1992, showed that elevated levels of cytokines like tumor necrosis factor (TNF), interleukin-6 and interleukin-8 could be detected in patients with JHR. In contrast the cytokine levels were not increased in patients without JHR. When cytokine levels increase beyond a certain level in the system, we get flu-like symptoms. Thus, cytokine release theory seems to link to the endotoxin theory and seems reasonable as some of the symptoms of die-off resemble flu symptoms.
• Antibiotic speed theory: According to this theory, the speed with which the antibiotic kills the infecting organisms determines if a patient will get die-off or not. In 1992, Nadelman and colleagues from USA found in their blinded random controlled trial that a more rapidly acting antibiotic had higher chances to produce die-off in patients with lyme disease as compared to a slower acting antibiotic. On the other hand, opposite seemed to be true in a 1978 study by Butler and colleagues – however they only tested a total of 30 patients whereas Nadelman and colleagues had tested a total of 123 patients. Put simply, according to this theory, if the antibiotic kills the infection causing organisms too fast, you are likely to get die-off symptoms.
• Microbial clearance theory: This theory suggests that some antimicrobial agents allow faster clearance of the microbes from the system compared to others – the faster the clearance, lower the chances of getting JHR. A 1983 research by Warrel and colleagues from USA treated two sets of patients with slower and faster acting antibiotics respectively. They found that patients in both sets had JHR, however, JHR lasted longer in one set as compared to the other set of patients which correlated with how fast the microbes were cleared from the blood.

Candida and Die-Off

Now that we know what die-off is and where it is used as a medical term, let us get to die-off caused by candida. Internet is rife with information on candida die-off. In fact die-off is so popular in the circles of candida sufferers that it is used both in the right and wrong contexts. Die-off is expected by many when they start candida treatment. So when anything out of the normal happens while continuing the treatment, it is immediately termed Herx. However, not every symptom means herx! And you really do not need to get a die-off reaction to treat your candida infection.

Candida die-off is not caused by endotoxin release

If you have read properly up to here, you must have understood that it is the Gram negative bacteria with their endotoxins that cause JHR or die-off reactions. It is important to remember that “endotoxin” is a very specific term which should only be used in the context of LPS and cannot be used loosely to denote potential toxins inside the cell.

What about candida then? It is a fungus and is NOT a Gram negative bacterium and it dos not have LPS/endotoxin. So can candida, in fact, cause die-off or is candida die-off a myth? Let us look at what evidence has to say about this.

In 1962, Isenberg, Allerhand and Berkman from USA showed that Candida produces one or more substance that has endotoxin like toxic activity. Ten years later, American scientists – Cutler, Friedman and Milner – studied the endotoxin-like effects of whole cells, cell wall components and different extracts of candida. They found that at least two of candida components had similar effects but at a much higher dose-level than from bacterial preparations. However, these effects are definitely not from the LPS (endotoxin) as candida does not have LPS. So, what is happening with candida?

Candida die-off is likely related to beta-glucan exposure due to candida cell disruption

Research in the last few years has showed that candida cell wall contains a polysaccharide (it is NOT lipopolysaccharide) called beta-glucan. A 2006 review article describes the composition of candida cell wall. Candida has an outer wall made of the polysaccharide “mannan” and some proteins, and an inner wall containing a layer of beta-glucan and chitin each.  Research work published in 2007 by Gow and colleagues from UK showed that the cytokine production in response to candida is dependent on the beta-glucans present in the candida cell wall. Very interesting is their finding that the disrupted cell wall of candida induced more production of cytokines as compared to live cells. This was due to beta-glucan getting exposed because of cell-wall disruption. This matches very well with the herx reaction that people with candida infection experience. A sudden increase of dead candida cells will cause a higher level of cytokines to be produced due to exposure of beta-glucan – which will result in the flu-like symptoms of a herx reaction.

No, candida die-off is certainly not a myth but the pathway by which candida die-off happens is different from the pathway for a bacterial die-off reaction. It happens when you kill a lot of candida in one go. It can make you feel really bad physically and mentally. However, it does not involve endotoxin but likely involves another component of cell-wall – beta-glucan.

It is important to get the concepts right – saying that endotoxins cause candida die-off is as wrong as saying “a house protects us from elements of nature because the house has leaf covered branches”! Won’t you think that only a fool would say that? We can certainly compare the protection from sun and rain afforded by a tree and a house, but of course, the house has no leaf covered branches. It is because of wrong information like this on the internet that issues related to candida are called quackery. Anyone who knows some microbiology will say “endotoxin and candida – that is rubbish!” – An issue that deserves attention from the scientific community will just get brushed-off as being “non-scientific” due to incorrect information!

Signs and symptoms of candida die-off

As with herxheimer reaction from bacteria being killed, the signs and symptoms of candida die-off will include some general symptoms and some that would relate to the worsening of symptoms of the infection. Following are the symptoms that you may have due to a candida herx:

• Flu-like symptoms: Body ache/muscle pain, joint pain, fever, tiredness, headache, swollen glands, chills, cold hands or feet, night sweat
• Candida related symptoms: based on what kind of candida infection you have (skin/genital organs/mouth/gut) you may find that symptoms of this infection have worsened. You may get skin rash, acne, itching, mucus in stools, increased discharge, diarrhea, constipation, gas/ flatulence, vomiting, brain fog, or hair-loss. There can be multiple other symptoms depending on the kind of candida infection you have – generally these symptoms will feel like you have worsened your candida condition.
• Mental/emotional symptoms: Anxiety, angry outbursts, depression

Other issues that may feel like herx but are not –

There are a few of things that you should ask yourself when thinking about die-off reactions:

• Did you in fact catch a flu/cold/bacterial infection?

When you have candida infection, you are more susceptible to infections of all kind as candida suppresses your immune system to establish itself. When you make sudden changes to a diet/lifestyle when trying to treat candida, it leaves you vulnerable to infections as your system gets overwhelmed. So, rule this out before you think herx. You need to be aware that flu by itself can worsen the symptoms of your chronic candida infection. So just because you have started a candida treatment and have herx-like symptoms does not mean it is herx that you have.

• Is this a physiological response (withdrawal) to something I changed?

When you are on a candida diet, you may stop taking some addictive things like tea/coffee/nicotine/sugar they can give withdrawal symptoms – headache, muscle pain, fatigue, nausea, vomiting etc. Yes, you read it right, sugar can be addictive and can also give these withdrawal symptoms as has been described in a 2008 review article by Avena, Rada and Hoebel from USA!

• Am I starving myself of nutrition?

If you are removing all sources of carbohydrates in your candida diet, you most likely are also removing a lot of nutrition in form of vitamins and minerals. Carbohydrates are also a part of balanced nutrition and completely removing them from your diet is not a very smart thing to do. When you starve yourself of nutrition, you will get symptoms like headache, nausea, fatigue, dizziness, lowered body temperature and sensitivity to cold (cold hands and feet), irritability, brain fog, etc. which can wrongly make you think that you are experiencing a die-off.

• Is this an allergic reaction to something?

If you are experiencing symptoms like hives, dry mouth, dry eyes, dark circles under the eyes (allergic shiners), difficulty breathing, tightness of the chest, it will be wise to consider if you are having an allergic reaction to something new that you have eaten (diet or anti-fungal related). Whereas hives and allergic shiners are generally benign, respiratory symptoms can be dangerous and you should talk to your doctor regarding these.

Deciding whether it is candida die-off or not

When the symptoms of so many things overlap, how can you then make sure that what you are having is candida die off? The best way to do this is to keep a food diary as soon as you start your candida treatment. This will also be helpful to organize your diet and make sure that you are not missing out any nutrition. You should note down your daily diet including any antifungal products you start. This will help you track exactly when you started anything new and when the symptoms started.

Will everyone on treatment for candida get it?

Not everyone on candida treatment will get die-off. The important thing to realise is that we are all different and different things affect us differently. Those who get die-off are either super-sensitive or are super-impatient.

The super-sensitive: The more sensitive to the environment we are, the easier it will be for us to get die-off. Think about how easily things affect you – are you the first one to react to a particular food? Are you more sensitive to medicines and need lower doses of medicine (for example, Tylenol) for the same effect? If you are more sensitive, the good news is that you need much less treatment to get a cure! The bad news is that if you are not careful with your supplement doses and your diet, you are much more likely to get a herx reaction. If you are super-sensitive, start very slowly with any change to your diet and anti-candida supplements and products. Very gradually build up or taper down anything. And keep an eye on your anti-candida supplement dosage – you may not need as much as others do to get the same effect!!

The super-impatient: The super-impatient are the ones who believe in instant cures – those who think that larger doses or going cold-turkey will cause them to get rid of their candida faster. Unfortunately, our bodies can only handle as much of anything. If we kill more infection than our bodies can handle to clear, it will only end up causing problems.

It is in no way good to sit with a lot of candida dead cells in our system waiting for them to clear up – it overwhelms our system. It is like a traffic jam for our bodies. How do you like to get stuck in a traffic jam? If not, how can you think that your body would be happy with that? It will panic resist, and revolt! This revolt is die-off.

How long do the symptoms last?

This will depend on several factors like how sensitive you are, what sort of treatment you are taking, the type of diet, and dosage of the supplements. It can last from few days to a couple of weeks. Die-off generally is most intense in the first 24-72 hours, after which it starts tapering down.

Avoiding candida die off

This can be done quite easily. Pay attention to the following points:

• Flush out your gut before starting to take antifungal products
• How sensitive are you? Regulate your diet and anti-candida supplement dose according to your sensitivity. Start very slow when making any change.
• Never ever take a huge dose of antifungal product or probiotics suddenly.
• Keep yourself hydrated – drink enough water. This will help wash out the harmful substances produced by dying candida.
• Keep your liver healthy – make sure that you have stopped alcohol for a while before you start on the candida regimen. Liver cleans out toxins from the body and will not allow the harmful substances to accumulate in your body.
• Have a well-balanced and nutritious diet. Do not go cold turkey on any component of your diet. You need enough vitamins, minerals and energy in your body to help clear out all the dead candida.
• Sleep well and enough – sleep helps detoxify your body and repairs it.
• Choose your antifungal supplements carefully. Supplements like CanXida Remove are sustained-released which means that they are released gradually in a controlled manner. This prevents die-off due to sudden killing of a lot of candida.
• Take a good quality Vitamin C. This will boost your immune system and also help clear the dead candida.

Managing candida die-off

If you have reached this page when you have already started getting a die-off reaction (and have ascertained that it is indeed die-off), the following will help you:

• Reduce the dose of your antifungal. Wait for the symptoms to subside and then gradually increase the dose again. If your reactions are too severe, you should stop your dose for a while and then restart taking it slowly and gradually
• Drink plenty of water to help remove the components of dead bacteria
• Increase your vegetable intake
• Drink some detoxifying teas
• Maintain a diary with details so that you are able to control your further candida treatment much better
• Do not give up. Die-off can feel very negative in terms of your progress to good health, but you have been through the worst now and you know what not to do. After a short break to your anti-fungals and diet, gradually restart again.

Can I see candida die off in stool?

Please refer to signs and symptoms of candida for this question.

Can a rash be caused by candida die off?

Yes it can.

How long is candida die off? How long will candida die off last?

Please refer to the article for this.

What is good to take during the die off? Is probiotic a good option?

It is good to take plenty of water, vegetables, vitamin C and minerals during die-off. All these will help you clear the candida waste off and reduce the symptoms. Probiotic is not a good option right when you are suffering die-off as it may aggravate your symptoms by helping kill more candida and bad bacteria.

Can candida die off kill you?

It depends on your state of health. If you have a good constitution and do not have any other chronic diseases, die-off may be severe but not bad enough to kill you. However, if you have some other chronic illness and get a severe die-off reaction, it can be fatal. I have had cases where the individual was rushed to the hospital.

Can I experience die off from diflucan?

Yes, you can, as diflucan is a rather strong antibiotic. However, be aware that the side-effects of diflucan also resemble die-off symptoms. So, it is necessary to distinguish these side-effects from die-off. Talk to your doctor regarding any serious side-effects listed here.

Can I experience die off from nystatin?

Yes, you can. Nystatin is quite a powerful antifungal and can kill a lot of candida in a go. This can cause you to experience die-off. Bear in mind though that some of the side-effects of nystatin resemble die-off symptoms. If you have hives, difficulty breathing, closing of throat, or swelling of lips/tongue/face, it would be recommended to see your doctor to find out if it is an allergic reaction to the drug which immediately needs to be taken care of.

Is fiber good during die off?

Fiber can help improve bowel movement which is necessary to prevent dead candida cells from accumulating.

Is charcoal good for die-off?

Activated charcoal if taken should be taken in moderation. Yes, it can bind toxic material and help cleanse, but it also binds minerals that are essential for your well-being (and also for cleansing).

Is die off connected to uric acid?

Uric acid may accumulate as a result of your liver and kidneys getting overwhelmed due to die-off. Efficient removal of uric acid from our bodies is dependent on well-functioning liver and kidneys. So, yes, die-off could be connected to uric acid accumulation.

How quickly can candida die off start?

Candida die-off can start as quickly as a few hours after having made a change that kills candida really fast. It also depends on how sensitive you are – the more sensitive you are to changes in your body, earlier will you feel the effects of die-off.

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Is eye floaters a sign?

Eye floaters can be benign and caused by age related changes to the jelly inside the eyes. A sudden increase in floaters can be caused because of tear in the retina and can result in loss of sight. However, floaters can also be a sign of candida endophthalmitis which is a rare condition occurring in patients with systemic candidiasis (systemic candidiasis generally happens to those who have undergone a surgical treatment). If you suddenly get a lot of eye floaters, it is important that you contact your doctor/ophthalmologist immediately. Do not ignore it.

Is candida die off good or bad?

Some people think that it is good to get die-off because it shows that your treatment is working. This would directly translate to “if you don’t get die-off, your treatment is not working”. I do not subscribe to this opinion. You can treat your candida infection without getting herx! It is possible to do this if you use a bit of common sense – please read more about this in the article above. It is not good to suffer die-off symptoms – it is not good for either your body or your mind (it overwhelms both) – some people get such severe die-off reactions that they have to be admitted to a hospital. And the truth is that it is avoidable without compromising the result of the treatment. So why would you want to get die-off?

Update: I have done a whole series of videos related to yeast infection recovery make sure to visit my youtube page here to find all the recovery videos. Let me know if you have any questions.

Before I continue with this article, you should know I've recently compiled a list of science-backed ways to get rid of candida yeast infections. You can download my free Candida Report here if you haven't yet.

You must be wondering about how the recovery process from a candida infection would actually be, especially since there is a lot of contrasting information on the internet. You may have a bleak picture about it in your head – some sites tell you that you are going to feel terrible with die-off reactions when you are recovering, others will ask you to stop eating a lot of the things that you usually eat and you might imagine that you will be starving during the process, while still others will paint a picture for you that you will be living on a hundred thousand supplements for the rest of your life. Recovery sounds pretty awful, doesn’t it?

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But wait! What if I told you that it does not have to be awful? What if I told you that you can make your recovery an easy process, not have any die-off reactions, and not have to starve yourself, nor take millions of supplements for the rest of your life? Yes, it is really possible if you follow what I tell my patients:

1. Do not go cold turkey: It is true that you will have to make changes in your diet. You will have to cut out sugars, alcohol and unhealthy carbohydrates. But as with anything addicting, do not go cold turkey – do not suddenly stop have these things totally. You need to gradually reduce them. If you follow this very simple rule, your transition from your usual to a candida diet will be smooth and without the horrors of die-off. Also, replace the bad carbohydrates with good carbohydrates – your body needs carbohydrates but not the ones that help candida, have the ones that benefit you. You will find a detailed article on which carbohydrates you can introduce in your diet here.

Further reading:

• Candida Foods To Eat
• Candida Foods To Avoid

2. Have good nutritious food and don’t starve yourself: Although occasional fasting is good for health, starving yourself isn’t. If your diet is making you feel starved, you need to look into your diet and make some changes. When you cut down on carbohydrates that usually fill you – like bread, rice, pasta, etc. you will feel hungry and not satiated. If you try to compensate the deficit of carbohydrate with protein, for example from meat and dairy, you will feel full, but you will also feel blocked due to a very high protein diet.

A better strategy is to have a nutritious, well-balanced diet which includes some good carbohydrates as well. You need vitamin B and E which come from whole grains. Food sources are far better than vitamin supplements as they are generally better absorbed by our body (unless you are above 50, in which case you may need non-food source of vitamins). Whole grains and unpolished rice are fine on a candida diet even though they are carbohydrate sources. They release glucose slowly which benefits us rather than candida.

Include avocadoes in your diet which are a good source of fat and fibre. If you don’t like the taste of avocadoes try adding some salt and spice to it – the flavours of avocado become better with salt and it becomes much tastier to eat.

3. Have good supplements that kill candida, help you recover and support your recovery: It is of course possible to recover from candida without taking any supplements, but it can be a bit hard. Good supplements can support your recovery process and also ease it to some extent.

Your first step to recovery is killing off the candida overgrowth with a good natural antifungal agent that acts in multiple ways to ensure that candida does not become resistant to it. A good antifungal agent will contain multiple components combined into one pill/capsule/tablet (PREMIUM CHOICE) and not require you to buy several different pills. You will also want something that kills the bad bacteria that have overgrown alongside candida. Because candida changes your immunity, you become more susceptible to the growth of these bad bacteria as well. It is important that your antifungal supplement also takes care of these bad bacteria.

One such good antifungal is Canxida Remove which combines the antifungal and antibacterial goodness of many natural components – all in a single product.

The second step is to get back your good bacteria. For this you need to use a probiotic with systemic and digestive enzymes to help maintain the balance of intestinal microbes. I can recommend Canxida Restore for this. It contains 6 probiotic strains and 7 enzymes, is time release and need not be refrigerated.

The third step is to support your recovery through some good multi-vitamin, multi-mineral tablets. Candida infection makes you deficient in vitamins and minerals. You also need to get enough sunlight exposure for getting your daily vitamin D needs. The micronutrients will support your recovery by getting your immune system back in balance.

The Road to Recovery

Perhaps you have realised that the road to recovery from a candida yeast infection goes via making changes in your food and lifestyle. What you may not have realised is that this process is actually asking you to get rid of your addictions. As you read this right now you may be thinking “What rubbish!! Me and addiction? Impossible!!” But hear me out here.

We all have a potential to get addicted – not necessarily to drugs, but to certain aspects of life. Our desire for good, enjoyable, fun life takes us to the paths of addictions like an addiction to foods of certain unhealthy types, addiction to things like coffee or chocolate or sugar even, and certain behaviours like social drinking, smoking etc. These things have come to be considered so benign and “everyday” that they don’t feel like addiction at all and some of these addictions have become a part of our social and cultural practices. Can you see yourself fitting any of these descriptions – sugar cravings, cravings for “tasty” foods, giving in to the social pressures of drinking at a party etc.? These are the addictions that aggravate your candida condition and may also impede your recovery process.

Now you should not start thinking of your addiction as a disease. The new life-process model of addiction which is becoming more and more accepted considers addiction not a disease but as “a habitual response and a source of gratification and security” that can be understood only in the context of people’s experiences and social relationships.

In 2011, Substance abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), which is a US government agency that formulates drug and substance abuse treatment policy, came up with a working unified definition and set principles for recovery which can actually help the people who need to recover and also allow assessment of how well one is recovering. I believe that recovery of any kind (and not only from an addiction) will follow these principles that SAMHSA has formulated.

The working definition of recovery as described by SAMHSA is “a process of change whereby individuals work to improve their own health and wellness, live a self-directed life, and strive to reach their full potential”. This definition is also true for recovery from candida infections. Let us talk about some of the guiding principles of recovery in the context of recovery from yeast infections here:

Recovery emerges from hope: You might have got sick and tired of your infection; you may have tried some treatments and may not have recovered making you think that recovery from yeast infections is an impossible task. Well, it is not!! Recovery from candida is very real. Look at these successful recovery stories. So, the first thing you will have to have is hope. If you don’t have hope you have already lost half the battle – because you will not put in all your efforts where they need to be put. Doubt is your worst enemy – don’t let it creep into your mind. Believe in yourself and look forward to the day when you will be fully recovered – it will make your journey to recovery much better. A man stuck in desert runs on hope that he will find water and continues his search – the moment he loses the hope, fatigue creeps in and he gives up. Hope has seen some survive a desert for days without water – where hope, good advice and sheer will power were the only companions.

Recovery is person driven: You can look at the 4 types of recovery that people with yeast infection undergo. You need to decide which ones of these will be your type. You decide your own life goals and design the best path towards these goals. If your goal is to recover from candida infection, you will need the will power to solve your issues. You will need the commitment and you will need to assess your recovery every now and then.Once you have recovered, it is not over! You will need the will power to stick by the good and healthy way of living that you have practiced for months. If you get a hard-to-remove-stain over your favourite white piece of clothing and you finally manage to remove it, wouldn’t you be ultra-careful the next time? Your life is irreplaceable – you cannot buy another one – so why would you not want to take care of it? Why would you just waste all the hard work that you put in towards recovering? An oversight causing imbalance of your system can give you the infection again. You will have to start all over again!

Your recovery is driven by you. You are the master of your own health and happiness. Empower yourself with information and your will-power and give up the lazy attitude of “you do it for me”.

Recovery occurs via many pathways: You are unique as everyone else is. You have different needs, strengths, preferences, goals, culture and background. These all determine which paths you will take to recovery.In context of recovery from yeast infection the paths may include the recommended things you include in your diet (for example, if you hate coconut, you may not be able to take coconut oil), supplements that you take, your lifestyle (for example, what are you ready to give up to get enough sleep?) and the changes that you are willing to make, support from your family (for example, is your spouse ready to support you in the meal choices that you make; or is your partner ready to stay away from the foods that tempt you), social support (for example, are able to tell your friends at a party that you will avoid sugar and alcohol and your friends understand you and support you?), etc. The pathways you choose will be unique to your situation.

So this means that you will have to be the designer of your pathways to recovery – you could be out there finding supportive friends (are the people who you think are your friends really your friends if they cannot support you in your lifestyle choices?) or you could be out there convincing your friends also to give up their bad lifestyle choices. You will be the one to decide which of your favourite night-time shows you give up to get enough sleep every day. You are the master of your own destiny here and a master of your own recovery through the different paths you follow.

Recovery is holistic: Recovery includes your whole life, your mind, your body, your spirit, your environment and your community. When you are on your path to recovery from candida you cannot just do the diet and the natural antifungals and supplements but forget to take care of stress, your mental health, your attitude and all the other important factors. It might even require you to change your environment, for example to move your house if you are living in a mouldy house. You need to stay away from people with a negative attitude towards life – a negative attitude is infective and sucks hope and joy out from life.

Recovery is supported by peers: Other people who are also having a hard time with yeast infection and are hoping to recover are the ones who will be able to understand what you are going through, the ones who can share with you their experiences about recovery – what is working for them, what is not, where did they go wrong etc. Your peers are the ones who will play a special role in your recovery. Being in a group of peers will help your engagement and encouragement in your own recovery – you will get a sense of belonging and of a community. You can join or even start a peer-operated support group where you all can discuss your paths to recovery.

Recovery is supported through relationships: We have discussed this earlier – you need friends and family who support you in your efforts. Involve your family and close friends in your recovery. These are the people who you are around in your daily life and these are the people who can be your constant source of hope, support, and encouragement. As they know your personal situation better than others, they will be in a unique position to suggest strategies and resources for change they will be in a unique position to suggest strategies and resources for change.

Of course, you should try and convince your good friends to support you in the times where you are under social pressure to do a certain thing which may actually bring you back to square one on your road to recovery. If they really care for you they will. Else, meet new people and find those who will support you. Meeting new people is a good thing anyway – we learn from new people and new perspectives and being social animals it also fulfils our needs to socialize.

If you follow these principles, it is very likely that you will completely recover without a chance of relapse. Wish you all the best on your journey to recovery from candida.

How long it takes to recover from candida? What is the recovery time?

Recovery from chronic candida infection is actually based on how motivated you are to recover and what is it that you are ready to do for your recovery. The journey to recovery from candida is a long one and if you follow all the principles of recovery and do all the right things, you can recover in a year. If not, your journey can be much more prolonged.

If you need to take a train from station A to station B, your journey will be faster if you take the correct train, do not skip on buying a ticket, do not have too many detours, and of course sit yourself in the train. It is the same with recovery from chronic candida condition – you need to have the right solution (diet, recovery principles, lifestyle changes, supplements), you need to use the solution, you need to make sure that you do not detract from your path to recovery (for example, not have alcohol one night and ruin it all for yourself), and have the determination to recover completely.

Don’t believe anyone who gives you a solution that promises you instant recovery. Chronic candida infection messes up with a lot in your system and it takes long to rebuild something which is destroyed.

What are the signs and symptoms that I am recovering?

Recovery will make you start to feel a lot better. You will sleep better, you will have improvement in your symptoms depending on what kind of candida infection you have, you will feel more energetic, you will have less gut related symptoms like bloating and flatulence. You may also note that some of the symptoms you had earlier – like a headache have come back. But this is not a sign to worry – it only means that your suppression of these symptoms has gone away. And don’t worry, as you continue to improve, these symptoms will go away too.

You will mark your recovery yourself and your family and friends will too. But you have to be careful here – feeling better does not mean that you have completely recovered. When someone is famished and starving, even a dried piece of bread tastes like the best thing they have ever eaten. But that does not mean that it is the best thing! Don’t let yourself cheat you out of your recovery and lead you straight back to square one.

Do you have any successful candida recovery stories?

Tons, if you go to my youtube channel candidacrusher you will find a lot of successful case studies. There are over 50 candida case studies.

What is the recovery process like? How it all starts?

Recovery varies from person to person and is dependent on the paths of recovery that they are following. However, when you start recovering, you may feel a bit fatigued or have withdrawal symptoms – withdrawal from foods that you are slowly trying to cut out. However, if you are smart and do not go cold turkey and remember to replace your bad carbs with good carbs, you should not get fatigue or withdrawals.

You may still get constipation or diarrhoea as the microflora in your gut changes for the better and your body tries to acclimatize to the new flora. You may feel a bit itchy, have disturbed sleep, etc. This is quite normal.

After this stage you will start feeling much better. But this is the danger period which we have discussed in the question on the length of recovery. This is where you might be careless and do something that gets you back to square one. If you are careful during this time, you will make your journey smooth and without any incidence and you will reach your destination of full recovery in a good way.

Is there a diet to follow during the recovery?

Yes, you need to follow a good, well-balanced and holistic candida diet during the recovery.

Can I speed up my candida recovery time?

Yes, you can speed your recovery by doing the right things – diet, supplements, and lifestyle changes, following the principles of recovery and keeping steady your determination to succeed.

Does it take the same recovery time for all types of candida yeast? I have penis yeast infection and I want to know how long it can take to recover from it?

As I have mentioned earlier, it is very personal how long it takes someone to recover from their candida infection. It also depends on your age and if you have any other issues like diabetes, etc. Of course, the processes on the path to recovery that you will choose to recover from a penis yeast infection will be slightly different from that you will choose to recover from a candida infection of the mouth. However, it is important to remember that when you have a penis yeast infection, there is usually something else going on in your system that made you susceptible to this infection in the first place.

Getting rid of your penis yeast infection symptoms may make you think that all is well. For example, let us say that you got severe balanitis and phimosis and were forced to get a circumcision. Circumcision often leads to removal of all signs of infection. However, it does not mean that you are completely cured. Your body will show symptoms of candida infection elsewhere. So, you need to get rid of candida from your system completely. And this will take more or less the same time and determination that it would take for getting rid of a chronic yeast overgrowth in the gut.

Will candida yeast infection recover on its own?

Some mild forms of candida yeast infection may go away by themselves. This will be dependent on the health of your immune system and how capable it is in removing the infection. Generally, chronic candida infections do not go away by themselves and need your help.

Hysterectomy Recovery?

Hysterectomy can make you get yeast infection primarily because of the antibiotics that are used in relation to surgery. To recover from any such infection you will basically need to rebalance your microflora – both in your gut and vagina. Apart from a good well-balanced candida diet, you also need to take probiotics both orally and in the vagina. These will aid your recovery from yeast infection after hysterectomy.

What are some good supplements I can take during recovery?

We have discussed this in this article. Please have a look.

I think I am recovering however I have some aggravations how to minimise it?

You should find out if your aggravations are because of the following things:

• Drug-side effects: are you taking any modern medicine, for example, antibiotic, contraceptive pill etc.
• Have you recently stopped some medication in favour of natural treatment? Do not stop your medication suddenly but gradually taper them down.
• Is your diet sensible and well balanced? Have you suddenly stopped eating any carbs at all? Never make sudden radical changes in your diet. Also, never have a silly diet that tells you to completely stop eating one of the important constituents of nutrition. Also make the changes slowly and gradually.
• Are you combining different treatments – pharmaceutical drugs with natural drugs, for example? Never do that as you never know what bad interactions these might have.
• Are you having cleansing reactions? When you start a natural treatment, your body starts a clean-up of the toxins. These toxins are modified by the liver into less toxic compounds by modification. However, as described in a 1991 review article by D.M. Grant from Canada, some chemicals may also get converted to more toxic forms. These could give cleansing reactions. Not everyone gets a cleansing reaction by taking a certain thing as this is dependent on the person’s genes. If this occurs, it is not a good thing and you will have to listen to your body and see if what it says.

What factors or things will determine how fast or slow I will recover?

Your passion for recovery, taking action, your will-power to continue, your determination and perseverance, how long you have had candida, your state of immune system, any other illnesses (for example, diabetes), and your age will determine how fast or slow you recover.

I have read your recovery article and watched the videos but I have never fully recovered why?

The things that you need to ask yourself are:

• I have read your recovery articles and watched the videos, but have I followed everything that was mentioned? If you have missed out on one or few things that are important for your recovery, you will never recover.
• Have I been determined and persistent enough? Try and think if you have had a drink or two in between, or a piece of cake perhaps? Do a “will-check” and find out if you have had the will to recover, and do a “action-check” to find out if you have taken the appropriate actions at all times.
• Have I been self-aware and kept a track of what works for me and what doesn’t? You are a unique person and what works for someone else may not work for you. So when doing the candida recovery program, you have to pay attention to your body’s reactions whenever you change something – you fine-tune the amounts, the ingredients, the components to suit what your body needs. Learn to listen to your body – believe me, it talks and gives you an indication of what it should have and what it should not.
• Have I taken care of my stress? If you have not, it will not allow you to recover fully. You need to find ways to beat a stressful lifestyle if you want to really recover from candida.
• Do I sleep well most nights? If you are doing everything and not sleeping well most nights or have insomnia, this could be a reason for your lack of recovery. Sleep is a very important part of our life – this is where your systems “reboot” and clean. Sleep has a great impact on our immunity as well – so if you are not sleeping well, your immune system will not improve. If you cannot sleep for a while after you get to bed and your mind keeps running, you need to exercise in and have a relaxation session in the afternoon and try to relax before you go to sleep by thinking about good things and don’t stimulate your brain with looking at screens before sleep. If you wake up in the middle of the night and can’t get back to sleep, you should take some magnesium or a little bit of cheese or meat before sleeping. Also have a relaxation session in the afternoon.

Further reading:

• Supplements To Take During Recovery
• Aggravations And Recovery
• Recovery Duration for People With Candida
• How To Know You Will Recover Or Not?
• Levels of Candida Recovery
• Why People Never Recover Even On Good Diet And Treatment Protocol
• Signals Your Body Will Give That You Are Getting Better