Yesterday, I had my first app't w/ another functional medicine doctor. After reading up on SIBO, candida, and leaky gut for about a year, I'd made up a bunch of theories about the cause of my symptoms. Yesterday, I found out some of them weren't true.

Some background: I've had fungal overgrowth for years but when I got covid in March 2021, my health quickly declined:

• brain fog
• dizziness
• trouble with speech
• sloppy handwriting
• short-term memory loss
• mild depression
• slight tremors
• weak/numb muscles
• loss of food tolerances (I've cut out eggs, dairy, and some nuts)

Last July, I experimented with one functional medicine doctor who prescribed low dose naltrexone. I didn't want to go that route so I searched for someone else to work with.

My new doc ordered a stool analysis for me at the end of April. We reviewed the results yesterday. Here are the theories I had about my gut that he either confirmed or denied...

• I have yeast overgrowth: CONFIRMED (but I didn't need a stool test to know that)
• Decline of my gut health has triggered very early stages of dementia: WRONG
• I'm suffering from malabsorption: WRONG (stool analysis shows that my nutrients are being absorbed)
• I have leaky gut: (semi)CONFIRMED (he based this on my symptoms set - however, I also learned that the correct test for leaky gut is testing for lipopolysaccharides - he did not give me this test)
• My gut is inflamed: WRONG

As you probably all know by first-hand experience, the mind runs free and wild when you feel very sick and have access to the internet. I'm happy to know I'm not as sick as I thought I was.

I also found the appointment helpful, because based on my stool samples, he was able to recommend some anti-fungals that he thought would be best for eradicating the types of yeast overgrowth I have (candida and geotrichum).

Though the doc was able to give me better guidance, I still thinks its a good idea to do your own homework and take full charge of your health. Having a holistic doctor to guide you can make a difference. A good one will do the investigative work to find out what's really going on inside your gut.

That being said, I'm still an advocate for trying out different remedies and seeing WHAT WORKS!!! Because ALL the remedies he's added to my protocol, I've either learned about through the gut-related Reddits or found through Google! So keep pushing on.

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EDIT

Here are the doc's recommendations:

• First 2 weeks: grape seed extract for bad bacteria
• Next 1 month: nystatin for fungal overgrowths
• Next 1 month: fluconazole for fungal overgrowths
• During the 2 months, I'm to also take VSL#3 (probiotic to help increase lactobacillus and bifido) and Mutaflor (probiotic to help increase e. coli)