Hello Again Everyone!!!
I haven't been here since last June, when I completed a 13-day cleanse and lost 8 lbs. (128 to 120). I had to stop a few days early, due to having a Urinary Tract Infection. Little did I know at the time, I would have to endure 3 rounds of antibiotics to get rid of it!!! During the following two months, I became increasingly depressed, agitated, anxious, and felt like I was losing my mind. I ended up in counseling and at the suggestion of my doctor, taking the new antidepressant, Viibryd. At our initial appointment, I weighed 122 lbs. and told my doctor that I would try the Viibryd, but if it caused weight gain/loss of libido, I would discontinue it. My doctor assured me that it wouldn't cause weight gain or sexual side effects. Fine.
During each and every doctor visit, I was up 2 lbs and would just blame myself for eating too many carbs and being lax with exercise. Yes, I had felt a whole lot better and happier, but I was not liking my increasing waistline nor lack of libido. I began to Google the side effects of Viibryd and was amazed at all of the comments about rapid weight gain, cravings for carbs/alcohol, loss of libido and lack of motivation for exercise!!! There were many people who had easily maintained or had never had an issue with their weight until Viibryd. Now I KNEW what the problem was!! Time to get off the Viibryd, before I gained any more weight!!!!
I decided to seek a Natural Medicine doctor to help me find the root of my health issues. During my first visit, I explained to her about the UTI, the antibiotics and my physical/mental meltdown. She inquired about my diet and symptoms, which led her to testing me for Candida. Chronic candida is a physical condition that can appear to be a mental illness. Candida is yeast that lives normally in the body. However, frequent use of antibiotics can destroy what keeps the yeast in check, which may result in an overgrowth. Some physical symptoms of candida are recurrent yeast infections, UTI's, athlete’s foot, stomach problems, craving for sweets and alcohol, acid reflux, low libido and itching. Mental symptoms include anxiety, irritability, restlessness, poor memory, brain fog, mood swings, manic depression, depression, delusions and psychosis. Well, I tested POSITIVE!!
I now believe that I didn't need an Antidepressant, but a Candida cleanse!!! For the past 3 months, I have been working with my natural doctor to cure myself of Candida with herbs and a low carb diet, and I had finally decided two weeks ago that I was ready to discontinue the Viibryd. I gradually weaned off 10 mgs.
Now that I'm completely off Viibyrd, I am determined to lose the 19 lbs (plus an extra 2 lbs, buffer) I had gained. I've gone back and forth about using the Master Cleanse, because sugar feeds the Candida, and I didn't want to erase all of the progress I have made to get my Candida under control. After much thought, I decided to just go for it and continue taking a Candida-control herb. I have also ordered a 1-month supply of CandidaGo from Amazon to take immediately after my cleanse, just to make sure I have the Candida under control.
Today is my 5th day of the MC!!!! Yesterday was the absolute worst day so far; headaches, dizziness, fatigue and major chills!!! I have been drinking 8 lemonades a day and drinking lots of water. I didn't do the salt water flush until this morning, and now I feel GREAT!!!
I have no idea how long this cleanse will be, but I will end it the morning I weigh 120 lbs. It's nice to be back!!!!
SW: 141 lbs
CW: 136 lbs
GW: 120 lbs