All this talk about weight loss is intellectual until you see it applied to someone who is a real example and an inspiration. Let me introduce you to Michelle, a 37-year old woman who works as a caregiver at a training school for the developmentally disabled. She is also a budding artist. Michelle, who successfully utilized the Yeast-Fighting Program, generously, openly and honestly shares her dramatic story below.
MICHELLE'S STORY
I've spent most of my adult life profoundly depressed. I can trace it back now to the time I got my first urinary tract infection (UTI) right after I graduated from high school. Of course, my doctor put me on antibiotics. And I got more of the same every time I got another UTI - which has been about three times a year for nearly 20 years now. The doctors decided I had a short urethra and recommended surgery, but I resisted.
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| How To Treat Yeast Overgrowth |
When I was in college, I was very depressed and unmotivated, despite my passion for my major, art. I just couldn't seem to concentrate and seemed to be walking around in a fog all the time. I couldn't keep up my studies, so I dropped out after two years.
My Downhill Slide
I don't know for sure what was wrong with me then, but now I suspect that's when the yeast problems first manifested themselves. All I know is that I felt like crap.
After I left college, I started dating a guy who was an alcoholic and verbally abusive. I think he reflected how I felt about myself then. It took me seven years to extricate myself from that toxic relationship. I was in therapy and was finally put on Prozac. I thought that would help, but it didn't really help much. It just cleared my mind a little bit. And I kept right on getting UTIs three times a year, almost like clockwork.
When I was 28, I married a great guy who was stable. For the first time in years, I felt secure. But my depression continued. We argued all the time because of my depression and mood swings. We talked about having kids. I really wanted a baby, but my husband insisted on waiting because of the arguments, which I'll admit were triggered by my irritability and depression. I agreed to put off having kids, thinking he was probably right about my inability to be a mom.
I Was a Carbohydrate Addict
During that time, we drank a lot of beer and ate a lot of pizza. I loved condiments and ate huge quantities of ketchup, mustard and hot sauce. Now I know I was just feeding my yeast with all those foods high in yeast, cheese, and sugar. I was making myself worse, but I had no idea what was going on. I accepted that even though there seemed to be something seriously wrong with me, I just had to live with it.
The arguments got to be too much and we were divorced after five years. During that time I steadily gained weight until I reached about 155 pounds. That made me even more depressed. It seemed that no matter what I did, I couldn't lose that weight.
I had picked up an herbal remedy book about weight loss that recommended allergy testing and even mentioned yeast as a possible allergy. I went to an allergist and he was dumbfounded. He had never heard of a systemic yeast allergy, but he did a whole battery of tests anyway. The test showed that I was allergic to molds and pollen. I was dying to find out about my diet and get cracking, but it took five rounds of tests before we got to food allergies.
A Diagnosis at Last!
And yes, I was allergic to yeast. The doctor told me to avoid bread and baker's yeast. So I went home, popped open a can of beer and toasted my relief that I wasn't allergic to brewer's yeast. I didn't have much trouble giving up bread, but I wasn't getting any better.
On the next visit, the allergist told me, "Yeast is yeast." I hadn't heard him correctly. I was to stop brewer's yeast as well, so I said goodbye to beer. In addition, he took me off all forms of alcohol, vinegar and bread. But I must admit, I didn't follow the diet properly.
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| How To Treat Yeast Overgrowth |
With the guidance of a naturopath and bottles of supplements, I was able to get off the Prozac, but still didn't feel that much better.
I decided the depression was simply my personality type and there wasn't anything I could do about it. My main goal at that time wasn't to let go of the depression: It was to lose weight. To find out more, you can check out How To Treat Yeast Overgrowth.