The Yeast Doc Says… At Least It’s Not Another Yeast Infection!

Helen was relieved when her doctor returned to the exam room to report that he could see no yeast in the diagnostic smear. “So what do we do about my constant itching?” she asked. The reassurance was a hollow one that she’d heard a dozen times before: “We’ll get you a steroid cream and you should feel better soon.”

A bit puzzled with her recurrent personal complaints, still she left the office hopeful once again. Her husband was encouraged to hear that this might be a quick fix. They had been missing out on too much togetherness due to her painful discomfort.

Secretly, he harbored the nagging worry that his wife, looking somewhat older than her late 30s, was coming down with a much more serious illness inside. Helen had become a complainer in the last 5 or 6 years––belly pains and gas, bladder infections, a frustrating skin rash, and almost constant headaches. Many of her symptoms seemed to worsen just before her period, and the prescribed anti-depressants did absolutely nothing but make her sluggish and tired.<

Sadly, her doctor was right––it wasn’t another yeast infection. Helen’s husband was right, too; she was suffering from a much more serious problem inside.  And these two observations contain the entire secret as to why modern physicians fail to diagnose and properly, completely, treat The Yeast Syndrome.

Seventy-five years ago, health insurance (which is really “illness” insurance) was mostly unheard of. People worked hard, ate well, and didn’t run to the doctor the way we do now. Back then, medical technology was simpler and costs were far less. So the question is, are we healthier today with all of our wonderful scientific advances?

Doctors had just a couple antibiotics available. Cortisone hadn’t been discovered. Birth control pills didn’t arrive until the mid 1960s. Fast food, which now makes up more than a quarter of our daily intake, was only at the drive-in. Candy, soda pop, and other sweets were an infrequent treat. And the environment was not yet as overwhelmed by toxic chemicals and heavy metals like it is today.

All of these factors can damage your immune defense system. Almost all patients today have grown up in a world far different from that of their grandparents, even their parents. Unfortunately, our doctors haven’t kept pace with the latest basic research, so many of them still have an A-to-B perspective: You come in complaining of symptom A, and your doctor prescribes treatment B. It couldn’t be more simple than that.

Sure enough, if your test shows that you have strep throat (a bacterial infection that can harm your heart and kidneys), then the doctor prescribes a form of penicillin. Sadly, that’s where it stops. You get better with the strep infection, but the drug also kills the good bacteria Lactobacillus and other helpful bacteria––in your gut. Should you replace those microorganisms in your gut after you finish the antibiotic? Of course! Does your doctor tell you so? Or how to do it right? Did you learn about this in your health class in high school?

Helen was suffering from a problem far more complex than her long history of simple vaginitis. After repeated courses of antibiotics for various infections (during which she was never prescribed a yeast-killing drug or supplement) her gut was overwhelmed with yeast and not-so-good bacteria. Since any of these can be seen in any stool sample at the lab, none of the doctors ever suspected an imbalanced yeast growth that was stealthily creating most of her body complaints, not to mention her frequent moodiness, occasional depression, poor sleep, and loss of joy with her daily life. You can imagine the struggle facing her husband and teenage son and daughter. Mom was just different, and not as happy as she had been years ago.

The various medical specialists were of little help. Her gastroenterologist insisted that she take an acid-blocking drug every day, now even available over the counter. What he didn’t tell her was that stomach acid served as a first line of defense against infections coming in, including yeast in (or on) foods. And he didn’t tell her that blocking acid meant that she wouldn’t digest her meats and other proteins as well, leading to earlier aging and worsening disease patterns. Her dermatologist gave her cortisone (steroid) creams, which seemed to help until the rash returned worse than ever. Pain pills were definitely not the solution for her headaches – but what was she to do? Her husband seemed impatient with her frequent complaints. None of the anti-depressants helped at all, and she couldn’t tolerate the side effects. Worse still, her periods had become very painful, even for days before and after.

So was there a happy ending? We like to call it a happy beginning. Helen came in after one of her friends said, “You’ve got yeast.” “No,” she protested, “it’s not yeast!” What she didn’t understand (yet) is that yeast overgrowth in her gut was seeping out chemical toxins designed to cripple her body chemistry – that is The Yeast Syndrome!

Successful treatment is way more than 30 days of a yeast antibiotic and avoiding sugars and starches. Proper care means finding and fixing the toxin-damaged functions inside: low thyroid levels, imbalanced hormones, impaired digestion, altered essential fatty acids so her skin and other organs couldn’t repair and respond as they should, and so on. Her body was aging more quickly; she was hampered by toxic effects of the hidden yeast! Yes, you could call it an infection inside, but no one would ever diagnose that. Helen got much better over several months after she began a comprehensive program to address yeast and other health challenges.

Have you suffered long enough without finding real solutions to your puzzling discomforts and diseases? You need to be looking for a physician skilled in integrative approaches, blending med-school medicine with alternative approaches such as The Yeast Syndrome. Most patients who follow my treatment advice get dramatically better – far more than they ever expected could happen. Why not you, too? Maybe it’s past time for you to Know the Cause!

Dr. Trowbridge is featured on the Know the Cause show as an internationally-recognized speaker and co-author of The Yeast Syndrome, a Bantam Books bestseller since 1986, available also in e-book format. He welcomes new patients at his Houston, Texas, north suburban office (next to Bush Intercontinental Airport), Life Celebrating Health: 1-800-FIX-PAIN. Call for free DVDs and CDs. healthCHOICESnow.com

Related KTC Content:

KTC Podcast Episode 20 – Dr. Ann Shippy & Dr. John Trowbridge

Hillary’s “ill” Health? (I Have a Secret!) – with Dr. John Trowbridge