Is it a fungal infection? I'm new here

[Mindismom]

I have been fighting ear pain for 4 or 5 years. Every doc I have gone to says "I see nothing." There IS something! It is like 3 or 4 on the pain level. Then, 2 years ago, just when I had an appointment with an ENT, I started a painful white patch along the side of my tongue. He did two biopsies on my tongue. (If you can avoid that never have it done!!!) Basically he said it was inconclusive. Its a fungus of some sort. (I think candidiasis) He gave me some swish and spit(Nystatin) and 4 fluconazole. They help, but it NEVER goes away. I went searching for another Doc The ID doc , takes one step towards me and looks in my mouth. ""Oh! You just need to take ibuprofen for 10 days and give it time to heal" Im sorry but I walkout on him. I have figured the tongue, throat, ear thing are all related. This ENT of course want to do a hearing test. Well, I have a hearing aid for one ear. (Different ENT I get flustered with them) The first thing this doc says when he comes is is, "Well, looks like you need hearing aids" as he rubs his hands together greedily. LOL I told him I wasn't there to talk about that. He said he was going to call in some fluconazole but then the next day the medical assistant called and said he changed his mind. HA!!!!! He was just to chicken to say no to my face. You know what? My PC gave me 2 weeks worth till my appointment. You know what else? My hearing is getting better. I used to have to look and see if my oxygen concentrator was on and I HEARD it yesterday!

I guess, short story long, I am still battling this. I am hoping my PC will help. He is the one that send me to the ID. But that was before I was told it is a fungus. That's another thing Im worried about. I don't think there is any way I can follow the diet for it

[Saassii]

You can do a low mold and low histamine diet. It's really tough, I won't lie to you, but there are many benefits and once they settle in its easier to hold your ground. Much love

[Mindismom in reply to Saassii]

I was just reading about the things to eat and not eat. Heck, most the stuff I couldn't pronounce! Don't know what I am going to do. LOL I don't really cook as I don't have the energy. Plus I don't like to eat because my tongue hurts and I have no appetite Thank you.

[Saassii in reply to Mindismom]

You describe the same problems I face. Just take one day at a time, one step at a time so you don't feel overwhelmed. You learn how to make do when you're out. Ask for all the salad ingredients you can get, ask to remove the inappropriate, add steamed vegetables, again remove offensive. Eat raw cucumber, carrot, celery, whatever you can manage to give yourself something to chew in between. Make bone broth(in pressure cooker so not high histamine) fry vegetables until caramelized, add the bone broth, more low histamine veges and make soups. They are my best food source. Freeze some up for the heavy fatigue days. I wish you love and strength for each day and may our sweet heavenly Father give you grace. Consolation is that your immune system is working just fine. It's alerted you to pathogens and dangers, so avoidance is the key. You're immune system is trying to protect you to keep you alive. Learn all you can as quick as you can and keep living xxx

[Mindismom in reply to Saassii]

My doc says because of my diabetes the fungus will be hard to get rid of.

[Saassii in reply to Mindismom]

Starve it out, never feed it sugar. Be in a perfectly clean environment and eat clean food. Once you stabilise, you can take binders to help remove it.

[Mindismom in reply to Saassii]

I know there is one thing I am eating so ( a new kick of mine) and I shouldn't be eating it so for starters I am stopping that! Has lots of sugar.

[Saassii in reply to Mindismom]

Way to go. Sugar is incredibly inflammatory. The body cannot tolerate even a teaspoon of sugar in the blood stream, after this a toxic response happens, the body turns off fat burning and goes into full fat storage mode to get the sugar out. As insulin resistance happens the person gets fatter and struggles to ever get that weight off. More importantly it then starts to destroy things like the thyroid and it’s hormone production. It’s a slippery slope. Sugar is a poison to the system, the only good sugar to consume you find in a piece of fruit, so don’t overdo that either. When you feel tempted try to tell yourself it’s a poison bar and you don’t want to do that to yourself. I find keeping raw vegetables around so I have something else to chew on when craving or tempted. Best wishes!!

[Mindismom in reply to Saassii]

I'm a real picky eater and I am worried that there isn't anything I would really like to eat tat is good for me. LOL Anything delicious that I CAN eat?

[Saassii in reply to Mindismom]

I try to approach food in a spiritual way now. I try to choose clean foods that bring healing, strength and life. Everything man touches means it less than when it was first given. By this I mean the processing. Think about food differently, eat what is good for you happily, thankfully, take your time with it. Consider those who farmed and laboured to provide life giving properties, consider the animals who have given their lives to nourish you, be thankful. I like making bone broth in a pressure cooker and later caramelising onions, leeks, garlic, add cabbage, then bone broth back in and add Swedes, turnips, carrots, celery etc and turn it into a delicious nutritional soup. It can be hard if you focus on what you can’t have, so better to use that energy to think about what you can have. The benefits of weight loss and improvements in health and lengthening of quality of life is where to keep your mind. 😘

[GAtherton Administrator Fungal Infection Trust]

If your doctor has tested your mouth for fungus and not found it then your discomfort is not likely to be caused by a fungal infection, and they are unlikely to prescribe antifungal medication or will do so only for a short time. However given that you feel that you have responded to fluconazole it is well worth going back to your doctor to discuss the situation - there are a few reasons why you feel it has made a difference that the doctor may want to consider.

[Mindismom]

I was just now able to access the report online. It is all gibberish to me. All he told me 2 years ago is it wasn't cancer. The Report"Diagnosis:

RIGHT LATERAL TONGUE LESION, BIOPSY:

SUPERFICIAL PORTION OF A VERRUCOUS SQUAMOUS PROLIFERATION, SEE COMMENT.

.

COMMENT:

Multiple deeper levels reviewed. Sections show a verrucous squamous

proliferation with focal hypergranulosis and overlying hyperkeratosis and

parakeratosis. The epithelium shows minimal keratinocyte atypia and

isolated suprabasilar mitotic figures. PAS-D stain highlights numerous

intracorneal spores and hyphae. Where visualized, the subjacent stroma

shows reactive fibrovascular changes and mild chronic inflammation.

.

These findings may represent a reactive and/or infectious process but the

full thickness of the epithelium is not fully present for evaluation; a

neoplastic squamoproliferative lesion cannot completely be excluded. As

the process extends to the peripheral and deep edges of the biopsy,

clinical correlation is required to determine if the sample is adequate

and representative. If a clinically suspicious lesion remains or persists,

additional evaluation is recommended.

MEG/08/25/2017

**********************************************************************

Then there was a second biopsy done 2 weeks later

*********************************************************************

Diagnosis:

R SIDE OF TONGUE:

BENIGN ORAL SQUAMOUS MUCOSA WITH PARAKERATOSIS, ACANTHOSIS, MILD

SUBEPITHELIAL FIBROSIS AND SCAR, AND REACTIVE EPITHELIAL CHANGE.

NO DYSPLASIA OR MALIGNANCY IDENTIFIED IN SECTIONS EXAMINED.

UZH/12/06/2017

**********************************************************************

I was never told anything else. Tried various doctors. Went back to this doc a year and a half later and he says "well, it is just a fungus" I cant seem to clear it. It starts on the side of tongue and almost goes away. On the third week of the fluconazole a new lesion popped up. I am trying to avoid sugar and taking probiotics.

[Mindismom in reply to Mindismom]

It was 2 months later.

[Subarusvx1000]

Did your symptoms finally clear up?