65 Comments

  1. I am so so sorry that you are going through this and my heart aches for your little girl who is obviously in pain. I hope you can stay the course of the new diet. It should get a little easier after 3-4 days after the initial detox. I am sending you a ton of good vibes and please email me if there is anything I can do! Hugs Julia!!!

  2. I’m so sorry to hear this Julia, but I’m glad you are at least getting some answers. Have you looked at the “Against All Grain” website? She has tons of recipes that are sugar free and grain free so I don’t think they contain yeast. She even has some recipes for treats. We used a lot of them during our whole 30/paleo.

  3. I’m so glad you have an avenue to investigate. I can’t even imagine what you’re going through. Praying for resolution and healing. You’re a phenomenal mom, Julia.

  4. Candida is a horrible thing to have over run your body, and just beware that the detox may take more than just a few days and really knock her for a loop but things WILL get better. Do not substitute sugar with Splenda or any of the others, those are a chemical mess that you do not want to introduce to her fragile system. Wheat is also a big no no, so look into the book Wheat Belly and other places to help change her diet. Not bad for the whole family either. Good luck, you are in my prayers.

    1. Hi Susan, yes I know about the splenda and wheat. It’s so hard to find something tasty to eat. And she is certainly getting thrown for a loop right now.

  5. You are so fortunate to have a friend from Germany who passed on some Euro wisdom. American health care is so focussd on drugs!!!! Please pass on what you have learned to other parents who deal with such problems. I read about this heart-breaking situation so often it seems like a common issue.
    Your daughter will take awhile to get used to a new diet, but in the end will be grateful for helping her end this misery.

    Parenthood is often tough to deal with, but you have more to handle than I can even imagine. You have my regards and respect for not folding under the pressure.

    1. Thanks Marje, I’m so grateful too that she gave me advice and I hope it will help.

  6. I am sorry that you are all going through this, but it will be ok in the end. I am a Type 1 diabetic and I remember well the struggle of no birthday cake and a restrictive diet as a kid. I’m sure that I too said things that made my parents so sad and broke their hearts. But they stuck to it and kept me healthy and I am thankful for it now. She can’t see the long term benefits now (and that’s not her job – her job is to be a child), but you are doing the right thing. She’ll be thankful to you later, and that I can promise from personal experience. 🙂

    1. Thanks Jess. We will stick to it and hope that she sees it your way one day 😉

  7. Julia – I am sending up prayers for you and your family. I have no experience with this so I have no suggestions. I just wanted you to know I’m thinking of you and praying for a quick resolution. No child should have to suffer like that. Here’s hoping this solution will give you the results you are looking for.

    Cheryl @ The Creative Me and My McG

  8. I’ll pray for healing your sweet girl and that from this struggle good will come.

  9. you know i am wishing you and your family all the luck in the world. i just want your little girl to be happy and healthy- she doesn’t deserve to be going through this. she’s sweet and beautiful inside and out. sending you love and prayers (in my own praying way!). XOXO

  10. Good luck Julia! She’s lucky to have a Mom that wants to find the root of the problem verse trying drugs right away .. sounds like you’re on the right path!

  11. Thank you for sharing your story with us Julia, I feel so bad for what you are all going through right now. Being a parent is super hard sometimes, I know we’ve never met but I for sure consider you a friend and have enjoyed getting to know you and slowly learn we have lots in common so just know I’m in your corner sending good thoughts and strength your way!!!

  12. That you for sharing. We are here to support you guys any way possible.

    Brian and Heather

  13. So sorry to hear of her troubles. I don’t know if this will be of help but a friend used the “GAPS” diet with her ittle girl (severe food intolerances and a few allergies). She said it helps reset the system, rebuilding health and slowly reintroducing foods so you can find which are good/bad for her system. Praying for your family as you pull together to help your wee girl. Such a stressful time to walk through for you all but so glad that you have a path to take gooing forward.

    1. YES, I heard of the GAPS diet and that it worked wonders for kids.
      Thank you

  14. I’m so glad to hear that you have found the cause and I’m thinking of you and your family during this tough time while she detoxes.

  15. I have candida overgrowth as well and this book helped so much! Monitor the medication because it is a pretty heavy duty thing. This book is amazing: The Candida Cure. She will probably get worse before she gets better but it will be worth it. Once she is past the detox, she will not crave sweets anymore! Good luck and let me know if you’d like to talk about my experience with it!

  16. I am so happy to hear that you now know what is wrong with your daughter. I recently had an abundance of yeast in my body. Fortunately for me I believe in the holistic methods. I was taking supplements to get rid of the yeast but they weren’t working as well. We discovered I had heavy metals so I have been doing a heavy metal detox. I also have been doing the ionic detox. It is especially good for those suffering from GI disorders, skin conditions, and fungal or yeast infections. I have had six ionic detoxes for the last six weeks. I cannot tell you how amazing I feel. I have energy I have not had in years (I am 55 years old). An abundance of yeast can cause foggy brain, tiredness, and a crazy craving for sugar. I have two more foot baths and then I will take a break for a month before I start back up. Here is a website that provides more information http://www.pacificcollege.edu/acupuncture-massage-news/articles/1304-the-ionic-foot-detox-fact-or-myth.html . I wish you the best of luck. I look forward to hearing how much your daughter feels once she is free of the yeast/Candida. May God bless you and your family. I can be reached at http://lifeisbetterbythepool.blogspot.com.

    1. Let shop it works. I have thought about heavy metals too.
      Thanks for the info too.

  17. Hang in there Julia! I know this is a huge undertaking and such a very stressful time. I think you are so smart by starting with nutrition and trying to change things that way which is admittedly more difficult. Things will be get better! Sending you positive vibes and lots of love.

  18. My heart aches for all of you, Julia. Seeing your child go through such a challenge has to be incredibly painful. You’re such a wonderful mom and inspiration in so many ways. Praying for your family.

  19. Poor girl! That really is no way for a little girl to live. It’s amazing what a diet change can do to the body, so hopefully she will feel better soon. Sending positive thoughts your way!

  20. I can’t imagine what you are going through. I pray with all my heart that you find the answers quickly and your beautiful family can return to calm. All my love, Patty

  21. I have had candida before and this is the routine suggested that worked for me. Naturalistic medicine is absolutely the best! I have incorporated it with regular medicine for over 35 years. It works. I truly hope your struggle with be over soon. I know how hard it is to raise kids without sugar…it is everywhere. As a matter of fact I posted on facebook this morning, about this epidemic in the U S of sugar everywhere. You can check it out if you like.

  22. God bless you and your family. As you deal with understanding and going through this process, remember to take a minute for yourself……even if it is just to breath. 🙂

  23. It’s truly amazing how you do all that you do on top of dealing with such a tough situation at home. Praying for peace and patience for you and your family!

    1. Thanks Sarah, I don’t do it all though. It might just look like it on the blog 😉

  24. Oh Julia…what a strong mama you are. I cannot imagine how hard that is and you are an inspiration. It brings tears to my eyes seeing you fight for your daughter and on her behalf…she is so lucky to have you. I will be saying prayers for your whole family and sending you the best thoughts…love you. xoxo

  25. Julia, you hve so much on your plate. Very heartbreaking. Good luck in this new direction. I hope it brings peace to your daughter, you and your family.

  26. I’m so happy your friend suggested getting her stool checked, I hope the diet change will soon start making her feel better too and healing her from the inside out. I’m with you, I’d rather do diet changes then just pump my kids full of meds. I really hope this helps, I know how stressful it can having a little one that needs more support, hoping there’s light at the end of the tunnel soon. Sending you a big hug.

  27. I am praying for you and your family. Take care of yourself too. Glad that you are taking the holistic approach…. our food is so messed up these days. It is not like it used to be years ago and we see the horrible results everyday. GMO this, and GMO that.. it is disgusting and should be a crime.
    I think of you and family so often, I will be patient to wait and hope for great news. I am not counting on immediate, it takes time….. but for little Lilly’s sake I sure hope it is very soon. God Bless you all.

  28. Julia what an emotional post! I’m so sorry that you and your family are struggling with this right now, but I am so glad you might have found a possible solution to make your sweet little girl feel better.
    I am praying that all goes well and she is feeling better soon. xox

  29. My heart goes out to you and your whole family. Stay strong. It sounds like there is light at the end of the tunnel. Many hugs.

  30. So sorry she (and you!) is having such a rough time. I know the diet changes aren’t easy, but I hope it’s the beginning of getting some answers and relief for her!

  31. Sounds like your daughter is finally on the road to recovery, and I sincerely hope it is not a long one. Wishing you strength and grace during this time.

  32. With your last post I wondered if you had considered holistic healing. There are many things that can be HEALED holistically instead of just treated medically. May I suggest you find a good naturopath in your area, maybe interview a few of them to see what they recommend and choose one you like. My daughters (and some of their children) and I have been seeing a naturopath for several years. It is amazing how much can be healed through natural methods. Best of luck with it all; don’t get discouraged! Love your blog!

  33. My heart goes out to your daughter, and you and your family. Sounds like you are doing plenty of research, and hopefully there will be some relief and answers. I’ll keep you and your family in my thoughts! 😉

  34. How I wish I could give you a big hug and pour a glass of wine for you right now! So hoping this brings about some real change for all of you and soon. xoxoxo

  35. Have you considered asking your daughter to comment about her feelings on your blog. It might be therapeutic for her and helpful to other readers.

    1. She doesn’t want to. She’s embarrassed especially since she has good days and bad das and she can’t explain when people ask her why she was able to wear something the day before but not the next day.

  36. That you are willing to share your daughter’s struggles is truly a blessing to other parents and children, I think it’s wonderful that you choose to do so Julia. I know it’s hard because it’s her story and you want to protect her, I feel the same way about my family but in talking about problems like this maybe you and others will find answers. I’m glad you know about the yeast, that is a start!!! I’ll pray for you, your daughter and your family Julia! Peace and love to you.

  37. By sharing your struggles I’m sure you are helping countless people all over the place who are going through the same thing. You clearly have a lot of people thinking of you and rooting for you and your little girl. I hope as you make these tough lifestyle adjustments you will all be a healthier and happier family. I’m sure you’re familiar with Chocolate Covered Katie but she probably has some recipes that you could make for your daughter’s birthday that would comply with her new diet and maybe make the day a little easier to get through 🙂

  38. We’ll be praying for you, your family and specially your little girl. Continue to follow your inner sense, your guts, as you take care of your little one. In my experience as a mom, I realized that moms always know what is the next step, sometimes we just need to stop, find the quiet and listen carefully. The Lord will guide you.

  39. Best wishes to a beautiful family as you work through this and other difficult challenges. SO many people pulling in your direction, Julia!

  40. Thank goodness for your friend suggesting the stool sample. I hope the change in diet really helps your daughter. This too shall pass and before you know it she’ll be back to herself enjoying just being a kid.

  41. Hi! First time commenting but I just had to stop and write my story to hopefully motivate you!

    I developed severe urticaria (hives) about three months ago and after SO many blood tests and drugs finally got to a holistic doctor. She diagnosed me with leakygut with many of the same symptoms that your daughter has (the skin problems being the worst of it). The depression, anxiety, trouble sleeping, constant “itching”, mood swings etc are really what pushes you over the edge.

    Long story, but I started using various natural medications and cut all gluten and sugar from my diet. Some of the things I suggest you look into is a natural vitamin d and b12, a good probiotic (like you said), and a wonderful thing called glutamine (usually in a powder form). It basically helps to restore your gut so that none of the things you’ve consumed keeps “leaking through” into your blood, causing the immune system to react in all sorts of ways, such as skin problems.

    The diet bit is really tough, and I can only imagine what it must be like for a little girl. For my sweet tooth I eat sweet potato with a bit of butter – strange but it tastes like marshmallow to me and that helps with my craving for something sweet. Greek yoghurt with honey is another good alternative. Ice cream is a complete no-no for me but I can eat a natural (non-flavoured and non- sweetened) frozen yoghurt. It is sooo tough to cut out the things you like eating but at some stage the penny drops and you realise that a “moment on the lips” is not worth feeling horrible for days after.

    Finally, on your remark above about your daughter feeling embarrased because one day she is fine and the next not – I completely relate to this. I think if you felt bad every day it would in some ways be easier as at least your emotions would be consistent and the people around you will understand and sympathise. However, you yourself are confused by your mood swings, one day up the next day down, and the people around you (may not) understand, think you are just being difficult etc. it’s terrible waking up in the morning and your first thought being “is this going to be a good day or not”. The sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach when you realise it’s a bad day and feeling like you are going crazy.
    I am a psychology graduate and these are the emotions I’m experiencing – I feel soooo much love and sympathy and understanding for your daughter having to navigate through this at her young age.

    (This is turning out to be such a loooong comment!) Your daughter (although she may now know how to show it) is lucky to have parents who care enough to do everything they can to help her through this. When you are feeling down, please remind yourself that at least having an inkling as to what the cause is, is already so much further than where you were a few weeks ago. Constantly remind yourselves of the good days and hold on to the promise that the good days will get more and the bad days less. It’s tough to see when you are in the thick of it but you WILL see an improvement. It can take up to 6 months to “cleanse” the gut but it won’t take that long to notice an improvement – however small it might seem at the beginning. Stick to the diet and the medicine as rigidly as possible BUT don’t beat yourself up when you slip up. This is a learning curve and you (and your daughter) need to be kind to yourselves – savour the good moments, be patient in the bad ones, hold on to the belief that things will get better.

    My prayers are with you in this time. X

    1. Thank you so so much. It really helps hearing from someone who experienced the same thing as our little girl. How long did it take you to see a difference in how you felt? Did you take Nystatin too? She is getting it only for 10-14 days. The doctor just told me she doesn’t believe in this and we are wasting our time and that she needs a good psychologist. We were so annoyed.
      Anyways we are surprised that the Nystatin is so sweet.
      Do you eat receipes with Stivia or do you try to avoid that too? I hope that she can it a Paleo diet in a couple of months with some raw honey recipes, it is really really tough on her not being able to eat the things she wants and I’d love to bake her a stivia cake.
      Thanks so much again.

  42. My heart goes out to you hun. I really hope you turn a corner with this struggle and things are looking up for you and your precious girl again. Fingers firmly crossed for you all xxx

  43. Oh, I hate this for her and your whole family. Praying that the new information will help you see the light at the end of the tunnel. Take care!

  44. I have followed you for a while now and now that you are sharing about your sweet girl, I think of her & you all the time…I wonder how she is doing today. And how you and the rest of the family are coping.
    I pray that you all at one time or another get a daily breather. Please let us know how the new treatment works and FInd A Dr who believes in you!!!

    1. Thank you so much, that’s so sweet of you. She hasn’t had any sugar for 13 days now and is getting anti-fungal medication. So far we are still struggling but she is a tiny little bit better. As the weather gets colder it’s increasingly difficult to find things forger to wear 🙁 I will write another post about her when I know more and have seen some other doctors.
      It means so much to me to hear that people like you care so much 🙂 thank you!

  45. I’m glad that you have discovered something that may help the situation. Good luck!

  46. Try to use essential oils in your process too. It really works, and better in child. There are some for the inmunity system, to fight against the candida, some for the skin, some for the emotional system, etc. Try to eliminate toxics in your home, add some plants that purify the air, look the NASA list. Try to change to natural soap and body products, without parabens and more. There are a lot of DIY soaps and more in the internet. Those all thigs will help you with your daughter issues more than you could thing. And sorry for my english,.. I hope you can put a photo of your daughter dressing like a princess very soon. Good luck!!

    1. I’ve heard about the essential oils but haven’t tried them yet. I want to though.
      Thanks Leticia

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