Eliminate The Underlying Cause

Print this page




My name is Mark Cobb, and this website is dedicated to the millions of people who, like me, have suffered through the debilitating effects of, and myriad treatments for what is commonly referred to as Candida, or more accurately, a yeast/fungal overgrowth of Candida albicans, which I was diagnosed with 19 years ago.

Candida Yeast/Fungal overgrowth has been found to be a common occurrence in many disorders and is also present in millions of other people who cannot figure out what is wrong with them, or what to do about it.

Symptoms vary from person to person and fluctuate in severity, or may come and go. Most symptoms are invisible, which makes it difficult for others to understand the vast array of debilitating symptoms with which we contend.

The most common are:

  • an incapacitating fatigue
  • problems with concentration and short-term memory
  • flu-like symptoms such as pain in the joints and muscle
  • extreme tightness in the shoulders and neck
  • hyper-acidity/acid reflux
  • brown colored mucus in the back of the throat
  • blisters in the mouth/tongue/throat
  • either white or "blood blisters"
  • un-refreshing sleep
  • sore throat
  • white coated tongue
  • dark circles under the eyes
  • an aversion to being touched or jumping
  • "crawling" skin
  • chronic sinus problems and headaches including migraines
  • chronic dental problems

Visual disturbances may include blurring, sensitivity to light and eye pain.

Psychological problems may include:

  • depression
  • irritability
  • anxiety
  • panic attacks
  • recurring obsessive thoughts
  • personality changes and mood swings (irrational rage or crying for no reason - fear of talking to people, any kind of confrontation, isolation)
  • paranoia

More of the physical symptoms may include:

  • chills and night sweats
  • shortness of breath
  • dizziness and balance problems
  • sensitivity to heat and/or cold
  • alcohol intolerance
  • gluten and/or casein intolerance
  • irregular heartbeat
  • irritable bowel
  • constipation and/or diarrhea
  • painful gas and abdominal bloating
  • low-grade fever or low body temperature
  • numbness, tingling and/or burning sensations in the face or extremities
  • dryness of the mouth and eyes
  • difficulty swallowing
  • projectile vomiting

Also:

  • menstrual problems including PMS and endometriosis
  • recurrent yeast infections
  • recurrent ear infections
  • rashes and dry, flaking skin
  • eczema
  • dermatitis
  • acne
  • skin discoloration and/or blotchiness
  • dandruff
  • jock and rectal itching
  • chronic athlete's foot
  • chronic toenail and fingernail fungus
  • ringing in the ears (tinnitus)
  • allergies and sensitivities to noise/sound, foods, odors, chemicals
  • anemia
  • weight changes without changes in diet
  • light-headedness
  • feeling in a fog
  • fainting
  • muscle twitching and muscle weakness
  • restless leg syndrome
  • low sex drive and/or numbness in the genital area

These are only the symptoms most commonly reported and documented.

To a person who does not suffer with this bizarre combination (in one form or another), it may seem to be impossible. However, to those of us who have suffered, it is a blessing and a confirmation that we are not alone.

Of course, with so many people suffering, the doctors couldn't brush our symptoms aside forever. Many more people are now being diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) or CFIDS (Chronic Fatigue and Immune Dysfunction), Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS), Lupus, Hypothyroidism, Leaky Gut Syndrome, Crohn's Disease, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Celiac Disease, chronic sinusitis, atopic eczema, Seborrheic Dermatitis, Tinea Versicolor, GI dysbiosis, adrenal dysfunction, Rosacea, Psoriasis, Macular Degeneration, Barrett's Esophagus, Lactose Intolerance, Gluten and/or Casein Intolerance, Meniere's Disease, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), and sometimes just depression (which can accompany many disease states), just to name a few.

It can be an underlying condition in many diseases, but is often not diagnosed, misdiagnosed, disputed to even exist or is disregarded altogether. (See our Resources section for findings from Bruce Semon, M.D., Ph.D. regarding the effects of yeast overgrowth and Autism, ADD, ADHD, Tourette's, headaches, fatigue, depression and schizophrenia. Dr. William Shaw addresses some of those issues as well as Alzheimer's). The number of children born with Autism 30 years ago was approximately 1 in 500,000. The approximate number today is a staggering 1 in 110 (1 in 70 boys). Alzheimer's alone has been predicted to break our healthcare system in the next 20 years.

A quote from the world renowned Andrew Weil, M.D.:

"Probiotics are products containing the helpful bacteria that normally inhabit the human digestive tract. In the intestinal tract, these beneficial microbes help complete the digestive process, and some actually produce vitamins. There's even evidence that without them, the immune system can't work properly, lessening resistance to infection.

Some antibiotics wipe out "friendly" intestinal bacteria along with the bad bugs that cause infections. Symptoms of this change can include diarrhea, cramping, bloating or other unpleasant digestive symptoms.

Antibiotics can also upset the bacterial balance in the female genital tract leading to vaginal yeast infections or in the mouth where overgrowth of yeast causes thrush.

I also recommend probiotics for relief of the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn's disease, and ulcerative colitis. When there's a family history of allergy or eczema, babies given probiotics in their first six months of life (and whose mothers took probiotics during the last trimester of pregnancy) are less prone to eczema. Children with autism can also benefit from probiotics, possibly because they decrease leakage of large molecules from the gut (leaky gut), that can trigger immune reactions with effects on brain function. When I travel in underdeveloped countries, I take probiotics to reduce the risk of traveler's diarrhea.

One concern is whether the kinds of bacteria in probiotic supplements can survive passage through the strongly acid environment of the stomach and make it into the lower GI tract. Products containing Bacillus coagulans (BC-30), are able to do this."

My history with this disease state began 19 years ago, and until recently I had been fighting many battles, but ultimately, was losing the war. The cost, in terms of all those things that we associate with good health, has been incalculable. The cost in terms of money has easily been more than $65,000.

I contracted it from an infected sexual partner, passed it on to my wife after we met, and we have been passing it back and forth to each other for 12 years. Of all the symptoms listed above, we had all but a few of them either consistently, or on a recurring basis.

In the beginning I went to many doctors hoping for a diagnosis and treatment. Since they didn't know what Candida was (nor did I), they naturally couldn't test for it. They all told me I was "as healthy as a horse," except for one doctor who gave me a prescription for Prozac! I thought I really was going to go mad until someone told me about a Dr. William Cowden, who had for years been studying the underlying cause of many diseases, which he determined to be an overgrowth of Candida albicans. He was able to diagnose and treat what over the years has come to be called simply, "Candida." His tests came back off the scale and he put me on Diflucan, Nystatin and the now infamous "Candida diet." The drugs worked as long as I was taking them (at $18 a pill), but the symptoms came back full blown as soon as I stopped. The "Candida diet" almost killed me. My 6' frame got down to 145 pounds and I looked and felt as though I was starving to death.

Over the years I have tried literally everything to get rid of it, to no avail. While some products seemed to help for a short period of time, nothing could kill it completely and the symptoms always returned. I used to say I would drink lye if I thought it would rid me of this beast. I had begun Dr. Jacob Teitelbaum’s program (author of the book, From Fatigued To Fantastic), that addresses Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Fibromyalgia that I estimate would have easily cost me $30,000, all out of pocket, since probably no insurance company would cover the program. Even Dr. Teitelbaum warned that it could take as much as a year and a half to two and a half years to completely eliminate the problem.

The regimen included high (1,500mg a day) and prolonged doses of antibiotics, antifungal drugs like Diflucan, Nystatin and/or Sporanox along with a strictly adhered to (and seemingly impossible) schedule of a dozen or more nutritional supplements. I saw it as my last hope for a cure. My wife saw it as a death sentence, petrified that something as simple as an ear infection would prove resistant to antibiotics in the future. I didn't care. I was willing to endure anything and spend whatever it took to get rid of, what I have always called, "The Monster."

And so I began.

I was on a constant regimen of Cipro, Nystatin, pain pills, sleeping pills and handfuls of supplements. I felt lousy, but was determined to stick it out. It was while my wife was looking on the Internet for a cheap source of Nystatin that I came across a product called ThreeLac. What caught my eye on the website were the terms “rid of," and "worked in 100% of cases” (I was highly skeptical, to say the least). I was also struck by the almost naïve, as opposed to slick, “marketing statements.” They were simply the personal experience of a family who had recovered from Candida, and other people to whom they had sold the product. My wife pleaded with me to try it, saying that if I would, she would try it with me. Of all the hundreds of products and treatments I had tried over the years, she had never agreed to do this, always saying she only saw me getting worse, never better, no matter what I tried.

It sounded too good to be true, but my thinking was, since an initial order was so small relative to what I was spending and have spent, that even if it didn’t work I wouldn’t be out much money. "Okay, order it - what have I got to lose?" My wife was elated, to say the least.

And lo and behold, the stuff started working virtually immediately on both my wife, Alyson, and me. We experienced a host of improved conditions.

As one longtime sufferer on the Internet said, “Candida is the cold that came and never went away.” I was using approximately 3 boxes of Kleenex a week, with constant sneezing, wheezing and coughing. ThreeLac and Oxygen Elements Plus began to work almost immediately, and one morning after about two weeks, I woke up and realized that my sinuses were clear and I was breathing normally, and that I had slept an entire night without getting up a dozen or more times to go to the bathroom or to blow my nose and use the nose spray I was addicted to. Our bowel movements became normal once again (I had IBS, my wife had chronic constipation).

Believe me, many prayers of thanks were sent above in this household! We cried... and then we laughed. How could something work for us after all these years - and so quickly?

Other wonderful things began to happen: the brain fog lifted, energy levels began to rise, blurry vision went away and I can actually say that I can see better than I have in years. The skin rashes, jock itch and constant itching deep in my ears is gone. The recurrent sore throat that I have had for 19 years went away and never came back. I quit snoring and we both stopped grinding our teeth at night. My low-grade fever that I had learned to live with was gone. The natural oil has come back into my hair, whereas it was dry and brittle and prematurely aged. My wife’s hair, which had become dull and was falling out by the handfuls, is once again healthy and shiny. We can cuddle at night without breaking into night sweats. Once brittle and ridged fingernails are now strong and smooth. Our appearance in general is more youthful (brighter whites of our eyes and more sparkle, less wrinkled and more naturally moisturized skin). I can finally look forward to going somewhere without fear of my Irritable Bowel acting up suddenly.

I have always said that this condition prematurely ages a person. My wife especially has noticed a fantastic difference in her joints. She had begun to experience what she thought was bad arthritis in her knees and wrists that was really frightening to her at the age of 46. She had gotten to the point where even driving was almost impossible, much less stairs. When she discovered a couple of years ago that her symptoms were consistent with Fibromyalgia and that the only "treatment" was a lifetime of pain medications and sleeping pills, she refused to do it. Her pain was the first thing to go away. Her energy increased dramatically. Her previously horrible menstrual cycle became normal once again and her worsening symptoms of Hypoglycemia began to stabilize. We have both noticed a greater sense of relaxation. It may sound weird but we are able to take natural, deep breaths instead of short and shallow breaths. Alyson's anxiety attacks are gone; my "anger" is gone. Our "stuttering and stammering" for words is gone and we are able to speak more cogently. My overly acidic (20 Tums a day) system has become more alkaline. I was having frequent and horrible kidney stones which have not resurfaced, and my persistent bladder infection has gone away. Without going into any more detail, I will simply tell you that every symptom I had is gone, except a few "goosebumps," but my whole body had been covered with them. (Update: they are also gone). Oh, and my (major) foot odor disappeared and body odor did too.

In short, our entire world had been turned beautifully upright again. We had gone from tears of relief (just to be feeling better) to elation that we have found a permanent solution. We waited months before putting up this website because we kept waiting for it to fail (as everything else had eventually done in the past). But to our delight and surprise, we just got better and better every day. To be liberated from this monster is beyond words to describe. We simply had to share this experience with the people that we know are suffering.

I took both the ThreeLac and Oxygen Elements Plus as recommended. Alyson only took the ThreeLac for the first 6 weeks, then added Oxygen Elements Plus later. We still stand in amazement and disbelief every day; it's the only thing that has ever taken us "the last mile." Almost 95% of our symptoms were gone in just a few months of taking ThreeLac.

Then, in 2007, the unthinkable happened to Alyson. Due to a sudden, tragic, and particularly gruesome family tragedy, she completely regressed and became even sicker than she had ever been. After six months of trying to get back to normal with ThreeLac, she found herself stalled at only about 75% improvement. Needless to say, we were very discouraged that she would ever recover again.

But over the previous few months, we had been getting rave reviews from some of our old customers about a new product they said works even better than ThreeLac and that didn't cause any die-off symptoms, called Symbion Probiotics (www.SymbionProbiotics.com). It is similar to ThreeLac in that it contains two of the three bacterial strains that are in ThreeLac, Bacillus coagulans, and Bacillus subtilis, and a third strain, Enterococcus faecium, as opposed to the Enterococcus faecalis that is in ThreeLac. It doesn't contain the yeast or lemon juice powder that is in ThreeLac, nor any other ingredients except for the FOS that feeds the bacteria while in storage. It was developed for children with autism, and others who are allergic, or highly sensitive to yeast and many other added ingredients and flavorings.

Reluctantly, she made the switch in desperation to get control of her remaining candida symptoms. After only a couple of days, she noticed something good happening and she was feeling a bit better. After two weeks, she knew she had done the right thing, as some of her symptoms began clearing up. After only two months, every single one of her symptoms were gone again. I was so impressed, that I started taking both ThreeLac and Symbion and sure enough, the nagging few symptoms that ThreeLac alone had failed to get rid of, were quickly gone.

What was so astounding is that it not only worked but was affordable. Symbion costs $48 for a single bottle (120 capsules per bottle), or just $36 when we buy two or more (we order 3 to get free shipping too). ThreeLac costs $49.95 a box and contains 60 packets. On Dr. Teitelbaum’s program, I was spending between $1,000 - $2,000 a month! I went off his program cold-turkey after only a few days with no side effects whatsoever.

For ordering and additional information (local retail distributors, international orders, shipping, etc.), see our How To Order page.

We are not healthcare professionals. We are simply long time Candida sufferers who want to share the amazing results we have experienced with these products.

We know first hand what you are going through. We are required to add that these statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration, nor are these products intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. The statements are for informational purposes only and it is not meant to replace the services or recommendations of a physician or qualified health care practitioner. Those with health problems or pregnancy are specifically advised that they should consult their physician before taking any nutritional supplement.

We wish you the health and happiness of becoming Candida Free!

Mark & Alyson Cobb

Print this page

Counter