Candida die off, also known as the Herxheimer response, occurs when you take an antifungal and the yeast is killed off too quickly and overwhelms the body with toxins. The Herxheimer response gets it's name from Austrian Dermatolist brothers Jarisch Adolf Herxheimer and Karl Herxheimer who discovered the phenomenon back in 1895. It was originally discovered as a healing crises that occurred in people with syphilis, but was then found to be a reaction that occurs in a variety of illnesses in response treatment. The reaction presents itself as an intensification or extension of symptoms immediately preceding a period of time when the patients health then improves. With Candida overgrowth this phenomenon is called, die off. When the yeast dies, it releases a massive amount of toxins. You may experience a worsening of symptoms, new symptoms or flu-like symptoms. It can be quite severe for some people.
A little die off is a good thing. It tells you that what you're taking is definitely working, however, a lot of die off can be completely debilitating. If your die off is too intense, then cut back on your antifungal until it lessens and then increase it slowly over a period of time.
Reduce Die Off
There are several steps you can take to reduce the severity of your die off.
- One of the most important is to stay on the
Candida diet. If you eat sugar or a lot carbohydrates you will feed the Candida as you are killing them. This will create a great deal of die off symptoms.
- Take Vitamin C
- Cleanse the colon with enemas or colonics
- Drink lots of water
-
Exercise
- Psyllium husks
- Bentonite clay
-
Breathing exercises
- Charcoal tablets
Die Off Symptoms
Die off symptoms can consist of almost anything, but the most common scenario is that you will have an exaggeration of whatever type of symptoms it is that you already experience. You may experience physical and/or psychological symptoms. Here are some of the most common symptoms of die off:
- brain fog
- poor concentration
- tightness in the chest
- heart palpitations
- fatigue
- muscle and joint pain
- headaches
- sore throat
- anxiety
- depression
- irritability
- crankiness
- diarrhea
- sinusitis
- itching
- constipation
- gas and/or other gastrointestinal distress
- nausea
- intense cravings for sweets and carbohydrates
- cravings for alcohol
- you may even feel like you're drunk, because the yeast puts off alcohol.
Candida die off will diminish over time, but the length of it's duration is dependent on how strong the antifungal is that you're taking, how the antifungal kills it, how capable your body is for detox and how much Candida overgrowth you have. It may last a few hours or it may last a few weeks.
Some antifungals, like Nystatin, work by literally blowing up the Candida. As you can imagine this creates more intense die off symptoms than antifungals that kill it gently.
Try and hang in there and remind yourself that it's only temporary and that you're making progress. However if it's too severe, be kind to yourself and cut back on your antifungal. Don't give up completely, though. If one antifungal gives you die off that is too intense, then try a different product that is a little less powerful.
Return from candida die off back to
candida symptoms
