Posted on 06/02/2017 11:44:11 AM PDT by Cementjungle
There has been an interesting situation going on lately, and its a little bit alarming.
Hospitals have been experiencing cases of "Candida Auris", which is a fungal infection. If the fungus gets into the blood it is potentially fatal. Symptoms include fatigue, sore throat, ear infections, etc.
My wife and I both had hospital visits last Fall, and we have both had these symptoms for the past 7 months or so. My wife saw an ENT in November who declared that she had throat cancer so she went to a family friend in Los Angeles who is a top oncologist. He determined that she does not have throat (or any other) cancer, but she has a fungal infection in the throat. Medications however failed to end it.
We both saw an infectious disease specialist in April and were sent to Quest Diagnostics for a blood culture test to look for this fungus. Here's where it starts to get a bit weird:
The infectious disease specialist tells us "we're fine". When asked to see the blood test results, she insists that they're on our patient portal. The patient portal shows "Culture, Blood" and the date, but is blank under the results section. We keep asking to see the results, but we keep getting the same response.
Both my wife and I also have accounts on Quest's "MyQuest" site where we can see all results from all our past tests. There is nothing one either of ours showing results for this blood culture test. I have tried repeatedly to contact Quest about this and keep getting the same response: "The results are on your MyQuest site". I send them screenshots showing various other tests and results, but they have nothing on this one... they keep stonewalling.
A little research shows some interesting background on this condition:
June 2016: CDC issues alert to healthcare facilities CDC Alert
Nov 2016: EPA is still trying to find a disinfectant that can control this fungus EPA notice
April 2017: CDC fears "Catastrophic Threat" from this: article
The CDC has told labs who do testing for this fungus to report any cases directly to the CDC or state health officials. This might explain why they might be rebuffing all my efforts to get my own test results.
What is known so far:
1. This fungus is potentially fatal.
2. There is no cure for the fungus
3. There is no known disinfectant to control the fungus in hospitals/clinics
4. The government is "working on it"
Cases
Illinois 4 May 2016 - Jan 2017
Indiana 1 Mar 2017
Maryland 1 Apr 2016
Massachusetts 1 Jan 2017
New Jersey 16 Jul 2015 - Apr 2017
New York 53 May 2013, Apr 2016 -Apr 2017
Oklahoma 1 Apr 2017
Sounds just awful.
Explain the situation to your infectious disease specialist and if he or she is unable to show you the results of your blood tests right then and there then you need to find a new specialist ASAP.
Here in NC it was Broncitus. I had it in Nov and again in Feb. My Wife got it March and just about everyone I know also had it in the last 8 months.
Nystatin doesn’t work? It kills most candida infections.
Bleach...................
And ask for a refund of all your out-of-pocket costs for their services and threaten them with Filing a complaint with your state’s medical board. If you are on Medicare you can also file a complaint with the Feds through Medicare.
Nobody likes to be on the radar of any government agency.
Not sure if it was bronchitis I had back in February, but it took almost two months to get rid of it.
I recommend Chicken with Forty Cloves.
There’s Diflucan too.
Important thing it to take the full prescrip.
These are used in rehabbing birds which is how I’ve come across them but they are for people too.
Our group of four picked up pneumonia on a cruise in February. It took about two months to kick it. Nasty stuff.
Make sure you are keeping records of all of your contacts and dates of contact, who you speak with, what you are told, etc. If you haven’t been doing this, start now.
I would suggest that you call the place again, tell them you cannot see the tests, and you wish to speak with the highest-level supervisor in that office. Then tell that person that you are tired of going around in circles on this with them, and that you intend to call the State Medical Board, the CDC, and the AMA. (Make up some other stuff to add to the list, if it seems like fun...).
Just see if this gets you anywhere. GOOD LUCK.
This variant is apparently resistant to that too... that's why the CDC seems to be panicking (quietly) about this stuff.
Yea, I’m in Florida which shows 0 cases in these articles. But, where I am the people during the winter months are mostly people who live in NY, NJ, CT, IL, etc. for much of the year and come down here for the winter months. Since they’re all older people they do spend lots of time in the hospitals/clinics here.
I'm waiting for the paper bill to arrive from Quest for the blood culture test (I normally have to pay a small bit for all lab tests)... that will be the first actual piece of paper confirming that I had a test done on that date.
I do have all my emails between me and Quest and our infectious disease doctor... so far neither of them says anything like "we can't show you..."... instead it's always "all your results are on our portals". I send screenshots and ask them to point to the results... and they keep saying the same thing back. Very frustrating.
We have a family friend who seemed to always suspect candida as the source of all ailments. It’s real, but hardly ubiquitous and rarely lethal.
I always wondered how Tony Orlando got the name for the song.
I read a lot of low carb diet forums and science on restricting carbs. I see mentions of low carb diets helping to starve and clear up candida. However, it may not be the same strain you are dealing with but may be worth looking into to help weaken it.
Garlic has been used traditionally for many health problems. But I think that heating/cooking it diminishes the benefits, and it’s best to eat it raw or only slightly cooked if you’re using it as a remedy:
http://jn.nutrition.org/content/131/3/1054S.full
Had this (candidasis) in 2013, it feels like you’re gasping for air. Fluconazole cleared it right up.
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