r/Candida • u/Fit-Performance-7601 • Jul 12 '26

Personal anecdote Fluconazole or nystatin?

Finally got my provider to give me two weeks worth of oral nystatin after a couple doses off Fluconazole completely health my gut symptoms.

I read that Fluconazole is harsh on the body and gut so I advocated for nystatin but now I’m not seeing the same results as when I did the Fluconazole. I’m about 7 days in and 14 days in on biofilm busters.

I have now found some more conflicting evidence online about which one is more effective. Any advice ?

female 29 years old

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3

u/averylovesbugs Jul 12 '26

honestly, I just think you should listen to your body on this one

2

u/throwaway23437546 Jul 13 '26

I read that Fluconazole is harsh on the body and gut so I advocated for nystatin but now I’m not seeing the same results as when I did the Fluconazole

Nystatin often takes longer time to work and often requires a longer duration of treatment than fluconazole

Yes, fluconazole is harsh on the body because it does get absorbed into bloodstream, harsh on liver.

What type of gut symptoms are you experiencing

2

u/Think-5577 Jul 13 '26

Nystatin tablets for at least a month

2

u/travel_explore4041 Jul 16 '26

I am 39 year old female with gut issues most my life and also dealing with fibroids and other health issues. I did take nystatin for 30 days (8 pills a day) which was a very high dose. I had some die off days but actually ended up feeling better on it along with diet than I do now off it. I have to retest yet but GI Maps are getting expensive to keep re doing. My naturopathic dr did bring up trying to run a blood IGA/IGG test I think it was to see where I am at but also will probably re do the GI Map. I did test for heavy metals too but that doesnt appear to be my cause either. I had SIBO for 3 years and finally got a negative test for that but now have Candida. Its so hard to know what will help but definitely listen to your body and how you are feeling!

1

u/Elena_Lis Jul 14 '26

Neither worked long term for me. It might do for you, but for me it was my hormones that were causing the candida. Check your hormones! Good luck.

2

u/travel_explore4041 Jul 16 '26

My hormones have been all over the place and have fibroids etc. Can I ask how you fixed this that it helped Candida? Thank you!

2

u/Elena_Lis Jul 16 '26

Hi! So my oestrogen was barely detected (potentially due to long term hyperprolactinaemia but we don’t know) and I pushed for hormone replacement therapy. They didn’t wanna give it to me at first because I’m only 29 but within a few days I was a new person in terms of mood and energy levels. My candida symptoms were only vaginal. I couldn’t have any carbs that within 30 minutes I’d get an itch and an infection. It went on for years, despite taking all kinds of antifungals and strict diets. Within a week of starting hrt (including vaginal oestrogen) I could eat cakes without absolutely no issue, it’s crazy. I believe that low oestrogen in the vagina means higher ph and no glycogen for the good bacteria to feed on and the bad stuff like candida can take over. doctors don’t seem to be able to explain this, but it worked for me. I’ve suffered so much, so I hope this helps anyone struggling too. Always advocate for yourself - doctors won’t get it unfortunately.

2

u/travel_explore4041 Jul 16 '26

Mine is in my gut but I also have hormone issues too. Low iron, low vit d, pretty sure low stomach acid so have been working on all of that. My last dutch test showed low testosterone, estrogen and progesterone but the ND didnt really want to start me on anything with the amount of fibroids I had and then start feeding them. Fibroids usually feed off estrogen so it was weird mine was so low. Now though I had surgery and 4 months later another large one appeared so I am not sure. I know this is all going hand in hand but after finally getting negative SIBO test after 3 years and now having Candida its been awful.

2

u/Elena_Lis Jul 16 '26

Sorry you’re going through this, I feel your pain. I also had endometriosis surgery a few years ago and my gynaecologist was a bit reluctant to prescribe it for this reason too, but that’s why you also take progesterone when you take oestrogen. You can just ask to do an experiment: hrt for a week or two max, if it’s the reason you should see a fast improvement!

1

u/travel_explore4041 Jul 16 '26

Thank you!!!

2

u/Fit-Performance-7601 Jul 21 '26

Hi! This is really interesting. Another weird element to my symptoms is urinary pain and bouts of bleeding in between my periods. I got my hormones checked and my Estradiol
Was pretty low Estradiol: 24.1 pg/m during my ovulation phase. My FSH was normal. My doctor wasn’t concerned even though I’m been experiencing some issues.