TREATMENT DATABASE
Diflucan (fluconazole), an antifungal introduced in the United States in 1990, is valuable in treating the life-threatening Candida infections that sometimes occur in immunocompromised patients, such as those with AIDS or advanced cancer.
Diflucan differs from nystatin in that it is absorbed through the intestinal wall and traverses the bloodstream, thereby penetrating anywhere excessive yeast colonization is found.
USES IN ME/CFS: Dr. Carol Jessop used antifungal therapies when patients had symptoms suggestive of Candida overgrowth. She has stated that although other agents may be of benefit, Diflucan was her treatment of choice. Dr. Jessop found that because Diflucan penetrates the central nervous system, her patients experienced improvement in cognitive problems. This was not the case with nystatin or Nizoral. On the other hand, Dr. Jay Goldstein, who used Diflucan chiefly to treat gastric disturbances, reported only limited success (CFIDS Chronicle, Physician's Forum, Spring 1991).
| Rating | Side Effects | Reason for Treatment | Dosage / Duration | Age | Sex M/F | # of years Ill | Additional Comments | Illness Severity | Date Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | At first I had a bit of herxing with stomach pain and joint pain, though my general body pains and insomnia improved almost immediately. Now these symptoms only return when I lower the dose to once a week. | Mold exposure and/or possibly candida from antibiotic use. Before this I was moderate and though I couldn't work I could take care of myself and take a couple walks everyday with my dog and lived with minimal amounts of pain. I initially took 150mg everyday for 20 days which brought the symptoms down considerably, and then kept taking it twice a week for maintenance. | 10 month 150mg 2X week | 35 | Female | 16 | After initially taking it everyday I kept taking it 150mg twice a week. When I tried lowering to once a week 3 months later, the symptoms came back and I had to take it everyday again for 10 days to get back to baseline, then I kept taking it twice a week. Now struggling to get a doctor to keep up with the prescription as I went down again to once a week and feeling horrible again. I am severe without it, moderate while on it. | Moderate/Severe | 03/19/22 |