So I've just had an epiphany as to the possible culprit of many of my issues... too bad I recently loss my health insurance and can't discuss it with a doctor, which is what brings me here...

Anyone have any experience with candida/yeast?

I started researching fungus because I'm starting to get a rash between my boobs (sorry, tmi) that looked like a fungal infection to me and I came across candida during my googling. I have so many of the symptoms. I've always had some light acne since I was a teenager but within the last few months I've developed what looks like almost a rash on my face, it's all red and itchy all the time. I've definitely had some severe "brain fog". I've also been steadily gaining weight... last time I was on this sight I was at my highest weight of 186 and now I'm 200 lbs. I attributed everything to the extreme stress that I've been experiencing since I started nursing school in January, so much that I even missed my period for three months which has never happened to me before. Now I'm thinking the stress made me susceptible to the candida.

Any suggestions or opinions welcome.

When I was super-obese, I used to get yeast infections under my breasts all the time. It was awful. To treat that, I was instructed to make sure I dried myself off thoroughly after bathing - the point where the nurse said hold my breast up and use a hair dryer on the cool setting to ensure the skin was dry. Then use a medicated powder like Gold Bond to help keep me dry. I also wore underwire bras to help keep the girls up with a bit of a lift (every little bit helps) and chose cotton over sexier fabrics to allow more breathability.

I haven't had any experience with other rashes or with missed periods, but yeast can definitely be challenging.

Your missed periods...could you be pregnant?

The only to times I had yeast infections (not on my body but the kind in the woohoo) was 1 when I first went on the pill and 2 when I got pregnant but didn't know it yet.

Hormonal changes can show up as yeast infections down there, but can those changes show up as yeast infections on the body?

Lisa - good advice on how to care for candida.

If you have a fungal infection you HAVE to go to the girl-doctor and get yourself checked down there immediately. There is a high chance for you to have vaginitis/colpitis which can lead to many further health complications when it comes to fertility and painless sex.
If you are pregnant and have a fungal infection in your genitalia you will be in danger of miscarriage or having a sick baby.
You might think you would have noticed but fungal infections down there can be very concealed and unoticable at first.
Do you have white secretions?

As for the breasts what lise said is the best thing you can do: make sure you dry every fold of skin, not only breasts. Armpits, belly rolls, beneath the buttocks, behind the knees and ABSOLUTELY between the legs.

If its is candida, than its a tough diet and lifestlye to adapt to. I have a friend who had the sames issues and decided to do the diet. Not only did the rashes go away, but she lost a lot of weight as well.
She had to cut all starch and sugar out of her diet. Also had to change certain meds she was using to treat the infections and rashes, cause it was making it worse.
You can google it and here is one page for you to look at.
http://altmedicine.about.com/od/popu...andidadiet.htm

Do go see a doctor about some of your issues, but certain meds can make the candida really flare up.

Do you have a Nature's sunshine herb store close by?

This is my experience with the candida diet. I was diagnosed with Chronic Lyme's Disease several years ago and my current doctor recommended that that I start a yeast free diet. I was resistant at first because it is so restrictive, but my pain was getting so severe that I was desperate to find relief, and antibiotics were only making me worse. So I gave it a shot and it's been a life changer for me - major improvement symptoms and pain management. The plan I follow is:
http://www.wholeapproach.com/diet/foodlist.php
I've also managed to lose 34 lbs since the end of February, but that's just icing on the cake. What I'm really grateful for is the improvement in my overall quality of life.