Oh, and I saw Kronos Quartet! And my friend! And they were great! And now I have to wash all the makeup off my face and go to bed!

OMG, the Vorkosigan books. I'm in thrall. I read the Cordelia books first, then I went out and bought them ALL. Been reading them slowly, savoring, sort of. I'm near the end of "Brothers in Arms" and I hear the next two books will make me squeal like a little girl and call momma. I can't wait.

Like how common is it? What, precisely, is it? And how is it treated?

Hmm. Systemic candidiasis is sort of mish-mash of a bunch of different things. Candida is a very common yeast (a lot of healthy people carry them in their skin and gastrointestinal tract), and folks with intact immune system who get infected with them usually get the topical variety--vaginal yeast infection, diaper rash, oral thrush, etc. Systemic candida infection refers to the condition in which you get the fungus in *deep*, like into the bloodstream or organs (e.g. liver and spleen, eye, brain, heart, kidneys, etc.) They usually happen to people whose innate immune system is compromised, either through mechanical breach of mucosal barriers (from bowel surgery, intravenous lines) or through disease or medications (AIDS, cancer, transplant, immunosuppressive medications). Blood stream infection and peritonitis are probably the most common, but it can essentially happen in any organ, or in multiple different organs, in which case it is called "disseminated" candida infection. Since it mostly happen to sick folks with underlying medical conditions, the systemic variety is not very common in your average population. But in the hospitalized, chronically sick individuals? It's not so rare either.

The treatment depends on where it is and what kind of candida it is. If it's a blood infection associated with an intravenous catheter, then you pull the catheter and give the patient an antifungal medication for a couple of weeks. If it's gone to the organs, the required treatment is longer--more like 4-6 weeks and plus. Some species of candida nowadays have also become quite resistant to common antifungal medications, but there have been several new-fangled antifungals that came out in the market in the last couple of years, so there are usually some treatment options.

Hope that answered some of the questions. Let me know if you need more info.

Does Kronos still put spandex socks over their chairs?

Um, I didn't notice any socks.

Kat, I have no idea what I did with Kite Runner. I will buy you a replacement.

Please. No. I'm just moving books out of the house. I'm up to 8 boxes so far, not including curriculum which is what I'm sorting through tomorrow. So, it's not necessary in the least.

Except, you should really read Kite Runner. I think you'd like it.

Curse of Chalion is what I'm reading. But I'm nowhere in it yet -- the blurb hasn't started to happen yet.

I liked it alot. I'm really enjoying the Robin Hobb books that Kristin recommended right now (not, as we type, but like, today).

Wow, I'm having trouble typing (but not in editing) as I may be substantially fucked up from being out drinking at a really good beer place (I'm hosed on trappist monk beer, that seems wrong somehow) with one of my oldest pals.

Is LJ up? I should go look.

Is LJ up? I should go look.

depends on what cluster you are on.

Okay, I should not be up. Am tired.

depends on what cluster you are on.

No idea what cluster I'm on, but I appear to be up with a bunch of my FList (ita, theodosia, meara among others). Woo! And also, crap, need to catch up.

So, does anyone know about systemic candida? I only know a little anecdotal information.

Vonnie has a medical description above. In health food circles, many people think that a candida imbalance (i.e. too much) can cause all sorts of problems, from psoriasis-like symtoms, to headaches, to an upset stomach, and more. For me, when I get an imbalance like this, I notice a coating of the tongue, like thrush but not nearly as bad. I have found that going on a special candida diet helps alleviate these symptoms. You can get herbs for this at most natural food stores. Or you can do the diet alone. You can probably find a more detailed diet online or at a natural food store, but basically you want to cut out aged items and simple carbs. Whole grains are generally ok except wheat. Most vegetables are ok, but not most fruits (cranberry without added sugar and Granny Smith apples are the ok ones I remember). Processed foods are generally verboten, especially anything with white flour, sugar, vinegar, or yeast. Smoked or processed meats such as ham and bacon should be avoided. You should feel much better (or ready to kill yourself, depending on how important things like cheese and chocolate are to you) within two to four weeks. I lived for about a month on chicken breasts, fresh vegetables, brown rice and Granny Smith's. I did add some cottage cheese, because it wasn't explicitly on the diet I read, and losing all cheese sounded like torture. It was no fun, but I felt a lot better afterwards. I'd probably be a lot healthier if I stayed on this diet always, but...

Timelies!

Not only did I not die in a flaming embers crash, I got a row to myself on both legs of the trip, which was a greatly appreciated luxury, space to stretch out and arrange my junk on the seats around me and cross my legs without intruding on a stranger's personal space.

Unfortunately I pulled a muscle in my back lugging my luggage to the car, so the drive back to Somerville was unnecessarily interesting. So I left the big suitcase in the car in the hopes that I could move it in this AM... which I will do. Real soon now.

Aside from the back, it was a truly splendid vacation, one that I really needed.