Intestinal health

[PeachBaby]

Has anyone had a testing to see the condition of their intestinal status, like the microvilli, whether they are flattened or not? Is it a testing that can easily be done? How long it takes? Any other tips/advice? Appreciate it!

[nathansmum]

Not the answer you're really after I don't think, but I chose not to have my DS have a biopsy to check the villi in regards to his celiacs.

[PeachBaby]

Thanks for sharing. I was considering though to get myself checked since DS reacts to my breastmilk and we've been both working on our diet/health, but I thought if I could get an idea of my GI status, that might help give me a better idea of what I need to do.

[Boobs]

You could go to a gastro doc and ask for scopes (colonoscopy/endoscopy), but they are invasive and expensive. An elimination diet would be the first step in finding out what your little guy is reacting to. You might also check out Enterolab.com and see if there are any tests there you would be interested in.

[JaneS]

Originally Posted by PeachBaby

Thanks for sharing. I was considering though to get myself checked since DS reacts to my breastmilk and we've been both working on our diet/health, but I thought if I could get an idea of my GI status, that might help give me a better idea of what I need to do.

You could have IgG testing done to help figure out your allergens. We've been talking in the Allergies forum about whether we pass antibodies to foods "we" are allergic to, onto our babes in our breastmilk. I have seen it mentioned that the babe's immune system then is obliged to react to the antibodies. Makes sense to me.

This older thread still holds up I think as far as the steps to take:

Gut Healing Tribe Cheat Sheet
http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=434071

One new direction the Allergies forum has since taken is to uncover nutritional deficiencies as a cause of allergies and intolerances, you might root around there for a while.

[JaneS]

Oops one more thing...

A CDSA stool test will tell you if you have inflammation (and therefore villi damage) and point towards allergies. And reduced short chain fatty acids which will mean beneficial gut flora deficiencies.

[PeachBaby]

Thank you for all your info, I will check them out.

We both have been working on elimination diet and got IgE and IgG testing. Still haven't figured out why we react to foods even though the testing for both types came out all negative for all the the foods tested for both of us.

[JaneS]

It might be gut flora imbalance, yeast or bacterial. Do you have loose stool or constipation? Have you tried high strength probiotics? How old is your DS? How exactly does he react? Have you considered foremilk/hindmilk imbalance?

It might be food chemical intolerances which don't involve the immune system:
salicylates
amines
histamines
oxalates

See 'Salicylates/Amines/Histamine Sensitive Tribe' thread in Allergies forum for more info.

[mom61508]

Originally Posted by JaneS

It might be gut flora imbalance, yeast or bacterial. Do you have loose stool or constipation? Have you tried high strength probiotics? How old is your DS? How exactly does he react? Have you considered foremilk/hindmilk imbalance?

It might be food chemical intolerances which don't involve the immune system:
salicylates
amines
histamines
oxalates

See 'Salicylates/Amines/Histamine Sensitive Tribe' thread in Allergies forum for more info.

OP- I don't mean to hijack your thread but I have a question for JaneS

I'm wondering the same for DD she has loose stools suddenly for 3 weeks which has never been a problem for her. I can't figure out why? It started when I gave her digestive enzymes but I quit those and the loose stool persists .Last summer was the opposite we dealt with constipation so this is odd for us Any thoughts gut master

[JaneS]

Yes, certain enzymes can loosen stools. How long ago did you quit? Which enzymes? A low grade virus can do that too. Eating more fruit or juice? or any different types of food or supplements?

[mom61508]

Originally Posted by JaneS

Yes, certain enzymes can loosen stools. How long ago did you quit? Which enzymes? A low grade virus can do that too. Eating more fruit or juice? or any different types of food or supplements?

WE used digest basic by enzyme medica. We stopped the enzymes 2 weeks ago. She had a fever for 24 hours about 4 days after the loose stools started but was totally fine the next day. Her diet hasn't changed at all or supps.

[mom61508]

bumpppppp

[CookiePie]

I just had an endoscopy & colonoscopy done & they did biopsies. The worst of it is the prep & the belly ache afterwards from the air that they pump into your system. But it isn't as bad as I anticipated at all. I tried an elimination diet & never could pin-point what caused my symptoms. That & a family history of intestional conditions including colon cancer, gave me the push to just do it. I'll have results from the biopsies in one week.