Healing the Gut Tribe ~~ July! - Page 25

[emdeecee_sierra]

Originally Posted by JaneS

Then they are not doing the right tests... what tests were they?

I'm highly suspect of any mainstream gi healing guts. Only if you can find one who is really top in their field. Bacterial overgrowth is being studied now in mainstream medicine but it's going to take a LONG time for it to trickle down. Did he test for SIBO, Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth?

I *would not* do any sort of enema, etc. for testing while pg. That is ridiculous. Besides, what are they going to see and what are they going to tell you it's caused by. And what are they going to offer as treatments for lets say... inflammation? Steriods? No thank you.

Sorry I'm not being helpful with these thoughts, but I have less than any respect for the way medicine is practiced. Mainstream medicine generally doesn't cure disease, they only treat symptoms with drugs.

Oops, sorry I'm so distracted lately...

See link entitled Yeast/Bacteria at www.enzymestuff.com for info about taking them between meals and for what purpose.

Thank you Jane!! I am not even sure what tests he ran. I am going to request that the results be sent to me, then call again and have the doc explain what he was looking for with each. I am dismayed that he hasn't called at all yet. He did not test for SIBO, only really basic stuff such as CBC and parasites, etc. Some tests for celiac.

I talked to DH about this and he was adamantly supportive of me that I not do the sig or anything while pg. That is a great point that you made: what would the doc find on the sig that he would have to know right now while I'm pg, and what would he do about it that wouldn't also endanger the pg. This aspect actually just makes me even more disappointed and angry at the way I'm being treated by the doc and office.

While I was talking to DH I was choking back tears the entire time. Now that I've delved into the 'alternative' side of the gut issue, I feel so utterly overwhelmed. There is so much out there (here? ) that I've never heard of about which I have to learn, apply to myself, and figure out. I completely agree, Jane, that the focus of mainstream is just to put a bandaid over the symptoms(with plenty of hefty kickbacks in the doc's pocket); I want this HEALED doggone it! Or as close to that as I can get.

I believe I have intuited a help for myself already in that I have begun taking zinc supplements and that is making a significant difference. At least I hope so; I have learned to be cautious with attributing any temporary (because it is always only temporary... ) improvement to anything. I'll post about the zinc thing another time: I think it is an interesting story in addition to being one of the points about which I am not thrilled about this doc. I will be starting glutamine next week (as soon as it arrives). I tried some kefir this morning and I will be monitoring that effect. Meanwhile, I'll keep taking baby steps in learning about healing the gut. One thing DH said the other day was, "I hope this isn't contagious." I told him it has been going on long enough with me that if it was I would think he and DC would have caught it. But my other fear is that my DC will have a propensity to develop it later. I want to already have it all figured out for them by then!!

I figure one thing going to the gut doc has done is propelled me to more action. As long as I'm trying something I feel like I'm making progress. And that is certainly better than just wasting my life away while the problem gets worse.

[Emilie]

hello... i have huge poop issues with ds- who is 3..... since he was just a small baby....8 months or so...
he is on medication from medical doctor- myrcolax- which i am not a fan of- tho it does help him poop.
he is constipated all the time. all the time. his poop comes out in sticky stains- not hard, dr or black- just mushy sticky....
we have tried candida diet- and i must say i am not good at keeping with it. i desperately want to help my boy.... any advice orbook reccomedndatoins, websites much appreciated!
thanks

[Kundalini-Mama]

Totally off topic.....

but has anyone heard from firefaery? Her lil' one was due this month

[caedmyn]

I was wondering how firefaery's doing, too. I saw in another thread a while back that her family was moving, so maybe she's just really busy between that and the new baby.

[Annikate]

I've been wondering about her too. I pm'd her weeks ago.

Firefaery, We Miss You!

[Annikate]

Emilie, Have you looked at the sticky at the top of the h&h page? That should help.

LovinLiviLou, This is exactly what brought me here. My dd had very similar issues. I did not think that *I* needed healing so I came here learning in hopes of helping dd. (When I started she was about 4 months old and, of course, ebf.)

The more I learned, the more I realized that I needed to heal in order to help her.

Yes, you can do this while b'feeding and when your babe does start solids you can use enzymes directly. They are safe for you to take while b'feeding too.

[Punchy Kaby]

Originally Posted by Annikate

Okay, I misplaced my copy of BTVC WEEKS ago and can't find it and cannot find this on the pecanbread site either:

What type of strain DOESN'T the 24 hour yogurt contain? I forget.

I'm wondering if this could be why dd has NO lactobacillus.?????

We are not supposed to use a yogurt starter that has bifidus in it.

[moonshine]

Constipation has improved, but now if floats again. What to do about that? It occured to me that I might have to start over with the intro again. Any one try that?

I do a colon massage every night in bed. I can see what is tender, full, etc and hopefully help move things along. Throughout all of this, I have had a tender spot in my lower righthand abdomin, where the lg intestine starts. This is where my acupuncturist though I had inflammation, at one time the size of my fist. It is now not so tender to the touch, but this area is majorly "squishy" and actually makes noise when I massage it. You can hear liquid like stuff there. Working on it last night, I found that this liquidy area was quite big. It started getting me a bit concerned. Anyone have any thoughts on this?? JaneS, Galeforce, you guys around? And of course anyone else who might have a clue.

[WuWei]

Originally Posted by moonshine

Throughout all of this, I have had a tender spot in my lower righthand abdomin, where the lg intestine starts. This is where my acupuncturist though I had inflammation, at one time the size of my fist. It is now not so tender to the touch, but this area is majorly "squishy" and actually makes noise when I massage it. You can hear liquid like stuff there. Working on it last night, I found that this liquidy area was quite big. It started getting me a bit concerned. Anyone have any thoughts on this?? JaneS, Galeforce, you guys around? And of course anyone else who might have a clue.

Does it hurt when you press, or when you release the pressure? If it is "rebound" discomfort, it could be appendix pain. An abdominal ultrasound could discern any anatomical pockets, blockages or inflamation. Certainly, one can have bulging pockets of inflamation in the bowel, sort of an aneurysm-type balloning of the intestine. I don't think I would be pressing on it if that makes it hurt. Any MD would do a complete diagnostic work up which could include invasive examination. If you could get an alternative guy to just order an ultrasound, the tech does the diagnostic test, a radiologist reads it and reports any abnormal findings. The alternative guys are not as apt to insist on further search and discovery invasion into your body so that they can CYA with a Full Diagnosis.

If the pain is severe, I'd consider more extensive work up. You also might watch to see if it is related to your menstrual cycles. Ovulation can cause a tender area in the abdomen, also endometriosis. MT had some issues with too much oxilate, or something related to raw green foods. Jane??

Pat

[JaneS]

Sierratahoe,

Great post! I think this journey will take you to a new level of health for you and your family. I know it has mine, and I'm very grateful for it even though it was (and still is) long and frustrating. You will never look at food and nutrition the same way again. And truly to have that view, is to know one of the great secrets of being healthy and building healthy bodies for your children.

BTW bone broths naturally contain glutamine to rebuild gut lining and are a great source of minerals for pg. http://www.westonaprice.org/foodfeatures/broth.html

[JaneS]

Originally Posted by moonshine

Constipation has improved, but now if floats again. What to do about that? It occured to me that I might have to start over with the intro again. Any one try that?

I do a colon massage every night in bed. I can see what is tender, full, etc and hopefully help move things along. Throughout all of this, I have had a tender spot in my lower righthand abdomin, where the lg intestine starts. This is where my acupuncturist though I had inflammation, at one time the size of my fist. It is now not so tender to the touch, but this area is majorly "squishy" and actually makes noise when I massage it. You can hear liquid like stuff there. Working on it last night, I found that this liquidy area was quite big. It started getting me a bit concerned. Anyone have any thoughts on this?? JaneS, Galeforce, you guys around? And of course anyone else who might have a clue.

Floaters are not digesting fats well enough I thought... ?

I would go get an ultrasound to make sure it's not an ovarian cyst.

[JaneS]

Originally Posted by Nolansmum

We are not supposed to use a yogurt starter that has bifidus in it.

This is not to you in particular, just thinking out loud...

I'm questioning this, but have little to go on right now. One thing that bothers me is that Elaine has said that she was not an expert in probiotics. Basically she was just following Dr. Haas' diet and just studied basically how it works.

However, our kids now have many more assaults on their gut flora than in Dr. Haas' day. Steriods, Antibiotics, Vaccines. Messing with their initial colonization especially as most births are medicalized. I'm currently of the mind that DS never had a good mix of gut flora to being with, so he needs many more strains than just the dairy strains in yogurt.

Just before I started stool testing and removing all supplements with DS, I put him on some different probiotics. Mt. Capra makes a goat's milk probiotic (which is now being hawked by Mercola under his own brand for more $.) And some small amounts of Primal Defense powder (ingredients are just probiotics and grasses.)

I have been putting Nature's Way Reuteri in his yogurt culture for a while now as well. But he is reacting a bit to the dairy in them I think.

But what I've found is that all of a sudden he's tolerating much more fruits. It took quite a while for me to induce diarrhea for his test even though he's been off of enzymes for a week . He's had perfect poops. I gave him rice and applesauce. Perfect. Raw strawberries finally did it though. Poor bunny, he was up 3x last night and is sooo tired. I probably should have just od'd him on magnesium in hindsight.

But anyways, the SCD is not working for DS because he obviously needs more strains of probiotics in order to heal. He was already on 1-2 gallons of 24h SCD legal goat yogurt/week for many months to no effect. My current theory is that he never had good gut colonization to begin with. He probably doesn't have the nascent good bacteria to regrow like an adult who goes on SCD to good effect.

What do others think? MT told me this a while ago, but I've had a hard time finding dairy free full spectrum probiotics and we were trying other things.

It's very distressing that there is STILL so little that is known about probiotics and gut flora.

My current fantasy is getting his bowels implanted with full spectrum of healthy gut flora from an Amish child raised on BM/raw milk and no drugs/vaxs. Called Human Probiotic Infusion: http://www.probiotictherapy.com.au/

But for now, I cannot wait to get him done with testing and back on tons of full spectrum probiotics in addition to yogurt.

[JaneS]

This site is very interesting for their descriptions of the bowel flora as an organ unto itself. Adding several links to Cheat Sheet.

http://www.probiotictherapy.com.au/p...s/concept.html
http://www.probiotictherapy.com.au/p...concept_2.html

It is useful to compare the human faecal flora to a living organ because its major component is a complex mass of living cells. Furthermore, it interacts with the human body and the human body interacts with it.

Given that the human body is made up of approximately 1014 cells - while 1 x 1013 are body cells, about 9 x 1013 cells are bacteria contained within the bowel. Hence, purely on cell count we are 10% human and 90% stool!

[Annikate]

Originally Posted by JaneS
My current fantasy is getting his bowels implanted with full spectrum of healthy gut flora from an Amish child raised on BM/raw milk and no drugs/vaxs. Called Human Probiotic Infusion:
http://www.probiotictherapy.com.au/

Wow!

A little OT but speaking of the Amish:
VERY INTERESTING. Imagine what this will do to big pharma when it's all said & done?
http://www.upi.com/ConsumerHealthDai...8-111605-3532r

[PGTlatte]

Hi Emilie,

First I would consider his history. What happened prior to the start of his problems ? Had his digestion been healthy until then ? Was he happy or fussy ? What happened right before ? Was that when he started eating solid foods ? Was there a vaccination around that time, or was he treated with antibiotics for some reason ? Was there some other change in his food and drink intake, like a change in breastfeeding habits or a switch of some kind ? Examining his history might give you some clues as to the cause of his problems and where to start.

Besides considering the history of his problem, I would recommend looking for a food allergy or intolerance. There is a very good book called Is This Your Child by a doctor named Doris Rapp. You could start with the top allergens or common problem foods - perhaps dairy, wheat, corn, or soy - and eliminate one of them *completely* from his diet for a couple of months and see what happens - if he still nurses, you will need to eliminate it from your diet too, then if you see no change, put it back, watch for a reaction, and then try eliminating another suspect food. Doing this, you may find certain foods that cause him problems. Besides common allergens, other foods to try this with are anything he eats a lot of, or wants to eat all of the time, as some people are somewhat "addicted" to the very foods that cause them a problem.

Another thing I would do, at the same time, is start him on a good probiotic. Healthy gut flora is essential for healthy digestion. Even one course of antibiotics can wipe out a child's gut flora and cause problems for a long time unless they are re-established with a probiotic (or cultured foods with live probiotics in them).

This is a place to start - food allergies/intolerances and probiotics. This is something you can work on while you read your way through the stickies, the thread, etc. that might start to help him now.

Linda B.

Originally Posted by Emilie

hello... i have huge poop issues with ds- who is 3..... since he was just a small baby....8 months or so...
he is on medication from medical doctor- myrcolax- which i am not a fan of- tho it does help him poop.
he is constipated all the time. all the time. his poop comes out in sticky stains- not hard, dr or black- just mushy sticky....
we have tried candida diet- and i must say i am not good at keeping with it. i desperately want to help my boy.... any advice orbook reccomedndatoins, websites much appreciated!
thanks

[WuWei]

Originally Posted by JaneS

I would go get an ultrasound to make sure it's not an ovarian cyst.

I forgot about this. I had one of those!


Pat

[Annikate]

emilie,
I forgot to add: dd1 has had constipation issues almost her whole life as well. (She actually goes from mush to severe constipation.) Our ped had her on a stool softener as well & I gave it to her for longer than I really should have until I finally got her completely SCD legal.

SCD, combined with the yogurt EVERY day has helped her. I'm still trying to figure out if she's got a lactose intolerance though. I think she does so I may have to switch to goat yogurt. (?)

[Annikate]

Question re: lactose intolerance:

I am learning (through studying dd's stool analysis results) that people w/lactose intolerance do not produce lactobacillus.

This makes sense. DD has NO lactobacillus.

Does this mean she should not be having the 24hr. yogurt? Should I switch her to goat yogurt? OR . . should I get her some L. acidophilus too?

DD actually was HIGHLY sensitive to dairy in my diet when she was ebf.

She has not had cow's milk in forever but eats cheese EVERY day.

[JaneS]

Originally Posted by Annikate

Wow!

A little OT but speaking of the Amish:
VERY INTERESTING. Imagine what this will do to big pharma when it's all said & done?
http://www.upi.com/ConsumerHealthDai...8-111605-3532r

Yeah, wow is right! I just found out you can do the "implantation" yourself.
http://nexusofsteve.com/News/news_102204.html

It's not all that crazy, he's been published, just a couple refs:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q...=pubmed_docsum

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q...=pubmed_docsum

Full articles:
http://www.cdd.com.au/pdf/toyingmotions.pdf
http://www.cdd.com.au/html/expertise/publications.html
http://askwaltstollmd.com/archives/p...cs/119891.html

And one of those articles mention they are working on fecal flora capsules.

Anyone want to hole up in a PA hotel for 5 days with me and DS and split an Amish child's poop ...?

You see that DDDC must have just inspired me.

[Annikate]

maybe. . .