healing the gut -- april - Page 5

[JaneS]

Viking, you may also consider some testing, you can read about in the HTG Cheat Sheet stickied at the top of this forum.

[viking]

Originally Posted by caedmyn

The Specific Carbohydrate Diet might be something for you to look at. www.pecanbread.com www.breakingtheviciouscycle.info
www.breakingtheviciouscycle.com

Originally Posted by JaneS

Have you tried digestive enzymes? With and between meals. See Yeast/Bacteria section and other sections at www.enzymestuff.com

Originally Posted by JaneS

Viking, you may also consider some testing, you can read about in the HTG Cheat Sheet stickied at the top of this forum.

thank you. i will read your urls tonight

i'm afraid of hijacking this thread,
so i will write a more thorough post in a new thread.

[caedmyn]

Originally Posted by viking

thank you. i will read your urls tonight

i'm afraid of hijacking this thread,
so i will write a more thorough post in a new thread.

That's what this thread is for--questions! You probably have a better chance of getting replies here than on a separate thread.

[viking]

Originally Posted by caedmyn

That's what this thread is for--questions! You probably have a better chance of getting replies here than on a separate thread.

ops.
allready posted new thread with additional information here.

[motocita]

janeS,

is there somewhere online where i can read about the rotation diet you're doing? my daughter and i are doing SCD right now, it's been 3.5 months and it's going well. BUT, i really miss my old foods. and she is having solid stools now and the eczema is nearly gone, so i wonder if we could do a rotation diet soon. we're pretty limited on SCD because she doesn't tolerate honey nor dairy yet.

i would also love to know how far did your son's healing progress before you changed from SCD to RD? does he have yeast overgrowth? that's what we have.

thanks

[sparkletruck]

Originally Posted by motocita

janeS, is there somewhere online where i can read about the rotation diet you're doing?

If you look at the Healing the Gut cheat sheet, Jane just posted a/her rotation diet (post 29 I think)

mamas. Ive been lurking, thought Id say hi. I needed a break, as you all have mentioned.

Im plugging along. I dont know what's going on with the yeast, my original symptoms are gone, but I have some new (specifically some labial wierdness - not itch or burn exactly, and not every day), and the disappearance of the old symptoms happened since cheating a couple times a week. My gerd symptoms are still going - they improved with Kombucha for awhile and then got bad again. I have done a lot of research and am convinced it is a leaky gut issue. I also think it could be yeast related (as there is some anecdotal evidence on the web of people curing their gerd by treating their yeast ... but Id think that the gerd would not have started WHILE treating yeast. I just dont know : When I cheat, nothing changing; i.e. I dont have worse symptoms, and actually, my original yeast stuff got markedly better when I started eating grains, however, I know that grains are hard on the gut so I mostly avoid them to help heal the gerd

Anyway, I have read a lot of stuff about people managing their gerd symptoms with stuff that is all gut related (kefir, enzymes, probiotics ...) so Im thinking it can be healed.

The other piece I have going on is meditation. There is also some significant anecdotal evidence that meditation can heal the gut, as opposed to manage symptoms. Im 3 mos in to that. My gerd symptoms have improved in that time but its so hard to tell what is doing what. The meditation definitely helps with the stress of managing all this, and stress is definitely not good for the gut.

I took enzymes (DigestGold) for a month and didnt notice any difference. I am thinking of going back on them for longer and see. Anyone recomend another that is maybe a little cheaper (I have found DG for $40 for 120caps)

Happy Monday

Jess

[caedmyn]

Originally Posted by saskiasmom

If you look at the Healing the Gut cheat sheet, Jane just posted a/her rotation diet (post 29 I think)

mamas. Ive been lurking, thought Id say hi. I needed a break, as you all have mentioned.

Im plugging along. I dont know what's going on with the yeast, my original symptoms are gone, but I have some new (specifically some labial wierdness - not itch or burn exactly, and not every day), and the disappearance of the old symptoms happened since cheating a couple times a week. My gerd symptoms are still going - they improved with Kombucha for awhile and then got bad again. I have done a lot of research and am convinced it is a leaky gut issue. I also think it could be yeast related (as there is some anecdotal evidence on the web of people curing their gerd by treating their yeast ... but Id think that the gerd would not have started WHILE treating yeast. I just dont know : When I cheat, nothing changing; i.e. I dont have worse symptoms, and actually, my original yeast stuff got markedly better when I started eating grains, however, I know that grains are hard on the gut so I mostly avoid them to help heal the gerd

Anyway, I have read a lot of stuff about people managing their gerd symptoms with stuff that is all gut related (kefir, enzymes, probiotics ...) so Im thinking it can be healed.

The other piece I have going on is meditation. There is also some significant anecdotal evidence that meditation can heal the gut, as opposed to manage symptoms. Im 3 mos in to that. My gerd symptoms have improved in that time but its so hard to tell what is doing what. The meditation definitely helps with the stress of managing all this, and stress is definitely not good for the gut.

I took enzymes (DigestGold) for a month and didnt notice any difference. I am thinking of going back on them for longer and see. Anyone recomend another that is maybe a little cheaper (I have found DG for $40 for 120caps)

Happy Monday

Jess

www.throppsnutrition.com They have two different enzyme formulations. One is around $16 for 90 caps and the other is around $55 for...270 caps, I think.

Have you followed the discussion about food chemical sensitivites at all? Even if you don't have food chemical sensitivites the Failsafe diet might help you heal. www.plantpoisonsandrottenstuff.com When I started the elimination diet I was taking 3 648 mg Betaine HCL tablets with a large meal and 2 with a smaller meal. 8 days into the elimination diet I didn't need the Betaine HCL anymore...and I'd been taking it for 5 months. So...whether or not we have food chemical sensitivities, it obviously did something, perhaps taking enough of a load off my liver for my stomach acid to finally normalize. Now if I can only figure out how to fix the rest of my digestion problems.

[caedmyn]

OK, ladies, I need your best healing-the-gut recommendations. I have developed IBS (or something) and I have 2.5 months to get it healed, or to the point where I can eat reasonably normally. I promised my DH that I would be done with diets and supplements when he back from his deployment the 1st of July, and right now things are so bad that I can't even eat any starches without having diarrhea. DH is extremely unhappy and wants me to go back to eating "normal" foods (none of which I can actually eat) and stop taking all supplements. He basically said I can take whatever supplements but I better be done with the supplements and eating a regular diet by the time he gets back or he will be very upset. He's not happy that a year of trying to heal the gut has essentially made things worse (probably mostly due to my own stupidity in overeating, but that's another story).

So...at this point I am still doing the Failsafe elimination diet. I've also eliminated all non-SCD foods (how ironic, now I'm coming back to the SCD). So I'm eating beef, ghee, celery, brussel sprouts, cabbage, leeks, rutabagas, garlic, celery, and pears. I'm going to start back on Enzymedica enzymes which don't contain any fillers...I stopped my enzymes for the elimination diet because they contain non-Failsafe ingredients, big mistake. I'm also planning on getting the probiotic VSL#3, which is super expensive but been proven effective for IBS and digestive disorders. It contains 450 billion CFU's of good bacteria per dose, so it ought to be pretty effective I hope, although I'm not sure if it's Failsafe or not. I was also thinking about getting some Intestinew or else plain l-glutamine. And I'm debating about whether to consult a naturopath.

I can't do bone broths on the elimination diet but that will be the first thing I add back in when I get done with the elimination diet in a couple of weeks.

So...suggestions, thoughts, anything, ladies?

DD's eczema is starting to look better again, but I'm not holding my breath on it going away completely. If Failsafe doesn't help her I'm done trying to heal her--I've done everything I can for her. She doesn't have any major issues at this point, even her poop is pretty good. She just has eczema and food allergies and cradle cap and butt-crack diaper rash and little bumps all over her torso. Hopefully she'll outgrow all of that, I guess.

[PapayaVagina]

what are everyone's thoughts on allergy testing in a 6 month old? do they always do this by skin prick testing? i am thisclose to taking dd in to someone who can do it but i've heard varying opinions on that it won't pick up everything but i keep thinking even if it sheds a teeny tiny little bit of light on this whole situation then i'm up for it because NOTHING is improving

[bluets]

caedmyn - do you think you've come full circle? are you starting to have old symptoms that you initially started with? or are these totally new ones? just trying to better understand

[bluets]

Originally Posted by PapayaVagina

what are everyone's thoughts on allergy testing in a 6 month old? do they always do this by skin prick testing? i am thisclose to taking dd in to someone who can do it but i've heard varying opinions on that it won't pick up everything but i keep thinking even if it sheds a teeny tiny little bit of light on this whole situation then i'm up for it because NOTHING is improving

don't waste your time with skinprick testing. i'd go for a blood draw and do RAST testing. but keep in mind that most IgE testing is not really reliable until a child is between 5 and 9 yrs old. before that, there's a good chance that the child will outgrow the response.

[PapayaVagina]

Originally Posted by bluets

don't waste your time with skinprick testing. i'd go for a blood draw and do RAST testing. but keep in mind that most IgE testing is not really reliable until a child is between 5 and 9 yrs old. before that, there's a good chance that the child will outgrow the response.

that's what i thought. THIS IS SO FRUSTRATING! I have zero hope that we'll ever find out what's going on with her. I've tried no wheat, soy, dairy, eggs, nuts, shellfish, tomatoes, beans and now am going with no rice as well. Have done TED. Nothing has improved. Nada. I'm just sort of hoping that maybe she'll outgrow it since we probably won't ever figure it out :

[bluets]

Originally Posted by PapayaVagina

that's what i thought. THIS IS SO FRUSTRATING! I have zero hope that we'll ever find out what's going on with her. I've tried no wheat, soy, dairy, eggs, nuts, shellfish, tomatoes, beans and now am going with no rice as well. Have done TED. Nothing has improved. Nada. I'm just sort of hoping that maybe she'll outgrow it since we probably won't ever figure it out :

okie dokie... can you remind us all ...

what your dd's symptoms are...

what you've tried and are doing now (in terms of food, elimination, etc)...

what supplements you're taking...

i'm losing track of who is doing what, why, and for how long... though i must say that my new stress B complex is really working for me.

[PapayaVagina]

Originally Posted by bluets

okie dokie... can you remind us all ...

what your dd's symptoms are...

what you've tried and are doing now (in terms of food, elimination, etc)...

what supplements you're taking...

i'm losing track of who is doing what, why, and for how long... though i must say that my new stress B complex is really working for me.

Sure

Since birth dd has always had (except for maybe 3 exceptions) green or dark yellow/orange, peanut butter consistency poop that smells horrible like vinegar or sometimes even ammonia.

She is exclusively breastfed. I started with no dairy and then at 2 months old went to no wheat. For a month I did no dairy, wheat, soy, egg, nut, shellfish, tomato and beans - no improvement. Did TED x1 week this last week and things almost seemed to get worse.

She gets probiotics x2 a day and I take omegas, CLO, and probiotics as well.

[sparkletruck]

Cademyn - Im so sorry you're under pressure!! Ok, I did miss the failsafe discussion, but Im assuming you started it as another possible path for your dd's healing? I ask b/c you seemed to have success with the anti-candida/probiotic rich diet. It could be that you have altered your flora whith the probiotics and diet over the past year so that your original symptoms are better but now you have more lower GI stuff. I have come across studies linking IBS to yeast (I dont want to be one of those who think yeast is responsible for global warming, but looking at your history...), maybe your yeast issues were managed with kefir/probiotics and diet, but now with the addition of more sugary carbs the yeast is coming back? (you had diarhea when you started kefir, maybe this is the same in reverse?) Why would you go to VSL#3 rather than back to what worked in the past? I dont think your original symptoms (acne, anal itchiness, etc) need to return for it to be an indication of yeast issues, but again, I dont want to blame yeast for everything, just mention the possibility. Did the candida diet and kefir stop working?

As for a naturopath, I think you know as much or more than they would. I would recomend a kinesiologist if you can find a good one (which is always the trick with natural healing it seems). I have a great one who can test all sorts of food and supplements but also get a read on various parts of the body and whats going on. Do you know of anyone where you are?

Can you remind me what your symptoms were when this started? If I remember, you started all this b/c of dd's symptoms but then realized you had issues to that were helped by the candida protocal?

[sparkletruck]

PV - what about SCD? I dont know much about it except what Ive read here, but Im thinking of LovinLiviLou who has had success with her dd when she switched to that diet..

[bluets]

Originally Posted by PapayaVagina

Sure

Since birth dd has always had (except for maybe 3 exceptions) green or dark yellow/orange, peanut butter consistency poop that smells horrible like vinegar or sometimes even ammonia.

She is exclusively breastfed. I started with no dairy and then at 2 months old went to no wheat. For a month I did no dairy, wheat, soy, egg, nut, shellfish, tomato and beans - no improvement. Did TED x1 week this last week and things almost seemed to get worse.

She gets probiotics x2 a day and I take omegas, CLO, and probiotics as well.

just a shot in the dark... have you ever tried putting the probiotics on her bottom instead of in her mouth? i just heard a chiropractor recommend that - the critters then don't have to survive stomach acid.

are her probiotics dairy-free?

have you tried having a fecal test done on her? vinegar and ammonia are both byproducts of anaerobic respiration done by some microbes. it sounds like she's got an imbalance in her gut flora.

the green color means that it is racing through her system and not being digested. the orange color means that it is only being partially digested but more so than the green color.

do YOU have any symptoms?

[newcastlemama]

Originally Posted by caedmyn

OK, ladies, I need your best healing-the-gut recommendations. I have developed IBS (or something) and I have 2.5 months to get it healed, or to the point where I can eat reasonably normally. I promised my DH that I would be done with diets and supplements when he back from his deployment the 1st of July, and right now things are so bad that I can't even eat any starches without having diarrhea. DH is extremely unhappy and wants me to go back to eating "normal" foods (none of which I can actually eat) and stop taking all supplements. He basically said I can take whatever supplements but I better be done with the supplements and eating a regular diet by the time he gets back or he will be very upset. He's not happy that a year of trying to heal the gut has essentially made things worse (probably mostly due to my own stupidity in overeating, but that's another story).

So...at this point I am still doing the Failsafe elimination diet. I've also eliminated all non-SCD foods (how ironic, now I'm coming back to the SCD). So I'm eating beef, ghee, celery, brussel sprouts, cabbage, leeks, rutabagas, garlic, celery, and pears. I'm going to start back on Enzymedica enzymes which don't contain any fillers...I stopped my enzymes for the elimination diet because they contain non-Failsafe ingredients, big mistake. I'm also planning on getting the probiotic VSL#3, which is super expensive but been proven effective for IBS and digestive disorders. It contains 450 billion CFU's of good bacteria per dose, so it ought to be pretty effective I hope, although I'm not sure if it's Failsafe or not. I was also thinking about getting some Intestinew or else plain l-glutamine. And I'm debating about whether to consult a naturopath.

I can't do bone broths on the elimination diet but that will be the first thing I add back in when I get done with the elimination diet in a couple of weeks.

So...suggestions, thoughts, anything, ladies?

DD's eczema is starting to look better again, but I'm not holding my breath on it going away completely. If Failsafe doesn't help her I'm done trying to heal her--I've done everything I can for her. She doesn't have any major issues at this point, even her poop is pretty good. She just has eczema and food allergies and cradle cap and butt-crack diaper rash and little bumps all over her torso. Hopefully she'll outgrow all of that, I guess.

You have done so much for dc s. When he says "normal" eating, what does that mean? I ask because we will never eat "normal" again since we do NT. I agree that you probably have a lot of knowledge and a naturopath won't help. What diet did you do best on (even if it was not a good one for dc)?

You think overeating made things worse? Do you want to tell us more about that? Hmmm. Could you eat slower and chew a long time. That is supposed to help digestion. I don't know much about IBS though. The Maker's Diet may have some insight since he had Chron's.

Could it be stress? I know someone who had Chron's symptoms while going to law school and then it went away. I know it would stress me out if I had a date to heal by, or my dh was deployed, or my dc still had some health issues despite my best efforts to help them. s Jen

[caedmyn]

Originally Posted by bluets

caedmyn - do you think you've come full circle? are you starting to have old symptoms that you initially started with? or are these totally new ones? just trying to better understand

I've always had digestive symptoms but they were originally gas and occasional constipation, then changed to bloating and stomach rumbling, and now are diarrhea and stomach cramps within a couple of hours after meals. So I'd say they're new.

[Cello]

Originally Posted by PapayaVagina

that's what i thought. THIS IS SO FRUSTRATING! I have zero hope that we'll ever find out what's going on with her. I've tried no wheat, soy, dairy, eggs, nuts, shellfish, tomatoes, beans and now am going with no rice as well. Have done TED. Nothing has improved. Nada. I'm just sort of hoping that maybe she'll outgrow it since we probably won't ever figure it out :

Papayavagina

Anectodal evidence at best, but let me throw this out there: my DS did not have any visible issues at first. Gentian violet gave him green poops, but was for the most part asymptomatic otherwise. He was gaining weight like crazy as well, and imho, interventions are not always the best options, sometimes, time is our best ally. But I noticed when he started on solids, on days he had more BM than others, he would have a worse(but never as bad as when on pure BM) BM(bowel movement this time . Which lead me to think I needed to fix myself since I was exacerbating whatever problem he had in his gut. If I'm not mistaken, you probably had tons of Abx in your system from the c/s and the wound dehiscence, etc. Maybe yeast is your issue, and it is manifesting itself in the poops in your child? Food alone won't make it better, especially if it is heavy in the starches that you get with the restricted diets(IE rice).