natropath visit and leaky gut

[url]http://www.oddee.com/item_96452.aspx[/url]

p.s. take with a grain of salt.

I’m really interested in this for Emily. She’s still having the random stomach pains & we just can’t figure it out.

I did a quick search. Apparently a Phase 2 trial started on this treatment for MS.

Here is a link to the Science Daily article:

[url]http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090304091818.htm[/url]

There is also an article here:
[url]http://www.sciencemag.org[/url]

Look for volume 305 from July 9th 2004. It’s called “Can worms tame the immune system”

Thanks for the info Dawn!

Kelly

this may present a “cure” for the collateral damage:
[url]http://www.dewormtheworld.org/[/url]

p.s. i can’t vouch for it personally and one should check with their doctor first– and, as always, take it with a grain of salt.

It figures – I spent 3 years in Botswana Africa and never even got a cold… lots of other folks ended up with worms and other delightful parasites, or worse, but I was completely healthy the entire time. I even inhaled half the Zambezi river when I nearly drowned and got no worms, no pneumonia, not even a lingering cough. :p

Thank you so much for all your research Dawn… when my latest (and last) IVIg headache goes away I’ll tackle some research myself. I can hardly see the screen at the moment. BTW I’ve been trying to be relatively faithful to eating active cultured yogurt (probiotic) every day. I hate the texture but since I can’t really taste it anymore I eat it anyway. I’ll be honest and say it is making a difference. I haven’t had one of those gut stabbing pains in about 10 days now.

OMG Dawn,

What a find here from the naturalist. I have always felt that human health begins in the Gi Tract.

I personally have discovered that my pains have dropped dramatically since going Gluten Free 3 months ago, and being my daughter Kelly has a pretty serious case of Crohns, believe in a link.
Kelly’s small gi was leaking protein into the stool. I am sure toxins enter the blood as well causing the human body to react to those toxins.

Everybody has stuff living in them, if we only knew what was in us now, we would probably freak out.

It doesn’t suprise me one bit that ingesting these whip worms may help speed up and heal a damaged GI tract, keeping bowl toxins out of the blood and reducing total inflammation or immune response.
Also to isolate what caused that situation in the first place. Certain foods, conditions or exposure to something whether a one time thing or repetative.

Pretty interesting topic and research. I am very curious about this for Kelly and myself. Thank you very much for sharing this. –tim–

c I was told by my holistic doc that these parasites in your digestive track will ususaly cause trouble at a full moon. Something to do with the reproductive cycle. I have had severe bouts of diverticultis in the hospital. My problems began after mission trip to Porto Rico. I tryed not to drink water from there but It was just to hot to not. Well all the guys
I went with developed intestinal problems. The parasites supposebly burrow into the sides and lay there eggs or waterever they do to reproduce. He subscribed large doses of aregano. It has worked. Every time i feel an attack coming on I take 5 Aregano pills 2 times daily till the cramps and pains go away. By the way years ago people would de worm in Europe up untill the last 50-100 years.the full moon thing is real.

Am really tired after hosting a family dinner party, but this is all very interesting. Keep on this & keep us posted. One never knows where the next possible & better treatment might come from…

Dawn,
I think the catch is our addiction to complicated medical treatments and our human aversion to parasites but I think we’re starting to get over that as a society. I know that if I presented myself at my family practitioner with early symptoms of CIDP and he suggested ingesting the eggs of a pig whip worm I would have immediately sought out another opinion. It’s only now that I am thoroughly sick of CIDP that I would even consider sucking down worms to potentially cure my disease. I’m not there yet but I’m not shivering anymore – I’m eating the yogurt and will switch to the pills when the yogurt is gone. I think I’d still rather provide my probiotics in a pill form without them being automatically generated by worms until and unless it is proven that they are more effective when provided by dying whip worms.

My intestines are not terribly happy with the probiotics either – while I haven’t gotten a gut stabbing pain, I haven’t exactly been normal either… I’m giving it more time though… it’s only been about 2 weeks of consistently providing probiotics.

Julie

not worse in the sense of more pain but worse in the sense of less reliable – more prone to sudden starts and stops – its possible this is just a settling in period or more likely my intestines don’t like yogurt seeing as it’s a milk product and I don’t digest them well, even with the addition of lactase… so the jury is still out on if it’s helping… too many variables at the moment but I guess all in all I’d rather be running to the bathroom than waking up with screaming intestinal pain in the middle of the night. 🙁

P.S. I am also taking 15mg of OTC Previcid daily which could also account for the variable intestines
P.S. (again… sorry, IVIg headache) I had a scope and biopsy done about 3 years ago, they found some non-cancerous polyps but no evidence of inflammation

I, too, have been researching the intestinal health angle. I had found on the internet someone who had MFS multiple times (that’s what I had almost 2 1/2 years ago), and he attributed his MFS to leaky gut syndrome. While I was felling pretty recovered from the GBS/MFS, my goal was to prevent this from happening again. I know I ingested the campy bacteria, but I don’t know why my immune system reacted to it the way it did.

I decided to research intestinal health. I ordered a bunch of books from Amazon, and found a doctor in my area who has a more holistic approach to health. This doctor also works with a practitioner of traditional chinese medicine.

My doctor started out doing a number of tests, including a stool test. In general, my digestive health has been OK, but over the years I’ve become lactose intolerant. In my 20’s I was on antibiotics for a prolonged period, and I suspected that the antibiotics might have compromised my immune health by killing the good bacteria in my intestinal tract (70% of the immune system is in the intestinal tract)

The stool tests showed that I had a parasite. We took care of that right away, and my doctor put me on probiotics, which I take every day.

My doctor also suggested I take Betaine HcL, which is a source of hydrochloric acid. What I’ve read about and heard from my doctor is – if you don’t produce enough hydrochloric acid (as we age, production decreases), then things like bacteria and parasites pass through the stomach. The hydrochloric acid is the first line of defense for protecting the body from invaders, and if we don’t produce enough, invaders get in. I noticed a marked improvement in my digestion just using the Betaine HcL (which I would suggest taking under a doctor’s supervision, since if you take too much, you can do damage to your stomach lining).

Interestingly, people who have reflux think they have excess hydrochloric acid, but in fact, research says they don’t have enough.

Anyway, I also have been taking chinese herbs from the practitioner of traditional chinese medicine I mentioned earlier.

My GBS/MFS residuals were pretty minor (or so I thought). If I exerted too much (a weekend in NY walking around caused me to be off one foot for a day and a half), I would have to rest whatever muscle was injured. Riding my exercise bike would cause little muscle pulls I’ve never experienced before. I tired more easily than before GBS/MFS, and the most I could do was 2 days in a row on the exercise bike.

I know this sounds incredulous (even I had trouble believing it), but just a few weeks after starting to take the herbs, I was able to walk a good 5+ miles a day while on vacation last summer, without any residuals. And I am happy to say I have had no residuals whatsoever since last June. I can exercise 4 or 5 days in a row without any muscle exhaustion. In general, I feel better than even before the GBS/MFS. My energy is incredible, and I feel really grateful that all this work has paid off.

In addition to the supplements and herbs I take, I have changed my diet. I too have been doing gluten free. After 7 months off gluten, I went back on to see if there was a difference. I did not notice anything negative when eating gluten, but now I limit it, because I’ve been enjoying the healthier lifestyle that comes with gluten-free.

I’ve been taking herbs for 7 months, and at some point I will be off the herbs, because my body will have healed, and will no longer react to the herbs.

One really important note. Many of you have probably taken that CPK test (tests muscle stress levels). I have it taken at my yearly neurological appt. Last year, my CPK was 167 (2 points above the normal range). This year it was 21. My neurologist called me with the results himself. I didn’t need the confirmation, because the number just reflected how I felt, but it was nice to see how my muscles improved.

I hesitate to write all this, because I fear it will sound crazy or like I’m trying to sell something. But truthfully, I’ve been wanting to share my experience, because if other people can be helped or encouraged to keep looking for answers, then all the disclosure will have been worth it.

In the end, I look at my GBS/MFS as a gift. I am really grateful for all the wonderful doctors and my herbalist, who have helped me along the way. My GBS/MFS has caused me to look at my health in a different way, and for that I can’t help but be grateful.

I also thank you all for your stories. They have helped me along my journey.

I wish you all abundant health and happiness on your journeys.