I curious to hear stories of how people were able to heal their intestines. Was removing gluten enough for you? Did you do other things, like other kinds of diets and/or supplements? Did you have to remove other foods, and could you add them back in later? How long did it take you to heal?

I think hearing other people's stories would put my journey of healing in perspective.

Thanks, Claire

Thanks for asking this question, as I feel my young daughter's gut still needs some work...and I've been very lax in attempts. I'd also like to hear what has been successful for others.

Fish oil helped me.

I was recently reminded that zinc deficiency can affect gut health, although too much zinc is a concern.

Probiotics should help, but my daughter can't get past one week on them, even when I start very small, because of explosive gas/diarrhea.

I'm interested in hearing from others, including brands of products they used when applicable.


Cara

My son had weekly episodes of explosive D after being GF for 3 years. He was found to have elevated eosinophils in his blood and colon. We did IgG based delayed food allergy testing and learned he had stong reactions to many other foods (dairy, egg, soy, legumes, citrus...). After getting those results and rechecking his food diary (which made no sense while we kept it) we were able to see the cause of his seemingly random nights sleeping in the bathroom. Shortly afterwards we met with a great nutritionist. She said we were on the right track and that Eric would get better using our approach but that we could speed up the healing by adding digestive enzymes and probiotics. She feels that at some point we might be able to add everything but gluten back into his diet. Eric occasionally has a set back but we are able to figure out why now. Before he was reacting to too many foods for us to see a pattern.
Here is a link to an interesting site about enzymes http://www.enzymestuff.com/

--Judy

Great question and so difficult to answer. It seems as though the path to healing is a not exactly the same for each of us.

I did not have many GI symptoms but I have had to remove gluten, yeast and most processed grains to feel my best. Of course, I may not be at my best yet. Who knows how much better I might feel with enzymes (have not tried) or CF/SF/EG (have not totally eliminated these. Probiotics did not make a noticible difference for me so I am not taking these any longer. Maybe I need other supplements or a different dosage of the supplements I take.

In the old BT we talked about the healing properties that B12 and other supplements had on the gut. Here is an article about a study of a dietary supplementation containing:a supplement of melatonin, l-tryptophan, vitamin B6, folic acid, vitamin B12, methionine and betaine would help patients with GERD, and to compare the preparation with 20 mg omeprazole. Regression of gastroesophageal reflux disease symptoms using dietary supplementation with melatonin, vitamins and aminoacids: comparison with omeprazole.
All patients who took the supplements reported a complete regression of symptoms after 40 days of treatment. This compares to only 65.7% of the patients on omeprazole(Prilosec). Hmmmmm
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q...=pubmed_docsum
Anne

Still working on it. It seems like I get an improvement in one area for awhile, then I slide back. I'm not sure but I think I'm evolving more sensitivities. I've been gluten free for 1 year this 9/26 and mostly dairy free since 1/2006.

Dr. Fine said Enterolab would be having a more extensive food intolerances panel "soon". So I'm hoping to have that done when it is up and going.

Claire,

At my worst, I couldn't digest very much at all. I cut out all sugar and stuck to a fruits (not much at first), vegetables, chicken, fish, (red meat wouldn't go through), nuts (ground at first) and eggs diet. I stuck to that for about two years. Slowly I could add different foods in. I still stick pretty much to that diet but I can eat nuts etc. Also just in the last year I realize I am not as hyper sensitive to sugar as I used to be but I still stay away from it.

I take flaxseed oil every night and fish oil every now and then. I take B12 and Bcomplex pretty regularly. I can't tolerate multi-vitamins, it is very painful. I also take very expensive (Natrens Trio Trenev) probiotics every night.

It has been a very slow process for me but I am very healthy now. The damage is still there and I am unable to swim or run as of yet. The damage at the bottom near my legs is very severe. However, I have this feeling I am near the end and maybe next summer I will be able to exercise again. (I can walk 4 miles now, just nothing active like running/swimming). I am a normal weight again after a long time.

FYI - I will be GF for four years this October. I felt a little better each month after going GF but I didn't feel even close to functional again until the two year mark. I was still very skinny at year 3. I have just gained that last 5-8 lbs this year.

Grace

Grace,

Your story is very inspirational. I tried the Specific Carbohydrate Diet for about 6 weeks this summer, but I later found out I was reacting to nuts, which are allowed on SCD. Without the the dairy and nuts, SCD was way too restrictive for me. My point is that it was very hard for me to be on such a restrictive diet, and I can't imagine how you did it for 4 years! I lost 5 pounds over that 6 weeks, and I'm not someone who needs to lose weight. I was hungry all the time. I thought I remembered that you did SCD, but not sure. Processed foods seem to be my enemy right now, but they are so hard to resist. Cooking all my food from scratch is challenging with a full time job, but much healthier for me.

I'm glad you are healing. I'm hoping I can avoid serious damage to my gut, but I'm not quite sure how damaged it is right now. When I did the Enterolab testing in April, I was normal for everything (gluten IgA, casein IgA, & malabsorption, but bad news on the genes) even though I know I'm not normal! Next will be a intestinal permeability test.

Claire

Cara,
I just read this on my son's nutritionist's website:

OBSERVATION: Laurie takes acidophilous , a “good” bacteria product, to improve gut function. The result is irritability and/or increased gas and loose stools.

WHY? War could be raging between “good” and “bad” bacteria in her intestines, causing symptoms associated with die-off. Healthy bacteria are replacing the potentially harmful bacteria or yeast. As the bad organisms die off, they release toxins and irritants which cause symptoms.

ADJUSTMENT: Lower the dosage of the current supplement or try a less potent product. A slower, gentler approach can achieve the same outcome with less distress. If symptoms persist, ask your health practitioner to suggest tests to understand the digestive environment better.

--Judy

I was thinking I also get side-effects to taking probiotics, but I wasn't 100% sure it was the probiotics doing it.

Claire,

I left out potatoes and rice...I DID eat potatoes and rice. Also, I would eat rice crackers with ground nuts (very good for calories!) So, I don't think I was on the SCD diet. I was more on a sugar free, gluten free, and mostly dairy free, whole foods diet. If I had to cut out potatoes and rice, I would have been emaciated for sure. Have you ever read the book "The Yeast Connection"? That is mostly how I based my diet. I really focused on maximizing nutrition. That helped me immensely. I was so thrilled as I saw my hair became thick and shiny, my nails grow,l my skin glow and the whites of my eyes get clear. Nutrition is such an amazing thing.

While I definitely stayed on the diet, I wasn't militant. At first I would try to have a glass of wine here and there but I found it just made me feel lousy so I preferred to stay on the diet.

Have you tried juicing? That is a great way to boost your nutrition. I usually juice with beets, carrots, apples and anything else in the refrigerator.

You know, I don't have a lot of confidence in the testing. So, definitely get the testing, but be sure to base a lot of your decisions on how you respond to the diet. I was in such bad shape, and my whole family was freaking out when I didn't "appear" to be better after year 1 etc, but I could feel my body healing so I stayed the course. My parents/in-laws etc all thought I was nuts but now I look far healthier than the normal 44 year old (at least I think I do).

The flaxseed is a biggee I think. One tablespoon nightly really helps me.

One thing we used to joke about on this forum was the "non-pointy" diet. At my worst, it was very painful eating anything with rough edges ie. nuts, corn chips, raw vegetables etc. I would feel really good on days I would eat soup as my main meal. You might want to experiment with this as it may be a way to get some relief.

Grace