peppermint oil

[Guest guest]

-- one thing to either try or at least discuss with a doctor (or two) is using simethicone to try to treat his "foamies".

Most of us with achalasia have taken simethicone without realizing it -- it's the clear, tasteless liquid that they squirt in your mouth for you to swallow just prior to having endoscopy. (It's the same thing that is in Mylicon anti-gas drops for babies.) Simethicone is an ANTI-FOAMING AGENT. It breaks up bubbles. They give it to you before a scope to break up bubbles in your esophagus so they have a clearer view.

Here are some links for info. (Note that many of the name brands listed in the first article may also contain OTHER ingredients that shouldn't be taken in excess. Read labels before purchasing! Mylicon baby drops are JUST simethicone, but I'm not sure about any of the other products listed.)

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/uspdi/202522.html

http://www.gicare.com/pated/simethicone.htm

http://www.mylicon.com/products/

It's EXTREMELY safe and doesn't react with other medications. Can't hurt to at least give it a try! And if it does help him, you can probably ask your doctor or pharmacist about finding a more economical source for buying it. Mylicon drops are generally used on babies and in small doses, so the bottle itself is pretty small. But hospitals that perform endoscopies probably buy it in gallon jugs at a much cheaper price. It's available over the counter, no prescription necessary.

Debbi

PS -- Before trying peppermint oil, I recommend discussing it first with someone with training in the use of herbals. (herbalist, naturopath, or the owner--not just a clerk--of a health foods/herbal remedies store) Essential oils are VERY strong "as is" and can come in different concentrations. For making scented massage oils, for example, you would only use a couple of drops of the essential oils in a whole cup of plain oil. So you'll need some guidance in how best to get it into his system (how much, how many times per day, with/before/after meals, and how to administer), as using too much or not diluting it properly can cause some pretty severe irritation (the LAST thing he needs!). But if it works for him even a little bit, that would be awesome!

Maggie, Thanks for remembering my husband and I with your research! Iread an article on PubMed about that a while back. I forget who didthe study, but after reading it, I bought some oil of peppermint. It's sitting in the cupboard, still sealed. My husband has beenafraid to try it, that it may make things worse. I've heard ofpeppermint after meals aiding digestion, also. I think that's wherethe tradition of after-dinner mints started, but I think in someinstances (maybe reflux) it can make things worse. I'll remind myhusband that he should try it. It's hard to find a good treatment forDES in the research and even the ones that have worked, have workedfor only the very small group that was tested. That's not the bestway to verify the effectiveness of a treatment or medication. The bestmedical studies have lots of patients over a long time (at leastthat's what they told me in dental school), but that's hard to do withso few DES patients. I was going to post, anyway, this morning about my husband'scondition. It's 2 months since he started Trazadone (anti-depressant)and it seems just this last week or so that it's doing something. Hestill misses time from work (he's home this morning), but on his baddays his spasms seem less violent and he has less spitting up of foam.He's not always the most talkative guy and I feel like a nag when Iask him to explain exactly what he means when says "I don't feelgood." I'm trying to help him put it into words so he can describe itto the doctors (probably when he'd rather I just left him alonebecause he doesn't feel good!). This morning, he said he felt like hehad a big ball of foam deep in his E, though, that wouldn't break up,but not a lot of hard spasms. The frequency of his bad days hasn'tchanged too much. Sunday was his last bad day, with spitting up foamand he couldn't swallow food until the evening. I guess it takessometimes a couple of months for a medication to kick in? We werethinking more like 1 month. It's changing things, but I don't know ifhe'd consider that an improvement (or, not enough to call it asuccess, maybe). Maybe without the spasms the foam just stays in hisE? Next week is his appointment with his local GI, so I guess he candiscuss it with him (and hopefully he'll call Dr. Achkar soon with anupdate). Thanks for reading my long post! I hope everyone is doing well! in Michigan

[Guest guest]

Bee,

When a recipie (from your candida program) calls for peppermint oil does it mean

peppermint extract or peppermint essential oil suitable for ingesting?

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[Guest guest]

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> Bee,

> When a recipie (from your candida program) calls for peppermint oil does it

mean peppermint extract or peppermint essential oil suitable for ingesting?

+++Hi . I don't think any of my recipes include peppermint. However, you

should use peppermint oil intended for internal use that is 100% and doesn't

contain glycerine or alcohol, etc.

Bee