Re: Re: Why Stomach Acid is Good for You/HEIDI

[Guest guest]

>It was Heidi who recommended it... Heidi, I bought the book for my mom, who has

been trying to do my NT version of Atkins and has been having terrible GI

symptoms. She already had them before starting, and her doctors, of course, put

her right onto antacids. My mom kept insisting that she felt she had an ulcer.

She did the two week Pepcid trial her MD insisted on, and it didn't help at all.

Her basic symptoms are burning in the upper right abdominal area, nausea,

constipation.

>

>After reading the book, my mom started taking the HCI supplement. For the first

couple of days she said it was like being reborn, no nausea, no burning, and

bowel movements two days in a row, but last night she had terrible burning in

her stomach that kept her awake all night.

>

>Her MD is not going to be even remotely interested in discussing this with her

- they have basically already blown her off on this issue. I read that low

stomach acid creates a hospitable environment for h. pylori, and thus often you

will find low stomach acid AND ulcers. But the supplement does say not to take

if you have an ulcer.

>

>Do you have any suggestions for her? She does not eat any grains, or anything

at all I can think of that might include " hidden " gluten - I don't know if she

has gluten intolerance but it's certainly possible. She can't tolerate the

amount of fat I'm eating but eats what anyone else would consider a large

amount.

>

>Thanks for any thoughts you or anyone else might have to share!

>

>Christie

The pain in the upper right quadrant could be a lot of things -- gall bladder,

upper intestinal damage, pancreas. Since the HCL helped, I'd guess she is low on

HCL and/or enzymes, maybe in addition. She very easily could be gluten

intolerant (anywhere from 10-30% of people are, in this country) but that

doesn't mean her symptoms will go away if she stops eating gluten. Gluten

intolerance typically causes permanent to semi-permanent damage to the organs,

and that doesn't heal quickly, if at all.

Her doctors " blowing her off " is downright criminal, but that's pretty much what

mine did too. We need MUCH better health care in this country!

If she has that kind of pain, she should be having blood tests, stool tests,

maybe an endoscopy. Lacking that, you can change her diet (which it sounds like

you are) -- but my first reaction would be to find a good GI specialist. What

docs is she seeing now? Usually the specialists will at least do the tests to

rule out the really nasty stuff (gallstones, cancer) and some will even test for

IgA intolerance. You can order the IgA tests online from www.enterolab.com, for

about $400 for everything you'll need, but it may or may not be covered by

insurance.

If she doesn't have good insurance, sometimes you can get help at the teaching

hospitals. My kid was born at the UW because he needed specialized help, and

sometimes they have very smart docs there and are willing to do extra testing

because they are curious!

-- Heidi

[Guest guest]

>> The pain in the upper right quadrant could be a lot of things -- gall

bladder, upper intestinal damage, pancreas.<<

I should have mentioned that in trying to " fix " this, they did remove her

gallbladder (which was infected and loaded with stones), as well as a 7 pound

benign tumor on her uterus, plus her ovaries and uterus. That as about 10 months

ago. She has had endoscopies, blood work, everything. This has been going on for

two years. They just keep telling her to take pepcid. My mom is NOT a

hypochondriac, to the contrary.

>> Her doctors " blowing her off " is downright criminal, but that's pretty much

what mine did too. We need MUCH better health care in this country! <<

I couldn't agree more.

>> If she has that kind of pain, she should be having blood tests, stool tests,

maybe an endoscopy. Lacking that, you can change her diet (which it sounds like

you are) -- but my first reaction would be to find a good GI specialist. What

docs is she seeing now? Usually the specialists will at least do the tests to

rule out the really nasty stuff (gallstones, cancer) and some will even test for

IgA intolerance. You can order the IgA tests online from www.enterolab.com, for

about $400 for everything you'll need, but it may or may not be covered by

insurance. <<

My mom has great insurance, but you know how they are... fragments of her are in

the care of various doctors, no one will look at the big picture, my mom is not

very assertive anyway and she's exhausted now from battling with them.

>> If she doesn't have good insurance, sometimes you can get help at the

teaching hospitals. My kid was born at the UW because he needed specialized

help, and sometimes they have very smart docs there and are willing to do extra

testing because they are curious! <<

She goes to UC-SF, which is a teaching college. They just don't seem to care.

I spoke to her this afternoon and she is going to try a few different things. I

wish I could help her more.

Thanks!

Christie

[Guest guest]

>I should have mentioned that in trying to " fix " this, they did remove her

gallbladder (which was infected and loaded with stones), as well as a 7 pound

benign tumor on her uterus, plus her ovaries and uterus. That as about 10 months

ago. She has had endoscopies, blood work, everything. This has been going on for

two years. They just keep telling her to take pepcid. My mom is NOT a

hypochondriac, to the contrary.

I just love that word " hypochondriac " . Like people have nothing better to do

than go to the doctor.

OK, so she DID have gallbladder problems, which might mean she had problems in

the upper

intestine (which tends to block off the bile ducts). She doesn't have a gall

bladder now, so THAT isn't hurting, and she had an endoscopy so she doesn't have

something awful like cancer. So that leaves (to my untrained brain) some kind of

inflammation/gas/yeast/bacteria/allergy/lack of enzymes.

If the enzymes help but the pills have too much acid, you can get plain enzyme

pills. If she doesn't have a gall bladder, then ox bile is a good thing to take,

I'd think? Those enzymes make a lot of difference for a lot of people -- it's

hard to know if she needs HCL or not without testing the HCL, but enzymes don't

seem to hurt anyone.

She may well have either bacterial/yeast overgrowth (as in the SCD) or a food

reaction (as in gluten/casein/yeast/eggs). Sounds like you've already done a lot

of experimenting though ... if it was me I'd be tempted to live off chicken

broth for a day or two and see what happens. It sounds promising to me that the

pills helped -- that means, I'd think, that it probably ISN'T something like

major permanent damage or tumors ... it responds to *something*.

Does she get probiotics? Kefir and/or kimchi?

Also, my SO had great results just taking Pepto Bismol for 10 days ... it tends

to give the gut a chance to heal, for some folks.

Just my 2c worth ...

-- Heidi

[Guest guest]

>> Does she get probiotics? Kefir and/or kimchi? <<

Sorry to be so long responding, it's a process being a third party relaying this

stuff. <G>

She has for some unknown reason been a bit iffy on taking probiotics. She

doesn't OBJECT to taking them, she just doesn't seem to do it. She does eat some

cultured foods, and loves things like kimchi. She bought some yesterday and will

start eating a bit with her meals. She also bought and says she's going to take

probiotics. She also bought some licorice, the kind that's been de-glychorrized

(sp), which is supposed to help heal the stomach lining.

>> Also, my SO had great results just taking Pepto Bismol for 10 days ... it

tends to give the gut a chance to heal, for some folks. <<

She found that interesting but is worried that with her ongoing problem of

constipation it would be counter-productive. I wonder if there is anything

similar that sooths and heals the gut without binding you up?

THANK YOU!

Christie

[Guest guest]

>>>>She found that interesting but is worried that with her ongoing problem

of constipation it would be counter-productive. I wonder if there is

anything similar that sooths and heals the gut without binding you up?

------->slippery elm?

Suze Fisher

Lapdog Design, Inc.

Web Design & Development

http://members.bellatlantic.net/~vze3shjg

Weston A. Price Foundation Chapter Leader, Mid Coast Maine

http://www.westonaprice.org

----------------------------

" The diet-heart idea (the idea that saturated fats and cholesterol cause

heart disease) is the greatest scientific deception of our times. " --

Mann, MD, former Professor of Medicine and Biochemistry at Vanderbilt

University, Tennessee; heart disease researcher.

The International Network of Cholesterol Skeptics

<http://www.thincs.org>

----------------------------

[Guest guest]

Christie,

This is a long shot here, but what about bladderwrack? About two years ago

I gave it in water to my daughter who was having terrible pains in her

stomach. The pain might happen after having only water, after eating, on

an empty stomach... we couldn't find any pattern, and she was miserable.

Then I read an article on H Pylori and bladderwrack (for treating the H

Pylori) and decided to give it a try. It worked. This stomach pain had

been going on for years and my daughter had been seen by our regular

pediatrician, a naturopath, and a chiropractor in hopes of finding someone

who could help. So to have it clear up after mixing bladderwrack in water

and having her drink it was something like a miracle. I seem to remember

she drank it three to five times per day in a little water.

Rhea

[Guest guest]

>She found that interesting but is worried that with her ongoing problem of

constipation it would be counter-productive. I wonder if there is anything

similar that sooths and heals the gut without binding you up?

DOES it bind her up? Or is she just guessing it does? Sometimes constipation is

a reaction to bacteria too. What PB does is inhibit bacterial production, I

don't think it is constipating per se -- if you have diarrhea due to bad

bacteria it will stop the bacteria, and make you more regular. I wonder if

taking psyllium would help -- the fiber tends to absorb bad stuff, I think (and

it certainly helps constipation?).

-- Heidi

[Guest guest]

On Fri, 8 Aug 2003 11:26:27 -0400

" Suze Fisher " <s.fisher22@...> wrote:

> >>>>She found that interesting but is worried that with her ongoing problem

> of constipation it would be counter-productive. I wonder if there is

> anything similar that sooths and heals the gut without binding you up?

>

> ------->slippery elm?

>

Hmmm...Suze....you continue to surprise me (no evil grin this time, LOL!).

IMO slippery elm is an excellent call. Just as long as it hasn't been

overly heated.

[Guest guest]

Another great call, IMHO

On Fri, 08 Aug 2003 08:51:08 -0800

Rhea Richmond <honeysuckles@...> wrote:

> Christie,

>

> This is a long shot here, but what about bladderwrack?

>

> Rhea

>

" Humans live on one-quarter of what they eat; on the other three-quarters lives

their doctor. "

--Egyptian pyramid inscription, 3800 B.C.