I'm new and I'd like some help please

[AusSally]

Thanks for your best wishes, Harpy. I've been eating so healthily that I'm losing weight. The most stressful thing at the moment is all these appointments and tests, feeling in pain and exhausted, and trying to do the absolute minimum to keep our household running (it's just my husband and I). The doctor told me I need to reduce the stress in my life - how do you do that when it's the illness that is the most stressful thing?

It could be low cortisol that is causing my heart palpitations. I had a lot of them in April or so but then they went away till recently. I think I will wait to try it sublingually till I'm feeling a bit better. I'm still having nausea and tummy aches quite a lot and feeling exhausted.

Catherine, thanks for your support and understanding. I will try to take more of the information from those links on board when I'm feeling a bit better.

Sally

[CatherineOz]

No probs at all Sally, we all understand, truly take your time and take care of you :) xoxoxoxo

[AusSally]

Thanks, Catherine.

I felt a bit better yesterday but today I feel awful again. It's so frustrating!

Sal

[Harpy]

Not going to lay anything else on you.
Just wanted to say, the forum is a good bouncing board and an open ear.
If you want to discuss something great or if you just want to get it off your chest also great.
We may not be there all the time, but there will always be someone to come across your sound byte.
Hopefully to a small degree this can help you let go of some of it, I feel for you and I dare say everyone else here does as well,
so we are sending good vibes your way, even though we don't know where you are somehow through the ether they will get to you.
This I believe.

[AusSally]

Hi everyone,

The renal specialist I saw on Wednesday thinks I have a Giardia bowel infection. I looked it up on the internet and I have ALL the symptoms. No idea where I caught it though. She wasn't very helpful apart from that. She didn't believe me that I've been diagnosed with disordered adrenal function or hypothyroidism. The less accurate tests done a week before the appointment didn't reveal anything. Surprise, surprise! She wanted to send me to an endocrinologist because he would diagnose me "properly"!!! I declined. The only good news is that my ferritin level went up to 30. I think that's the highest it's ever been! It's probably dropping again since I stopped the Ferro-Grad C though.

Yesterday I went to a naturopath and I asked if there is a natural treatment for a bowel infection. She sold me a probiotic which is specifically designed for bowel symptoms so I'm hoping that will help. I'm still having terrible tummy pains though I haven't had any nausea for a few days. I've lost 3kg (6 lbs) in 3 weeks! She was also very helpful in telling me the things I should and shouldn't be eating. And she said I do have low-grade systemic candida and that it usually takes 6 weeks - 3 months to clear up if you don't have much sugar, so that is good news. It's nearly 4 weeks since I started the low sugar diet, so I'm at least 1/3 of the way there. She thinks my headaches and sore neck glands are a symptom of Candida. She said she would tell my doctor (the good one who works at the same practice) about my bowel problem and get her opinion since I can't see her for another 2 1/2 weeks. She was really understanding and supportive, and said I could ring her if I have any questions. Seeing her was the most encouraging appointment for a while. Sometimes I just tear my hair out at how dumb most doctors are!


Hi Harpy, and thanks for your sensitivity and support. Thanks for your good vibes. Sending you some too. Catherine always responds to what I write and she's been very helpful. I'm blessed that I have some supportive family and friends, and another forum which is very supportive too.

Thanks,
Sal.

[CatherineOz]

Hi Sally!

So sorry to hear that you likely have giardia, but glad you may have at least a diagnosis for the tummy issues. Giardia can be present in water, which means it can be picked up just about anywhere you go unfortunately, but it's not that common most of the time. I remember a few years back when there was a big giardia outbreak in Sydney because it was in the main water supply! ouch! This also means that you can get it if you eat salad washed in affected water etc., making it hard to track down.

http://www.medicinenet.com/giardia_lamblia/article.htm

I tried to find a link for a travellers nausea / diarrhoea med which is actually a high strength probiotic and couldn't find it but could find this one:
http://www.chemistdirect.com.au/product ... g-cap-x-30
not sure about how it works with giardia which is a parasitic issue, but hopefully, this is the kind of thing the naturopath went for

Take care!!

[Nigel]

Here's one you can get in Australia:

http://innerhealth.com.au/content/produ ... dairy-free

Sal, the symptoms I just looked up for Giardia can also be other things. My sister had worsened IBS symptoms (which is NOT a diagnosis, but an overall description of what she had) after returning from a trip to Italy. Was it Italy or just co-incidence and something else? Well, she did do testing this year and has found out she has Celiac and doesn't eat gluten now. She DID improve with a high strength probiotic, but not fully and it looks like her issues were more than a potential infection/parasite thingie.

I know eliminating a food from the diet and saying Celiac isn't very posh, but it can very well be what's going on if traditional treatments don't work so well. Of course that doesn't sum all bowel problems, so let us know what else happens.

Do you have Hashi's?

Anyway, I just though of what I'm personally aware of when it comes to bowel issues and in my experience, basically all my bowel problems I've had for decades went away going gluten-free and also eliminating other things I just can't eat like soy or flax.

I'm having a hyper Aussie moment as the song Come Into My World is on.

[AusSally]

Thank you both for your help.

Catherine, that was exactly the same article I looked up to find out about Giardia! The travellers' med contains one of the ingredients of the probiotic I was prescribed by the naturopath. It is Metagenics Ultra Flora SB Dysbiosis containing lactobacillus rhamnosus and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. I don't know if it works for parasitic infections either, but I sure hope so.

Nigel, what you said makes a lot of sense. I had a 96 food sensitivity test a week ago and should get the results in just over 2 weeks when I go back to my good doctor. The naturopath I saw told me to cut out all grains (and sugar) and I've been doing that for 4 weeks but I started getting the nausea 3 weeks ago right after I caught a cold and tummy pains about 2 weeks ago, which I think would indicate it's not gluten intolerance. I've been on various meds that have given me diarrhoea over the last 3 1/2 years or so (antidepressant, iron liquid etc) but before that I didn't have any problems apart from when I was under extreme stress. I had the usual test for gluten intolerance late last year and it was within range but not 0. I've heard you can have a gene test to see if you have the gene for it but I haven't got around to that yet. I thought I would have the food sensitivity test first and see if cutting out anything I'm sensitive to straight away would help. If I don't turn out to be sensitive to anything I regularly eat (which I really doubt) then I will have the gene test but otherwise I will wait a bit longer. Any more comments on all I've written would be appreciated.

The test for Hashi's antibodies I had was within range but not 0 and the good doctor I'm seeing said that means I don't have it. Do you agree?

Hugs to anyone who would like them,
Sal

[CatherineOz]

((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((Hugs!!!!))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

[Nigel]

Hi Sal, I'll just briefly note that the tests for a long list of allergens tend towards false positives. The best way is to remove the food, observe, and if nothing is different upon reintroduction, then that might not have been an allergen.

With gluten you really do need 100% abstinence from it. The traces even from using a shared toaster or improperly cleaned dishes can set you back.

Yes, there's stool and gene testing. The stool testing is like blood testing, but usually a LOT more show up on it as positive when the bloods are just keeping mum.

[AusSally]

Thanks for the lovely hug, Catherine. ((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((Catherine))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

Hi Nigel, and thanks for the info. I haven't been using the toaster, using my husband's dishes or having any processed food so as far as I know I have been abstaining 100% from gluten. I have written gluten stool testing on my list of things to ask the doctor and naturopath when I go back to see them.

Thank you both for your support.

My tummy was getting better and then just over a week ago I took 4 doses of Panadeine in 24 hours (for my usual really bad period pain) and I had quite a strong reaction to it. I had nausea, dizziness, drowsiness and weakness and I felt really terrible. I don't know what I'm going to do next month as I'm not allowed to take Ibuprofen and other NSAIDs anymore due to my reduced kidney function.

I also had an itchy all over reaction, most likely to strawberries. It was before I took the Panadeine so it couldn't have been from that.

I still have some nausea and when I talked with my naturopath on the phone the other day, she said she thinks my gut isn't functioning very well and there are herbs I can take to get better. I'm going to see her on Thursday week. I've lost 4 1/2 kg in 5 weeks and I don't want to lose any more!!! I'm seeing the good doctor next Monday to get the food sensitivity results. I'm still exhausted and suffering from headaches, sore neck glands at times and aching all over. My husband has had four weeks of holidays and he was so kind and helpful with helping with chores and cooking, but he went back to work yesterday.

Sal xx

[CatherineOz]

Don't know about taht reaction, but here are the panadeine ingredients:

Active Ingredients
Panadeine contains 500 mg
paracetamol and 8 mg codeine
phosphate as active ingredients.
Other ingredients:
Maize Starch
Purified Talc
Pregelatinised Maize Starch
Povidone
Stearic Acid
Potassium Sorbate
Panadeine contains no sugar, lactose,
alcohol or wheat starch.


I daresay if you're on nexium, your gut won't function properly no matter what herbs you take, just my opinion though.. is the naturopath working with that understanding? Proton pump inhibitors can severely lower your stomach acid making digestion and absorption a nightmare... most people need more stomach acid, not less, and it's worth finding out if that is the case for you, as nexium is kind of thrown at everything these days.

I had an ENT tell me I had "silent reflux" when I went with a virual infection of the sinuses and a swollen uvula - a GP had correctly pointed out that this was part of a viral infection, some strain of flu probably, moving through the throat phase of it's trajectory in my bod, and onwards... but this ENT told me that "many people get sore throats when they have silent reflux that happens when they lay down to sleep and don't know they have it" and prescribed nexium, which I threw away. My throat was perfectly fine after I recovered from the virus.


ahem.


what can I say????????????????????????????????

[Nigel]

And I didn't get rid of my acid reflux till I went gluten-free and got unhypo.

[AusSally]

Catherine, thanks for the info. Why do they put all those things in Panadeine. How horrible!

I've only seen the naturopath once but I've added Nexium to my list of things to ask her about. She didn't say anything about it in that session. I used to get really bad heartburn when I ate acidic things, like things with vinegar in. I think that meant I had too much stomach acid but I'm open to finding out otherwise.

That ENT sounds really stupid. I'm glad you didn't take his advice!

I haven't had that much reflux in the last year or two since I started eating really low fat (most of the time). I think one of the problems with my digestion has been with fat. Now that I'm meant to eat fish, avocado and nuts It's been a bit worse again, but it's mainly been nausea and diarrhoea. It's really hard to tell what is causing which symptoms when there are so many!

Nigel, how long did it take you to get unhypo?

Sal x

[CatherineOz]

Hey Sal,

being hypo slows digestion which can cause reflux simply because the food isn't moving though properly (google delayed gastric emptying) and not enough stomach acid to help break things down quickly enough means that weak stomach acid is forced back up the oesophagus which we feel as burning, cos acid is acid, right?
http://www.google.com.au/#hl=en&source= ... 1038272257

well, not always does acid reflux mean too much acid... it is possible that the foods causing the issue being acidic in nature anyway point to another cause, but it's worth finding out what the cause actually is, before taking proton pump inhibitors and antacids, as these destroy digestion.
http://www.google.com.au/#hl=en&q=low+s ... 1038272257

http://www.google.com.au/#hl=en&q=proto ... 1038272257