Hey guys,

So ive posted here before about my digestive problems.. and they are still occuring. I feel like its a major roadblock in my quest for total health.

It started a year and a half ago with being under a ton of psychological/emotional stress.. and getting sick a few times + taking antibiotics.

I remember one night, I had a spasm of pain in my lower right (or left depending on how you look at it) abdomen, right around the cecum/appendix.. it made me bend over in pain.. lasted like an hour then dissapeared.. since then every now and then I would notice bloating in that area.. and sometimes mild pain. I went to my GP and she didnt seem too concerned about it, seeing as the pain went away.

Then I had the flu real bad for 3 weeks, took more antibiotics etc. My stress got worse, then my libido vanished and my prostate got inflamed. Which caused more stress.. then I went to a urologist who put me on Cipro for a month, which needless to say further wacked out my digestive system.

Since then things havent been the same. My poo almost never looks normal, it's almost always poorly formed, sometimes I have straight up diarrhea, like liquid, explosive type stuff.. other times its more well formed but off in color, like green, or dark brown etc. I also have a fair amount of foul smelling gas, and sometimes a fair amount of burping or gas coming up my esophagus.

I dont seem to be overly constipated or anything, I poo every morning, although ive made it a habit, dont always feel the urge. If anything it seems like my bowels move to quickly ? Seems thats what happens when I have liquidy stool, and green stool doesnt that indicate the bowels are moving too quickly?

As a result of this ive had some dehydration problems, probably from liquid not being properly absorbed by my colon/intestines. Ive also had some mild allergic reactions etc.. Also I notice now many times when I eat food my nose runs, which never used to happen.

I had a stool test done just recently which showed low levels of bifidobacteria and somewhat low levels of lactobacillus. It showed high lactoferrin level which apparently indicates inflammation. It showed that I had salmonella in my stool.. however, I had been sick with a stomach bug right before taking the stool test from something I ate, so on top of it all I got salmonella. It showed parasite but non-pathogenic or something, so i guess its not a bad parasite.

My naturopath wants to put me on 3 different herbal supplements that are all anti-micorbial, anti-parasitic, anti-bacterial.. but he wanted to wait a few months before giving me probiotics..

Personally I dont wanna wait any longer, I want to start healing my digestive system right away. I want to find out why theres inflammation, soothe and heal that, fix my gut flora, get the balance back, get rid of any indigestion.

I want to have normal poo again!! It would feel so good to have a normal golden brown, well formed poo everyday!

Has anyone been through similar problems and come out the other side? I dont know if I have IBS or something similar..

My lower right abdomen is still sensitive.. I was getting a massage the other day and the lady was massing right there and it felt bloated and really achey/painful when she pressed in that area. Her theory was that I had some kind of infection there at one point and it turned into scar tissue .. dunno if thats the case or not.

Should I be taking digestive enzymes and/or probitiocs? I was taking digestive enzymes for a while and it seemed to help a bit, but then I stopped taking them because I heard that your body will stop producing its own enzymes after a while or something.

Seems to make sense though to take a good digestive enzyme to make sure all my food is being digested properly so no undigested food particles are geting into my blood stream. Then take a good probitioc and/or eat lots of fermented/probitioc foods to re-balance my gut flora... and maybe take some kind of soothing/anti-inflammatory thing like aloe vera juice I dunno.

Anyone got any ideas whats going on with me and how I can heal ?

It is best to follow the advice of your ND. They have the best non-biased diagnosis. Second guessing will just make more trouble.

Did you ever research digestive bitters, as I mentioned before? They will help you to produce natural digestive enzymes, help hormonal balance, mildly flush the liver, etc. Google it, if you don't believe me. Bitters are inexpensive, have been used for a century, and are safe. It is better to find digestive bitters that don't have laxative producing qualities. That means - no Swedish bitters. Try grape bitters instead. They should be liquid so the back of the tongue has a few seconds to taste them. You don't even need as much as is directed on the bottle labels. If you want something really potent, suck on an andrographis tablet for a half minute before swallowing. https://www.herbs2000.com/herbs/herbs_andrographis.htm https://www.iherb.com/Planetary-Herba...lets/1530?at=0 You can't find very much more bitter than andrographis and very helpful to digestion https://www.herbsarespecial.com.au/is...f-bitters.html

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- Jim

�Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing ever happened.� Sir Winston Churchill

Hello everybody,

For the sake of simplicity, I'll limit this post to supplement suggestions. My favorite combination for G.I. distress is plant-based digestive enzymes (my favorite is Digest Gold by Enzymedica), probiotics, and aloe vera juice.

Plant based enzymes don't cause dependence because they aren't naturally produced by your body. Pancreatin (pig or cow pancreas) could because it's very similar to the pancreatic juices your body produces. I haven't studied that but it kinda' makes sense. I would encourage you to research them and, if you decide they sound right for your situation, plan on taking them at the beginning of every meal for at least a few months.

Probiotics normalize intestinal activity. Since that's what you're after, I'd definitely start taking a quality probiotic and keep it up for 4-6 months. My favorite brands include Flora, Natren, Sedona Labs, and Jarrow Formulas. Broad spectrum (more than one species), human strain (critters that like living in humans), and medium potency (4 billion to 20 billion organisms per serving) products are your best bet, based upon my research, observations, and personal usage.

Aloe vera juice will stimulate an overall healing response. If you have leaky gut from parasites or fungus, it'll fix it. If you have inflammation of the stomach or intestines, aloe will fix it. Compromised immune system...same story. Aloe will fix about anything.

My favorite aloe products are from Aloe Life but Lily of the Desert also makes good aloe for less money. If you can find it and can afford it, though, go with Aloe Gold or a flavored option from Aloe Life. Great aloe that doesn't cause diarrhea. 1-2 ounces in the morning and at night, both on an empty stomach.

I wish you the best in your quest for happy guts, moxsum.

Hi Spirit,

Yes that sounds like good suggestions and just what I thought I might need..

Yea it makes sense that plant based enzymes would not cause a dependancy.. but so your body doesnt make protease and amylase etc? Then how does it break down your food? Also, what happens if you take lactase because its in your supplement but you dont eat any dairy.. ?

I have these enzymes.. seem like good ones, I used them before and they definitely seemed to work: https://healthforce.com/shop?page=sho...&category_id=8

Now I just gotta get some aloe vera juice.. and figure out the probiotics situation.

What about Colustrum? Heard this is good for digestion/leaky gut/inflammation.

Hello moxsum

Your body does make protease and its compadres amylase and lipase. Those are pancreatic enzymes, technically animal source, like supplements of Pancreatin. Those enzymes can be sourced from either plant or animal source. The enzymes I mentioned are vegan (so no dairy) and plant source.

To digest food, your body uses a combination of pancreatic enzymes and hydrochloric acid to break down food. Bile (secreted by the liver/gall bladder) also plays a role, particularly in the breakdown of fat molecules.

Lactase is an enzyme that breaks down molecular bonds of lactose (milk sugar). There is no dairy in lactase.

Those looked good to me. They use some not so groovy fillers (rice maltodextrin and magnesium stearate) but, overall, they look like they'd do the job. Your body is the best gauge. If they help you digest easily, they're okay. If the food feels like it sits in your stomach for a while or causes gas/bloating, time to try another brand.

While I haven't had as much feedback on colostrum as I have on other gut healthy products, I've still heard good stuff about it. If your intuition is urging you to try it out, go for it. I've typically stuck with the enzyme/probiotic/aloe vera trio but that doesn't mean you can't experiment. Lots of different situations happen in the gut. The same solution isn't always going to work for every person. I'm a firm believer in trying a variety of techniques out to find the one that works best for you.

Keep us posted on your situation. There are some good folks on this forum. I'm certain that, with sincere efforts on your part, the collective wisdom on NatMedTalk could help you regain balance.

Again, I wish you the best.

Unreal.
After all the antibiotics etc., it is obvious you have a yeast overgrowth in the gut that will soon take over your entire body if you keep waiting to take a good probiotic.

You also need to be taking some natural antifungals, such as coconut oil, olive oil, etc., and get rid of this dumb doctor.

Yes.

Take control of your health while you still can.

__________________
Let Food Be Your Medicine And Medicine Be Your Food.(Hippocrates)

Pain in the cecum with inflammation has been a long term problem for me, intermittant for 6 years. MMS had done the best job, but I know you don't have interest in that... second best job is done by nutribiotic brand grapefruit seed extract. It will likely get rid of it in just a few days...1 pill 2xday, 12 hours apart.


If inflammation is severe serrapeptase works wonders and many people with IBS are turning to it for real help. One pill2 x day. Doctors Best from www.iherb.com

Aloe vera is good too... learn to make your own yogurt. Boost your yogurt cultures with one cap of VSL#3... its expensive but worth it. Add NOW brand inulin to your protocol to specifically feed gut flora. VSL#3 has been shown to even cure some cases of IBS.... and yes, you do have IBS. Its not the end of the world. IBS is a pathogen disease caused by all those antibiotics you took. Take one cap VSL for at least a month.. eat homemade yogurt 1 or 2 times a day.

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Hey Arrow,

Yea seems my issues have centered around the cecum area.. but I wouldnt say I have pain there.. only when massaged or pressed into there.. its like a mix between a deep aching and sharp pain.. Yea I suppose I do have IBS or some type of inflammatory reaction going on in my gut. What do you think caused/is causing your problem? Why does it keep coming back?

I just started taking digestive enzymes yesterday, and will continue to take them for the foreseeable future.. although I dont have much bloating after eating, its mostly just my poo comes out looking weird... and I get some foul gas and burping..

Gotta figure out the probitioc situation.. but at the moment im trying to get probitiocs from food.. ive been buying this goat yogurt drink from this raw food market that apparently has lactobacillus in it.. I figure, it would be better to get probiotics from natural food sources if possible... but a supplement might be helpful as well..

I wanna get a book on making natural probiotics and fermented foods.

With all the antibiotics you have had I advise that you really amp up the probiotics for a while aside from what you can eat from natural foods. The grapefruit seed extract will knock back the candida...Antibiotics cause this problem. One of the main places for problems to develop is in the cecum... this is not unusual at all.

When candida goes unchecked it will come back. Its almost impossible to get rid of mutated candida one its there but you can keep it knocked down and in check

VSL#3 has documented evidence of colonization of good bacteria in the cecum area with a couple months of use.

Yes yes yes.

Look up Brenda Watson or check out:

https://www.renewlife.ca/products.php?id=85

Okay I got some Digest Gold.. just took my first one.. well actually I took two. Is that ok? It says take 1 with a meal, or more if needed.. with the HealthForce ones it says basically take as many as you want, its only good for you, so I would take 3-5 with each meal.

I feel like ive already noticed a change in my poo's.. since starting the digestive enzymes and some lactobacillus goat yogurt.. poo's look a bit more normal already.. still not 100% though, and I coulda swarn I saw some mucus or some kind of white/see through skin like thing in my poo the other morning..

I will keep it up and find a good probiotic too..

Here are the 3 things my naturopath wanted me to take.. wonder if I should take them?

AP Mag
AP Mag is a powerful herbal preparation for support and maintenance of gastrointestinal health. Research has shown this combination of Bael fruit, China berry, Long pepper, Bitter melon, Basil leaves, and Berberis aristata to have powerful health support properties. Bitter melon has been used to parasites and worms; and repeated studies have shown Bael fruit to be effective against amoebic parasites and to gastrointestinal upset. Magnesium offers nutritional support for the gastrointestinal system.

Ingredients: Bael fruit, China berry, Bitter melon, Basil leaves, Long pepper and Berberis aristata in a base of Magnesium.

Suggested Usage: One capsule 2-3 times daily.

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


GI Microb-X is a blend of botanical extracts with a long history of use as natural antimicrobials. The ingredients provide a broad spectrum of activity against the most common pathogens present in the human GI tract in conditions of dysbiosis, while being relatively sparing of normal flora. The botanical substances in GI Microb-X are also commonly represented on sensitivity testing provided by the major functional laboratories performing stool analysis.

Anti-bacterial & anti-viral effects
Bacterial diarrhea
Anti fungi, protozoans, helminths (worms), and chlamydia
Parasitic gastrointestinal infections
GI dysbiosis
Fungal overgrowth (candida and geotrichum)
Anti-hemolytic coliform bacteria
Relieve pain from kidney stones, cystitis and nephritis
Serving Size: Two capsules
Servings Per Container: 60 vegetarian capsules

Tribulus terrestris 400 mg
[standardized to contain 40% furostanol saponins]
Wormwood (Artemisia annua).......300 mg
(stem and leaves)
Berberine Sulfate.......200 mg
(from Berberis aquifolium)
Grapefruit Seed Extract.......200 mg
(Citrus paradish) (seed)
Barberry (Berberis vulgaris) (bark).......100 mg
[standardized to contain 6% berberine]
Bearberry.......100 mg
(Arctostaphylos uva ursi) (leaf)
Black Walnut.......100 mg
(Julglans nigra)(hull/leaves/bark)
Other Ingredients: Microcrystalline cellulose, rice flour.


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

Aroma 4 has antiseptic, antibacterial and antifungal properties.
Infectious intestinal diseases

This aromaplex is indicated for conditions of infectious diseases caused by bacteria, viruses or fungi, specifically those of the respiratory, gastro-intestinal and urinary tract.

Essential Oils Of

Cinnamomum zeylanicum (Cinnamon bark).......0.5 g
Lavandula officinalis (Lavender flowering top).......0.5 g
Satureja montana (Winter savory flowering herb).......0.5 g
Thymus vulgaris (Garden thyme flowering top).......0.5 g
Cymbopogon flexuosus (Lemongrass herb).......0.5 g
Recommended Dosage
Adults: 10 to 15 drops 2 to 3 times a day in a sweetened orange juice or a sweetened infusion.

I'm having similar problems as well. It only really started happening last year during the middle of the day at my school towards the end. This year it happens after lunch and well into the evening which is really frustrating because I can't concentrate at all in school. I've been taking chamomile tea and some Canada Dry to help calm my stomach but it feels like the real problem is in my intestines. I'd like it if someone can recommend a type of medication for me to help make my digestion normal again.
BTW, I've already tried Sustenex and it hasn't worked so far...
Info about me:
17 years old, senior in highschool.
Have had stomach ulcers and a poor immune system.
I avoid eating meat most of the time.
I drink only Almond Milk and Soy Milk.
For breakfast I eat either cream'o'wheat cereal, oatmeal or an egg sandwich
For lunch I eat a peanut butter sandwich with applesauce or a pudding cup
For dinner I have tea and mostly Chinese dinners like stir-fry

Well good news guys.. ive been taking the digestive enzymes every meal for a few days and drinking a bit of goat yogurt with natural lactobacillus..

So far my poo's have all come out well formed and solid.. which is awesome. The color also looks more normal.. still not 100% but looking way better.

Ive also been eating a lot of raw eggs.. dunno if thats had any effect or not.

one thing I noticed w/ my poo this morning and ive noticed before was.. one side of the poo was a darker color then the other? Like perfect half and half .. what does that mean? It seems like one side of my colon/intestine is different then the other leading to a different color on each side of the poo?? I also noticed some beet juice in there ha, and I had beets like 2 days ago, but i also noticed beets yesterday, so i suppose my transit time is like 24-48 hours is that normal?

Thanks guys!

-------

Hey KitCat,

So you only noticed these problems at the middle of the day/after lunch? What are you eating for lunch? Maybe you have a food allergy. Did you take antibiotics, or were you under stress. I think your diet needs some work .. and you might want to do what im doing, look into digestive enzymes and probiotics + aloe. You need to get this figured out.. one way or another!

Soo.. like I said ive been doing well, poo's looking way more normal..

UNTIL.. just now lol.. I just got dinner, ate a salad w/ tuna avocado and tomatoes w/ italian dressing and some sweet potato fries.

Right after finishing the meal, or right before, I felt my bowels move, and I was like "uh oh" could feel like I really had to run to the bathroom.. hopped in my car zoomed home and sure enough, had basically pure liquidy/poorly formed diarrhea.

This happened last week too after a meal, like an instant reaction. Im guessing this must be an allergy to something?

I think ive narrowed it down to two possible culprits, tomatoes or simple carbs.. Because tonight I ate a fair amount of tomatoes.. then last week when this happened I had eaten some salsa.. and a bunch of white rice/beans.. and this time the sweet potato fries.

Im pretty certain its tomatoes though.. could a tomato allergy cause me to have instant diarrhea? Also, how come it never caused this reaction before? seems to be a more recent thing. Also is it possible for a food allergy to sometimes cause symptoms and sometimes not?

Cuz I had a hamburger w tomato on it last night, but no instant diarrhea and my poo this morning was pretty normal anyway..

Guess im gonna start keeping a log and try and narrow it down. Cuz I have general digestive problems which seem to be improving a lot with enzymes/probiotics.. but I think ive also got a few allergies which is what causes the diarrhea...

Also, it seems an odd reaction from the body.. like, it clearly didnt flush out what I just ate, but instead flushed out whatever was sitting in my intestines/colon.. so it didnt even get out the stuff it didnt like?

ok my naturopath is telling me to stop taking digestive enzymes and probiotics, and take his 3 supplements for 2 months, then he will think about digestives/probitiocs..

what do you guys think of those 3 supplements I listed above? Could they cause me any harm? they are anti parasitic, anti microbial, anti biotic herbs.. his idea is to clear everything out before replacing it.. sound good? Im tired of lacking confidence in this guy, I need to just commit 100% to what hes telling me or ditch him.