Strange Symptoms And Myalgia

[Interactome]

I saw many people in this forum advising against a too heavy carb load per meal, since those not fully digested carbs and not absorbed carbs could feed on bad bacteria and maybe candidas. Starches are more likely to do so.

I never tried flowers of sulfur on my own, since I thought my digestion and gut health would be ok.

I think a faster metabolism helps with overall health, so it should also help with regeneration of gut cells. But it needs energy and if the body isn't able to provide the acquired energy it possibly turns out to be fatal. I don't know if NDT would help you, I would say you shouldn't take it before your gut works well.

Your red skin can be a reaction to the dmso or the ethanol, nothing to worry about I guess.

My veins got worse during times where I tried to up my carbs. So it makes sense. Thanks.

I think the Aspirin might have made my gut more leaky and allowed more Candida/other fungus to enter the blood stream. Hope the flowers of sulphur can kill some of them off and allow my gut to heal.

Funny (or not so funny) thing is, that when I was in the hospital last June, the guy next to me got a systemic candida infection after 1 day with me in the room and the entire room was put in quarantine. And the first veins to swell were the ones in my hand where I had the needle-thingy (in case they needed to administer something) inserted.

So I'm thinking that I might have some sort of fungus on my veins... let's see if they admit me to the loony bin for suggesting that to the doc.

 

[Interactome]

Just spoke with a cardiologist. He means that my heart valve is bicuspid and that it was just a chance find.

After mentioning the veins and Candida he said that he never heard about such a thing, so... No help there either.

 

[Interactome]

Maybe I should try to write Ray Peat. See if he answers and has any ideas about the vein problems...

 

[BastiFuntasty]

It's strange they didn't put you on something that helps against the candida. I mean you even were in carantene , didn't they give you a proper treatment?

Maybe there is an intravenous treatment out there, maybe anyone with more knowledge than me can chim in. Methylene blue could be something helpful since it has antiseptic properties, but I don't know if it helps with candida.

 

[Elize]

Greetings from Elize

Have you looked into having an MTHFR gene defect test done - should you have any of the copies B Vitamins could cause issues as well. In my case I have one copy of the c677t defect and therefore can not use any B vitamins that contain any form of folic acid. B Vitamins really make me feel quite sick. Living my life with Hashimoto thyroid issues, Celiacs and very low levels of cortisol am very careful with supplements. I used Synthroid dropped that and went onto a compounded T4 and T3 since Synthroid contains gluten. within 3 months my thyroid levels went totally off track - I post my results below. I started feeling numbness and shakiness in both my arms and hands and at times my whole body shakes - I guess I have very low levels of cortisol and too much adrenaline. I used Hydrocortisone for 9 months and just weaned myself off it as it made me worse. I only take my thyroid hormone, Low dose Naltrexone, vitamin D3, K2 and zinc. Magnesium lowers my already low levels of cortisol and vitamin C causes me a severe body rash so do not use that either. I have just started to add a quarter of a capsule of Thyro-Gold a non perscription T4,T3, T1 and T2 thyroid hormone supplement. It helps me to feel warmer as I always feel cold.


This with 85 mcg of compounded T4 and 5 mcg of compounded T3

Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) <20 ng/dL 31-701 Low

Testosterone, Serum <3 ng/dL 3-41Comment:

Free Testosterone(Direct) <0.2 pg/mL 0.0-4.2

Progesterone <0.1 ng/mL

DHEA-Sulfate 3.7 ug/dL 29.4-220.5 Low

Sex Horm Binding Glob, Serum 163.9 nmol /L 17.3-125.0 High

Estradiol <5.0 pg/mL

Thyroglobulin Antibody 331.4 IU/mL 0.0-0.9 High

Reverse T3, Serum 10.6 ng/dL 9.2-24.1 Normal

Iron Bind.Cap.(TIBC) 265 ug/dL 250-450 Normal

UIBC 174 ug/dL 150-375 Normal

Iron, Serum 91 ug/dL 35-155 Normal

Iron Saturation 34 % 15-55 Normal

Ferritin, Serum 97 ng/mL 15-150 Normal

Vitamin D, 25-Hydroxy 29.5 ng/mL 30.0-100.0 Low

TSH 27.780 uIU/mL 0.450-4.500 High

Triiodothyronine,Free,Serum 1.6 pg/mL 2.0-4.4 Low

T4,Free(Direct) 0.69 ng/dL 0.82-1.77 Low

Thyroid Peroxidase (TPO) Ab 11 IU/mL 0-34 Normal

 

[BastiFuntasty]

Isn't it good to have low cortisol? I always thought it's good to have it as low as biologicaly possible. I really should check that.
That makes me think of using pregnenolone, so that it will convert into the things needed, even if it means cortisol.

Did you notice any bad reactions at once when using folic acid? If so I could easily try supplementing it.

Thanks for sharing your story Elize

 

[Interactome]

It's strange they didn't put you on something that helps against the candida. I mean you even were in carantene , didn't they give you a proper treatment?

Maybe there is an intravenous treatment out there, maybe anyone with more knowledge than me can chim in. Methylene blue could be something helpful since it has antiseptic properties, but I don't know if it helps with candida.

I did have an endoscopy done 2 months ago. Since the gastro didn't comment on there being Candida (shouldn't she be able to see it if it were a problem?), maybe it's not the main issue? I did take Haidut's Oxidal a few days, but then I started feeling the thirst coming on stronger. Could be due to the Benzoate.

New Theory
I have a new theory that I now (again) feel very strongly about, if it ain't due to Candida nor a genetic glucose metabolism problem. I've experimented with going low fat again for a week, and feel more and more thirsty again.

The only thing the gastro mentioned is my thin mucous layer and a red mucosa. She said I can take some antacids and probiotics for a few months. I do have pain in my solar plexus, especially when I press it, so there is a problem. Maybe I should give the PPIs a go?

Now I'm thinking the following: The Aspirin must have eaten the stomach lining. Then, every time I eat, food gets persorbed into my blood, causing immune complexes, blocking my capillaries (and maybe other things) and impeding blood flow (Peat mentions persorption - I must just have a lot of it). This reduced blood flow which causes tissue and organ hypoxia. This includes the kidneys, which think I have low blood volume and they increase renin (which 3-4x normal in me). Blocked capillaries means more pressure on the remaining capillaries and veins. This must be why I've gotten spider veins and swollen veins my feet in just a few months. The reduced blood flow to the extremities leads to fungal overgrowth there.

When I drink full fat milk, the lipid layer formed by the fat protects the stomach, leading to less persorption and fewer symptoms. So as long as I get enough fat, the lining has some protection. When I don't the acid will further irritate the lining.

But it's not like I'm in constant abdominal pain. I do have some pressure in my upper right abdomen sometimes and pain in my lower esophagus when I press on it/stretch backward. The slight hiatal hernia might also contribute to this.

Main questions

• How do I make the stomach lining grow back again?
  • PPIs?
  • Much more gelatine?
  • Meditation?
  • Restrictive diet?
  • Supplement X
• What keeps it down?
  • Salicylates in food/tissue?
  • The slightly higher Cortisol? Though the Cortisol and Adrenaline could be slightly high due to the stomach inflammation. So unless I fix that, it will remain high. Does high Cortisol cause more or less HCl secretion? I have low serum Cl. Maybe it's being used for producing extra HCl, keeping my stomach lining down? Or, if my HCl production is low, maybe my body tries to avoid further irritation of the lining, causing some nutrient absorption problems?
• How can I de-clog my capillaries to re-establish blood flow/oxygenation of tissues (before I get cancer from prolonged tissue hypoxia)?
  • More water?
  • Bag breathing?
  • Movement?
  • Supplement Y?

I also had a can of soda with Na Benzoate 2 days ago, and a few minutes later I felt like everything was sailing again in my head. That must be a reaction to the Benzoate, which is more or less the same as a Salicylate molecule. This might also explain the Oxidal reaction.

 

[Interactome]

Elize

I do have some of these SNPs. But my new philosophy is that we probably all do that to some extent, and if these things become a problem, then it's because of some other stressors upstream. Like the gut (my new obsession), stress, infections, ... So my new attitude is to fix those first. Otherwise, even if we found a way to supplement ourselves out of symptoms, it would probably not eliminate the causative factor. Have you looked into these stressors? Maybe if you fix the stomach 100%, other problems might improve?

I'm
- heterozygous for the two main MTHFR SNPs
- have a FUT2 SNP that cause lower B12 absorption
- have an HRG SNP (rs9898 (P204S): TT (+/+)) that increases clot formation. Maybe K2 is not good in my state? Especially in connection with stomach irritation?

I'm taking some MTHF and hydroxy/adenosyl B12, but I don't know how much it helps yet. It might, but right now I'm too vein-focused to notice anything else.

 

[Blossom]

From sunmountain's log, moss wrote:
"A quick answer about Slippery elm. Some folks find Slippery elm unappealing and potentially a little gagging and the taste and as 'dull as dishwater'. Have not read all your log and a little pressed for time, however, I do note you are not able to take in much milk.
The suggestion was a teaspoon (or even half a tsp) which could be mixed in oatmeal or yoghurt or mashed up in a small amount of banana, mixed in with broth, whatever way works for you.
There are capsules which also work just as well, however, I prefer the powder because it coats from the oesophagus down and taking the capsule bypasses that route so to speak! The key is taking it daily (for a couple of months) because SE will soothe and increase a protective layer and is very healing to the mucosa.

Good old Chamomile is a wonderful remedy for acute and chronic gastritis and anti-inflammatory where there is ulcerative activity and can be taken in the form of a tincture or as a tea...
Chamomile is calming and soothing which may be helpful for you at the moment."


haidut wrote:
"I'd say glycine is probably your best bet and you can get it cheaply from any vitamin store. Ray wrote about some studies (and I confirmed it) showing 100g of gelatin (or 30g of glycine) daily taken for 3 days in a row healed pretty much all ulcerations in the intestine and stomach. You can also try a compound called "zinc carnosine", which has been shown to also heal mucosal damage in animal and human models of ulcers and dysbiosis."

These are some ideas from mountain's log. From the description your situation sounds more like gastritis so some of the same approaches might help soothe your GI tract.​

 

[Interactome]

From sunmountain's log, moss wrote:
"A quick answer about Slippery elm. Some folks find Slippery elm unappealing and potentially a little gagging and the taste and as 'dull as dishwater'. Have not read all your log and a little pressed for time, however, I do note you are not able to take in much milk.
The suggestion was a teaspoon (or even half a tsp) which could be mixed in oatmeal or yoghurt or mashed up in a small amount of banana, mixed in with broth, whatever way works for you.
There are capsules which also work just as well, however, I prefer the powder because it coats from the oesophagus down and taking the capsule bypasses that route so to speak! The key is taking it daily (for a couple of months) because SE will soothe and increase a protective layer and is very healing to the mucosa.

Good old Chamomile is a wonderful remedy for acute and chronic gastritis and anti-inflammatory where there is ulcerative activity and can be taken in the form of a tincture or as a tea...
Chamomile is calming and soothing which may be helpful for you at the moment."


haidut wrote:
"I'd say glycine is probably your best bet and you can get it cheaply from any vitamin store. Ray wrote about some studies (and I confirmed it) showing 100g of gelatin (or 30g of glycine) daily taken for 3 days in a row healed pretty much all ulcerations in the intestine and stomach. You can also try a compound called "zinc carnosine", which has been shown to also heal mucosal damage in animal and human models of ulcers and dysbiosis."

These are some ideas from mountain's log. From the description your situation sounds more like gastritis so some of the same approaches might help soothe your GI tract.

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll try to incorporate all these and see what happens. It's just strange that it just doesn't heal. Either I'm consistently doing something that keeps it irritated, or I have some non-H. Pylory infection that keeps it irritated. Or maybe the blood supply to the stomach is also less due to capillary damage/clogging, impeding healing speed?

I do not get any pains from drinking milk, esp. full fat. It's just that I often feel like it's more difficult to articulate words after drinking milk. Maybe some allergic reaction or endotoxins from bacteria.

So

- gelatine with chamomile/milk
- slippery elm a few times a day

I have the red Great Lakes. I'll try to get some gelatine powder too. And maybe the green can, as it might digest easier.

I'll also try to reduce some of the carbs. They seem to be making me more thirsty and make my veins bigger, esp. without full fat milk. Maybe full fat milk and banana smoothies.

Would digestive enzymes help, or would they just digest my stomach lining further away? Probiotics?
Blood flow wise, would bag breathing relax capillaries and potentially de-clog them? Maybe supplements like nattokinase/serrapeptase (if there are some fibrin clots)?

I also bought this flowers of sulphur product:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...ers of sulphur&qid=1454284318&ref_=sr_ph&sr=1

Is it ok to try, or did I buy the wrong product? It says not to ingest it on the package.

 

[Blossom]

Have you had problems consistently getting enough food/nutrition because of stomach upset? Did you come from a low carb or other restrictive eating background? If you are fairly new to Peat it may just take some time getting good nutrition for your GI tract to fully heal. Our gut lining is supposed to renew itself every three days so if it's just the actual lining itself that needs repaired I would think by getting enough good nutrition (carbs are important!) and combining that with some of the measures mentioned in sunmountain's log you should feel better soon. In my case my GI tract was atrophied and the nerves were effected so it's taking longer but I had poor eating habits for 30 years so that's to be expected. I was one of those that Peat has talked about that ruin their health by eating an overly restrictive diet. Hopefully that's not your situation but even if it is there is still hope you just might have to have some patience with the process.

I'm sorry but I don't remember all the details of your background but if it is really gastritis you should be fine if you eat consistently, eat foods that agree with you and try some of the above suggestions. Famotidine has also been mentioned here on the forum and might be worth researching if you want to try a pharmaceutical 'antacid' approach. This isn't from Peat but some of the people I know recovering from anorexia do swear by digestive enzymes. I don't know enough about them personally to give any suggestions.

 

[Interactome]

Have you had problems consistently getting enough food/nutrition because of stomach upset? Did you come from a low carb or other restrictive eating background? If you are fairly new to Peat it may just take some time getting good nutrition for your GI tract to fully heal. Our gut lining is supposed to renew itself every three days so if it's just the actual lining itself that needs repaired I would think by getting enough good nutrition (carbs are important!) and combining that with some of the measures mentioned in sunmountain's log you should feel better soon. In my case my GI tract was atrophied and the nerves were effected so it's taking longer but I had poor eating habits for 30 years so that's to be expected. I was one of those that Peat has talked about that ruin their health by eating an overly restrictive diet. Hopefully that's not your situation but even if it is there is still hope you just might have to have some patience with the process.

Calorie-wise: now probably often too low because of whatever is going on

from ages 27-33: low carb, no milk, paleo with some weekly fasting.
past 2-3 years: more Peaty as it felt better during times of stress.

5 months ago: vein swelling/thirst problems after taking baby aspirin for 2-3 weeks, fasting, going low fat, cutting out milk, adding vit C powder, Mg, more OJ, bicarb and some other stuff because a strange EKG showed something that might look like a blood clot in part of the heart. MRI has shown bicuspid valve with some sort of small insufficiency.

I also had some raw oysters during that time, but I'm thinking that if there's an infection it should hurt more.

I had kidney pain and extreme dizziness too at some point until I found that it was the aspirin that was causing that. After stopping it, the dizziness and kidney pain went away, but the extreme thirst comes again as soon as I cut out full fat milk and eat too many carbs.

Endoscopy with biopsy: No H. Pylori, red and thin mucosa, esophagitis class A, little hiatal hernia, visible esophageal vasculature (probably like all the other veins). After the endoscopy I developed bloating.

Some tests showed high serum renin, aldosterone, and cholesterol, low serum Cl, and high urinary cortisol, K, Ca, Mg, but not Na.

I'll try to ask the doc about Famotidine.

I've had gastritis some times during my life when I was younger, but it was always painful. Now it's not painful in the same way, so I couldn't believe it was from that.

Could serotonin released in the blood from gastric irritation lead to blood clotting? And could K2 make that worse?

 

[Blossom]

Wow, Thanks for the details. You've sure been through a lot. I'm amazed you were able to stay low carb for so long. It's good that you aren't having gastritis pain I suppose. Your description of the images sounds like there is some inflammation going on. I hope if you try the gelatin, chamomile or slippery elm it helps you. That would seem like the a simpler way to approach healing the mucosa to me. If you can resolve any irritation it stands to reason that any increased serotonin from the irritation would return to a more normal level.
I see what your saying about the connection between the blood clotting/serotonin and vitamin k though and I know I've read something from Peat on this but I'm afraid I'll have to do some digging and get back to you. It may be tomorrow because I have to head out for work soon but I will definitely reply. Someone else might remember the details off the top of their head and reply in the sooner or even have further thoughts to add for your situation.

 

[Blossom]

Ok, I found it. This is from an email reply to someone else who asked Ray about blood clotting, blood thinner alternatives, digestive problems, hyperventilation so it might not completely apply to you but it has some helpful information nonetheless. He said, " Vitamin k is involved in many things besides regulating clotting and calcium, including brain lipid metabolism and mitochondrial energy production, so alternatives to warfarin would seem to be necessary for long health range. Have you had blood tests for endotoxin and serotonin? IBS, hyperventilation, clotting, indigestion suggests that those ( as well as the anti-estrogen hormones) could be the basic problem. Cyproheptadine, an "antihistamine" has been used for similar problems."

Many thanks to the person who shared this with me so I could pass it on and possibly help someone else. The reply was fully referenced with studies but I have to physically hand copy everything so it's not practical for me to do that at this time.
Hope this gives you some ideas @Interactome

 

[Interactome]

@Blossom

Thanks for the support and ideas. I'll do my best to incorporate all these for a few days and and see what happens. The doctor prescribed me Pantoprazole 20 mg. It's a PPI. But maybe I should wait with that until I give the dietary approach a go. Maybe I'll also go on a mostly goat milk and gelatine diet for a few days and cut out meat and anything acidic/spicy.

So it sounds like there is a connection between the gut and circulation. If the gastric irritation causes an increase in serotonin and that somehow increases blood clotting and/or vasoconstriction (esp. in certain people that are genetically more pro-coagulatory), and maybe lets other things enter the blood, and all cause reduced blood flow to organs (kidneys), then probably that would explain some of the symptoms and the extreme thirst issues and easy fatiguability. And the sudden increase in nail fungus could then just be due to less blood flow to the nails. Grey hair = less blood flow to the hair / lack of certain vitamins due to absorption problems.
Maybe if the system is in a pro-coagulatory state due to gut issues, then it wouldn't be good to play with things that might make it more so, like K2, regardless of the benefits...(?)

I feel there must also be a connection between the gut problems and my >7 urinary pH and low serum Cl.

Last time I measured my serotonin (4 months ago) it was 125.73 ug/l (40-200), and it was during a period where I was drinking more milk and not feeling that thirsty. I don't know if that is high according to Ray Peat. If serotonin levels were to correlate with my thirst, then I'd guess it's way higher now.

I might jump around from idea to idea until I find out what the true source of the problem is. And it's difficult when no doctor so far could explain what was going on other than focus on the fact that I keep on trying to explain what's wrong. But since it just doesn't go away by just ignoring it and "living normally" I feel I have no choice. It's too easy to just say "Some people just have more visible veins, and that they become more visible might be due to genetics."

When I was low carb, I was still eating around 50-100g carbs (berries, almonds, an apple, vegetables, meat, some cheese, avocados). But I felt ok most of the time.

 

[Blossom]

Cyproheptadine turned things around for me huge when I first started out and enabled me to tolerate eating more reasonable amounts of food. It might be worth researching if the other things don't help enough. Best of luck to you.

 

[Interactome]

Cyproheptadine turned things around for me huge when I first started out and enabled me to tolerate eating more reasonable amounts of food. It might be worth researching if the other things don't help enough. Best of luck to you.

Thanks. I'll have to see how I can get a hold of that in Denmark.

Are there any fruits that are not irritating to the gut? Like bananas? Or is it more of an individual thing, i.e., just experiment?

 

[Blossom]

Someone mentioned pears in sunmountain's log. Cooked fruit could possibly be easier to digest.

 

[Giraffe]

I do have some pressure in my upper right abdomen sometimes and pain in my lower esophagus when I press on it/stretch backward.

I wonder if the pain in your solar plexus is the result of tension in the abdomen. If auto-suggestive techniques work for you, you can try to solve it with breathing exercises. For example: Lay down on your back. When you breathe in imagine the breath flows to your pelvis. When you breathe out let the abdominal wall follow gravitation. Play a bit around with it. The aim is to open the whole torso. You might need to exercise a few days before you see results.

What makes you think that you have problems with the stomach? Upper right abdomen is the liver.

 

[Interactome]

Someone mentioned pears in sunmountain's log. Cooked fruit could possibly be easier to digest.

Ok, thanks. I'll try that.