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[Nstocks]

post 114298 have you tried mastic gum for SIBO?

I started aspirin and found it hurt my stomach. Some searching revealed that may indicate H. Pylori. I started manuka honey and it seems to help and now aspirin bothers me very, very little. But still a little.

I'm thinking the manuka honey kind of worked, thinking maybe trying the mastic gum. I wonder if it also kills stuff in the small intestine that might make SIBO better?

I"m taking 2g of mastic gum per day at bedtime. Something feels different, but it could be the extreme reduction of all starches and grains.

 

[Nstocks]

post 114408

post 113973 Thank you for reading!

At a quick glance bloating is one of the first symptoms - did you by chance decide to have an endoscopy and they found it? I can say right now, this would not be on the NHS! It seems every week I hear bad stories about them - this week my Father had a medical check. The Doctor droned on about his family in India and how many time a week he plays golf... My Father had a weight check and blood pressure check, so in a 10 minute session, the actual check was less than 2 minutes.

Many on here have suggested antibiotics (having only taken then once in my life last year - Yup, terrible health service here so I got a copy of my records). I'm currently taking Olive leaf extract which is said to be very powerful a close, natural alternative to pharma. antibiotics - I've 2 weeks supply left of those so if nothing changes, I'll look at an endoscopy. But I'd take an educated guess that if I walked into the Doctors office, he'd just give me antibiotics anyway OR I can pay £160 for a stool test to test for the bacteria... A full endoscopy is £2,500.

Thanks for bringing it to my attention and I feel so happy for you that you've found the issue :)

Oh man, if you think the NHS is bad, try dealing with the Irish health service! I was waiting 4 months for an endoscopy. Though because we have a weird hybrid between private and public, my GP is private and I pay for each visit so get the full 20 minutes devoted to me, she really is excellent and very open minded.

TBH I don't think anything herbal is going to come close to antibiotics in terms of getting rid of h pylori, anyone feel free to correct me on this point.

Though when I'm done with the treatment I'll follow on with manuka honey and low dose erythromycin (acts more like a prokinetic than anti-b at low doses).

You can buy h.pylori urea breath tests which might be a cheaper option for you.

HELLO NEIGHBOUR!!!

That's sound quite similar TBH, I'm guessing it's the same thing as the NHS? (where it's "free" but not really because of taxes and lack of "service" ) My Brother who has recently become a Father (who has a cold and Doc. put her on antibiotics) has just booked himself in for the snip... He waits just 4 WEEKS and it's "free", which I didn't think it would be...

Yeah, I think herbal remedies are OK for most lighter issues that have not been taking over someones life for half a decade... I was really stubborn about this until my 2-week course last year (my Brother had spare tables from a prescription for another cold)

There's an at-home blood test for h.pylori... Less than £10 so might be worth a shot? But what if it's negative

 

[Nstocks]

thebigpeatowski: Excellent link.

The writer also stated that not eating helped symptoms... Interestingly half of H. Pylori species can be resistant to most antibiotics, but Mastic gum can be effective unto 80%! Acidic foods like lemonade and vinegar can help too... I'm going to research the connection with antibiotics to see if there is any point taking them or continue with gum and OLE for another month?

Of course getting rid of this bacterial overgrowth (since it's highly likely this is what I have) would be better than further reducing, restricting and obsessing about foods, but I will continue to keep starch down to as low as I can manage without loosing too many calories.

 

[SarahBeara]

post 114647

post 114408

post 113973 Thank you for reading!

At a quick glance bloating is one of the first symptoms - did you by chance decide to have an endoscopy and they found it? I can say right now, this would not be on the NHS! It seems every week I hear bad stories about them - this week my Father had a medical check. The Doctor droned on about his family in India and how many time a week he plays golf... My Father had a weight check and blood pressure check, so in a 10 minute session, the actual check was less than 2 minutes.

Many on here have suggested antibiotics (having only taken then once in my life last year - Yup, terrible health service here so I got a copy of my records). I'm currently taking Olive leaf extract which is said to be very powerful a close, natural alternative to pharma. antibiotics - I've 2 weeks supply left of those so if nothing changes, I'll look at an endoscopy. But I'd take an educated guess that if I walked into the Doctors office, he'd just give me antibiotics anyway OR I can pay £160 for a stool test to test for the bacteria... A full endoscopy is £2,500.

Thanks for bringing it to my attention and I feel so happy for you that you've found the issue :)

Oh man, if you think the NHS is bad, try dealing with the Irish health service! I was waiting 4 months for an endoscopy. Though because we have a weird hybrid between private and public, my GP is private and I pay for each visit so get the full 20 minutes devoted to me, she really is excellent and very open minded.

TBH I don't think anything herbal is going to come close to antibiotics in terms of getting rid of h pylori, anyone feel free to correct me on this point.

Though when I'm done with the treatment I'll follow on with manuka honey and low dose erythromycin (acts more like a prokinetic than anti-b at low doses).

You can buy h.pylori urea breath tests which might be a cheaper option for you.

HELLO NEIGHBOUR!!!

That's sound quite similar TBH, I'm guessing it's the same thing as the NHS? (where it's "free" but not really because of taxes and lack of "service" ) My Brother who has recently become a Father (who has a cold and Doc. put her on antibiotics) has just booked himself in for the snip... He waits just 4 WEEKS and it's "free", which I didn't think it would be...

Yeah, I think herbal remedies are OK for most lighter issues that have not been taking over someones life for half a decade... I was really stubborn about this until my 2-week course last year (my Brother had spare tables from a prescription for another cold)

There's an at-home blood test for h.pylori... Less than £10 so might be worth a shot? But what if it's negative

For the record my stool test was negative, but endoscopy showed it clear as day.

 

[thebigpeatowski]

Hi Nstocks....to be honest, I think testing is a ridiculous waste of time and money. Going by symptoms is far more valuable. I'm glad that you're keeping starch to a minimum, I really do think it gives unwanted microbes too much food and then they proliferate.

My comment regarding tuna is in regards to the mercury levels, not the PUFA. I think it's recommended not to eat it more than three times a month. If you aren't having regular bowel movements then toxins can accumulate. I just mentioned it because I think it's best not to add to the burden while working on your digestion.
https://www.edf.org/oceans/mercury-aler ... a-safe-eat


LAMB on the other hand is very good for you!!! Focus should be on easily digested foods that leave the least amount of residue to feed microbes. Some grains can be difficult for some people to digest.

Keep taking a couple tablespoons of apple cider vinegar with meals, also the betaine HCL. Low stomach acid (which is VERY common) will allow microbes to grow where they don't belong and can ruin digestion. The environment acidic suppresses overgrowth.

My favorite tool for clearing out bad bugs is RAW garlic: it's broad spectrum, bugs don't grow resistant, it's safe, affordable and very effective.

Once digestion improves and things really get moving you can gradually increase you starch to see if it still causes problems. Your own acid production will come back online, but it can takes months sometimes.

And by ALL means, focus on your reef tank!!! It's a source of pleasure and comfort. :2cents

 

[damngoodcoffee]

post 115479
My favorite tool for clearing out bad bugs is RAW garlic: it's broad spectrum, bugs don't grow resistant, it's safe, affordable and very effective.

How do you take your garlic? Are garlic pills usually raw?

 

[Nstocks]

Raw garlic was my first thought, but it can make things worse if one has sulfur detox issues... An extract from a Pub med article:

"Garlic intake for long durations (years) did not appear to have an effect on the prevalence of H.pylori infection. Garlic consuming subjects had a significantly lower average antibody titer than non garlic consuming groups, which might suggest an indirect inhibitory effect on the reproduction of H.pylori and possibly progression to more serious peptic ulcer diseases."

Perhaps still worth a shot - how much did you take and did you just cut it in tiny peaces and down it with water?

Essential oils are said to be effective too, but I remember reading somewhere on here I think that they can cause xenoestrogens?

From elsewhere: "Use acid- use baking soda to “provoke” the h. pylori out of hiding so you can kill it with supplements and herbs. Baking soda is used to trick the h. pylori that the stomach is “safe” and base (not acidic)."

 

[beachbum]

Hello,

How about pepto bismol. Google it and h. Pylori.

Beachbum

 

[Nstocks]

Happy new year everyone!

Another small update to say that I'm starting to feel some relief!

I'm taking a LOT of mastic gum (2-3g per day) and some cat's claw as well as cutting out all starch except for ripe bananas.

The problems I have now are that calories are less than 2000/day and I'm eating too much PUFA from bacon, eggs, cheese and some questionable meat my family buy. From tomorrow I will start tracking nutrients and calories on Cron O Meter to see how things are. All of the holiday chocolates have gone, which I used a lot for my energy sources.... Kinda panicking now about what to eat so I'm searching for suggestions for h, pylori patients...

Acne is quite painful. Well, it's not "acne" because it only really covers my jawline which are mostly red lumps. I shaved with a double edge razor last week and I'm going to be paying for that for another month... I can't grow a full beard and what I do have looks scruffy (not in the good way!) so occasionally I trim/shave. That's going to stop. To combat dryness I'm starting with Argan oil (won't clog pores) and is said to help with beard growth. I've also probably been over doing aspirin face masks which might be doing more harm than good due to the frequency. (it normally helps reduce post-shave irritation)

I'm also stressing about life too, mostly my career in Architecture. I told myself "It will be done by January and you can apply for jobs then" but it's going to take at least 4 more months to get it how I want it - my portfolio that is. Not sure why but something sparked in me to watch LOST. I think the whole off-grid island living along with my reef aquarium is helping me to stay calm, focused and stick to what I know best, even if it does take a lot longer. I'm on my time, nobody else's I often need to remind myself of.

 

[Nstocks]

I'm thinking about getting some antibiotics...

Although my blood test shows I do have h. pylori, they are only 60% accurate... I've looked at private stool tests which start from £250 excluding travel costs 300 miles away...

For something as simple and relatively cheap as antibiotics, what's really going to be the worse case if I taken them? I've read amoxicillin and clarithromycin need to be used together for h. pylori which seems quite powerful but also common. Although most Doctors give antibiotics out like candy, they are still not prescribed for me which is a little concerning.

Mastic gum might be giving some relief, but I'm not eating much anymore and I can't wait 6 months for some herbal remedy to hopefully fix me.

Thoughts?

 

[halken]

Try fructose and fat as main source of energy.

 

[sladerunner69]

rather than oats why not use OJ as your primary carb source? can't go wrong with oj.....

 

[Vita3]

How often do you eat?

Do you eat bigger meals?Try eat smaller meals and frequent.

Fructose might be more problematic than starch.
Well cooked starches are ok for most.

I don't drink any fruit juices because are not sweet enough, similar with most fruits.

Do you eat raw carrot salad?Cooked mushrooms are good too.

 

[Jennifer]

Nstocks, so sorry to hear about all the stomach troubles. Not to throw more remedies at you, but have you tried potato juice to treat your possible h. pylori infection?

Like so many of us here, I too had gut troubles from h*ll. I got expensive stool tests, SIBO tests, endoscopies etc. and took antibiotics which only relieved symptoms temporarily and left my gut even more irritated than it already was. I was down to most foods causing a facial rash/pustules and intense burning in my gut. Knowing that Ray talks highly of the juice from potatoes, I decided to give the immature variety a try because much of their sugars haven't converted to starch yet and I could hopefully avoid having to make the juice since I was so spent from trying to overcome this for so long.

With that, I noticed my rash started going away, which meant they were either healing my stomach lining or in the very least, not irritating it. So I checked out to see if potato juice was healing to ulcers and apparently it's an old remedy and scientist are finding that it can actually kill off the bacteria. I finally gained enough energy to devote time to making a potato juice broth consistently and I can say it has been the only thing that made any difference. For me, even bone broth wasn't digesting. You can google about the benefits of potato juice, but here's just one link I found:

http://www.counselheal.com/articles/247 ... rtburn.htm

Additionally, Ray says that "an even better protein than casein is the juice out of the potato. In a few extreme cases where someone had no digestion for any kind of ordinary protein, if they juiced some raw potatoes, and cooked it, they could instantly assimilate it, and got over their sensitivities for other proteins."

I could be wrong, but here was my thought process on this. Potato juice can prevent overgrowths due to insufficient digestion of proteins. Insufficient digestion of proteins means food for bacteria that cause gut inflammation and gut inflammation causes incomplete digestion of other foods and thus keeps the terrible cycle going. Add to that the pure h*ll that is stomach disorders and the stress that results from that can actually cause a permeable or "leaky gut" (Ray even acknowledges the stressful thought component of gut permeability).

I know I've been promoting potato broth to death on the forum lately, but I honestly hate seeing so many people here suffering with digestive issues that just aren't resolving. Something has to give! I hope this may help you, Nstocks. Don't give up!

As a side note, I share your love of architecture. My dream would be to design a home completely immersed in trees overlooking water in the tropics. I'm big into music for relieving stress and since you're into coral reefs, here's some Vacationer to help get you into that relaxed island life mindset...

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zrkF8rWFvQU

 

[Nighteyes]

post 118251 I know I've been promoting potato broth to death on the forum lately

Sorry if you have already posted this - but how do you make your potato broth? :) regards

 

[Vita3]

I've tried potatoe broth and I couldn't stand it.I have asked Ray about potatoe juice and he said that well cooked potatoes is for most people well digested, he didn't recommend me potatoe juice.

 

[Jennifer]

post 118256

post 118251 I know I've been promoting potato broth to death on the forum lately

Sorry if you have already posted this - but how do you make your potato broth? :) regards

The easiest way is with a centrifugal juicer, but I currently make it with a Vitamix. I'm not positive but I think maybe a food processor could work or even a meat grinder. Basically, anything that will grind up the potatoes so you can squeeze out the juice. With these techniques you'll need a nut bag. Mine is nylon mesh.

After pealing and pulverizing the potatoes in the blender, I strain them through the nut bag into a large container and stick it in the fridge to let the starch settle to the bottom. It will form a fairly solid mass and you can ladle out the juice into a large pot to cook. Don't worry if you get some starch in with the juice because as it cooks, it will curdle and get strained later on.

At this stage, I like to add collards and herbs such as oregano and dill (calcium and magnesium), mushrooms (antimicrobial) and salt and simmer for at least an hour. After it's done simmering, you'll want to strain it through a colander into a bowl if you've added any extras I mentioned above.

Once the juice is collected, I take a paper coffee filter and place it over a large Ball jar, wrapping a rubber band around it to keep it in place and strain the juice through it. The curdles and herbs are captured, leaving a starch and fiber-free extract with a clarity like tea.

Hope this helps!

 

[Jennifer]

post 118262 I've tried potatoe broth and I couldn't stand it.I have asked Ray about potatoe juice and he said that well cooked potatoes is for most people well digested, he didn't recommend me potatoe juice.

D, I can't remember, but did you add anything to your potato broth when it was cooking?

I add the extras because just like you, I didn't care for the potato juice on its own and also, I use this broth as a milk replacement so I wanted the calcium.

When I wrote Ray way back about my bacterial overgrowth and intestinal pain, he responded:

"Sweet potatoes are effective promoters of bacterial growth, rice and potatoes can cause gas especially if they aren't well cooked."

Since Nstocks mentioned having a lot of gas, I figured the broth might be better suited for his context than whole potatoes, but if he finds he does well with whole potatoes, that's great! He can save himself the trouble of making the broth.

 

[Nstocks]

How often do you eat?

Do you eat bigger meals?Try eat smaller meals and frequent.

Fructose might be more problematic than starch.
Well cooked starches are ok for most.

I don't drink any fruit juices because are not sweet enough, similar with most fruits.

Do you eat raw carrot salad?Cooked mushrooms are good too.

I pretty much just snack all day. I might have a "meal" for dinner but I certainly don't have 3 large set meals and never really have!

Yes, I think someone else said fructose can be a problem and I only drink apple juice right now.

Don't bother with the raw carrot anymore because it didn't do anything. Interesting with the cooked mushrooms, I might try that.

 

[Nstocks]

post 118251 Nstocks, so sorry to hear about all the stomach troubles. Not to throw more remedies at you, but have you tried potato juice to treat your possible h. pylori infection?

Like so many of us here, I too had gut troubles from h*ll. I got expensive stool tests, SIBO tests, endoscopies etc. and took antibiotics which only relieved symptoms temporarily and left my gut even more irritated than it already was. I was down to most foods causing a facial rash/pustules and intense burning in my gut. Knowing that Ray talks highly of the juice from potatoes, I decided to give the immature variety a try because much of their sugars haven't converted to starch yet and I could hopefully avoid having to make the juice since I was so spent from trying to overcome this for so long.

With that, I noticed my rash started going away, which meant they were either healing my stomach lining or in the very least, not irritating it. So I checked out to see if potato juice was healing to ulcers and apparently it's an old remedy and scientist are finding that it can actually kill off the bacteria. I finally gained enough energy to devote time to making a potato juice broth consistently and I can say it has been the only thing that made any difference. For me, even bone broth wasn't digesting. You can google about the benefits of potato juice, but here's just one link I found:

http://www.counselheal.com/articles/247 ... rtburn.htm

Additionally, Ray says that "an even better protein than casein is the juice out of the potato. In a few extreme cases where someone had no digestion for any kind of ordinary protein, if they juiced some raw potatoes, and cooked it, they could instantly assimilate it, and got over their sensitivities for other proteins."

I could be wrong, but here was my thought process on this. Potato juice can prevent overgrowths due to insufficient digestion of proteins. Insufficient digestion of proteins means food for bacteria that cause gut inflammation and gut inflammation causes incomplete digestion of other foods and thus keeps the terrible cycle going. Add to that the pure h*ll that is stomach disorders and the stress that results from that can actually cause a permeable or "leaky gut" (Ray even acknowledges the stressful thought component of gut permeability).

I know I've been promoting potato broth to death on the forum lately, but I honestly hate seeing so many people here suffering with digestive issues that just aren't resolving. Something has to give! I hope this may help you, Nstocks. Don't give up!

As a side note, I share your love of architecture. My dream would be to design a home completely immersed in trees overlooking water in the tropics. I'm big into music for relieving stress and since you're into coral reefs, here's some Vacationer to help get you into that relaxed island life mindset...

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zrkF8rWFvQU

Potato juice!

No I haven't tried it yet - last thing I remember about it was taking a few KG of potatoes and cooking them for a long time. It's something I will try but it's only a supplement so I still need to find something to eat! Your process sounds like it would go down easily. I considered making bone broth again but gelatine upsets my stomach

Do you drink it on an empty stomach, does it matter when it's consumed?