New here - Might need a little help

cerulean

Member
Joined
Jan 25, 2021
Messages
5
Hello all,


First off I want to say that this will probably be a somewhat lengthy post, so I appreciate anyone who can stick with it.
I’ve been lurking the forum for a while and I decided to finally sign up and ask for some specific advice. It seems like there’s a lot of good information and well-informed people on here, but it’s been difficult to consolidate everything into a more complete idea of what to do. I’ve struggled with gut issues for about four years now with only minimal and temporary success. Recently it’s been worse than ever and the energy it takes to deal with my regular work and social life doesn’t leave much room for playing doctor on myself. I’m going to try and list my issues below and explain some of them in more detail in the hope that somebody can help me figure out what’s going on.

-Slow Digestion/Bloating/Distension. This seems to be some kind of low stomach acid issue. My stomach is constantly bloated and eating more than a small amount of protein or fat triggers gastroparesis like symptoms and constipation.

-LPR/Hernia. I’ve found that I can somewhat remedy the previous issue by taking things that increase stomach acidity. (Sipping Coke after meals, a little bit of honey or lemon before meals etc.) The problem is that doing this sets off these issues. I get pain and discomfort behind my navel, acid burning my throat, teeth, gums, eyes, even my ears. It will sometimes cause diarrhea as well. It feels like a constant back-and-forth between increasing acidity and then having to decrease it again because of the pain. Which means I never really get anywhere.

-Undigested food in stools. This occurs no matter what form they take. Sometimes there is mucus too, and occasionally blood, although this only seems to occur when the constipation is bad.

-Tinnitus/Light and screen sensitivity. I don’t know if these are caused by the acid back flow or something else but they make it very difficult to work on the computer for long periods of time.

-Fatigue after meals. This doesn’t always happen, but when it does it can be so severe that I will be struggling not to fall asleep on my feet.

-Joint pain and weakness, especially in my wrists. Another symptom that makes computer work difficult.

-POIS symptoms. (TMI warning) If I have sex with my girlfriend or masturbate, it’s pretty much a guarantee that all of my symptoms will be worse that day. It also seems to cause dry eyes for some reason.

-Mental issues. Brain fog, A total inability to concentrate on anything for longer than 20 minutes, fluctuating between anxiety/malaise and unexplainable euphoria and excitement. This might seem pretty mild in comparison to everything else but they’ve been some of the most difficult things to deal with for me.

All of these things have come on in the past year. Before that, I dealt with a bout of gastritis, which I settled by eating a crappy ‘bland’ diet for about six months. I’ve never really felt that it was 100% gone but I believed that as long as I avoided tomatoes, alcohol etc I’d be ok. I got back into the gym and felt the best I’ve ever felt for almost a year and a half, overdid it, and injured myself. About three weeks into my time off exercise was when my current issues flared up and they have not left since. I was still naive enough then to take high dose of PPI for a few months on my doctors advice, which I believe made everything much worse.

I’ve been trying my best to incorporate Peat ideas into my diet based on what I can tolerate but I’m not sure it’s going very well. A typical day for me will include whole milk, butter, cheese, raisins, some sourdough, apricots, plums, and apples. Coffee I can’t do. Raw carrot gives me severe stomach aches. Eggs irritate my gut. Meat, even organ meat, just sits in my gut fermenting and eventually causes burning pain and constipation. OJ immediately triggers acid backflow and can even make it difficult to swallow. Potatoes and rice bloat me even in small amounts. Same goes for sweet potato.

I’m really just at a loss for what to do and I feel like I’m stuck in an endless cycle. It’s probably worth noting that I am fairly young (24) and that I’m underweight because of this, (5’10, 130lbs) and all of these problems are making it very difficult to fix this. If anyone has bothered to read this far and has any ideas, I would really appreciate it. I apologize for making my first post so miserable, hopefully I can contribute something more positive to this forum one day.
 

Elie

Member
Forum Supporter
Joined
Oct 30, 2015
Messages
815
Charcoal?
Antibiotics / phage combo? amoxicillin perhaps for 2 weeks.
things to "clean" your gut.
lysine might relax the gut.
Often it can also be psychological - perhaps there are subconscious incongruencies in your life. Suppressed emotions / thoughts. What happens outside doesn't match what happens inside? The gut is the "second" brain.
You are young and have lots to learn.
Keeping a daily diary of everything will be helpful. Shadow work is often helpful.
 

mostlylurking

Member
Joined
May 13, 2015
Messages
3,078
Location
Texas
Hello all,


First off I want to say that this will probably be a somewhat lengthy post, so I appreciate anyone who can stick with it.
I’ve been lurking the forum for a while and I decided to finally sign up and ask for some specific advice. It seems like there’s a lot of good information and well-informed people on here, but it’s been difficult to consolidate everything into a more complete idea of what to do. I’ve struggled with gut issues for about four years now with only minimal and temporary success. Recently it’s been worse than ever and the energy it takes to deal with my regular work and social life doesn’t leave much room for playing doctor on myself. I’m going to try and list my issues below and explain some of them in more detail in the hope that somebody can help me figure out what’s going on.

-Slow Digestion/Bloating/Distension. This seems to be some kind of low stomach acid issue. My stomach is constantly bloated and eating more than a small amount of protein or fat triggers gastroparesis like symptoms and constipation.

-LPR/Hernia. I’ve found that I can somewhat remedy the previous issue by taking things that increase stomach acidity. (Sipping Coke after meals, a little bit of honey or lemon before meals etc.) The problem is that doing this sets off these issues. I get pain and discomfort behind my navel, acid burning my throat, teeth, gums, eyes, even my ears. It will sometimes cause diarrhea as well. It feels like a constant back-and-forth between increasing acidity and then having to decrease it again because of the pain. Which means I never really get anywhere.

-Undigested food in stools. This occurs no matter what form they take. Sometimes there is mucus too, and occasionally blood, although this only seems to occur when the constipation is bad.

-Tinnitus/Light and screen sensitivity. I don’t know if these are caused by the acid back flow or something else but they make it very difficult to work on the computer for long periods of time.

-Fatigue after meals. This doesn’t always happen, but when it does it can be so severe that I will be struggling not to fall asleep on my feet.

-Joint pain and weakness, especially in my wrists. Another symptom that makes computer work difficult.

-POIS symptoms. (TMI warning) If I have sex with my girlfriend or masturbate, it’s pretty much a guarantee that all of my symptoms will be worse that day. It also seems to cause dry eyes for some reason.

-Mental issues. Brain fog, A total inability to concentrate on anything for longer than 20 minutes, fluctuating between anxiety/malaise and unexplainable euphoria and excitement. This might seem pretty mild in comparison to everything else but they’ve been some of the most difficult things to deal with for me.

All of these things have come on in the past year. Before that, I dealt with a bout of gastritis, which I settled by eating a crappy ‘bland’ diet for about six months. I’ve never really felt that it was 100% gone but I believed that as long as I avoided tomatoes, alcohol etc I’d be ok. I got back into the gym and felt the best I’ve ever felt for almost a year and a half, overdid it, and injured myself. About three weeks into my time off exercise was when my current issues flared up and they have not left since. I was still naive enough then to take high dose of PPI for a few months on my doctors advice, which I believe made everything much worse.

I’ve been trying my best to incorporate Peat ideas into my diet based on what I can tolerate but I’m not sure it’s going very well. A typical day for me will include whole milk, butter, cheese, raisins, some sourdough, apricots, plums, and apples. Coffee I can’t do. Raw carrot gives me severe stomach aches. Eggs irritate my gut. Meat, even organ meat, just sits in my gut fermenting and eventually causes burning pain and constipation. OJ immediately triggers acid backflow and can even make it difficult to swallow. Potatoes and rice bloat me even in small amounts. Same goes for sweet potato.

I’m really just at a loss for what to do and I feel like I’m stuck in an endless cycle. It’s probably worth noting that I am fairly young (24) and that I’m underweight because of this, (5’10, 130lbs) and all of these problems are making it very difficult to fix this. If anyone has bothered to read this far and has any ideas, I would really appreciate it. I apologize for making my first post so miserable, hopefully I can contribute something more positive to this forum one day.
Low stomach acid, slow transit time are caused by hypothyroidism. Inability to heal leaky gut is caused by hypothyroidism. Food sensitivities result from leaky gut, which can be healed when hypothyroidism is addressed.

Joint pain can be caused by endotoxin getting in the bloodstream, which happens when you have leaky gut.

Basically, you pretty much described me, age 35-65. Except for the underweight part; I've packed on weight instead. I finally got my thyroid medication optimized when I was 65. Many of the things you describe disappeared.

Suggestions about what you are eating:
Stop these: raisins, some sourdough, apricots, plums, and apples.
Replace with these: well cooked mushrooms, orange juice, 1% milk, watermelon. gelatin. Cottage cheese (with no additives) is good. Canned peaches are good. Well cooked apples and pears are OK, not as good as the canned peaches. Canned dark cherries might be fine. Crunchy store bought green fruit is not OK.
Stop with the muscle meat (for now). Buy some Great Lakes gelatin, both kinds, learn about how to use them. Gelatin will help heal your gut. Make it a major part of your diet.
Stop with the starchy things.
Forget about the carrots for now, eat the cooked mushrooms instead.

Find a functional doctor if possible to help you learn what vitamins you are deficient in. Hopefully, the functional doctor will be able to help you with the hypothyroidism. Educate yourself. Insist on a complete thyroid panel, including T3, reverse T3, T4, TSH. Learn how to decipher the test results yourself. Functional doctors are a little more oriented towards using vitamins; that's about all I really know about them.

Make a temperature and pulse record chart to show the doctor, because most won't believe you are hypothyroid because you are underweight. Read up on hypothyroidism; here's a search: Programmable Search Engine

Aspirin can be helpful: Aspirin, brain, and cancer It can reduce the swelling/inflammation of the intestine.

In addition to hypothyroidism, also research thiamine; you may be deficient. A thiamine deficiency can cause low stomach acid.

Both thiamine deficiency and hypothyroidism cause mitochondrial malfunction. They both block oxidative metabolism. Focus on regaining mitochondrial healthy function.

A good b-complex supplement, like Pure Formulas may be very helpful. Some thiamine hcl and magnesium could also be very helpful as they will help heal the gut
 
Last edited:
OP
cerulean

cerulean

Member
Joined
Jan 25, 2021
Messages
5
Low stomach acid, slow transit time are caused by hypothyroidism. Inability to heal leaky gut is caused by hypothyroidism. Food sensitivities result from leaky gut, which can be healed when hypothyroidism is addressed.

Joint pain can be caused by endotoxin getting in the bloodstream, which happens when you have leaky gut.

Basically, you pretty much described me, age 35-65. Except for the underweight part; I've packed on weight instead. I finally got my thyroid medication optimized when I was 65. Many of the things you describe disappeared.

Suggestions about what you are eating:
Stop these: raisins, some sourdough, apricots, plums, and apples.
Replace with these: well cooked mushrooms, orange juice, 1% milk, watermelon. gelatin. Cottage cheese (with no additives) is good. Canned peaches are good. Well cooked apples and pears are OK, not as good as the canned peaches. Canned dark cherries might be fine. Crunchy store bought green fruit is not OK.
Stop with the muscle meat (for now). Buy some Great Lakes gelatin, both kinds, learn about how to use them. Gelatin will help heal your gut. Make it a major part of your diet.
Stop with the starchy things.
Forget about the carrots for now, eat the cooked mushrooms instead.

Find a functional doctor if possible to help you learn what vitamins you are deficient in. Hopefully, the functional doctor will be able to help you with the hypothyroidism. Educate yourself. Insist on a complete thyroid panel, including T3, reverse T3, T4, TSH. Learn how to decipher the test results yourself. Functional doctors are a little more oriented towards using vitamins; that's about all I really know about them.

Make a temperature and pulse record chart to show the doctor, because most won't believe you are hypothyroid because you are underweight. Read up on hypothyroidism; here's a search: Programmable Search Engine

Aspirin can be helpful: Aspirin, brain, and cancer It can reduce the swelling/inflammation of the intestine.

In addition to hypothyroidism, also research thiamine; you may be deficient. A thiamine deficiency can cause low stomach acid.

Both thiamine deficiency and hypothyroidism cause mitochondrial malfunction. They both block oxidative metabolism. Focus on regaining mitochondrial healthy function.

A good b-complex supplement, like Pure Formulas may be very helpful. Some thiamine hcl and magnesium could also be very helpful as they will help heal the gut

Thankyou for the response. I’ve booked with a functional doctor already for next month so I’ll be sure to ask them about thyroid panels. Last time I was in hospital they apparently tested my thyroid and it showed up clear, so I’m assuming their tests were very basic.

Do you think overall caloric intake and macros are as important as dietary choices? I see a lot of people on here talking about undereating contributing to digestive issues and I’ve never been sure what to aim for. Either way I’ll try to make some of these dietary changes and look into some of these other things you suggested. I appreciate it.
 
OP
cerulean

cerulean

Member
Joined
Jan 25, 2021
Messages
5
Charcoal?
Antibiotics / phage combo? amoxicillin perhaps for 2 weeks.
things to "clean" your gut.
lysine might relax the gut.
Often it can also be psychological - perhaps there are subconscious incongruencies in your life. Suppressed emotions / thoughts. What happens outside doesn't match what happens inside? The gut is the "second" brain.
You are young and have lots to learn.
Keeping a daily diary of everything will be helpful. Shadow work is often helpful.
I have some charcoal but I’m not sure yet how to properly dose it so I’ve avoided it. I haven’t heard about phages and lysine before though, do you have any recommendations on particular products?

I think you’re right that the psychological side of this is very significant. The main issue is that most of my stress comes from worrying constantly about my health but there are certainly deeper things I could do with addressing. I have a tendency to be dismissive of the impact that mental health can have on the physical but it’s something I’ve been unlearning recently
 

mostlylurking

Member
Joined
May 13, 2015
Messages
3,078
Location
Texas
Thankyou for the response. I’ve booked with a functional doctor already for next month so I’ll be sure to ask them about thyroid panels. Last time I was in hospital they apparently tested my thyroid and it showed up clear, so I’m assuming their tests were very basic.

Do you think overall caloric intake and macros are as important as dietary choices? I see a lot of people on here talking about undereating contributing to digestive issues and I’ve never been sure what to aim for. Either way I’ll try to make some of these dietary changes and look into some of these other things you suggested. I appreciate it.
Please keep in mind that doctors are in business to make money. Food allergies and food sensitivities are big business requiring lots of testing and maybe lots of allergy shots on an ongoing basis that keep you coming back for more. Resolving the underlying issue is not normally the top priority because it could cure you. If you become cured, they will lose a patient. Just a little heads up. Do your research before you go to the doctor.

Most doctors do not think anyone is deficient in thiamine because refined grain products are "fortified" with it. But a lot of people are deficient and it has become a common problem. Learn about it. This Youtube channel has good videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFqXidfUsI0vm73xsBMIQdQ This fellow likes TTFD thiamine, it gave me a horrible headache so I use thiamine hcl; I think Ray Peat likes thiamine hcl better than the newer synthetics.

Calorie intake is important. Macros are important. But if you are deficient in thyroid hormone or thiamine your body won't be able to utilize the calories on the mitochondrial level.

Thiamine hcl is pretty safe stuff, to test to see if it might help you, take about 200-300 mg, always along with some magnesium, and note what happens. My temperature went up a degree and all my inflammation disappeared for a few hours, so I knew that I needed to supplement with it. I use Bulk Supplements brand because it is just pure thiamine hcl, no excipients. Note that sugar and coffee will deplete your body's thiamine.

Do not let yourself go hungry. Figure out what you are going to eat; have a plan. Stock the kitchen. Well boiled peeled potatoes probably won't hurt you (add salt, butter and cream) and can be so satisfying. If you can drink milk, you have an enormous advantage because it it so nutritious. Eat nutritious food. Learn to make egg custard. Make it, keep it in the refrigerator. Eat it, make more. I make a batch about twice a week.

Read the food labels. Avoid all gums and carrageenan. Stick with authentic real food. There is no store bought bread that is safe to eat. None. Stay out of the center of the grocery store (for the most part), shop around the perimeter. Items in the center of the store that are helpful: coffee, marmalade, canned peaches and cherries, vanilla, sugar for custard.

my egg custard (makes 6 servings):
2 cups milk
1/2 cup cream
2 whole eggs
5 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1-2 teaspoons vanilla
a little finely grated nutmeg

preheat oven to 325. Heat milk & cream on low until it begins to scald. While heating milk, crack 2 eggs into a large bowl, then crack and separate 5 more eggs, use the yolks only. Add them to the bowl and beat with a whisk, add 1/2 cup sugar and 1/4 teaspoon salt, beat some more. While beating, slowly pour in the scalded milk. Add the vanilla.

Fill a roasting pan (with a rack) with hot tap water, about 2/3 full. Set 6 custard cups into the hot water. It should come up to about halfway on the cups. Fill the cups equally with the custard mix. Grate a little nutmeg on top of each (optional). Carefully insert in oven and bake at 325 for 45-50 minutes. The goal is for the custard to be set but still jiggly. Remove from oven. Carefully remove from water bath. I use a dinner knife and a dish towel (push each to a corner with the knife and up and out, steadying with the towel. Cool on counter, then transfer to refrigerator. Cover them with a little plastic wrap when they get cold.

a roasting pan with rack: High Quality Stainless Steel Roasting Lasagna Pan With Rack for sale online
 
Last edited:

ReSTART

Member
Joined
Nov 27, 2016
Messages
544
I have LPR too, I hate it. If you find anything that helps, please share.

For my LPR, Gaviscon works really well but is short acting. I think it’s a little better now since I started taking NDT and beta-glucan.
 

Elie

Member
Forum Supporter
Joined
Oct 30, 2015
Messages
815
I have some charcoal but I’m not sure yet how to properly dose it so I’ve avoided it. I haven’t heard about phages and lysine before though, do you have any recommendations on particular products?

I think you’re right that the psychological side of this is very significant. The main issue is that most of my stress comes from worrying constantly about my health but there are certainly deeper things I could do with addressing. I have a tendency to be dismissive of the impact that mental health can have on the physical but it’s something I’ve been unlearning recently
As for Charcoal - when I use it, I take 500 mg capsules, anywhere from 2-4 at a time for 1-2 weeks at a time.
Lysine - about 1g-2 g. I don't have a preferred brand.

On the psychological side my suggestion is to learn to become aware of what you are feeling. Journaling is helpful. Once you identify the feeling it is important to allow yourself to feel the emotion as opposed to think of it / analyze it mentally. This "technic" reduces its influence on you.

There many helpful book out there. A couple that recommend, are Letting Go by the late David Hawkins and Inner Bonding by Margaret Paul who also teaches how to deal with long standing emotional "baggage" so to speak. Their insight and techniques are very freeing. Once the stress that emotional baggage decreases, physical health improves. All the dietary stuff discussed here is valuable, however, anything psychological can stand in the way.
 
OP
cerulean

cerulean

Member
Joined
Jan 25, 2021
Messages
5
I have LPR too, I hate it. If you find anything that helps, please share.

For my LPR, Gaviscon works really well but is short acting. I think it’s a little better now since I started taking NDT and beta-glucan.
I will do. Did you ever get ear problems with LPR? It can give me crazy tinnitus and sound sensitivity when it flares up
 

Motif

Member
Joined
Nov 24, 2017
Messages
2,757
Hello all,


First off I want to say that this will probably be a somewhat lengthy post, so I appreciate anyone who can stick with it.
I’ve been lurking the forum for a while and I decided to finally sign up and ask for some specific advice. It seems like there’s a lot of good information and well-informed people on here, but it’s been difficult to consolidate everything into a more complete idea of what to do. I’ve struggled with gut issues for about four years now with only minimal and temporary success. Recently it’s been worse than ever and the energy it takes to deal with my regular work and social life doesn’t leave much room for playing doctor on myself. I’m going to try and list my issues below and explain some of them in more detail in the hope that somebody can help me figure out what’s going on.

-Slow Digestion/Bloating/Distension. This seems to be some kind of low stomach acid issue. My stomach is constantly bloated and eating more than a small amount of protein or fat triggers gastroparesis like symptoms and constipation.

-LPR/Hernia. I’ve found that I can somewhat remedy the previous issue by taking things that increase stomach acidity. (Sipping Coke after meals, a little bit of honey or lemon before meals etc.) The problem is that doing this sets off these issues. I get pain and discomfort behind my navel, acid burning my throat, teeth, gums, eyes, even my ears. It will sometimes cause diarrhea as well. It feels like a constant back-and-forth between increasing acidity and then having to decrease it again because of the pain. Which means I never really get anywhere.

-Undigested food in stools. This occurs no matter what form they take. Sometimes there is mucus too, and occasionally blood, although this only seems to occur when the constipation is bad.

-Tinnitus/Light and screen sensitivity. I don’t know if these are caused by the acid back flow or something else but they make it very difficult to work on the computer for long periods of time.

-Fatigue after meals. This doesn’t always happen, but when it does it can be so severe that I will be struggling not to fall asleep on my feet.

-Joint pain and weakness, especially in my wrists. Another symptom that makes computer work difficult.

-POIS symptoms. (TMI warning) If I have sex with my girlfriend or masturbate, it’s pretty much a guarantee that all of my symptoms will be worse that day. It also seems to cause dry eyes for some reason.

-Mental issues. Brain fog, A total inability to concentrate on anything for longer than 20 minutes, fluctuating between anxiety/malaise and unexplainable euphoria and excitement. This might seem pretty mild in comparison to everything else but they’ve been some of the most difficult things to deal with for me.

All of these things have come on in the past year. Before that, I dealt with a bout of gastritis, which I settled by eating a crappy ‘bland’ diet for about six months. I’ve never really felt that it was 100% gone but I believed that as long as I avoided tomatoes, alcohol etc I’d be ok. I got back into the gym and felt the best I’ve ever felt for almost a year and a half, overdid it, and injured myself. About three weeks into my time off exercise was when my current issues flared up and they have not left since. I was still naive enough then to take high dose of PPI for a few months on my doctors advice, which I believe made everything much worse.

I’ve been trying my best to incorporate Peat ideas into my diet based on what I can tolerate but I’m not sure it’s going very well. A typical day for me will include whole milk, butter, cheese, raisins, some sourdough, apricots, plums, and apples. Coffee I can’t do. Raw carrot gives me severe stomach aches. Eggs irritate my gut. Meat, even organ meat, just sits in my gut fermenting and eventually causes burning pain and constipation. OJ immediately triggers acid backflow and can even make it difficult to swallow. Potatoes and rice bloat me even in small amounts. Same goes for sweet potato.

I’m really just at a loss for what to do and I feel like I’m stuck in an endless cycle. It’s probably worth noting that I am fairly young (24) and that I’m underweight because of this, (5’10, 130lbs) and all of these problems are making it very difficult to fix this. If anyone has bothered to read this far and has any ideas, I would really appreciate it. I apologize for making my first post so miserable, hopefully I can contribute something more positive to this forum one day.

update?
 

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