SYMPTOMS OF CARCINOID TUMOR(S)...

[Mittir]

Thank you so much for your thoughtful reply Mittir...hmmm, I did eat a LOT of shrimp recently. It's such a good source of protein and low fat too.

I have basically cut out everything. Today so far I have only had 2 oz. of beef, very salty home made bone broth, one Mexican coca cola and some activated charcoal ...next I'm gonna try some organic low-fat uncured turkey breast and S.Pellegrino mineral water.

Thanks again!!!

I am assuming that your gut is very sensitive to irritants. Extra salt can
irritate your gut. You may want to try small amount of salt more frequently to
get the adequate amount. Sodium from baking soda supposed to be less
irritating to gut. How many coca cola you are having? I think acid in cola is much
milder than other soft drinks. But this can irritate stomach too.
Mineral water is much safer. Have you tried greek yogurt or farmer's cheese?
Those should be less irritating and bit constipating.

 

[thebigpeatowski]

I tried Greek yogurt yesterday, no good. I drank 12 oz. of coca cola today, that is all that I will drink for the day. For now I am sticking with bone broth, mineral water and more charcoal. Transit time for the morning dose of activated charcoal was about three and a half hours....might try some coconut water later if I feel dehydrated again. I am cutting out all dairy, starting today, for two weeks to see if that helps. Kind of bummed about that as it was a major part of my diet.

 

[jyb]

Have you tried cascara? It seems to have a powerful effect on the gut, as if it were a vitamin specialized for the gut cells.

 

[thebigpeatowski]

Hi jyb, no I haven't tried cascara. It was my understanding that it would speed things up like a laxative, which is the last thing I need. Please let me know if I'm wrong about that...I really don't know much about it.

 

[jyb]

Hi jyb, no I haven't tried cascara. It was my understanding that it would speed things up like a laxative, which is the last thing I need. Please let me know if I'm wrong about that...I really don't know much about it.

It would speed up, although the speed up might be slight if you don't take too much (a tip of a teaspoon is enough). I'm not sure, but maybe the speed up is only in the large intestine (where cascara causes less water absorbed). I'll let you read Ray's article on it, he describes the anti-inflammatory effects. Note that the active ingredient, emodin, exercises both the anti-inflammatory effect and the laxative effect.

 

[Blossom]

BTW the fruit and vegetable broth is one of my favorites. I'm so grateful for Mittir mentioning it on the forum. I actually crave it and find it very soothing to my digestive tract!

 

[charlie]

Mittir, if you could post a recipe for this broth in the recipe section that would be really awesome. I do hope to try it soon.

 

[thebigpeatowski]

Can you tell me where to buy cyproheptadine? I guess I could try to find a new doctor...

It's easier to find online if you search for periactin. I got lucky and got a script from a sweet NP at work(I should give her a dozen roses). I've never had to order cyproheptadine online but I thought I saw it on http://www.mymexicandrugstore.com several months back. Hope that helps some.

Hey Blossom, I just wanted to let you know that this link goes to some Huge Domains for sale website, not a pharmacy. It's no biggee , cuz I think I found what I need, but just wanted to let others know itsanogood

 

[Such_Saturation]

Thank you Such_saturation, I IMMENSELY appreciate all the help I can get. Lots of times other people have "new eyes" for a situation that I am blinded to.

I do take the carrot salad daily, it has been tremendously helpful with every other aspect of my digestion, but not the diarrhea. I have had mold allergy testing done and yes I am VERY allergic to mold. I can't tolerate any sort of blue cheese at all and I can smell fruit that is starting to turn from a great distance. I get a RAGING headache just from being in my brother's home, it smells quite musty. The moldy smell is quite overwhelming to me and yet nobody else seems to notice it. He and his wife both have chronic health problems and are addicted to pain killers. I wonder how much of their pain is caused by their living environment and stress, they're always sick and stressed out.

I live in the rainy Pacific Northwest, there are mold spores everywhere, but my house is newish and very dry. I have no carpets anywhere, so no environmental issues. However, I do think I need to have the well water tested...and also, I wonder if there is any truth to that whole coffee bean mycotoxin issue, anyone know? I looked into it a bit and came to the conclusion that it was marketing hype BS. That said, I did change to a different bean supplier a month or so ago. I also tried drinking a different milk, was drinking raw whole milk, went to pasteurized commercial 1% for three weeks. If anything, my diarrhea is worse so I went back to my beloved raw milk yesterday, I find it to be very soothing and FAR MORE delicious.

I had a hsCRP test done one year ago, it was .5 with a ref. range of 0.0-3.0, but I was on a high-fat/low-carb diet at the time. I thought that was an okay number, perhaps it has changed since then? I will test it again this week with my serotonin. Will also look into the nutrient testing...

I survived my ruptured appendix with IV antibiotics in the hospital for four days followed by a month long course of two different kinds of antibiotic pills, just to be sure. It was funny to watch the nurses reactions while in hospital: with every single shift change I would have to explain all over again that there were no sutures to check, they kept asking the same question over and over "you had a ruptured appendix and NO SURGERY?" Then they would recheck their charts several times with knitted brows.

I had bowel issues prior to my ruptured appendix (my son, at the tender age of eight, told me "I poop too much", that was 16 years ago).
It is getting worse.

Gonna go check your link now...thanks S_S

The allergy tests usually come positive when you are being exposed to an irritant, the aspect of discovery of your "personal allergies" is quite secondary. Perhaps you should try to avoid coffee or try to get extremely fresh beans (this goes for chocolate, white potatoes, cheese...). A hair sample could check for many many metals, too! Also, is there any chance your local milk is grain-fed?

 

[thebigpeatowski]

The allergy tests usually come positive when you are being exposed to an irritant, the aspect of discovery of your "personal allergies" is quite secondary. Perhaps you should try to avoid coffee or try to get extremely fresh beans (this goes for chocolate, white potatoes, cheese...). A hair sample could check for many many metals, too! Also, is there any chance your local milk is grain-fed?

I am avoiding coffee and all dairy (this is day two, taint easy). My local raw milk is all grass fed, but I had recently switched to 1% organic commercial with the A & D added in an effort to lose the weight I have gained. I switched back to my beloved whole raw milk for a day or two, but things just kept getting worse, so I cut it out all together.

The diarrhea stops if I stop eating. I had to quit eating last night at 7 p.m. for a fasting blood draw at 7 a.m. this morning. I woke up at 1:30 a.m. and had the last bout of diarrhea. I was very hungry and so I could not go back to sleep despite feeling waaay better. My intestines felt far less irritated because they were empty. They felt fine all morning while I shopped and got gasoline etc. when I got back home and ate around 9:30 a.m. it started all over again. I immediately took two Benadryl and that has helped slow things down a little, but what I ate at 9:30 came through in 5 hours. Makes me wonder why I gave up milk and coffee only to endure a wicked caffeine withdrawal headache. I'm sorry I complain so much. Despite being very overweight, I am seriously lacking nutrients. How can anything get properly digested and absorbed in a few hours?

I used to think it was some how hormonal because it started happening every month right before my period, looking back through my notes I have written these exact words to myself: "I am so hungry, but I do not know what to eat that won't shoot right through me." I wrote that several months in a row. The problem now is that the point at which it begins is backing up further and further, so instead of just a few days of diarrhea just before my period, it now seems to be turning into two weeks of diarrhea.

Now I am wondering if Megin & Mittir were correct all along, that my problem is that I am eating foods that were too high in histamines like citrus, aged cheese, shell fish, etc etc etc....I don't know enough about mast cells or how that whole system works. I have read what RP says about histamine and serotonin (several times), but apparently I don't retain anything I read. I do know that I get like this every month where I cannot seem to think clearly. My ears are ringing and my brain is exhausted yet wired at the same time so I can't sleep. I DESPERATELY NEED SOME B VITAMINS....mas, help me out here Do you take cypro during the day? Does it make you sleepy? How come I can eat those foods all my life and have NO problems, but now everything I eat gives me grief???

Tell me S_S, are hair tests valid? I have had a Doctor's Data hair test kit sitting on my desk for six months. I have been reluctant to send it in for two reasons: 1) I wasn't sure if they are accurate or valid and 2) my hair was falling out so much I didn't want to lose anymore. I think the shedding has slowed down some with thyroid meds.

Will post the blood work when I get it......thanks everyone!

 

[Such_Saturation]

I don't know Ray Peat's opinion on the tests, I guess they're fine to screen for metals that shouldn't be there in the first place or in crazy high levels to investigate further with a blood sample. Of course saying that blood tests are more reliable isn't much, because we know only some metals reflect tissue content in the blood. I remember this person on tv who used aluminium deodorant and had high hair content of that metal (kind of unreliable since it's something that you spray on yourself). I do recommend a gram of active charcoal per day! My ears ring at night, too.

 

[thebigpeatowski]

Activated charcoal EVERY day? Do you personally take one gram per day? When, bedtime? I just got a huge bag of it that I ordered online.

What causes ears to ring? Histamine?

How do I make myself un-allergic to food so that I may enjoy it again....Please excuse my ignorance, it just seems strange to have a histamine response to all food.....food that I have been eating my whole life.

What CAUSES this shift? Oh wait, I know...a leaky gut. What causes a leaky gut? Oh yeah, food allergies. My thyroid meds seem to be working fine. What am I missing? Do massive doses of antibiotics contribute to leaky gut?

How do other people find their way out of this trap? If I practice food elimination I will end up eating nothing. So is the plan to just eat the food, but take antihistamines to stop the reaction? And take Cascara to help with the inevitable constipation from the antihistamine? And THAT will allow your gut to heal?

 

[Blossom]

When I commented in another thread that cyproheptadine allowed me to eat enough again and to get the nutrition my body so desperately needed to heal the situation with food intolerance and GI distress was very much like what you describe. I also once commented that if I avoided all the foods I was supposedly allergic to I'd be dead. I'm not minimizing food allergy/intolerance but my problem was mostly my gut not the food. As an inflamed mess I had to prioritize and get good nutrition in my body. I'm really sorry to hear about your current struggles with this issue because I know it is uncomfortable and distressing. I just wanted you to know you're not alone and I have been there and healed. For me it required meds plain and simple. I know we have to all do what is best for our own circumstance and I'm not necessarily recommending you do what I did but I did want to offer you a bit of hope that the situation can improve and resolve. Please try the fruit and vegetable broth if you can. I just feel it sooth and nourish me every time I have it!

 

[thebigpeatowski]

Thanks Blossom. I do recall those comments that you made in the other threads, but at the time I guess I wasn't entirely certain what your situation was and if/how they were similar to mine. I guess I thought your GI issues happened BEFORE you tried Peat and that you were wasting a way prior to Peating.

At the time, I wasn't even really sure of what was happening to me, I was busy focusing on shutting down stress hormones and estrogen and being able to metabolize carbs again, but I certainly WAS NOT wasting away. I have never gained weight so fast in my entire life.

Like I said before, I have always had intermittent gut issues, but never to the extent that it affected my daily life like this. I am truly house bound. I must strategically plan my day around toilets! I am hoping this is just a phase. I am not altogether sure WHY it is getting worse on this diet instead of better....that's the part that confuses me and I would like to be able to wrap my head around it.

I will make the broth for sure. I make a lot of bone broth and meat stock as it is, I like it very much.

 

[Such_Saturation]

The allergy to everything is from the estrogen. If you already struggle to get your vitamins I suggest you take the charcoal only during the worst parts of the month. Antibiotics in excess in my opinion will cause growth of all kinds of nasty things. Three quarts of milk (half liquid half as farmer cheese) and a quart of some kind of juice or sugary water, some coffee and liver once a week should prevent you from using the colon at all while keeping you fed. I think serotonin turns up the "gain" in our ears or something because I get ringing after ten minutes in the dark even if not sleepy.

 

[Blossom]

You're right bigpeatowski that I was wasting away but I do think that being malnourished can occur at any size. I wonder if simple syrup would also be a good hypoallergenic source of calories for you in the sort term. I believe it is just 1 cup sugar to 1 cup water. Just thought I'd mention that. I'm rooting for you!

 

[thebigpeatowski]

So while I am waiting for my blood tests to come back I have been reading all about Histamine Intolerance, Mast cells and DAO (Diamine Oxidase) Deficiency.

Apparently the enzyme, Diamine Oxidase, which is responsible for metabolizing excess histamine is affected by estrogen by being lowered during the luteal phase of a woman's menstrual cycle, which is exactly when I have debilitating symptoms of chronic diarrhea.

What else causes a DAO deficiency? Gut dysbiosis, which is something that I have battled (unknowingly) my entire life, but became especially noticeable since taking the MASSIVE doses of antibiotics when my appendix ruptured in 2010.

My theory is that histamine gradually builds up in my body and estrogen comes along and knocks out what little DAO enzyme that I have and all hell breaks loose. The more diarrhea I have ( sometimes 15 episodes a day) the more the gut flora is pushed further out of balance. My intestines become so inflamed and irritated that it is almost impossible to build up more DAO enzymes to stop the cycle, which is why antihistamines work to stop it. Antihistamines are a quick fix, but not a CURE. It also explains why activated charcoal does not stop it, nor does constipating foods like cheese.

Unfortunately, I think that excessive use of antihistamines can contribute to even lower levels of DAO, which explains why this seems to be getting worse for me over time. I have been using more Benadryl in the last two months than I have in my entire life. I have never had allergic reactions to anything, this is why it was so utterly foreign to me. I never would have guessed that a histamine reaction could be so completely localized in the gut with NO other outward symptoms. It also explains why I suddenly could not tolerate wine at all, I used to be able to drink wine casually with no problems whatsoever, but now one or two glasses triggers an instant migraine-like headache and I would feel vile for two days. I gave up on all wine over a year ago.

The reason that I think I was able to keep it more in check prior to Peating was because I was taking large amounts of probiotics while eating a paleo version of the GAPS diet. I was also taking massive amounts of antioxidant supplements, querciten being one of them. At the time, I didn't know querciten was an antihistamine and prevented mast cell release. I was taking it for other reasons, high cholesterol er something. Of course I stopped all supplements when I started Peating and began to include a lot more carbohydrate.

I am mostly just wondering out loud if this is possible because I REALLY REALLY would waaaay rather deal with an estrogen/histamine/gut flora issue causing excess serotonin instead of carcinoid(s) as the cause....

So what do you all think of my theory? Am I full of sh*t? Well, not literally...with all of this diarrhea how could I be?

 

[mas]

Bigpeatowski said
Now I am wondering if Megin & Mittir were correct all along, that my problem is that I am eating foods that were too high in histamines like citrus, aged cheese, shell fish, etc etc etc....I don't know enough about mast cells or how that whole system works.





What tests did you get? Did you actually talk to the doctor re: mast cells? (not that they would know). I will look to compile some histamine and mast cell activation reference websites that may be helpful for you. It will take a bit of time

My suggestion for now would be to take some Pepto Bismol just to see if you can check the diarrhea. Maybe you have some in your medicine cabinet. Hope that helps.

 

[Such_Saturation]

But an appendix must explode for a reason, things don't just explode out of nowhere.

 

[Blossom]

I will look for some useful information as well. It may take until tomorrow to get back on this but I will see what I can find.