My Leaky Gut Syndrome
This week marks one year of leaky gut therapy. Here is my story: In March 2009 I felt like everything I ate was making me sick! I woke up most mornings feeling like my stomach wrestled with an alligator every night. I visited my regular doctor’s office many times.
My symptoms were:
- Gas, Bloating when I woke up every morning
- Fatigue every day
- Heart burn
- Pretty much collapsing into bed every night exhausted
- Difficulty getting started in the morning
- Difficulty focusing on tasks and easily distracted
I already had determined that I have gluten sensitivity but have not been tested for Celiac Disease. I have been gluten free for 10 years now. Gluten is a sticky protein found in wheat, barley, rye and oats. (Oats may actually be gluten free but most people with Celiac will avoid them because Oats are in the same plant family as the other three grains) Celiac is a condition in which the lining of the intestines get irritated because of the immune systems response to Gluten. What happens is the body sees gluten as a dangerous invader, it then sends in the white blood cells that attack the gluten protein. The actual damage comes from the immune system attacking the gluten, the damage to the intestines is like collateral damage. The body’s immune system does not necessarily attack the small intestine but does release a lot of chemicals that signal the cells in the intestines to inflame themselves. The villi become flattened and impaired. The villi are like little hairs in the intestines that help move food particles through the intestines and helps absorb food. The flattened villi cannot absorb nutrients efficiently. People with full blown Celiac disease are often suffering from malnutrition.
My Regular doctor had put my on maximum strength Zantac to treat Gastro Esophagus Reflux Disease (GERD). I had tried to cut back a little because I knew from reading that GERD is not caused excessive acid but is caused by the valve at the top of the stomach leaking acid into the esophagus (the tube that leads from your mouth to the stomach). It didn’t take me long to realize that you just cannot stop taking these medications. Zantac and Pepcid are Histamine-2 blockers which reduce the amount of stomach acid. The body has a huge rebound effect when this type of medication is stopped. This seems to be in direct contradiction to what I need since I need to absorb my food better but my intestines are already impaired and now we are reducing the acid in my stomach. This just didn’t seem right, since the stomach needs a fairly strong amount of acid to break down proteins. (By the way if you look on the package of Zantac or Pepcid it is only recommended that you take it for two weeks at maximum)
I started looking for some new answers. Fortunately my company sponsors a health coaching program every year. I got the name of a local naturopathic doctor from my health coach. So I made an appointment and got in for an office visit about one week later.
We started discussing my symptoms and she immediately recommended the following:
- 8 – 12 Grams of L-Glutamine per day
- A super good multivitamin (6 capsule per day)
- Some herbs to support the Adrenal System
- Some Digestive enzymes to help my system process my food
- Stop eating all dairy products immediately
On this protocol I started to get a little more energy that I have been missing for quite some time. After doing this for about 1 month I still was not where I wanted to be but I was on the correct track to getting where I wanted to go.
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