Hey everyone, I am new to the forum and also to leaky gut. I figured out that I have it because I was referred to an allergist and he found that I'm allergic to beef, pork, eggs, milk, cashews, wheat, oats, corn, fish, shrimp, crab, soy beans, garlic, and a few other things that I'm certain that I've forgotten. I know for a fact that these aren't real allergies and must be sensitivities due to my lowered gut integrity.
Leaky gut can contribute to this, but it is lowered adrenal function that really leads to the allergies/sensitivities.
http://curezone.com/forums/fm.asp?i=1609260#i
http://curezone.com/forums/fm.asp?i=1484652#i
http://curezone.com/forums/fm.asp?i=1527351#i
I've also been having signs of IBS that leans toward constipation,
The constipation comes from the lack of flora that normally produce the serotonin that regulate intestinal peristalsis.
but mainly I want to stop the bad reactions I have after eating, which are mainly brain-fog, apathy, bloating, joint pain, gas, and severely dry eyes (potentially onset of sjogrens)
The gas and bloating will occur from fermentation. In the stomach this occurs from a lack of stomach acid. In the intestines from a lack of flora that generate acids that reduce fermentation.
Sjorgen's is autoimmune, which would tie back to the adrenal dysfunction. But there are various reasons for dry eyes, but you did not mention other symptoms such as severely dry mouth so Sjorgen's is not likely. This could be from dehydration, lack of vitamin A, allergies, medications such as antihistamines, etc.
I'm starting to treat it myself, but I need help. Right now I'm eating the foods that I can eat, and limiting my sugar/carb intake because I doubt that I have candida, but want to be sure that I'm covering all sides of this condition.
So I'm avoiding the foods that I'm allergic to as best I can considering that not much is left to choose from. I usually alternate vegetables and have chicken on occasion, but since it's the only meat that I can eat I don't want to overdo it and become sensitive to it.
I'm also taking:
Diflucan (again to rule out candida)
Nexium (my GI said that I had too much stomach acid. I don't believe him, but either way I'm taking it to minimize sources of inflammation right now.)
That is really unlikely. Hyperchlorhydria (excess stomach acid) is so extremely rare that most doctors will never see a true case of this in their entire career. Furthermore, gas and bloating in the stomach is a result of insufficient stomach acid, not an excess. Proper stomach acid promotes proper digestion reducing fermentation.
Glutamine/Arginine mixture (inspired by Juven, but mixed myself, about 20g per day)
People need to be careful with high levels of arginine for a few reasons. One it can lead to excessively low blood pressure due to the increase in nitric oxide. This can lead to problems such as dizziness, mental fogginess, fatigue, etc. Arginine can also trigger off herpes outbreaks in those harboring herpes viruses.
and of course drinking lots of water.
I mainly want to make sure that I'm doing everything right. It isn't getting worse but it hasn't gotten better yet, and I've been doing this for two weeks. I know it will take time, but don't want any of that time to be in vain.
I just posted another post on the subject with various links discussing leaky gut:
http://curezone.com/forums/fm.asp?i=1725335#i
Good post but have to disagree on a few things. What I have come to learn based on my own experience and COUNTLESS testing, research and experimentation on my own body, the adrenals act as a battery backup for the body. It IS the back up reserve battery actually, it is the fight-or-flight and that takes over when the body's normal functions are lacking. It's not that the adrenals are "weak" so to speak, that's the problem. That's only partly true and yes, higher on the "cause" pyramid but still not at the top.
The leaky gut, for reasons still unknown exactly to me, are the cause of weak adrenals. It is a vicious cycle and might have to do with inflammation but it's not entirely inflammation because otherwise antiinflammatory drugs would fix/mask the symptoms entirely. When my leaky gut gets worse (if i take things that burn my gut, like spicy food, undecylenic acid, caprylic acid, alcohol, etc.) my stomach feels very fluttery like i got punched in the gut/on a rollercoaster drop and my adrenals kick in full force.
The adrenals are responsible for controlling inflammatory responses in the body. When there is damage though the inflammation is not going to be suppressed completely by either the adrenals nor anti-inflammatories. For example, if you were to smash your hand with a sledge hammer no anti-inflammatory is going to remove all the inflammation. And the adrenals are not going to completely suppress the inflammatory response because we are highly dependent on the inflammatory response for both healing and infection control. So it would be counterproductive for the body to completely suppress inflammation when it is creating the inflammation again to help with healing and infection control. If the adrenals are not working properly though, both inflammation and immune reactions can get out of control. Keep in mind that the corticosteroids are not just for inflammation, they also regulate immune reactions. Consider autoimmune disorders. These disorders are caused in large part from the lack of adrenal corticosteroids leading to the overproduction of low affinity (nonspecific) antibodies that tag the healthy tissues for destruction by the immune system that is otherwise functioning as it is designed to do.
My adrenals have the capacity to perform at good levels as shown by cortisol testing
I don't believe in hormone testing of any kind, including cortisol. The tests are just way too inaccurate.
and all other testing but for some unknown reason, they are tied to the gut directly. It is said that the gut has its own neurological system and taking into consideration that the body is one and the neuroendocrine system has some fascinating reactions.
I don't know if I would agree with "its own neurological system" since the rest of the immune system still interacts with the gut. For example, the same vagus nerve that can affect the heart, stomach, liver, and pancreas also affects intestinal peristalsis. So the nervous system to the gut is not independent from the rest of the nervous system.
The constipation can be due to lack of flora but there are other causes for it. In my case it is not necessarily lack of flora but leaky gut. The inflammation or weaken lining has some mechanism that stops peristalsis in me entirely, when i eat something i am allergic/reactive to. Very weird. It goes away and i have normal relieving BMs once at 12pm on the dot everyday should it not be irritated/reactive. Probiotics, kefir, all constipate me. They stop peristalsis immediately and testing has shown lack of flora isnt the problem for me.
Yes, there can be other less common reasons such as the use of iron supplements, overuse of stimulant laxatives such as senna or cascara sagrada, low thyroid, excess progesterone, lack of bile, nerve damage, etc. Dairy products can also constipate some people, and dairy is often associated with probiotic sources.
Also I would like to add that probiotics are not going to do much without prebiotics to feed ALL the flora, not just the few strains being supplemented.
The theory I am testing, comes from a paper written that explained that some people tend to have problems with probiotics and flora when their SIgA is low. The body's immune system does not recognize ... or fails to accept probiotics and colonize normally. given the fact that probiotics were tolerated no problem for me until my fecal IgA started to drop significantly and that SIgA deficiency = leaky gut = adrenal symptoms, all of it is tied in as one system.
Interesting hypothesis. Although another possibility is that antibodies are being formed to the probiotics in a similar fashion to to the low affinity antibodies of autoimmunity.
Id like to think that a healthy gut is a healthy adrenal system.
But again you need healthy adrenals to control the inflammatory responses in the gut.
I would still give good quality probiotics a shot and take probiotics that raise your IgA, as well as try colostrum (lactose/casein filtered out) and/or immunoglobulins, glutamine and saccharomyces boulardii if tolerated. All raise IgA and gut health. Do this with antifungal that you are on.