IBS - this is reasonably covered in the various topics discussed below.
The Mucous in the stools - is characteristic of inflamed and/or damaged epithelial lining of the intestines (might relate to
parasites and/or to
food sensitivities ). As you rightly say, fibre supplements will tend to exacerbate the issue rather thanhelp it, so they're best avoided.
Tons of undigested food in stool, every BM is chocked full
Suggestive of low stomach acid - Possible causes include zinc deficiency (the parietal cells of the stomach require zinc in order to function correctly. there are other possible causes such as H-Pylori but you have not described H-Pylori-specific symptoms so this seems unlikely. Alternatively, if the gallbladder is not producing sufficient bile or the pancreas is not secreting sufficient carbonates (pancreatic carbonates and bile combine and are released into the duodenum), then damage can occur to the tissues lining the duodenum, as acidic chyme exits the stomach via the pyloric sphincter and enters the duodenum. I recall once reading that it may be possible for the body to downregulate acid production in the stomach in order to compensate for the lack of available alkaline carbonates in the duodenum.
Stomach acidity issues notwithstanding, there may very well be a pancreatic-insufficiency issue here - i.e. the pancreas not secreting enough enzymes (or the correct ones) to digest foods passing into the duodenum. If the pH of the chyme exiting the stomach is incorrectly modified, as described above, then the pancreas will not be signaled to release correct enzymes appropriate for the food being digested. Pancreatic exhaustion and even damage may occur in the longrun.
Chronic fatigue - Many possibilities here, two of which are malabsorption (due, variously, to insufficient stomach acidity and/or destruction of absorptive cells in the intestinal tract, and/or longterm inflammation of intestinal cells etc.) or adrenal fatigue - this is common where, for example, heavy metal toxicity is involved, although it may arise inother circumstances, too.
Dry skin (my lips are always cracked) - possibly suggestive of poor absorption of Essential Fatty Acids. Things which can disrupt absorption of fats include - *insufficient bile output from the hepato-biliary system (may be due to gallstones, parasitic obstruction in hepatic tree or gallbladder - e.g flukes, or exhaustion of hepato-biliary system which can occur, for example, when heavy metals are present), *insufficient secretion of lipase from the pancreas (pancreatic damage can occur if parasitic or biliary gravel obstruction occurs in common bile duct at the sphincter of oddi, whereupon bile can back-wash into the pancreas), *damaged epithelial cells in the duodenum (due to longterm derangement of immune inflammatory response - may occur in presence of parasites, heavy metals,
food sensitivities ), *certain intestinal
parasites can compete for fatty nutrients (e.g.
Ascaris lumbrocoides). Also note that mercury mercilessly oxidises EFAs in the body, thus posing a challenge for the skin and various mucous membranes throughout the body, internally and externally.
Chronic lower abdominal pain(burning), especially on left side -
signifies possible long-term inflammation, possibly due to one or more pathogens chronically stimulating immune response, or
food sensitivities stimulating immune response, or simply undigested food particles stimulating immune response (e.g. if stomach secreting insufficient acid and/or pancreas secreting insufficient, or incorrect enzymes. Incorrect enzyme secretion can occur if pH of chyme isn't correctly modulated by bile-carbonates mixture).
Fuzzy vision, lots of floaters - Surprisingly common in cases of heavy metals and sometimes also in cases of intestinal/biliary parasites. I also believe yeast/fungus can play a role in eye floaters, alongside heavy metals, for reasons I will cover later on in this reply.
Eyes always red - a bit ambiguous, this one, but food sensitivities can accompany red eyes, and so can liver congestion issues, amongst many other possible causes.
Light sensitivity, afterimages, flashes - one possibility here is heavy metals affecting neurological function (sounds far-fetched but is quite common).
Chronic
Depression - Again, many possible causes, but can accompany thyroid issues and adrenal issues, both of which can be associated, for example, with mercury intoxication.
brain fog - Common with heavy metal intoxication and with yeast/fungal overgrowth.
Its easy for me to fall asleep but I never feel rested upon waking - Possible correlates of this are impeded liver function and adrenal exhaustion
Extreme bloating - Generally ties in with many of the above factors (poor stomach acid levels, hepato-biliary issues, pancreatic insufficiency, chronic intestinal/bowel inflammation, intestinal
parasites etc.)
Gas - see 'bloating', above.
Cant stand the hot or cold - Could be a number of things but two possibilities are thyroid insufficiency, and liver congestion (reduces efficiency of blood flow to extremities).
Lack of motivation - many possibilities. Some include: Adrenal exhaustion, thyroid insufficiency, immune suppression/exhaustion, neurological impairment due to heavy metals, impairment of proper synthesis/production of vital neurotransmitters which can occur with serious gut issues and can also occur if heavy metals derange liver function for example.
Inability to concentrate - again, heavy metals and/or yeast/fungal issues are possible candidates, as are toxins excreted by intestinal parasites.
Fast heartbeat - can be a sign of the immune system trying to fight something off, and can also be a sign of presence of certain heavy metals such as antimony or mercury - either directly or by virtue of their impeding the action or status of essential minerals such as magnesium
Severe anxiety(this one is unusual for me, not) - heavy metals possible
Inability to do manual work, painful - not specific enough for me to make any suggestions
ADHD - so many possibilities, but mercury is one.
Sometimes I get headaches and ringing in ears but they are subtle - systemic inflammation, heavy metals, yeast/fungal issues.
Hard stools - Might be suggestive of poor bowel flora (a surprising proportion of the mass of a healthy stool is actually bacteria). Dysbiosis (unhealthy balance of pathogenic bacteria), however, is very common when the pH of the bowel is incorrect, when there are parasites present, when there is longterm inflammation, when there are heavy metals present etc. Also may point to excessive transit time (the bowel reabsorbs water content from stools as they pass through it). Excessive transit time (constipation) may arise from poor bile secretion which ties back into the status of the liver and the biliary system.
Rectal area itchy at times, especially after bowel movements - May indicate several things such as unfavourable pH, yeast/fungus, or, most likely, parasites present.
Exercise wipes me out for days - Common with adrenal exhaustion and immune suppression - possibly suggestive of heavy metals.
lack of sex drive - So many possibilities but mercury can disrupt libido because it disrupts endocine function and thus hormonal levels.
irritability - Possibly heavy metals. yeast/fungus
Either freckles or liver spots(they appeared all of the sudden, unusual considering my skin is more dark than light) - Liver congestion...
Im a night person if that means anything - May have any of a wide number of causes but can be correlated with, for example, heavy metals. Incidentally, do you urinate frequently at night?
Uncontrollable hunger, seems like the emptier my bowels are the more I want to eat; inability to satiate - Unsurprising if you're suffering from chronic malabsorption, because your body isn't going to receive the nutrients it needs.
Dizziness especially when standing after sitting - Low blood pressure and/or may accompany adrenal exhaustion
Sometimes I will seem to have white flakes on my tongue - Yeast/fungal issues possible
Immune system seems weak, seem to get alot of fevers out of nowhere - OH yes...I was going to discuss this anyway and you've mentioned it yourself - I'll discuss it lower down.
Stools dont float and dont have a particularly foul odor - general bowel dysbiosis, and possibly occasional constipation due to dysbiosis and poor bile flow (bile stimulates bowel peristalsis).
...none of my stools are thicker than a nickle - Since you have no impactions, perhaps this may be due to severe inflammation of the bowel?
Sugar rushes/binges that have led to mood swings, however, I dont get
Sugar cravings... a bit too ambiguous for me to make any suggestions
I'm glad you've experienced some success with
Liver Flushing but I don't anticipate that
Liver Flushing alone will be sufficient to restore your health.
Above, I've offered brief suggestions in relation to each of your stated symptoms (thankyou for being so thorough in your list). My suggestions are nowhere near exhaustive, HOWEVER, they do offer a potential picture...
there are some possible common themes:
Adrenal exhaustion
Thyroid less than optimal
Possible endocrine dysfunction (testes, pancreas etc. (yes, I am aware pancreas functions variously as endocrine AND as exocrine))
Yeast/Fungal issues
Intestinal/hepatic parasites
Chronic systemic inflammation
Dysbiosis
Liver congestion/dysfunction
Again, these are only SOME possibilities - there are others which I have not presented in this post.
Looking at these possible themes, can any connections be drawn between them?
Well, potentially, YES.
I've listed adrenals and thyroid seperately from testes and pancreas but the truth is, they're all interrelated. What one thing could disrupt the correct functioning of all these glands/organs?
Yeast/fungal issues are not generally a problem for the human body provided the immune system is functioning correctly. However, in a patient whose body is unable to keep them down to negligible levels, one needs to ask "why?". One also needs to recognise that pathogens such as yeast/fungus often get out of hand in PARALLEL with pathogens such as intestinal parasites getting out of hand. The COMMON FACTOR is weakened (or suppressed) immunity. Whilst it is possible for one to be exposed to such high levels of infection that the immune system becomes literally 'overwhelmed', this is less common in the Western world than is a more gernalised onslaught of toxicity which cummulatively leads to compromised immunity, FOLLOWING which, various pathogens find themselves able to capitalise upon the lack of resistance to their spread within the human body. There is ONE TOXIN IN PARTICULAR which is devastatingly capable of suppressing immunity. What one thing could this be?
The development of chronic, systemic inflammation can be a cummulative process, owing to many of the individual factors discussed in the 'symtpoms' section of this post. However, there is, yet again, one particular thing which is particularly able to instigate a state of wholesale systemic inflammation, rather than cell-based immunity. What one thing could that be?
The development of Liver dysfunction, too, can be a cummulative process, or it can be overwhelmed by some particularly toxic thing or things. However, in terms of correlating what particular possibility it might be, in light of all the above discussion, one finds that although there are, admittedly, a myriad of possible contributory factors to each and every one of the multiplicity of symptoms you have described...
...There is one thing in particular which can lead to virtually EVERY SINGLE ONE of the symptoms discussed here. It can disrupt the functioning of each element of the entire endocrine system, can lead to systemic inflammation, can disrupt neurological and visual function, hepatic function, and can powerfully suppress immunity (thus allowing pathogens such as yeast and parasites to flourish).
MERCURY. (and, to a lesser extent, other heavy metals, too, which may act in combination with each other).
Eric 11, therefore, guessed well, in my opinion. I know what I know about heavy metals on account of having mercury issues myself and having had to research for myself, since the medical profession tends to dismiss mercury-intoxication as a viable possibility, even though it undoubtedly is.
Now, my hypothesis that you, too, may be suffering from heavy metal intoxication, may be incorrect, of course, but it's HIGHLY plausible since it correlates so comprehensively with your numerous symptoms. Consequently, I encourage you to investigate this possiblity. The good news is that it's relatively cheap to get tested (but you will need to purchase one or two books in order to understand the surrounding issues more thoroughly, in order to correctly interpret the results - which requires a very specific method, and in order to avoid harming yourself with inappropriate healing protocols, in the event of you establishing that you do, indeed, have heavy metal intoxication). UNTIL you've got yourself tested, I strongly advise you to AVOID consuming various antiparasitic susbtances etc. because these are relatively toxic to the liver and if the liver is compromised by mercury, such substances may do you more harm than good (mercury is able to incapacitate many of the enzyme-based detoxification pathways of the liver, which is one reason why, for example, a person who becomes mercury-intoxicated may find they also become intolerant of certain classes of foods which share one or more chemicals in common - e.g. salicylates, tryptophan, tyramine etc.). I will just briefly warn you to ABSOLUTELY avoid consuming any of the 'natural' chelation products such as NDF, cilantro (corriander), chlorella, garlic etc. PLEASE trust me on this. You'd also be wise to take it easy on the
Epsom Salts . To stimulate bowel movements, you could try encouraging bile flow with safe substances such as milk thistle, taurine, glycine, lecithin etc. This takes persistence and is unlikely to bring results quickly. It may take several weeks or even months but it almost certainly will bring results if you are patient and persistent, and you'll be very glad you were if/when it does, just as I was.
If you find you actually do have mercury intoxication, then this will need to be dealt with before you'll have any hope of lastingly solving your yeast/parasite/inflammation issues, since it will be the lynchpin around which they all revolve.
For advice on how to proceed with testing etc., rather than re-typing a recent post of mine, here on Curezone, I'll simply link you to it:
//www.curezone.org/forums/fm.asp?i=1830143#i
Sorry this has been such a long reply, but I hope I've been of at least some help.
Good luck and BE CAREFUL with mercury, it's very dangerous stuff and must be treated with the UTMOST respect!
If you get tested and find heavy metals are NOT an issue for you (very unlikely!), then please repost here and myself or others will be sure to offer you whatever further help we reasonably can.