Re: LONG READ Awful life with stomach issues.

Hi Chris,

I used to be in a very similar position to you and shared a lot of your symptoms. I tried every supplement that I thought would help and nothing improved, I even got worse (raw food, high fruit - terrible for gut dysbiosis and adrenal fatigue) until I got the right tests done, This was something neither conventional medicine GP's nor Naturopaths could offer me, only until I saw an Integrative GP.

Before testing I wasted tens of thousands of dollars on supplements that did not affect me because my gut had such little capacity to absorb or cope with anything. I was essentially shooting in the dark and compromising my health even more along the way.I did alot of herbal parasite cleanses. It was a waste, as I found out much later, I didn't even have parasites! My problem was bacteria, not bugs.

I had a Faecal Microbial analysis and parasite test done from Bioscreen, an Australian company. My gut bacteria ratios were severely messed up. Within 2 days of starting a month long protocol prescribed by my Integrative GP, which included changing my diet and taking a specific targeted Antibiotic and 3 type of probiotics, my lifelong OCD and anxiety completely ceased. Nothing, nada. I couldn't believe it. The silence in my head for a change was unnerving.

I was encouraged by a friend to do a write up of my journey on these forums, feel free to read it if you want the nitty gritty details. I should have it up in a day or too.

I found my practitioner through biobalance, an australian website (did not let me post the link, add .org). If none of these locations are near you look for practitioners like Integrative Gp's and Function Medicine Practitioners. Often the good gut healing ones cross over with a protocol called Pfeiffer Protocol, something that is explained in the book Nutrient Power by William J Walsh.

If you are in the states a company called Doctors Data does a microbiology profile. Looks not as comprehensive as Bioscreen but is definitely the closest thing. Add a proper parasite test, one with 3 x 2 sample containers - one with chemical fixative and one without. A lot of parasites degenerate without fixatives and don't show up on tests. This happened to my partner, who came up with nothing on many single tests dished out by the regular GP's, but showed 3 on the comprehensive test.

The specific carbohydrate diet would be worth looking into, it's the only eating plan that made a difference for me.

Other than that, good luck with your healing journey.
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