Fixing Leaky Gut Helps ME/CFS, and Sometimes Achieves Full Remission

[ljimbo423]

may I ask how you treated your gut? sorry you may have mentioned it but my fog is very bad. aside from antibiotics, rifaximin, diet?

I wish I had the money to do multiple fecal transplants. it would probably work only for a while but still...
xo

Antibiotic herbs, low starch diet, probiotics and supplements to support mitochondria. After about 6 months, I slowly started to add in prebiotics, to feed and increase the amount of good bacteria in my gut.

I've learned that the bacterial die-off from the gut, impairs my mitochondria, causing a worsening of symptoms and flu-like flares. So I do a lot to protect my mito's.

I wish I had the money to do multiple fecal transplants. it would probably work only for a while but still...

Fecal transplants, I think are the fastest way to get rid of dysbiosis and leaky gut. Like you say though, they often don't last and multiple transplants are needed and that could get very expensive.

I think they would work for most people, with the right preparation and maybe a low starch diet. I think it would still often take multiple transplants for one to last.

 

[calexis6666]

A leaky gut regimen that I derived benefits from is:

Leaky Gut Protocol
Saccharomyces boulardii (Jarrow) x 2 capsules
Grape seed extract 200 mg
Zinc carnosine 75 mg
Vitamin E 400 IU
N-acetyl-glucosamine 500 mg
Triphala 1500 mg
Glutamine powder 1 heaped tsp (6 grams)
Slippery elm bark 1000 mg
Zinc 20 mg

I took all these twice daily.

When I do this protocol again, I will add colostrum to my regimen. Sports scientist Neil Wootten says in this article that he finds the swiftest approach to curing intestinal hyperpermeability is the use of colostrum. A good dose of colostrum powder is one or two heaped teaspoons a day (= 5 to 10 grams). Athletes actually use doses as high as 60 grams daily. You can buy colostrum much more cheaply as a bulk powder — see the bulk powder supplement websites listed below.

Note that Triphala is a mix of three herbs:
Amla/Indian gooseberry (Emblica officinalis), Haritaki (Terminalia chebula), and Bibhitaki (Terminalia bellirica). It would seem that Amla is the most effective for leaky gut. Ref: 1.

It is also a good idea to remove chloramines from your tap drinking water. Chloramine is a disinfectant put in tap water (in about one-fifth of the country) in addition to chlorine. Chloramine compromises tight junction function and may lead to leaky gut. Ref: here. Details on how to remove chloramines from drinking water are given here.


Tip for Obtaining Supplements More Cheaply:
You can often buy supplements perhaps 10 times cheaper (90% off) if you search online for bulk powder sellers. Bulk powder sellers offer vitamins, herbs, and many other supplements in bags, pouches, or large tubs (in weights typically ranging from 100 grams to 1 kilogram). Some bulk powder suppliers include:

US purebulk.com, www.bulksupplements.com, www.nutraplanet.com
UK www.myprotein.com, www.bulkpowders.co.uk
AU www.bulkpowders.com.au

EBay is also often a good place to search for bulk powers.

From the above supplement list, I have been able to buy: grape seed extract, glutamine, slippery elm bark, zinc, and triphala herb as bulk powers.

Buying all these at often around 90% discount I find is well worth it.

If you are Google searching for bulk powder sellers for a particular supplement, just put the phrase: powder OR bulk in your Google search, and this will usually find what you are looking for.

Did you balance all the l glutamine with a glutamate antagnosist? I have such bad head pressure I'm afraid to take all that l glutamine but I can't tolerate the NAG nor any herbs. Would taking GABA help? I don't want to take prescriptions right now. Thanks

 

[Hip]

Did you balance all the l glutamine with a glutamate antagnosist?

I don't myself get any stimulating effects from high doses of L-glutamine, even if I take two heaped teaspoons. If anything, I find L-glutamine slightly calming. I know that some people have major problems though even with tiny doses of L-glutamine.

 

[knackers323]

@ljimbo423 thanks.
Do you feel better when you don't eat or follow a certain diet?
If you follow a certain diet, how often do you waiver from it?

 

[Daffodil]

@ljimbo423 thanks. i once saw a local doctor who told me that a few of his fibro patients got well after changing their diets completely. he wanted me to eat root veggies and if i recall, not much else lol. maybe meat i am not sure. but no green leafy things. i thought he was crazy and i walked out upset......

i think dr. barody, the fecal tx guru in australia, does 10 in a row.

xo

 

[ljimbo423]

@ljimbo423 thanks.
Do you feel better when you don't eat or follow a certain diet?
If you follow a certain diet, how often do you waiver from it?

I don't feel better when I don't eat. I do feel better when I follow a low starch diet.

A couple of years ago I was on a very low carb/keto diet and ketosis made me sick. So I thought my gut wasn't the answer and went back to eating normally, about 200-250 grams of carbs a day.

Within 2 weeks I was so sick, I had become bedridden again and I hadn't been bedridden for several years!! I went back to a low starch diet and within a week or so, I was no longer bedridden!

The only starches I usually eat are white potatoes and white rice, in small amounts, because they digest fast. I have become a little less strict with my diet in the last few months though.

I had stuffing for thanksgiving and the other day for xmas. I do stay with the diet about 90% of the time.

 

[MeSci]

I decided to try beetroot again. Mistake. Fuzzy head, loose, unhealthy-looking bowel movements, etc.

Feel much better just a day after quitting.

 

[Margaret63]

Has anyone here experienced improvement on a leaky gut diet? How much In terms of function? How long did it take? Recently diagnosed, CFS. Looking for some hope. Kind of limping along.

I find the array of supplements overwhelming, When to take them confusing, and many upset my stomach (Pepzin, for example, and Curcumi). Even so, I suspect that I’ve spiraled down into CFS, in part due to life long gut sensitivity & abuse and over reactive immune system.

if I accidentally replicate the original post, I’m very sorry. I can’t seem to select and paste on my iPad.

 

[Rufous McKinney]

I find the array of supplements overwhelming, When to take them confusing, and many upset my stomach

I lose all patience with supplements...I don't like to swallow pills, if there are more than 10, I lose interest real fast...I notice I will just decide to take NOTHING 1/2 the time.

My gut is doing alot better. I do low carb and low sugar and mostly cooked food for my digestion. Raw foods don't do well here, cooked root vegetables including the potato the body responds really well to that regime. I've been eating a bit of this raw saurcraut every day and a bit of Probiotic cottage cheese....things seem pretty good at the moment. And I've eatten some carbs without feeling punished.

 

[Margaret63]

I lose all patience with supplements...I don't like to swallow pills, if there are more than 10, I lose interest real fast...”

Hi Rufous. Thanks. I so know what you mean about losing interest (I have ADD), even while I suspect that some can really help. I’m so decimated after work, and I’m scared of not being able to work, that I’m going to *try* to develop a supplement regime. I am FOR Saukraut. Sometimes I wrap it in turkey deli slices. I’d never heard of probiotic cottage cheese (which I like) good idea.

 

[Rufous McKinney]

I am FOR Saukraut. Sometimes I wrap it in turkey deli slices. I’d never heard of probiotic cottage cheese (which I like) good idea.

Since I eat mostly cooked food: I need some food-based probiotics and I am rather avoidig taking probiotic pills, for the moment. I take them occassionally. Fermented pickels exist someplace. I probably don't like kim chi.

 

[Henrik]

I'm curious, how many people in this thread tried going Carnivore? For me it has eliminated almost all of my issues with SIBO and IBS. I know it's a diet not everyone is capable of adhering to, but some of us has seen fantastic changes.

I went through an evolution of diets where I went Vegan-> Paleo -> Paleo AIP -> Paleo AIP + (no) FODMAP and finally Carnivore. I also saw 6 different GI doctors, tried every supplement on the market and flew to the UK and did fecal transplants. But I still resisted going Carnivore because of the old "I love food and I can't give up x". However my health was getting bad enough to where I was willing to try anything and it has turned out to completely change my life.

I realize that for people with mild CFS or mild IBS it might not be worth it, but if you got severe health issues at least try it for 30 days and see how it works out. I know it's tough, but I think for some of us we have to realize that food is no longer about enjoyment, there can be no cheat days and food is solely about what is ideal for our gut. Having said that I will take health over mouth pleasure any day and I wish I had gone Carnivore earlier

 

[ebethc]

@Henrik

is carnivore literally meat-only? do you drink coffee ?

how long have you been doing this? do you take any digestive supplements? meat can be hard to digest... and it sounds very constipating...

are you going to try adding veggies back in at some point?

 

[Strawberry]

I realize that for people with mild CFS or mild IBS it might not be worth it,

Just having mild CFS and IBS apparently doesn't mean anything. I thought I healed my stomach a decade ago. But Dr K told me my hydrogen levels were off the charts from my recent SIBO test. So I'm about to start rifaxamin etc soon........

 

[ellie84]

I never tried a carnivore diet, but I can tell you that meat is the only food I still tolerate perfectly. Through the years I stopped tolerating all the other foods. I still eat selected ones I can tolerate better, but they give me all kind of issues. I guess I would get better too on a carnivore diet. But I don't think I could do it, it requires too much self discipline which I don't have (although I have always loved meat and when I was little it was all I wanted to eat: meat and salt ).

 

[ebethc]

I never tried a carnivore diet, but I can tell you that meat is the only food I still tolerate perfectly. Through the years I stopped tolerating all the other foods. I still eat selected ones I can tolerate better, but they give me all kind of issues. I guess I would get better too on a carnivore diet. But I don't think I could do it, it requires too much self discipline which I don't have (although I have always loved meat and when I was little it was all I wanted to eat: meat and salt ).

do you have to take any supplements (eg betaine hcl) to digest meat?

 

[ebethc]

But Dr K told me my hydrogen levels were off the charts from my recent SIBO test. So I'm about to start rifaxamin etc soon........

is hydrogen SIBO diarrhea predominant and methane SIBO constipation dominant? Or, is that too simplistic?

 

[Strawberry]

Good question. He said something about methane, but I thought he said the high hydrogen meant I had methane? I get so confused by all this stuff... I don't get constipation, while I do get diarrhea a few times per month.

 

[ebethc]

@Strawberry

does Kaufman put a lot of emphasis on understanding gut problems? the last time I looked into him, he was not, which I thought was weird

 

[Strawberry]

He does. This was the 2nd time he had me do the SIBO test, the 1st one about 3 years ago was "lost" somehow. He also said last week that he has changed his tactics due to past failures with people, so at least he is dropping what doesn't work, and adding what does.