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Oregano OIl and damage to the intestinal tract. Help!

Messages
88
Location
Oxfordshire, UK
Not Herxheimer, liver troubles - manifesting with pale stools, bloating, ammonia "in the brain" symptoms, tingling, skin creeping, nausea, swollen liver, insomnia, gastric distress, tinnitus, blocked sensation in ears, hyper sensitivity to other supplements, intolerance to alcohol - but not missing it -, began reacting to water and have only found one source I can drink.........Will stop as will bore you all!!!

Oregano spice(herb) is much milder than the oil - whatever you do, don't take 1/2 a bottle of oil, please. It is know to be liver toxic - but I didn't know before I took it. I always seem to learn the hard way......

I have had some severe reactions to drugs that I too would never touch again - that's pretty much how I ended up ill for the last 4 years - so would identify with your friend. One drug was an anti-hypertensive(incorrectly prescribed as I didn't have high blood pressure ) that caused me to have angina and another one, again, incorrectly prescribed) resulted in a heart valve problem. So those medications caused heart problems that I didn't have until then.

Love garlic but am careful with amounts as am CBS homo for one of the SNPS and have been lowering high sulphur.

Bodies are so complicated!

Mels
 

Sherlock

Boswellia for lungs and MC stabllizing
Messages
1,287
Location
k8518704 USA
as I have candida and parasite issues but dare not take any anti-microbials
I'm curious if you've tried changing gut pH, as e.g. with sodium bicarbonate? (I understand you maybe can't do that right now.)

Bicarb has seemed to help me against candida (or some bacteria that acts like candida).
 
Messages
88
Location
Oxfordshire, UK
Thanks Sherlock, interesting comment.Just typed a long reply and lost it to the ether world so sorry if this is the second reply!!

I actually have low stomach acid which I am sure is a lot to do with my bust gut. So have been supplementing with hydrochloric acid at meals with better digestion but it does sting my gastritis spots- gastritis caused by low stomach acid! However, I am pretty sure that for the last 4 months I have also been battling acidosis .

At times my urine is v acidic and at those times- only just begun to work this out so excuse my layman' speak- I have weird aches in joints and bones, and odd tingling body wide sensations not to mention a sort of overwhelmed feeling worse than the usual daily state .

Have found that bicarbs lower the acid and when am more alkaline the pains are much reduced and I am also more perky. So am experimenting with taking a bit of bicarb sometime after eating so as not to lower stomach acid too much! Further complicating this is that I am pretty low in potassium but when I have potassium deficiency signs - mostly heart palps and knackeredness more extreme than usual - at same time as acidosis if I take potassium gluconate the acidosis gets worse. I have read some where that acidosis causes high potassium in serum so don't know if it is due to that or does the gluconate push me into an even more acidic state? Am going to order potassium bicarb to see if I can kill 2 birds with one stone. It is all so complicated!

Also, am struggling to find a magnesium form that works for me as I don't want to take one that creates more acid. Seem to tolerate oxide but I know it is not well absorbed- most of it seems to get flushed down the loo, not wishing to be too graphic! Can't take citrate form as have high citric acid already......frustrating as I am pretty sure that having a good mg source would help reduce acidosis. Have ordered threonate and mg carbonate so will experiment with those. Wondering if I should start a new thread with this acidosis stuff as it could attract wider attention and may be helpful for more people.......?

Onwards I search!

Mels
 

Sherlock

Boswellia for lungs and MC stabllizing
Messages
1,287
Location
k8518704 USA
At times my urine is v acidic and at those times- only just begun to work this out so excuse my layman' speak- I have weird aches in joints and bones
The same for me, so I usually take K citrate before bed - the acidity strongly tends to wake me up because of nocturia. Also, anti-inflammatories help to reduce urine output for me. Any inflammation makes my joints worse (probably mast cells acting up). I have always been too acidic even pre-CFS.

I have read some where that acidosis causes high potassium in serum
In ERs, they used to give sodium bicarbonate for hyperkalemia, bevcause it shifts K into cells.

Am going to order potassium bicarb to see if I can kill 2 birds with one stone.
Me, too - by the pound as a brewers' ingredient. Btw, @Sherpa just had a problem with too much K bicarb.

I am pretty sure that having a good mg source would help reduce acidosis.
@Gondwanaland says she eliminated acidity with Mg.

Wondering if I should start a new thread with this acidosis stuff as it could attract wider attention and may be helpful for more people.......?
There is this (very long) thread which you might be interested in. It wanders a lot, though :) http://forums.phoenixrising.me/inde...da-sam-e-catalase-no-pem-after-exercise.34446

Neurochemist Steve Fowkes showed up, too, for a brief while. He says that he thinks acidity promotes auto-immunity but didn't elaborate. We also talked about alkalizing foods and residual ash.

Yep, everything is too complicated and often fruitless. That's why I now mostly listen to anecdotes, serendipity and self-perception. Good luck, Mels. :)
 

picante

Senior Member
Messages
829
Location
Helena, MT USA
As you've noticed, oil of oregano does a lot more than kill yeast. I haven't taken it orally at all -- too many dire warnings out there, like yours! :eek:

I did start using it topically a couple of years ago -- diluted with more oil (olive or grapeseed, I think). For arthritis. Now I've just found out that it's used for chronic Epstein-Barr, which I also have.

That makes me wonder if some of my symptoms are actually EBV die-off. And whether oil of oregano would tend to raise EBV antibodies -- mine are in the stratosphere.
 

Gondwanaland

Senior Member
Messages
5,094
@Gondwanaland says she eliminated acidity with Mg.
I am sorry I missed this earlier. Yes, I diagnosed myself as being in a "pre-acidosis" state.

Symptoms:
  • muscle cramps
  • salicylate intolerance
  • anxiety and breathlessness
  • insomnia (poor adrenal health?)
  • frequent, high volume urination
  • "glass shatters" between the toe bones (high uric acid?)
  • urine pH of 4.5 in the evening

The recovery:
  • Oral magnesium oxide up to 600mg daily for about 5 weeks (any other form of magnesium I tried made me worse - Epsom salts, Mg glycinate, aspartate and citrate)
  • Transdermal sodium bicarbonate in foot baths, full baths and shower scrubs
  • Saccharomyces boulardii
 
Messages
1
Hi Janet (Original Poster) and others, I was wondering if you had found any relief from the damage caused to you gut/gastrointestinal tract from the oregano oil. Have you gotten better? How long did it take? Any gut healing?

I too faced and am facing similar negative effects from oregano oil softgels. I believe, though I can't be sure, the oregano oil has caused some harm - I'm having a tough time eating anything! Even a small amount of the oil (I took 1 softgel/day for less than 2 weeks before stopping) really has caused some gastric distress. I had a weak stomach so I really thought they could help (since online reviews praised the pills for their gut effects, energy, Candida effects, SIBO effects, etc. and I thought a natural product wouldn't hurt).

My symptoms included intense abdominal pain right below the sternum, increased burping, flatulence & gas, nausea, dry eyes. As I got these I decided to stop the oil of oregano pills, but the symptoms continued and eventually I got chills too. Beyond a chicken soup, there's very little I can eat now without gas and pain and it's been 2 weeks since stopping.

Would love to hear more from your side.
 

prioris

Senior Member
Messages
622
I've taken oregano oil p73 extra strength at high dosage. I didn't have any overt adverse affects.

I did look at that oil closely and found that it is the thymol minor part which is the toxic part to the liver. They do try to minimize that part. They said do not take it for more than 3 weeks twice a day. I think their recommendations are just being very conservative. I was more concerned about what it would do to gut since it doesn't distinguish between good and bad microbes in gut.

I consider oregano oil p73 my top natural antibiotic along with liposomal vitamin C and premium garlic supplement for more serious things. I use Epicor to keep colds and flu's away which I haven't had any in last 5+ years of taking it. I wouldn't touch an antibiotic even in life or death situation unless I had no other options. I have my options.
 

CedarHome

Senior Member
Messages
131
Yikes. Oregano ADP is next on my list to try (as per ND.) Did anyone else have a tolerable to positive experience with it?

I am definitely going to start slow & infrequent!
 
Last edited:

ljimbo423

Senior Member
Messages
4,705
Location
United States, New Hampshire
Yikes. Oregano ADP is next on my list to try (as per ND.) Did anyone else have a tolerable to positive experience with it?

I am definitely going to start slow & infrequent!

I have been taking oil of oregano for over a year and a half. I have only good things to say about how it has helped me.

For anyone starting out though, I would start with a very, very low dose to avoid a strong immune system reaction, from the lipolysaccharides that the bacteria in the gut release when they are killed off.