Think I've cured Fructose Malabsorption

[Athene]

My fructose malabsorption was diagnosed by KDM as being medium-severe. I could not eat any fruit at all, and had to ration most vegetables too, to avoid lots of pain, extreme bloating and gas.

I've been taking these supps for the last 5 months:

Jarrow N Acetyl Glucosamine 750mg (blurb says N-A-G combines with mucin secreted from goblet cells to form the glycocalyx, a protective layer of glycoproteins and polysaccharides that lines the digestive tract.)

Jarrow Glucosamine HCI Mega 1000mg (Glucosamine is an aminosaccharide synthesized from glucose and the amino acid L-glutamine. HCl (hydrochloric acid) stabilizes the glucosamine in this product. Glucosamine is a component of joint and intestinal tissue. Glucosamine is converted to N-acetyl-glucosamine in the intestines by the goblet cells.)

(one a day of each)

I believe they work by healing the cells lining the intestine that produce GLUT-5.

I decided to try them as I was getting desperate to help my poor innards with anything I could. After 3 weeks I tested some fruit (actually I got a cold and the fruit cravings overcame me) and now I can get away with eating 2 apples in one go, or drinking a whole glass of fresh squeezed orange juice. I even ate a slice of toast a honey.
After the first packs ran out I went back to having full scale fructose problems within 3 weeks, so this is not a one-off cure, I need it as an ongoing thing. But it is wonderful to be able to eat all those healthy things that I had to avoid.

 

[Shellbell]

Athene, does it help with any of your CFS symptoms? When my gut feels better, I feel better overall. My nervous system is much calmer, I have more energy, less joint pain, and I am less sensitive to supplements and foods. I was doing better as of last December, but I was unknowingly exposed to a chemical that brought me down again. I have had the worse digestive pain since and my symptoms and sensitivities have greatly worsen again. If I could just heal my gut I know I would get better overall. Are you sensitive to supplements in general? Do you think this would help that? Thanks!

 

[Athene]

Hi,
I am having less pain and less bloating generally in my intestine. I haven't noticed any of the other overall improvements you mentioned.

I am extremely sensitive to many (I'd say nearly all) herbal treatments and I haven't tested any new or old ones since taking this stuff, so I could not say if it has improved that. My general sensitivity to chemicals (perfumes, cleaning products etc) has improved a bit but I don't know if that is connected. I hadn't thought about it being related to these supplements. But yes, it has definitely improved. The only nutritional supplement I've had bad reaction to was folinic acid and that has not changed.

I'm afraid my conclusion has to be, I don't know! But if gut healing is what you're aiming for, I am certain this will help.

The other thing I started taking about 9 months ago was high dose Jarrow niainamide (the non flush version of vit B3) which apparently I had a deficiency in. That has made my gut heal a lot too, it was another important discovery for me. I ignored B3 for ages because I was taking a moderate dose, I didn't realise increasing the dose could make a big difference. So anyway, that's another one you might want to investigate, or try out.

 

[Gavman]

Very nice. Has it helped with other sensitivities or foods, Athena?

 

[Athene]

Hi Gavman,

I used to be extremely allergic (for years) to yeast and now I can get away with eating gluten free bread and yeasty biscuits with no problem.
I don't want to make unsubstantiated claims for this stuff, I don't know for sure if it is connected, but I suppose it's a but of a coincidence to suddenly be able to eat yeast after 28 years of being allergic/intolerant to it. (the blood tests resulted in "mild" allergy but the symptoms were very severe pain and diarrhoea so I suspect it was part allergy and part intolerance of some kind).

I am still avoiding gluten generally but I did go nuts and have about four biscuits several days aog and nothing happened at all, no spaciness and no headache later and no tummy upset at all. So maybe I should do a proper gluten trial and also dairy trial.
My other major problem is anything with sulphur compounds in it, mainly sulphur preservatives, and to a lesser extent sulphur rich foods like cruciferous veg. I need to get up the courage to test those too (and probably secure permission from Mr. Athene too, since the effect they have causes as much suffering to his nose as it does to my derriere.)

I've had a lot of severe intolerances for such a long time that I really am scared of testing things. It took a lot of courage to try out yeast.
Anyway, I'll report on any other tests I do!

 

[Shellbell]

Hi Athene,

I noticed you posted about your adrenals are working better. I wonder if this has helped your sensitivities too? Congrats by the way! This is great news!

 

[Athene]

Hi Shellbell,
Thanks for your message!
The book about adrenal fatigue doesn't mention anything abut intolerances, so I am not convinced it is conected. The only thing he does mention is that having proper amounts of cortisol makes you detox a lot more, adn that is definitely true for me.
Anyway, it's all progress and good news!

 

[globalpilot]

Excellent. Thanks for posting your experience. I've ordered the 2 products and am going to add them to my reportoire. I've been spending a lot of time on "biofilm protocals" which breaks down the barrier so it makes sense to take measures to build it back up.

 

[Athene]

Excellent. Thanks for posting your experience. I've ordered the 2 products and am going to add them to my reportoire. I've been spending a lot of time on "biofilm protocals" which breaks down the barrier so it makes sense to take measures to build it back up.

I hope it helps! Let us know how you get on.

 

[globalpilot]

Athene,
Just wondering if you have any thoughts on what is causing the damage to the intestinal cells in the first place ?

GP

 

[Athene]

Athene,
Just wondering if you have any thoughts on what is causing the damage to the intestinal cells in the first place ?

GP

I think it has to be infection.
I know I have a lot of types of harmful bacteria living in there, and also candida albicans.
Fructose malabsorption is usually accompanied by overgrowth of various hydrogen-producing bacteria, which ferment the unabsorbed fructose into hydrogen and other gases too, so it seems plausible that they are causing the damage in the first place.
This would also explain why I need to take this stuff on an ongoing basis - whatever causes the damage is still there doing ongoing harm, and so the repair job needs to be a continuous thing too.

 

[globalpilot]

I think so too. What I'm puzzling over is whether it's possible to have an issue with bacterial/candida biofilm while at the same time lacking the normal glycocalyx that the NAG helps to rebuild. I've spent a lot of time working on biofilm w/o improvement so maybe barking up the wrong tree with that.

Here is a good study on the use of NAG in crohns and UC. Note it says that the production of NAG is not upregulated during the time it is being destructed.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1046/j.1365-2036.2000.00883.x/full

I think it has to be infection.
I know I have a lot of types of harmful bacteria living in there, and also candida albicans.
Fructose malabsorption is usually accompanied by overgrowth of various hydrogen-producing bacteria, which ferment the unabsorbed fructose into hydrogen and other gases too, so it seems plausible that they are causing the damage in the first place.
This would also explain why I need to take this stuff on an ongoing basis - whatever causes the damage is still there doing ongoing harm, and so the repair job needs to be a continuous thing too.

 

[Athene]

Very interesting article.

I tried biofilm treatment briefly, but had to abandon it because I got a kind of toxic explosion, I felt too bad to continue. I am still not sure if it was a release of bacteria in the biofilm, or adverse reaction to the enzymes themselves - but I suspect the latter. I am still not 100 percent convinced about all this biofilm business. It is still only a theory, not proven. Not that I know anything of course. Just my gut (ho ho) tells me to be sceptical.

 

[amybacks]

Glad I came across this thread. I have family members with Fructose Malabsorption and I too find that avoiding various fruits and vegetables can be really tough. Many people I know with FM are also often coeliac/gluten sensitive but I'll have to share this info with them and see if I can get a hold of the two products you mentioned at the start of this forum. Have you heard of a product consisting of natural materials that has been successful at treating people with gluten issues? I recently heard about it online in a video and here's a post on it!

Maybe with the combination of these products (plus the one-time treatment for celiac I mentioned above) may be the answer! I'd love to hear your thoughts.

 

[Athene]

Hello Amybacks,
I looked at the post you linked to, and dug down till I found the active ingredients of this product - it's two homeopathic remedies apparently long used for digestive disorders, plus a few vitamins. That made me a bit sceptical because they were not at all up front about that, and also because the price seems a bit cheeky knowing that! Of course that doesn't mean it doesn't work. I might try out the homeopathic ingredients anyway - I'm already taking nearly all teh nutrients anyway.

My doctor just told me that gluten and dairy allergy is common in people (epecially children) with chronic infections.
I supose that fits my theory that bad bacteria in the gut are causing all these problems. I wonder specifically which ones?

Globalpilot,
I have to eat my words abot the biofilms!
I've just had an appointment with my doctor and he said it has been absolutely proven that biofilms exist, and that Acetyl cysteine helps break them down. He said the use of ezymes is still at the experimental level and has not been definitively proven, but that Acetyl cysteine has - he said you need 300mg twice a day for this purpose. He said there is research showing that biofilms impede the action of antibiotics in many infections and he thinks deling with bioflms will become a major aspect of curing infectious illnesses as we learn more about them.

I did a dairy trial yesterday, egged on by several people who kept asking me if I had gained tolerance of other foods. I ate a whole pot of yoghurt and so far I am fine. I've had a tiny bit of tummy cramps, but I get those sometimes anyway so it's no proof of "dairy action". The main thing will be to see if I get a headache. So far, it's looking good!

 

[globalpilot]

Thanks for sharing about the biofilms Athene. I had decided to go ahead even though I had my doubts with the biofilm protocal. I do take digestive enzymes, followed with fiber iwth lemon mixed in. I do this every other week, allowing my gut to heal the alternate week. I had mixed feelings about biofilm BUT I do know 3 people who were helped tremendously with a similar protocal. In all 3 cases, it was the turning point in them regaining their health.

Also, I think the glucosamine HCL is really helping me. I still have bloating but it seems lower if that makes sense and my burping is really reduced. Unfortunately my n acetyl glucosamine didn't arrive before I left for overseas but I'll be adding that in at the end of this month.

I had heard that about the NAC breaking down the biofilm (and also the gut 's normal biofilm but hopefully the glucosamine will help there). The laxative PEG is also supposed to break down biofilm according to Art Ayers, owner of the 'cooling inflammation' blog although there may be some risks.

Congratulations on the yoghurt. I think I may give that a try as well.

 

[Athene]

I'm really glad to hear the glucosamine HCI is helping you, Globalpilot. It sounds as if it is having exactly the same effect for you as it had for me. I think you'll find another improvement when you can add the other one: For me it makes a real difference having both.

I would wait till you've had them both for a few weeks before testing yoghurt, I think that would mean your intestine is as healed as it can get. I had more yoghurt yesterday and it went fine. I still feel hesitant about having it freely after avoiding it so religiously for several years. I need to get used to being able to eat it!

Do you know the best websites about biofilms? The stuff I read by Amy Yasko, when it was very new, is probably all out of date now.

 

[globalpilot]

I'm really happy too. It's another real step up.

I really like Art Ayers views on biofilm and treatment. http://coolinginflammation.blogspot.com/search/label/biofilm
He has several articles on biofilm. I especially like the one called 'cure for inflammatory diseases'. The comments also contain lots of good information (by him, I didnt' read the other posters comments).

I think you're right on waiting on the yoghurt. I was just thinking I will hae another leaky gut test doen first. I'd hate for all those little bacteria to get into my bloodstream and cause an immune reaction.

 

[sensing progress]

The book about adrenal fatigue doesn't mention anything abut intolerances, so I am not convinced it is conected. The only thing he does mention is that having proper amounts of cortisol makes you detox a lot more, adn that is definitely true for me.

Hi Athene, what's this about cortisol making you detox a lot more? Never heard of that. Are you taking cortisol/cortef?

Btw, thanks for your initial post, I'm excited to try those supplements myself.

 

[sensing progress]

My fructose malabsorption was diagnosed by KDM as being medium-severe. I could not eat any fruit at all, and had to ration most vegetables too, to avoid lots of pain, extreme bloating and gas.

I've been taking these supps for the last 5 months:

Jarrow N Acetyl Glucosamine 750mg (blurb says N-A-G combines with mucin secreted from goblet cells to form the glycocalyx, a protective layer of glycoproteins and polysaccharides that lines the digestive tract.)

Jarrow Glucosamine HCI Mega 1000mg (Glucosamine is an aminosaccharide synthesized from glucose and the amino acid L-glutamine. HCl (hydrochloric acid) stabilizes the glucosamine in this product. Glucosamine is a component of joint and intestinal tissue. Glucosamine is converted to N-acetyl-glucosamine in the intestines by the goblet cells.)

(one a day of each)

I believe they work by healing the cells lining the intestine that produce GLUT-5.

That is so encouraging Athene!

I am trying to find the two supps you mentioned at swansonvitamins.com, can you help?

I found the 2nd one here: https://www.swansonvitamins.com/JR147/ItemDetail

But no luck on the Jarrow N Acetyl Glucosamine 750mg, do you see it? Edit - is this it here? www.amazon.com/Jarrow-Formulas-750-120-Capsules/dp/B0013OQGUK/