QUESTION:

Good Day,

First wanted to say I enjoy reading your blogs and the products you offer on your website. I was wondering if you could assist me in some knowledge about some health issues I have had for past 2 years. My symptoms are: I eat food, it feels as if it doesn't sit right, stomach kinda blows up, not to gassy or anything just uncomfortable when eating. After meals I feel cramping pains in stomach, not much indigestion, just bad cramping and sometimes i belch up chunks of food i ate hours before. I am constipated also. I usually feel really dizzy and disoriented if I don't eat in a timely mannor. After eating I kinda have this fog in my head allot a haze of thoughts. I get really irritable easily. Very anxious and stressful person, hard to deal with stress now.

I have did all the major tests, Upper GI, Colonoscopy, Barium Test, Ultrasound, Cat Scan of head and Abdomen, Blood tests etc. Everything pretty negative, doctors come to IBS conclusion. I have went to a ND doctor he believes it is adrenal dysfunction or lack of B12. I have tried supplements but I have a very hard time toleration any herbal solutions and usually have anxiety attacks with many herbs.

As you can see I have many concerns and this has taken its toll on myself and my family. I would appreciate any advice you could offer and would be willing to pay if needed.

Btw I am also married to a Russian woman so I can related at least in that instance, great people :)

Thanks again,

Bloated

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ANSWER:

Bloated -

From first glance - my first thoughts are that you have weak digestion - due to stress, overgrowth of bad bacteria, candida or other issues.

If you've taken antibiotics numerous times without restoring healthy bacteria - that could be a major issue for you.

Bloating is a sign of food not being digested - or gases/toxins released from bacteria such as candida.

Have you had a digestive analysis done - great smokies has one that's pretty good - called CDSA - complete digestive and stool analysis.

Tell your doctor about the digestive analysis tests.

Not tolerating many herbs or supplements may also be a sign of weak digestion. If a weak digestion, the supplement or herbs simply sit in your digestive tract without being broken down. This can irritate the GI lining and cause bloating and pain.

You may want to try taking digestive enzymes and Betaine HCl to improve - and also taking a strong quality probiotic. Without testing though, you are not finding out the cause of the problem. It is best to determine the cause of your problem before treating it and lab tests above may help - and they are ordered by your doc.

Fog, daze, irritability all can be signs of bacteria overgrowth - that's a major one - or it can also be a sign of wheat allergy -

Bacteria overgrowth inhibit proper digestion and restoring healthy bacteria is a must.

Have you had tests to determine if you may be allergic to wheat? You can eliminate wheat and dairy for a week and see how you feel also - it's free and if you're sensitive to either, eliminating them for a week may show major improvement.

Belching up chunks of food can be a sign of weak digestion - not enough stomach acids or pancreatic enzymes or bile acids being released to break up the food. Stress blocks these from being released - as stress closes down the sphincters. Eat in a relaxed setting and chew chew chew your food.

Also do not drink fluids when you eat. Drink before meals - like 15-20 minutes and about an hour after. Drinking during meals dilutes the digestive enzymes - especially cold fluids or mucousy fluids like milk.

A quality HCl supplement is UltraGest by Biogenesis.

A quality enzyme supplement that also has HCl so it is basically 2 supplements in one for digestion is PanZyme by Biogenesis.

If you have bacterial overgrowth, ParaBiotic by Biogenesiss may be useful for you.

A soothing intestinal product can be useful to soothe irritated gut lining. Intestinal Repair Complex by Biogenesis is useful for this. However, again, one must determine the cause of the problem and remove it. This supplement can provide some relief but may not address the cause of the problem. Always always remove the cause if possible.

I currently do not sell a probiotic or healthy bacteria but I will be soon from the most respected company - Pharmax. They specialize in healthy bacteria. You can also go to a health food store and buy healthy bacteria from the refrigerated section - not the shelf...must be cold to be viable.

I am not prescribing any of this - it is only information for you to ponder and think about. I am not a physician and any questions you should ask a qualified doctor. The information above is only for educational use not medical treatment or advice. You may print this out and show your doctor. I recommend also printing out the supplement page information so your doctor can see if they believe they will be useful for you.

If you are up to it, you may want to eat simple foods for a couple weeks. Very simple foods - such as steamed vegetables, chicken broths, simple vegetable soups, very wet oatmeal, quinoa. Avoid nuts, butters, oils, beans, heavy meats or even all meats, sugar, caffeine, refined canned foods, wheat and dairy. This may help you a fair bit by taking a ton of stress off your digestive system. It will help even more if you determine the cause of your issue and your doctor can help you with that. If you are not satisfied with the help you are currently receiving from your doctor - you have every right to locate one that can help you.

I hope this information is helpful for you. Again, I highly recommend not treating yourself as it can prolong or even make your condition worse. A qualified naturopathic doctor can easily determine your issue and resolve it for you.

Where did your ND graduate from - what school? If not from Bastyr, NCNM, Southwest, Canada schools or Bridgeport - they are not a true naturopathic physician. Be careful.

In health,

Ben