Update on things...

I had labs run as far back as 2011 that showed my alkaline phosphatase low.  I asked my ARNP why and she just shrugged it off as did the ND (who was sure I had candida) back in 2013.  I did a few searches on doctor Google but didn't come up with anything.  I spoke with the ND from my nutrition program last week and she took one look at my labs and said, "wow you have a big zinc deficiency! Your alkaline phosphatase should be around 70.  That could be a big reason why you are not converting T4 to T3".  Mine has been hovering in the 20's and 30's. 

This is information from HealthGuideInfo.com (not sure how reliable they are):

"Reduced alkaline phosphatase levels are associated with a number of conditions including zinc deficiency; folic acid deficiency; low levels of phosphorus; vitamin B6 deficiency; vitamin C deficiency; excessively high vitamin D intake; malnutrition involving inadequate protein assimilation (this can also be caused by hypochlorhydria – low production of stomach acid); Celiac disease; hypothyroidism; anaemia or inadequate parathyroid gland function."

Um, okay then!  I know I have inadequate protein assimilation and I'm def having thyroid issues.  

On to the DUTCH results.  Turns out I have true adrenal insufficiency.  Try as it might, my body is not producing much cortisol at all.  My body is just doing a really good job utilizing what does come out.  The low cortisol metabolites indicate that my body is hanging onto the cortisol in circulation as long as it can.  My strong, resilient genetics at play once again.  What I need to do?  Be kind to my body and give it the time it needs to rest and heal.  Add in Zinc glycinate supplementation, add in some adrenal glandulars and a bit of DHEA and pregnenolone to support my adrenal function.  She also wants to see some current thyroid labs and feels like I probably need to be on a natural thyroid medication like WP Thyroid or Nature-throid.  I don't like that but I also don't like feeling run down and cold all the time.  

She said that maybe since organs and tissues are not keeping up with demand they are shutting down hormone production to make me rest.  That seems really dramatic but true of humans today.  We push on and on ignoring all the subtle, and not so subtle, clues to slow the heck down and let the body rest and replenish.  

I just really don't want to give up hot yoga now that I'm back in the studio.  It feels so good to be HOT.  I'm just going to have to limit myself to one or two days a week of hardcore hot stuff and make sure I plan for ample rest afterward.

My digestion stays good if and only if I am super strict with my diet.  If I eat the same thing I have been eating for months then everything stays spot on and my weight starts to reduce. If I try to add something new I bloat, gain and am generally pretty freaking irritated.   I made a chicken "noodle" soup with the canned broth I made from chicken heads and feet and that did not go over well at all.   None of the vegetables were new so I assume it was the broth. Frustrating to say the least.  It seems like it is taking me forever to get through this H. Pylori program.  Definitely need to practice my patience.  Just in time for the holidays!

Pardon my venting....

Right on the breath test box it says something like results must be taken within 2 weeks of testing.  That will be 2 days from now.  So I called NCNM, squeaky wheel gets the grease and all. They called me back and said the results will be sent to my provider around the 27th.  I said, he marked the form so results would come directly to me.  Oh yes he did, he replied, so you will need to fill out a Release of Information.  A Release of Information to get my OWN results????  Are you kidding me.  And then he said something about an additional 7 day waiting period that may be waived but it was hard to follow.  I said on the box it says that the sample must be tested within 14 days.  Oh, it will be, he said but they need time (7 days apparently) to get the numbers on a piece of paper and faxed out.  That's such bullshit!!  If you have had the breath test done in person you know that the sample goes in the machine and at the end the results are spit out.  There's no lengthy analysis that happens.  No off to the radiologist for interpretation.  It's not frigging rocket science.  

Mark my words this is the LAST time I will be using the lab at NCNM.  For those of you who need a breath test your provider can get them elsewhere for the same price or cheaper with a 1-2 day turnaround. This is another option for your provider to use.  And if you don't have a provider you can order your own test from Australia, although it's an additional $30 for shipping and I can't imagine the turnaround is quick given the time it takes to get a package mailed internationally, but I'd be money it's still quicker than NCNM!!!  You can also get them from directlabs.com but it's $289 (ouch!).

R&R

I had a 2 hour Results and Recommendations appointment with my mentor yesterday.  We went over the results of my adrenal tests and she has concerns over my patterns and the fact that with supplementation my DHEA has gone through the roof and my cortisol into the toilet, my sex hormones aren't where they should be given the supplementation as well. There seems to be some conversion issues that the DUTCH test can help clarify.  If you have been here a while you will remember back in February when I got my first adrenal test that this was the one I wanted but didn't do because of the expense.  Now I've paid for 2 adrenal tests and still need the DUTCH test.  Pretty annoying.  Sometimes we should just listen to our gut!!!  LOL!

So, it's pretty much stick with adrenal support and work on stress reduction, light exercise until I have the test done and we can see what's going on.  She recommended UltraLife Mucosa Max but I explained to her that these types of products often feed the SIBO and she thanked me for the information.  She admitted that she doesn't know a heck of a lot about SIBO and that given that I have gone through it I probably know much more than her.  To me this is an indication of a good practitioner, someone willing to admit their lack of knowledge and either listen to information you've gathered or refer you to someone with more expertise.  She doesn't like that I am taking Betaine HCL given that my last H. Pylori test was a little over a year ago.  I'm not that concerned but she wants me to test.  With all the crap I swallow I don't see how I could have acquired H. Pylori!

The other advice she gave which was surprisingly similar to an exercise my yoga teacher wants us to do is make a list of things that essentially take away your power/energy, make you feel stressed, etc. and do what you can to reduce those things.  There are going to be things of course that you can't get rid of (my biggest stressors are physical -  SIBO and my orthodontics) so for those you need to see if there is a way you can better deal with those stressors, deep belly breaths if you are stuck at your desk, meditation, EFT or something else when you are home and have make the time.  My yoga teacher also had us make a list of those things that feed us, give us energy and try to make time for more of those things.

So today I start:

• 1 tsp guar gum in 8 oz of water
• 20 drops Biocidin
• 2 capsules Olivirex
• 2 tablets Candibactin-BR
• Oregano essential oil in a capsule
• 2 capsules allicin

I'm doing it on an empty stomach this time after breakfast, after lunch and after dinner.

Oh, and my belly pain seems to be gone for the most part. Yay!  Love my visceral manipulation.

I'm like, almost dead or something

As part of the nutrition certification program I am doing we had to run a Biohealth 205 (adrenal hormone test) on ourselves.  I'm feeling pretty okay most of the time these days but when I spit in my tubes for the 205 I was in a pretty good low, feeling really incredibly beat.  My assumption was it would impact the results.  I  received them via email this morning and it basically said I have barely enough cortisol to keep me upright.  I exaggerate of course but it was shockingly low (morning, noon and afternoon) and that's after months and months of supplementing and taking it easy.  WTF!  I have a 2 hour meeting with my mentor on Friday to go over a plan but she already emailed me a draft and it's everything I'm already doing and to be honest she knows nothing about SIBO so not sure how beneficial it will be.  One recommendation was BioMatrix Support Mucosa, no way in hell I'm taking anything that is going to increase mucus production until my bugs are long gone.  We ran the Biohealth 101 as well which looks at Urinary Indican and a couple of liver measures.  My Indican was positive, don't need a test to tell you that would be the case, since positive = gut dysfunction.  My Urinary Bile Acid sulfates were elevated.  Again, duh, gut dysfunction + 18 months of on and off (mostly on) various kill protocols.  Poor liver just can't keep up.  Recommend testing for intestinal permeability.  Ya, no thanks, I can tell you my gut is permeable without testing based on multiple food reactions and occasional itchiness still if I get into something I shouldn't.  She is also recommending another stool test and breath test.  Um, had 2 stool tests, last one clean so I'm not sure that's necessary and as for the breath test I'm trying to get my hands on one.  I think it may be pricier to do it through my nutrition program because I have to go through the medical director and I don't think they use Quintron which is what all my other tests have been through.

Oh, and my husband's vehicle was stolen from the front of our house Sunday night.  Interesting to wake up to a missing car on Monday morning.  What a way to start the week!  We had to laugh because really what else can you do, and it was just a falling apart 20 year old vehicle.  Everyone in the neighborhood have been really apologetic.  I'm thinking, jeez it's not like we were carjacked.  That would be terrible and scary.  But to sleep peacefully through a crime.  That's a blessing really.  Truly bad things happen to truly good people all the time, just tune into the world news.  This was nothing in comparison to what others are going through.

All this typing to avoid taking my guar and bedtime supps.  I increased again, so I'm now at 3/4 tsp in 8 oz of water.  It's really going to be hard to get down.  A straw makes it easier but damn it's thick.  I thought for the morning I would mix it in my hot chocolate but I think it would be pretty undrinkable at the thickness it would make it.  Still might give it a try.  Haven't noticed any bloating or other SIBO weirdness yet.

Dr. Ruscio podcast on IBSChek

I have to say seeing Dr. Ruscio at the SIBO Symposium was quite fun.  People flocked to him, handsome and smart.  Hilarious!  It was like there was a rock star in the room.  LOL!

He recorded this podcast before the SIBO Symposium.  After Dr. Pimental's presentation I wonder if he has changed his thinking at all??  I'm sure he'll do a podcast about the SIBO Symposium soon. 

I waiver on this one.  Do I want to know if I have antibodies?  Would it actually change my course of treatment? (NO!)  Is satisfying curiousity worth the $$$? Given that I did the Cyrex Array 3, 4 and 10 you probably know the answer to that!!

new-sibo-test-just-released-episode-15/

Urine Organix Test

So I pulled out the results from my Genova Diagnostics Organix Comprehensive Profile again tonight. I did this test a year ago.  Sure enough, right on it it says, "Methylation Cofactor Markers - No Abnormalities Found".  This means that even though I have methylation snps I seem to be utilizing B12 and Folate just fine. I had a couple of snps that related to neurotransmitters too. Three of the Neurotransmitter Metabolism Markers on the urine organix test were elevated although 2 of the 3 (if not 3 of the 3) were noted to be caused by bacteria overgrowth.  There were snps that also indicated I may have difficulties related to clearing ammonia from the system but the markers on the Organix test show I am doing just fine in that department as well.  

I went to the Genova site and pulled up their interpretation guide.  Some very fascinating reading and really great charts that show how easily things can go awry if you have issues with methylation.  

I found these two articles which helped me to understand the test results a little bit better as well.
Clinical applications of urinary organic acids. Part I: Detoxification markers.
Clinical Applications of Urinary Organic Acids. Part 2 Dysbiosis Markers

It was really interesting to see how many markers related to bacterial overgrowth (probably why some providers believe it's a valuable diagnostic too).  For me, I was completely negative on several of the markers for bacterial overgrowth but positive on a couple others. I found it interesting that two of the neurotransmitter markers that were high relate to not only bacterial overgrowth but also Th-1 response.  Not sure what that means.  

Given what I have seen I don't think it's a good idea to treat based on snps, you have to run testing to see if there is abnormalities in the processes because your body could be functioning just fine.  If so inclined, you can do it all yourself by running 23andMe, then running that through a program like Genetic Genie and then ordering yourself up the Doctors Data Methylation Profile.  I really wouldn't advise it though because you still end up with a lot of results that you don't know what to do with.

There's more to methylation than MTHFR??

Methylation is definitely the word of the day/week/month.  I tested for MTHFR back in April, the link is here, found out I was heterzygous for MTHFR A1298C which can have an impact on methylation but that doesn't mean for sure there is an impact.  I didn't understand the rest of the numbers (and my ND wasn't any help) so I put the results in the lab file.  A few days ago I listened to Chris Kresser's most recent podcast, Methylation 101. He also did a podcast a while back that's a great primer.  So I pulled back out the file and started doing a little digging.  Given all my various homo and heterozygous snps I am at risk for not clearing ammonia readily, various mood issues, low B12, low Vit D and an excess of cortisol because for some reason I can turn it off but then can't metabolize it to clear it out.  Of course Chris and Dr. Nett did say that just because you have the snps doesn't mean you express them, you have to do further testing to see how your methylation is actually working. Another test?

A friend (who also did the 23andMe and GeneticGenie) then forwarded a post from this blog.  There are so many posts on this Dr's site about methylation and the impact on the gut (and SIBO) but no real information about what to do about it (you have to become a patient to find that out).  Although I did read in one of the many posts that phenols like resveratrol and green tea extract will compete for the same metabolic pathway as estrogen and adrenalin.  I already know I am estrogen dominant so I'm going to pull that out of my current supplement regimen since I also do turmeric and fish oil for inflammation.  There is so much information here but since I don't know who he is I'm taking it all with a grain of salt.  It's just hard because it seems so few providers out there seem to fully understand this stuff so I don't feel like I can go to any of my current ND's for clarification.

Just mind boggling.  Makes me want to take a nap.

Had blood drawn this morning for Cyrex 3, 4 and 10 this morning.  Results should take about 2 weeks.  And since I've been eating wheat for the last 3 weeks I might take a look at my thyroid antibodies.  It's heart month and all those tests are on sale so I'm tempted to see where my cholesterol is. I've decided I'm going to do a breath test to see where I'm at May 26th (unless I run out of antimicrobials sooner or change my mind!).

No Regrets!

Oh man am I suffering.  I could barely move today after stressing my body all weekend in that 10hr yoga workshop.  I just started on my thyroid medication so my T3 is still really low. I knew it would tax me but man today was rough.  Unbelievable fatigue!  And I did the EXACT thing you shouldn't do in this circumstance, I drank green tea.

Tonight I went through my old journals and my medical file to clean out the things I no longer need.  Holy mackeral I ate like crap when I started this journey!!  In the beginning I made a lot of breads out of nuts and then spread more nut butter on top of them and made and consumed shortbread cookies of some kind daily.  I was such a sugar addict (although I cut out cane sugar back in 2011, not that it mattered because there are so many substitutes!).  No wonder it's taken me so long to get to this point!  Wouldn't it be nice to be able to travel back and kick yourself in the butt :)

So Dr. Keller wants to test my adrenals through a saliva test but I heard on this podcast that the saliva test only tests for free cortisol which only accounts for 1% of the total cortisol in your body AND hypothyroidism causes poor clearance of free cortisol so the results will likely show more than is actually there.  Chris Kresser recommends DUTCH (dry urine testing comprehensive hormone) testing through Precision Analytical which is of course more than twice as expensive.  Do I get the less expensive test even though it could be inaccurate or do I go for the accurate test or the 3rd option do I just scrap it and take supplements to support my adrenals?  I'm seriously just considering the latter.  All this lab work reallys adds up!

Day One of The Healthy Gut Summit was kind of a bust.  Looking forward to Dr. Knight tomorrow and his American Gut Project talk and also interested to see what Dr. Axe has to say.  I always find it interesting when chiropractors get into functional medicine.  I imagine for most it's a personal journal struggling with their own issues that leads them on a different path after chiropractic school.

Results

My thyroid antibodies went from 36 to 44 after my little cheating binge.  Having results like this will definitely keep me on the straight and narrow diet wise - no more beer, no more rice or rice protein powder (can cross react with wheat) and no more eating out and thinking a little bit of gluten isn't going to hurt me.

Just checking

After I had my thyroid tested I went on that binge and ate a bunch of stuff I usually don't (including Thai food which let's face it has a wheat in the sauce).  So I decided to test my thyroid antibodies again before I went whole hog into the medication and full on AIP diet route.  My ARNP, as much as I love her, is a pain to see because you always end up waiting so I really didn't want to go see her just to get a lab slip.  Imagine my surprise when I stumbled across this AND they are having January specials on all their thyroid panels.  Meant to be I tell ya!  I paid my $49 for a thyroid antibodies test, printed it this morning and drove to a lab that about 5 minutes from my house.  It was so easy.  Can't wait to see what's on special next month ;)

I found these articles too about Hashimoto's and SIBO.  The health of the gut is connected to so much.  It can be mind boggling and quite scary.  I've had such trouble getting rid of my SIBO and I have been really worried that it would trigger something else.  But really in the end I could have had Hashi's first and that opened the door for SIBO.  There is no use trying to figure out what came first, as much as I'd love to know!