Leaky gut syndrome
Samiwhereareyou
Posts: 277 Member
I have Leaky Guts. Does anyone else Reading this have leaky guts and are you following the Preferred Diet?? I am feeling rather overwhelmed and would love support or guidance from others who have been doing this for a while or have done it and are feeling better.
0
Replies
-
It is overwhelming at first! To be told you can't eat A through T and maybe just a little X,Y, Z and have a family to feed and work and a life to boot.
I really had to examine my relationship with food, particularly in social settings. Is it possible to have fun eating salad without dressing at a pub? Yes, if you actually like your friends
I had a battery of tests (blood, urine, spit etc.) and worked with a naturopath and received a tailored diet, that includes no dairy, gluten, added sugar, processed foods, refined oils, alcohol, coffee and black tea, peanuts, corn, potatoes, melons, grapes and bananas. Also taking supplements to repair stomach wall (probiotics, aloe vera, ground flax seed and some other stuff).
Once I received the diagnosis I started checking out leaky gut online. So many websites with different diets posted.
When I asked the naturopath why I could eat rice and quinoa for example (a god send), when a lot of websites say to cut out all grains - he said because everyone is different and presents their symptoms differently and reacts differently. So if you can afford it, find a good naturopath or dietician.
Once I got through the first week of restricted eating and withdrawal from sugar - and figured out what I could cook over the next few weeks and felt the benefits of going on the regime (e.g. not sick every day), it wasn't that bad.
It will take me at least 6 months I think before if I can re-introduce some foods (but some things will be forever restricted _ I have always had a problem with dairy), but if you are ill you need to get better.
I am learning how to cook all over again and have found great comfort foods. What I pay for extra in food (more expensive alternatives and having to eat different than family), I save in not drinking alcohol or eating out at fast food restaurants.
Food doesn't have to be elaborate. When I am busy I get by on nuts, avocado, raw veggies, boiled eggs and rice crackers and hummus and if you eat meat there is always that too. On weekends I cook up a big pot or two or chili or a big quinoa based dish to take to work. For breakfasts you can have eggs and fruit or oatmeal with alternative milk (e.g. almond milk - unsweetened).
Try eliminating the main culprits for at least two weeks and see how you feel, you can then try to re-introduce one food at a time to see if you react. That is the cheapest way to get better, but like I said, working with a professional is paramount.0 -
You don't have leaky gut syndrome because it's not a real condition.0
-
Exactly. Probably a diagnosis from a naturopath.JenniDaisy wrote: »You don't have leaky gut syndrome because it's not a real condition.
0 -
“We don’t know a lot but we know that it exists,” says Linda A. Lee, MD, a gastroenterologist and director of the Johns Hopkins Integrative Medicine and Digestive Center. “In the absence of evidence, we don’t know what it means or what therapies can directly address it.”
Leaky Gut Syndrome: What Is It? : http://www.webmd.com/digestive-disorders/features/leaky-gut-syndrome
My heart goes out to you and I hope you both can find someone knowledgeable enough and capable enough to help you through this very real but poorly understood condition!
Best of health to you both!
0 -
JenniDaisy wrote: »You don't have leaky gut syndrome because it's not a real condition.
Well thank goodness! For a while I was concerned that the doctors who diagnosed me might have known what they were talking about...and I didn't like what they were saying at all! It seems way too many doctors are diagnosing people incorrectly with "leaky gut" because the exact same thing happened to my aunt and she lives about 6 states west of me!
Although all the symptoms disappeared (for both of us) after we'd been on a gluten free diet for a while.
0 -
JenniDaisy wrote: »You don't have leaky gut syndrome because it's not a real condition.
Well thank goodness! For a while I was concerned that the doctors who diagnosed me might have known what they were talking about...and I didn't like what they were saying at all! It seems way too many doctors are diagnosing people incorrectly with "leaky gut" because the exact same thing happened to my aunt and she lives about 6 states west of me!
Although all the symptoms disappeared (for both of us) after we'd been on a gluten free diet for a while.
I'm so shocked that your imaginary illness was cured by going gluten free.-1 -
If your stomach was really leaking you'd be dead pretty quickly from massive infection.
\threadover0 -
“We don’t know a lot but we know that it exists,” says Linda A. Lee, MD, a gastroenterologist and director of the Johns Hopkins Integrative Medicine and Digestive Center. “In the absence of evidence, we don’t know what it means or what therapies can directly address it.”
Leaky Gut Syndrome: What Is It? : http://www.webmd.com/digestive-disorders/features/leaky-gut-syndrome
My heart goes out to you and I hope you both can find someone knowledgeable enough and capable enough to help you through this very real but poorly understood condition!
Best of health to you both!
Cherry picking pieces of an article...nice.“From an MD’s standpoint, it’s a very gray area,” says gastroenterologist Donald Kirby, MD, director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the Cleveland Clinic. “Physicians don’t know enough about the gut, which is our biggest immune system organ.”
"Leaky gut syndrome" isn't a diagnosis taught in medical school. Instead, "leaky gut really means you’ve got a diagnosis that still needs to be made,” Kirby says. “You hope that your doctor is a good-enough Sherlock Holmes, but sometimes it is very hard to make a diagnosis.”
“We don’t know a lot but we know that it exists,” says Linda A. Lee, MD, a gastroenterologist and director of the Johns Hopkins Integrative Medicine and Digestive Center. “In the absence of evidence, we don’t know what it means or what therapies can directly address it.”
it goes on to sayLeaky gut symptoms aren't unique. They're shared by other problems, too. And tests often fail to uncover a definite cause of the problem. That can leave people without a diagnosis and, therefore, untreated.
there was more to the article indicating Stress could be a factor as well...0 -
“We don’t know a lot but we know that it exists,” says Linda A. Lee, MD, a gastroenterologist and director of the Johns Hopkins Integrative Medicine and Digestive Center. “In the absence of evidence, we don’t know what it means or what therapies can directly address it.”
Leaky Gut Syndrome: What Is It? : http://www.webmd.com/digestive-disorders/features/leaky-gut-syndrome
My heart goes out to you and I hope you both can find someone knowledgeable enough and capable enough to help you through this very real but poorly understood condition!
Best of health to you both!
Cherry picking pieces of an article...nice.“From an MD’s standpoint, it’s a very gray area,” says gastroenterologist Donald Kirby, MD, director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the Cleveland Clinic. “Physicians don’t know enough about the gut, which is our biggest immune system organ.”
"Leaky gut syndrome" isn't a diagnosis taught in medical school. Instead, "leaky gut really means you’ve got a diagnosis that still needs to be made,” Kirby says. “You hope that your doctor is a good-enough Sherlock Holmes, but sometimes it is very hard to make a diagnosis.”
“We don’t know a lot but we know that it exists,” says Linda A. Lee, MD, a gastroenterologist and director of the Johns Hopkins Integrative Medicine and Digestive Center. “In the absence of evidence, we don’t know what it means or what therapies can directly address it.”
it goes on to sayLeaky gut symptoms aren't unique. They're shared by other problems, too. And tests often fail to uncover a definite cause of the problem. That can leave people without a diagnosis and, therefore, untreated.
there was more to the article indicating Stress could be a factor as well...
From the same article:
"Intestinal Permeability
A possible cause of leaky gut is increased intestinal permeability or intestinal hyperpermeability.
That could happen when tight junctions in the gut, which control what passes through the lining of the small intestine, don't work properly. That could let substances leak into the bloodstream.
People with celiac disease and Crohn’s disease experience this. “Molecules can get across in some cases, such as Crohn’s, but we don’t know all the causes,” Lee says. Whether hyperpermeability is more of a contributing factor or a consequence is unclear.
But why or how this would happen in someone without those conditions is not clear.
Little is known about other causes of leaky gut that aren't linked to certain types of drugs, radiation therapy, or food allergies."
For those of us who have been diagnosed and then have been able to lose the symptoms described above, it's a very real thing. Maybe the name gives people who don't have or understand the symptoms/illness the wrong idea. When doctors are calling a set of symptoms by this name and following a restrictive diet helps, there is obviously something going on. Until I was diagnosed, I spent a lot of time in the bathroom and/or doubled over in pain, having mild flu symptoms and just feeling lousy. It may be a catch-all phrase for reactions to gluten/lactose intolerances that they really can't explain, but it sure fits how you feel!
0 -
From reading the article, it seems to me leaky gut syndrome bunches unknown food sensitivities, for lack of a better term, into a certain general diagnosis. It also seems to me finding out the actual cause of such bloating, stomach pains, etc. and treating that is the answer rather than just saying a person as leaky gut syndrome and trying to treat it as a whole. That's just my opinion, though, because I'm not a doctor.
The article does say they don't have any real medical backup yet:...with leaky gut, she says, the evidence -- about what causes it and how to treat it -- has yet to fully accumulate. This is something that is essential for patients to understand.
Sami, I hope your condition improves with whatever your doctor tells you to do. 0 -
How have I never heard of leaky guts?0
-
“We don’t know a lot but we know that it exists,” says Linda A. Lee, MD, a gastroenterologist and director of the Johns Hopkins Integrative Medicine and Digestive Center. “In the absence of evidence, we don’t know what it means or what therapies can directly address it.”
Leaky Gut Syndrome: What Is It? : http://www.webmd.com/digestive-disorders/features/leaky-gut-syndrome
My heart goes out to you and I hope you both can find someone knowledgeable enough and capable enough to help you through this very real but poorly understood condition!
Best of health to you both!
Like another user said, you can't cherry pick from an article. Especially WebMD of all things. From your same article it also says "leaky gut really means you’ve got a diagnosis that still needs to be made,”. If you're going to cite something for evidence please use a peer reviewed source.0 -
0
-
I wasn't "cherry picking", I chose one quote from an article that contained the opinions of a couple respected gastroenterologist that highlights that, in general, they acknowledge that patients are suffering real symptoms but, in the absence of a diagnosis for a known condition, the cause(s) and treatment is poorly understood because of lack of research.
I included the link to the article because my point in posting wasn't to post a full article but validate the OP's condition and wish her and any others suffering the same symptoms the best of luck and speedy recovery.
Why any of you feel the need to negate their suffering is beyond me!
0 -
How are we responding to a thread from 2012?0
-
0
-
0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 393.4K Introduce Yourself
- 43.8K Getting Started
- 260.2K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.9K Food and Nutrition
- 47.4K Recipes
- 232.5K Fitness and Exercise
- 426 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.5K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 153K Motivation and Support
- 8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.7K MyFitnessPal Information
- 24 News and Announcements
- 1.1K Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.6K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions