posted
So, I was supposed to get a scope done recently. I cancelled it the day of because my CNS was completely whacked and I didn't think that anaesthesia was such a good idea when my anxiety wasn't even under control in a hospital environment with intravenous sedatives.
Anyway, I never did any research on ulcers, but I fit the exact definition of a duodenal ulcer.
Severe stomach pain wakes me early A.M. to the point where I am crying sometimes. I have stomach pain before I eat, and again several hours after I eat. Then I have to eat again to relieve pain. Nights are the worst by far.
I'm pretty sure they will find an ulcer with a scope, but I don't need any more stress on my body. I also won't be able to handle the triple therapy of antibiotics as I will herx to hell. I can't tolerate abx in the smallest doses unfortunately right now.
My remedy right now is this:
* I take Whey + NAC in the morning which helps with my feelings of toxicity (not sure if related) * I take slippery elm bark, marshmallow root, and DGL * I drink 1 liter of coconut water a day with and without food to relieve symptoms * I take 1 tbsp of coconut oil 3x a day
I was only sleeping about 3 hours a night for a couple weeks, and now it's around 7 or 8. Preferably, I would like to sleep 10 hours. Still pain when I wake up and before/after I eat, but not nearly as bad.
Anything else I can do to make this suspected ulcer to heal?
Turmeric seems to help. I see some mixed opinions on using it for ulcers though. Traditionally, it has been used to help heal ulcers. Without food it hurts my stomach.
Posts: 967 | From A deserted island without internet access | Registered: Sep 2009
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
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posted
- You are on board with slippery elm bark, marshmallow root, and DGL & turmeric (which is better with food, as you've discovered). But you might need more to really target the the infection.
You might consider adding Coptis & Evodia (by Seven Forests). Search ingredients at PubMed and at www.itmonline.org .
Andrographis, although it can cause stomach upset at first, ultimately, got my stomach a lot better. It's discussed at length in Buhner's book "Healing Lyme" - I get the Source Naturals from www.Vitacost.com .
A gluten-free diet is important. You don't say but you may have already started on that. If not, it will help a great deal.
As for that early morning pain, keep a glass of water bedside with your DGL. Drink a little water and chew a DGL right away.
A small snack before bed may help. Quinoa is good for that.
Good luck. -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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posted
Aloe Vera Juice Buy George's at Henry's market or the Vitamin Shoppee. It is best quality and tasteless. 1/4 cup in morning and before bed.
Posts: 7 | From California | Registered: Oct 2009
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gwb
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7273
posted
I've heard excellent information about this product for ulcers and h-pylori. Check it out:
MariaA
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9128
posted
I struggled with this until my Lyme got better. I hadn't connected it to my Lyme or my lyme-induced immune issues at all, but it really took a lot to deal with it. I was on most of the below stuff long-term (comfrey root you probably don't want to do for more than 2 or 3 weeks at a time)
Here are some things I did:
marshmallow root tea, DGL tablets chewed (you need to mix them with saliva for them to work properly), pepto-bismol or other source of bismuth, herbal powders swallowed in water: comfrey root powder, acacia root powder, goldenseal tincture, taking DGL at the same time slippery elm is also good, similar to marshmallow. You can get all that stuff at http://mountainroseherbs.com/ I believe.
mastic gum capsules were AWESOME for a while, that herb is great for ulcers, I got it and DGL at either Vitacost or iherb.com l-glutamine aloe vera juice (didn't like the taste)
I didn't do the following but it's often recommended: fresh cabbage juice. I just ate a lot of cabbage at the time anyway (cole slaw) but I didn't think of it as a treatment specifically.
-------------------- Symptom Free!!! Thank you all!!!!
posted
chew DGL licorice tablets 20 min before each meal. Mastic Gum can be taken 20 minutes before meals as well. Basically everything Maria said-these things are what helped me most.
Posts: 594 | From NJ/NY | Registered: Jun 2006
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posted
Thanks everyone. Everything I am taking is mostly for symptoms, but will that promote healing as well? I may have to pick up the herbs the Keebler mentions that are active against h. pylori if that is what it is.
I am going rather aggressive with this monster. It is my focus, and tonight was the first night in a long time I didn't wake with any pain. The combo of these remedies works rather quickly. No need to see gastro doc now. I think I got it handled.
Thank god for the internet and self-diagnosis. I was mis-interpreting these symptoms as chest pain for a long time now, and you don't want to know how many chest x-rays, cardiograms, etc I've had (either do I). That's how bad the pain can be. There must be a nerve or something that radiates the pain up. Or maybe it was just gas as I was belching so much.
Posts: 967 | From A deserted island without internet access | Registered: Sep 2009
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posted
Holy crap. After writing this post, I have realized that is now night, not morning as it started getting darker outside.
I am 24 going on 80. Wow, never got my days mixed up before.
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MariaA
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Member # 9128
posted
I can't remember how DGL works, but mastic gum is directly active against h pylorii, as is acacia and goldenseal and grapefruit seed extract. Comfrey root helps heal wounds and ulcers. Marshmallow and slippery elm are mucilages that are needed for soothing the ulcerated area. I don't recall how aloe vera and l-glutamine work but you should be able to google that.
-------------------- Symptom Free!!! Thank you all!!!!
posted
When I slept a real night, I did have pain again early A.M.
I bought raw active Manuka Honey 16+ grade at the store today. It tastes like someone mixed tea tree oil with honey. Not the best tasting honey ever IMO, but hopefully the medicinal properties will help my gut.
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WildCondor
Unregistered
posted
Aloe is good but get some DGL and chew the capsules before meals. DGL is deglycyrrhizinated licorice that helps heal ulcers and gastritis.
Carafate, a prescription is also really helpful for gastritis. Ask for that!!
Avoid acid foods, eat smaller meals.
The difference between gastritis and an ulcer: gastritis is red, irritated tissue and an ulcer is an actual sore/hole lesion in the stomach.
I would NOT take digestive enzymes because it can make the gastritis worse, especially any with acid in them.
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MariaA
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posted
Yeah, unheated honey has antibacterial properties and it's usually recommended by herbalists for ulcers, but I didn't recommend it because Lyme people have candida so often that it doesn't seem worth the potential downsides of encouraging candida. I think candida can be worse when other gut issues like ulcer are happening, too, even though the two organisms grow in different parts of the digestive system- it's hard to say whether h. pylorii and candida are opportunistic infections that take advantage of a weakened immune system or whether they contribute to a weakened immune system, but I believe they do contribute to immune issues, so I would suggest keeping an eye on candida as well. On the other hand I understand how incredibly horrible this ulcer condition can be, so now that you have the honey, try it out but just watch for candida. I think GSE helps with candida a bit anyway.
by the way, the sweetness of DGL is NOT due to any kind of a sugar, licorice contains a non-sugar compound that happens to taste sweet.
-------------------- Symptom Free!!! Thank you all!!!!
Since you want the herbs to actually contact the stomach lining, people usually recommend taking the herbs mixed with water, rather than in a capsule that takes time to dissolve.
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posted
I do take nystatin for yeast. I do get thrush.
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MariaA
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posted
dosage on the powdered herbs:
If I remember correctly from Stephen Buhner's book, he was recommending mixing equal parts of the powdered herbs. his formula included licorice, rather than DGL, but DGL is safer for people with blood pressure issues. I personally just used licorice powder and followed his recipe. Anyway, what I think he says to do is to mix equal parts of the powdered herbs, then use 1 TB in a glass of water. I can't remember the frequency of dosing per day, which is kind of important. I think I did it about 3 times a day. He was also saying to use goldenseal tincture, grapefruit seed extract, and eucalyptus tincture (I think tincture), several times a day, along iwth Pepto-Bisomol. I couldn't find the eucalyptus tincture for some reason. But the marshmallow, acacia, comfrey, and licorice powder (or chewing DGL tablets instead of using powder, which is better) worked really well for me for symptom relief and probably helped get rid of it eventually. I did use Biaxin/Prevacid/Amoxicillin eventaully- my ulcer was so stubborn that even that didn't work right away, and I had to keep taking the herbs after the antibiotic treatment. eventually after I went into Lyme remission a few months later, the ulcer symptoms disappeared completely also.
he had one more powder in there, I think it was eucaluptus, but I've been unable to find it (it's possible it was actually a eucalyptus tincture, which I also couldn't find).
-------------------- Symptom Free!!! Thank you all!!!!
posted
Would it be safe to add Prevacid and Pepto to my combo? None of the herbs seem to act as PPIs so I don't see why not.
I want to knock this thing out as quick as possible.
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MariaA
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posted
that's more or less what I did, with my doctor's permission. Of course he's not an herbalist so it's possible that we missed something, but I don't think it can hurt.
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MariaA
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posted
It's been several years since I did this so I don't remember what the downside of Prevacid is- I think there might be one, do some research. Or maybe someone will pipe up here.
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tick battler
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 21113
posted
Hi all,
My 3 year old (who is on abx for Lyme/coinfections) has been waking in the middle of the night with stomach pain and also in the morning like you describe above and even during the day. I have stopped her meds for the past two days to see if improvement was made. She is a little better during the day when the pain seemed to go away, but her stomach hurt this morning when waking up and then after dinner tonight. I think she also feels a little nauseous.
I am so worried about her that I cannot sleep. This is a relatively new development and I worry that her meds have caused this. (If the meds have caused this, do you think H. pylori would be the culprit?)
If we have to stop the meds for too long, I'm terrified that her headaches and ear buzzing and other symptoms will come right back. I feel trapped - not sure what to do. Will contact her LLMD on Monday, but would love your thoughts too.
I gave her some aloe vera tonight. What else would you recommend for a 3 year old? I feel so helpless and it breaks my heart when she wakes up in the middle of the night saying her stomach hurts.
Thanks,
tickbattler
Posts: 1763 | From Malvern, PA | Registered: Jul 2009
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MariaA
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posted
ouch, Im really sorry to hear that. I do'nt know if I really have enough info to be able to answer that. Maybe marshmallow root tea and slippery elm tea. And maybe feeding her oatmeal, which might help because of the soothing mucilage effect of oats. (just watch the sugar if you're making it fruity)
I'd suggest watching out for dairy- it seems to make some ulcers worse.
I was diagnosed with h pylorii with just a stool test- and it's pretty fast turnaround for this test.
Which meds was she on? Doxy can cause stomach pain that's pretty serious for some people. I'm guessing that they don't give it to children because of the teeth-staining possibility, but maybe other medication can do this.
-------------------- Symptom Free!!! Thank you all!!!!
MariaA
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9128
posted
one more thing- camomile tea has stomachache-soothing properties and you should be able to find that at the supermarket this weekend even if you can't get other medicinal herbs. So does mint tea- peppermint or spearmint, anything as long as it's not mixed with green tea! (which has caffeine). Mint is slighlty stimulating but very good for stomach issues. In the Mexican section of the supermarket you might be able to find something called tila or linden tea- it's also used to soothe stomach-aches. It might be a box of tea bags or some loose leaves in the Mexican spices section of the international aisle.
Slippery elm comes in lozenges for sore throat- they taste a little weird but maybe she'll treat them like candy, I liked them when I was slightly older but still a kid. If you give her tea in the middle of the night keep in mind that she may feel additional discomfort if she needs to pee, if she's past the point of having 'accidents'. I know I sometimes forget about the 'full bladder' issue when I drink a medicinal tea before bed and I think it causes me bad dreams and all kinds of discomfort.
-------------------- Symptom Free!!! Thank you all!!!!
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