I’ve been away from the blog for a while trying to figure out what to try next in an attempt to get rid of all my digestive symptoms. I have been on SCD since January 2008 and am still having problems. I found GAPS a while ago and incorporated some of that into my plan as well. Basically GAPS is SCD with extra care on the dairy and supplementation.
I was still having problems this fall with digestive symptoms and so my naturopath suggested a diagnostic test by Genova called the Comprehensive Digestive Stool Analysis. She suggested I get the full test plus parasite test but that was extremely expensive and not covered by my insurance. So I got the full test, and went to my family doctor for an Ova & Parasites test. The CDSA test showed that I am not producing enough stomach acid or pancreatic enzymes. I have some markers of inflammation which can be due to infection by parasites or bacteria. My doctor ran bloodwork and did the O&P; test. The O&P; showed nothing, which doesn’t say much because it is a test that has many false negatives. The blood work showed some elevated liver enzyme and elevated eosinophils. This could be due to parasites as well. So my naturopath decided I have parasites, and my family doctor did not disagree. My family doctor is using this as an opportunity to refer me to a new GI doctor, now that some test I have had done showed something is up. Her hope is that finally a GI doctor will take me seriously and be of some help. I won’t hold my breath.
This past month I tried doing a parasite herbal cleanse prepared by my naturopath. It contains black walnut, quassia, artemisia, berberis, cloves and chiretta. I started on it too strong in the beginning and ended up suffering for 2 weeks with the dreaded ‘D’. So at this point I have stopped taking it but plan to start it very slowly soon. The goal is to take it for over a month to kill all parasites. I’m also supplementing with Betaine HCL and pancreatic enzymes.
Since doing this cleanse I have noticed I can’t seem to tolerate the same foods. I was doing great on eggs, meat, SCD yogurt, raw cheddar cheese, bananas, avocado, applesauce, stewed veggies and some nut baked goods (nuts soaked). I’m actually thinking that right now eggs are really bothering me. I plan to cut them out for 3 days (really tough! it’s my breakfast everyday) and see how that goes. I already tried cutting out nuts and that didn’t help at all, and adding them back in seemed completely fine. So I’ll continue with the nuts. If the eggs are ok, I may see if having too much chicken is bothering me.
For now, here is a recipe I have been making with extra bananas lying around the house:
Banana Nut Muffins
2 cups blanched almonds, soaked
1 egg (optional)
2 bananas
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup honey
Blend almonds to make almond flour or butter. Add all ingredients and mix well. Spread into two 8″x8″ baking pans or muffin tins. Bake at 350F for 35 minutes.
You might notice my nut recipes all look the same with a tiny difference in the amount of nuts or honey. That’s because I haven’t exactly strayed too far from the original nut butter brownies recipe. Don’t fix what ain’t broke, right?
If you have parasites, cutting out all forms of sugar really helps to starve them out. That includes honey and fruit. I had parasites at the beginning too and found that sticking to meat/fish, veg, nut butters and yogurt helped hugely.
I used the naturopathic herbal cleanse as well as homeopathy, probiotic supplements and lots and lots of raw garlic and carrots.
Good luck with it, you will get your balance back.
x x x
Have you tried and ELISA? It can rule out if you need to rotate or if you have additional sensitivites. You might have already had one. I recently had an ELISA IgG Food Panel and my Bakers Yeast antibodies were still outrageous even though I have avoided Bakers Yeast(a SEVERE problem for me). We think it's coming from my fermented foods, (which contain good yeasts but…) even though I had no Crohn's symptoms they kept my yeast antibodies high. So now I'm going to have to do a rotation and anti-yeast diet for awhile. Well, I hope you get it figured out and feel better soon. We are SCD'ers too.
Hi Naomi and Tracee
I have been doing some experimenting with the diet lately, doing lower carb and rotating foods. i do find I feel much better long term having less honey and fruit. I have my yogurt mostly without honey now.
I did the ELISA test a while ago but it didn't really show anything problematic except for egg whites. I haven't done one lately so that may be something to do soon but I have been feeling pretty good lately.
Nice post, thanks for sharing this wonderful and useful information with us.
Green Tea
Hi Kat,
I started seeing a naturopath about 2 weeks ago, and it has done wonders for me! I know they are all quite different in their approaches. My current naturopath doc has me on these herbal homeopathic tinctures and injections once a week that are designed to get my inflamed gut back to a resting/relaxed state, which he claims my gut has forgotten how to do. Anyhow, it’s freaking amazing.
I have been having gut problems for over 3 years, and 3 years ago, I found the parasite cleanse similar to what you are on, on my own, as wasn’t smart enough to cut out sugars at the same time, but it did wonders for me for a good few months, and that is when I gave up gluten & dairy too.
I just quit SCD after 5 months because I feel totally normal. I also quit all dairy allowed on SCD, which made HUGE improvements for me! My naturopath’s wife wrote this great cook-book called the Anti Inflammatory Diet, and that is what I am following now, as it includes rice & more beans, but still cuts out processed sugars and other inflammatory foods like nightshades, pork, dairy: http://www.amazon.com/Anti-Inflammation-Diet-Recipe-Book-Arthritis/dp/0897934857
I can’t say exactly how it all happened, but for the first time in forever, I am now sleeping through the night, my guts are not cramping up, and my side isn’t in burning pain. I wish you all the best in your search!!! I think I read before that white rice was giving you problems before you found SCD, and we are all so different. I just think that reintroducing rice & more fiber has been a huge help for me. When I was x-rayed 6 weeks ago, I had this huge massively backed up inflammed colon with a big looped kink it it. It looked and FELT painful. But somehow this naturopath I am seeing has helped to get ride of the pain. It’s unreal.
http://www.afamilyhealingcenter.com/
I also think dairy was causing a lot of the underlying problems in my health. I will never let another piece of cheese cross these lips! My old GI doc I saw a little while back diagnosed me with Ankylosing spondylitis, which is chronic inflammed back vertebre joints, but since giving up dairy all my back pain has gone away.
xoxo,
Andrea
Ooops, I just realized I commented on a post that is over a year & a half old! Thanks for publishing such a great blog!
-Andrea
@Andrea Lyn Thanks for posting such a detailed account of your own experiences! The parasite cleanse I did worked wonders, I was very impressed with the results I got out of it. Seeing a naturopath did help a lot, and I am still seeing one today although I am changing things up a bit by consulting with a different health expert.
I have been dairy-free for 3 months now and this past week tried some sheep milk SCD yogurt. I did fine with it. But, when I have had cheese or milk I break out. So I think I need to play around with dairy a bit more and figure out what I can tolerate now. No nightshades has helped so much that I’m going to keep them out for a long time before trying to add them back in.
I’m able to have rice now once a week. If I allow myself more I tend to start craving it too much. If I eat too much my stomach does get a bit upset. I’m slowly adding foods in though, and will be adding in more this coming year for sure.
Thanks for commenting, even if it is on a old post!