Tests came back negative but still feeling symptoms?

[hersheygirl9 1]

My GI ran blood and biopsy tests on me. My blood tests showed no sign of celiac and during the endoscopy he said the examined part of the small intestine appeared normal and  he took two random biopsies of the second part of the duodenum. The biopsy came back normal as well. However, I've been noticing a thin film of oil on the water in the toilet and my stool looks fatty with little streaks of what looks like mucus. I know that this fat malabsorption is caused by many things but I just don't know what's happening right now. I get some pain and discomfort on the very lower part of the abdomen and sometimes on the sides or top left. Some in the center but very rarely. It's never sharp pains or excruciating but I'm just not sure what the problem is. What else could cause fatty stools? I still notice a little but of food but my stools are formed. And they don't float. I also noticed some black specks on my stool too. Looks like pepper but I'm not eating anything with pepper sooo. GI wants to run a fecal fat test to see if I'm really not absorbing fats. 

Is it possible I could still have celiacs. The nurse I spoke to said that that's not a suspect right now because of the blood and biopsy results. So if not celiac then what???

I'm a college freshman and the last thing I need right now is all these health problems and I'm just really scared so any advice or help would be great! Thank you!

[Ennis_TX 807]

It could be many things, from something as simple as a nutrient deficiency, or a slightly more complex issues like you might have a intolerance to something causing inflammation  and the formation of said mucus (Mucus can be a sign of bowl irritation also). You could also have non celiac gluten intolerance, if you still suspect gluten. Have you been eating gluten foods? How often? and do you notice anything within a few hours of eating said foods?  It might not be gluten related by a allergy, or food intolerance.

For now try keeping a food journal, write down everything, seasoning, beverage, etc. you eat with each meal and how you feel afterwards. Try each day rotating your meals and certain foods including staples like dairy, and gluten out for 2-3 days and see if anything changes. You might find a certain food gluten or otherwise might be causing your issues.

Also do you have any other symptoms? Swollen lymp nodes, joints hurting, rash, mind fog, etc.

[ironictruth 57]

What blood work? I find more and more reading on Here that many GIs do not run the whole panel. TTG, DGP, EMA  and overall IGA. 

6-8 samples for biopsy including at least one from the duodenal bulb. 

If you were not gluten free for long before the test, or on a challenge, the results are probably accurate and point to not having celiac. If symptoms persist, get a new GI. 

Do you have a gallbladder? Pancreatic enzymes been checked? 

A little mucous is normal. Generally we do not see it.  If you are looking closely you are probably seeing things you have simply not noticed before. 

What are your symptoms again?

[hersheygirl9 1]

On 3/16/2017 at 6:48 PM, Ennis_TX said:

It could be many things, from something as simple as a nutrient deficiency, or a slightly more complex issues like you might have a intolerance to something causing inflammation  and the formation of said mucus (Mucus can be a sign of bowl irritation also). You could also have non celiac gluten intolerance, if you still suspect gluten. Have you been eating gluten foods? How often? and do you notice anything within a few hours of eating said foods?  It might not be gluten related by a allergy, or food intolerance.

For now try keeping a food journal, write down everything, seasoning, beverage, etc. you eat with each meal and how you feel afterwards. Try each day rotating your meals and certain foods including staples like dairy, and gluten out for 2-3 days and see if anything changes. You might find a certain food gluten or otherwise might be causing your issues.

Also do you have any other symptoms? Swollen lymp nodes, joints hurting, rash, mind fog, etc.

I have been eating gluten continuously every day for the past two weeks. I had a period of gluten free for about a month with a couple of slip ups because I was dealing with gastritis. I had a jelly sandwich earlier this morning and about an hour or two felt like I had to go to the restroom but it was just gas and it wasn't an urgent need. It just felt like there was some stool to pass. My stool in the morning when I woke up was very very smooth in texture on one side and that normal jaggedness on the other side. It was a long relatively thick stool. This is how a majority of my stools are. They are formed but the oily film is still there. I'm assuming they're formed because I do take a teaspoon of Citrucel twice every day. 

I think I'll start the diet rotation once I complete the stool test and see what happens from there. All of this is so confusing really. I don't have any swollen lymph nodes I don't think. My knees feel kind of weak but that's just a general problem I've had because my mom suffers from joint pains. But it doesnt hurt or anything. Just feels weird. I'm not sure what kind of rash you're indicating too but I've read about the celiac rash and I haven't noticed anything. I do have slight mind fog though, It's getting harder for me to pay 100% attention to work and such and I'm a little forgetful but I just always attributed it to my being so stressed about college and all these health issues that suddenly started. Thank you!

[hersheygirl9 1]

13 hours ago, ironictruth said:

What blood work? I find more and more reading on Here that many GIs do not run the whole panel. TTG, DGP, EMA  and overall IGA. 

6-8 samples for biopsy including at least one from the duodenal bulb. 

If you were not gluten free for long before the test, or on a challenge, the results are probably accurate and point to not having celiac. If symptoms persist, get a new GI. 

Do you have a gallbladder? Pancreatic enzymes been checked? 

A little mucous is normal. Generally we do not see it.  If you are looking closely you are probably seeing things you have simply not noticed before. 

What are your symptoms again?

The doctor did an IgA and TtG-IGA test. I asked the nurse why the DGP and EMA wasn't run and she said it was because the TtG and IgA was normal so there was no need to test for the other two. I also questioned the two biopsies in terms of number and she just said that because of my blood results and the normalcy of the first part of the duodenum the doctor just took two from the second part which is worrying me because what if he missed something. The nurse and my roommates mom who is a physician both stated that if there is damage, it will be evident. And I know there's a lot of different info on the internet and I cant say that all of it is true since I'm not a doctor and all but it's just so frustrating and I know I should wait for the results and not stress over what I don't know but it's so difficult. 

I do have a gallbladder and I don't think my enzyme levels were checked. I got an abdominal ultrasound and that was found normal except a cyst in my kidney.

Yeah, I look very closely at my stool now and notice a lot more and it's honestly a little scary because what if these problems have been happening for a while and I just never noticed. But then, I never had any abdominal ache either until i got diagnosed with gastritis so I don't know. 

I have a little upper abdominal pain but that might be due to the h. pylori infection and gastritis I'm having right now. I feel a little nauseous after eating just about anything, again a symptom of the PPI I'm taking. I'm not very bloated either. That actually went down a few days ago. Might be because the GI told me to change the amount of time i put between taking the PPI and eating food. I still have gas but I wouldn't say it is excessive as I used to have gas before all this too as it is normal to pass gas. As Ennis_Tx asked earlier I do have a little bit of mind fog with forgetfulness and being unable to pay too much attention I think that's just a stress thing but maybe know. I hope its a stress thing. I've been so focused on these issues and googling everything which is a terrible decision for someone as anxious as me. I'm also 4 days late for my period. I don't know if all this leads to Celiac and I'm honestly soo worried but yeah.  If you could read my reply to Ennis_Tx I talked a little bit more of what I was experiencing. 

Any and all advice/help would be great. Thank you.

[moosemalibu 48]

Sorry to hear of your woes! Ask your doctor regarding tests for your gall bladder and perhaps discuss possibility of colitis? If they ran the correct Celiac panel and your biopsies look good it may not be Celiac. But 2 biopsies is not a lot but for some reason most doctors don't do a large portion. 

[hersheygirl9 1]

7 hours ago, moosemalibu said:

Sorry to hear of your woes! Ask your doctor regarding tests for your gall bladder and perhaps discuss possibility of colitis? If they ran the correct Celiac panel and your biopsies look good it may not be Celiac. But 2 biopsies is not a lot but for some reason most doctors don't do a large portion. 

Yeah, I'm going to visit my doctor at the beginning of april so I'll have to bring this up. I hope that the number he took was enough because it would be so terribly frustrating if it was celiac all this time and I just didn't know because he didn't take enough biopsies. Thank you!

[cyclinglady 1,573]

At 19 my niece was diagnosed with Crohn's.  They checked her for celiac disease (because of me), but all tests were negative.  She was still getting severe abdominal pain every few months (many ER visits)  but it was getting worse (but never daily).  Her 4th GI ordered a pill camera and found the Crohn's damage located at the very end of the small intestine (one year later and she is doing well!)

Now, do not freak.  I just offered it up as another possible test (pill camera) in the future.  Try to get some rest, eat healthy, and save your energy for studying until your April appointment.  

You can always trial the gluten-free diet since you have tested negative.  

[hersheygirl9 1]

2 hours ago, cyclinglady said:

At 19 my niece was diagnosed with Crohn's.  They checked her for celiac disease (because of me), but all tests were negative.  She was still getting severe abdominal pain every few months (many ER visits)  but it was getting worse (but never daily).  Her 4th GI ordered a pill camera and found the Crohn's damage located at the very end of the small intestine (one year later and she is doing well!)

Now, do not freak.  I just offered it up as another possible test (pill camera) in the future.  Try to get some rest, eat healthy, and save your energy for studying until your April appointment.  

You can always trial the gluten-free diet since you have tested negative.  

I will keep that possibility in mind! I will talk to the doctor and see what he can do. Hopefully, my insurance will allow it or the doctor will actually give the test a try. Thank you so much! I'll try to relax until my appointment.

[ironictruth 57]

I did not realize you had H. pylori as well as gastritis. This, and the ppi's may be what is going on. Are you also on antibiotics?

[Posterboy 146]

hersheygirl9,

2 hours ago, ironictruth said:

I did not realize you had H. pylori as well as gastritis. This, and the ppi's may be what is going on. Are you also on antibiotics?

I agree with ironictruth I believe it is the affects of the PPI's.  They can be hard to get off too without experiencing the rebound wall.

see this thread from medhelp that discusses the problem you describe.

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Gastroenterology/Black-Specks-in-Stool/show/1606819

In short black specs can be a normal thing -- black stool is a medical issue.

The mucus film is mostly likely undigested fats this could be from taking the PPI's because your stomach acid is now too low to trigger the absorption of  them.

PPI's are/were only every intended to be taken for a short period of time. 2 months max or we become low in things like Magnesium which help us make energy.  Find Magnesium Citrate or Magnesium gylinate taking 3/day will really help your energy levels.  taking PPI's restrict your bodies natural ability to absorb important nutrients like Magnesium.  They even advertise this affect in warning labels now.

Also A strong acid actually kills most bacteria in 15 minutes.  Once your stomach lining becomes dried out it is suscepital to cracking and infection.  An injured/inflamed stomach i.e your gastritis (itis is inflammation) could be the trigger.

Taking Mastic gum can help with your Ulcer.  95% of ulcers are caused by an overgrowth of H.Pyori that has eaten a hole in the stomach wall.

Taking betainehcl (powdered stomach acid) can help you find your gastric tolerance.

see this article that explains how to accomplish this http://20somethingallergies.com/how-much-hcl-do-i-take-learn-to-test-for-your-correct-dose/

If when you first start the betainehcl it feels like someone is putting a cigarette out in your stomach it is the ulcer reacting to the stomach acid.

I also recommend reading chris kresser's work on "what everybody should know about stomach acid but doesn't" piece.

https://chriskresser.com/what-everybody-ought-to-know-but-doesnt-about-heartburn-gerd/

Eating low carb for a few months can help you get off the PPI's (especially if you are also taking replacement stomach acid ie. betainehcl capsules) because carbs ferment splattering the low stomach acid you know have back onto the esophagus wall (uncoated) unlike a healthy stomach that has mucus naturally.

this will only need to be done for 3 or 4 months max until your body can take over and begin producing it's own stomach acid naturally at a healthy level.

Begin taking Niacinamide or Slo-Niacin (3/day) at the same time you begin the betainehcl and in 3 months your body will have healed from the gastritis.

Stress makes us low in B-vitamins and B-vitamins help us with stress.

See this link that explains why this is so.

http://www.yourhealthbase.com/database/niacin-treats-digestive-problems.htm

There was even new research this week confirming once again that B-Vitamins help us when we are stressed.  It is a totally unrelated health issue but it illustrates the point.

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-39231896

"B-Vitamins may have 'protective effect' against air pollution.

***** this is not medical advice but taking betainehcl for gastric support can help many GI problems.

I hope this is  helpful.

posterboy,

 

[hersheygirl9 1]

6 hours ago, ironictruth said:

I did not realize you had H. pylori as well as gastritis. This, and the ppi's may be what is going on. Are you also on antibiotics?

I took antibiotics about a month and a half ago because I had some sort of stomach bug and was prescribed the antibiotic Amoxicillin-Clavulanate and prednisone, a steroid for ear inflammation. But its been a bit over a month since my last dose of either of those. The doctor doesn't want to give me a prescription for antibiotics for h. pylori until I see him in April which is really frustrating but that's his office's policy apparently.  But can PPI's cause fat malabsorption? That seems like very uncommon and far out thing? Because the fat absorption happens in my small intestine. Honestly, I really really hope it is the PPI's. However, the nurse said that h. pylori doesn't cause fat malabsorption so I don't know what's going on at this point. 

Is there any relation to all of this in terms of my period being late? It's never been more than 2/3 days late if anything it will come a couple of days early. It's at day 6 now which my tracking app says is within the normal but I don't know. I have been really stressed but how far back can that even push the period? 

I also woke up this morning with one eyelid swollen, my right one. With the upper right and a little bit lower too part swollen rather than the entire thing. It doesn't itch or anything and I don't have any discharge. It just feels and looks kinda swollen and hurts a little, actually. I think my left eye is also sswelling but I guess I won't know for sure until tonight or tomorrow morning. I've read that this can be a sign of a stye starting to form. I'm hoping it's a stye but any help? 

Thank you!

[hersheygirl9 1]

2 hours ago, Posterboy said:

hersheygirl9,

I agree with ironictruth I believe it is the affects of the PPI's.  They can be hard to get off too without experiencing the rebound wall.

see this thread from medhelp that discusses the problem you describe.

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Gastroenterology/Black-Specks-in-Stool/show/1606819

In short black specs can be a normal thing -- black stool is a medical issue.

The mucus film is mostly likely undigested fats this could be from taking the PPI's because your stomach acid is now too low to trigger the absorption of  them.

PPI's are/were only every intended to be taken for a short period of time. 2 months max or we become low in things like Magnesium which help us make energy.  Find Magnesium Citrate or Magnesium gylinate taking 3/day will really help your energy levels.  taking PPI's restrict your bodies natural ability to absorb important nutrients like Magnesium.  They even advertise this affect in warning labels now.

Also A strong acid actually kills most bacteria in 15 minutes.  Once your stomach lining becomes dried out it is suscepital to cracking and infection.  An injured/inflamed stomach i.e your gastritis (itis is inflammation) could be the trigger.

Taking Mastic gum can help with your Ulcer.  95% of ulcers are caused by an overgrowth of H.Pyori that has eaten a hole in the stomach wall.

Taking betainehcl (powdered stomach acid) can help you find your gastric tolerance.

see this article that explains how to accomplish this http://20somethingallergies.com/how-much-hcl-do-i-take-learn-to-test-for-your-correct-dose/

If when you first start the betainehcl it feels like someone is putting a cigarette out in your stomach it is the ulcer reacting to the stomach acid.

I also recommend reading chris kresser's work on "what everybody should know about stomach acid but doesn't" piece.

https://chriskresser.com/what-everybody-ought-to-know-but-doesnt-about-heartburn-gerd/

Eating low carb for a few months can help you get off the PPI's (especially if you are also taking replacement stomach acid ie. betainehcl capsules) because carbs ferment splattering the low stomach acid you know have back onto the esophagus wall (uncoated) unlike a healthy stomach that has mucus naturally.

this will only need to be done for 3 or 4 months max until your body can take over and begin producing it's own stomach acid naturally at a healthy level.

Begin taking Niacinamide or Slo-Niacin (3/day) at the same time you begin the betainehcl and in 3 months your body will have healed from the gastritis.

Stress makes us low in B-vitamins and B-vitamins help us with stress.

See this link that explains why this is so.

http://www.yourhealthbase.com/database/niacin-treats-digestive-problems.htm

There was even new research this week confirming once again that B-Vitamins help us when we are stressed.  It is a totally unrelated health issue but it illustrates the point.

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-39231896

"B-Vitamins may have 'protective effect' against air pollution.

***** this is not medical advice but taking betainehcl for gastric support can help many GI problems.

I hope this is  helpful.

posterboy,

 

As I mentioned to ironictruth's post I didn't realize PPI's can affect the small intestine and I truly hope it is the PPI's or lack of digestive enzymes from my gallbladder and such. I will look into these links and speak to my Primary Care Provider, hopefully she will be able to guide me. Thank you!

[Posterboy 146]

hersheygirl9,

This response will be a little technical and probably longer than it should be so hold on for the ride.

But I am trying to educate here and sometimes that requires a long post.

I will quote Jennifer Scribner in her entirety because I can't say it better than she does.  she writes for the bodywisdomnutrition website

I will let you know when I am typing again so know it is me.  But in short digestion is a north south process and when you think of it that way it helps you to understand it better and it works better that way too!

Quoting Jennifer

"Digestion: A North to South Process

By Jennifer Scribner on in Digestion

I started writing a bit about digestive issues and then I realized that I should probably start at the beginning and describe how digestion works when it’s functioning optimally. Digestion is a north to south process, but until I was studying it I didn’t really have a good grasp on how the organs interact with each other.

Digestion is a North to South Process

Digestion is defined as the mechanical and chemical breakdown of food. Proper digestion breaks food down into molecules that are small enough to be absorbed by the body’s cells. This is how we get the nutrients that are reassembled and used to make our entire body!

When training to become a Nutritional Therapist we learn that digestion is the foundation that all the body’s processes rest on. If you have a problem anywhere in your digestion it will eventually lead to other health problems. If your fats, proteins and carbohydrates aren’t properly broken down in to their individual parts, how will you successfully build new cell membranes, muscles, or neurotransmitters?

Digestion begins in your northernmost organ – your brain. The thought of food or the site & smell of food are what triggers your salivary glands to kick up production of saliva. When you put a bite of food in your mouth your teeth grind it smaller and your saliva mixes with it to lubricate things and start breaking down the carbohydrates. Chewing begins the mechanical breakdown of the food, sparing your stomach from having to do so much work. Notice the difference in how your stomach feels after a rushed meal where you’ve “inhaled” your food compared to a relaxed meal where you have taken the time to chew things a few extra moments. That bloated or achy feeling may be your stomach complaining that it’s overworked.

When you swallow, the mix of food goes down your esophagus and through the Lower Esophageal Sphincter (LES) into your stomach. This is the valve that typically works one-way to keep your stomach acid contained (when it works inappropriately you get heartburn – more on this in a future post). The stomach is muscular and it moves and contracts to continue to mechanically break down the food, while gastric juice is secreted and these chemicals starts to work on it at the same time.

It’s important that the stomach maintain a very acidic pH of between 1.5 – 3.0 in order to work optimally. This turns the food into a paste-like consistency that is then ready to be released into the first part of the small intestine, called the duodenum. Since the pH is still so acidic, the pancreas is triggered to release some bicarbonate (yep, like baking soda) to return it to a neutral pH of 7 so the rest of the intestine doesn’t get burned. Then the pancreas secretes enzymes to further break things down, and the gall bladder secretes bile to emulsify the fats so they will be the proper size to be absorbed. At this point the food is almost totally digested and is ready to be absorbed.

Muscular action of the small intestine moves the components through and millions of tiny, finger-like, villi grab a hold of the nutrients so they can be carried into the body through the blood and lymph system. 90% of what nourishes you is absorbed in the small intestine!

The leftovers, which consists of undigestable fiber, water, bile, and old cells, gets pushed through to the large intestine, aka colon. Here the water gets recycled and missed nutrients get captured and turned in to vitamins K, B1 & B12. What’s left after that becomes the feces and exits to the south.

With the basics covered, I’ll get a little more in depth about stomach acid and indigestion in my next couple posts!"

It is me again.

Your digestive enzymes works best at a certain PH and when you take an acid reducer their affect is limited and hence the fat goes unabsorbed.

Medical/pharmaceutal companies know this and actually study ways to "reacidify" your stomach.

see this link  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3946491/

a strong PH is needed to help the medicine's we take work properly.

the livestrong website has a less technical but still helpful article on why fats needs to be emusified for good absorption to take place.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/420307-what-does-emulsify-fats-mean/

dr.heaney's blog simply illustrates (with graphs) for evaluating nutrient's affect see. figure 2.

http://blogs.creighton.edu/heaney/2013/06/25/some-rules-for-studies-evaluating-nutrient-effects/

By changing the PH of you stomach you shift the curve of absorption limiting your fat intake or lack there of passing the fat along to areas of the GI not equipped to absorb fat int he first place thus it passes out into your colon.... and finally your stool.

Nutrient's and fats in this case go through undigested/metabolised because they are not being digested properly.

there are two drugs I run away from when I get the chance statins and PPI's.

the news on PPI"s keep getting wore and worse.

Here is a great summary article on their long term (more than 2 months use) when people often take them for years and years.

http://www.liveinthenow.com/article/acid-reflux-drugs-dementia-risk-heres-need-know

subtitled "Is your antiacid making you sick?".

they can cause chronic kidney issues (latest news), dementia in the long term, increase your chance of Diff C. (like your H. Pylori only worse in the colon) etc.

quoting another site discussing the health affects on the heart.

http://www.thecardiologyadvisor.com/heart-failure/acid-reflux-medication-linked-to-death-in-coronary-artery-disease/article/639391/

"PPIs are commonly used to prevent or treat these GI complications, but PPI use may lead to pneumonia, micronutrient deficiencies, and osteoporosis-related fractures." not counting low magnesium Levels.

Read the label or listen to the  fine print/read the next TV add for acid reducers.

You need magnesium to make energy.  Find a Magnesium Citrate and you body will thank you for it.

3/day will help your energy levels.

Going low carb can help some of these GI symptom's you might be having because carbs ferment and splatter stomach acid onto your uncoated esophagus wall.

sorry to go on a tirade. go back and read chris kresser link and the 20somethingallergy link and it will tell you how to take powdered stomach acid to get off PPI's for good.

***this is not medical advice.

I hope this is helpful.

posterboy,

 

 

[Jmg 299]

15 hours ago, hersheygirl9 said:

The doctor did an IgA and TtG-IGA test. I asked the nurse why the DGP and EMA wasn't run and she said it was because the TtG and IgA was normal so there was no need to test for the other two.

There are two contrasting approaches here and I understand where your roommates mother and nurse are coming from. The TTG is considered the most accurate of the serological tests: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19664074  It's also cheaper to run. 

However, there are some people that test negative on that test but who do show up on one of the others. That's why the preference here is for the full panel to be run. There are diagnosed celiacs on this board who DO NOT TEST POSITIVE for TTG so the decision not to run the other tests may be as much related to resource management as clinical best practice.

15 hours ago, hersheygirl9 said:

the doctor just took two from the second part which is worrying me because what if he missed something. The nurse and my roommates mom who is a physician both stated that if there is damage, it will be evident.

 

It's very difficult to even question medical professionals. They're doing their day job and see lot's of different people in a day, you're incredibly personally invested. They have knowledge and experience. You have some alternative viewpoints you've researched but little way to validate them. They have the terminology. etc etc. It's a very stressful experience and no-one could blame you for feeling stressed out by it. I do and I've had a lot of experience over the past few years. 

Try writing some short notes for yourself before you see the dr. Just some bullet points that you want to convey and maybe one sentence outlining the outcome you want to see. The more concise and punchy you are, the better chance you'll be listened to. 

[hersheygirl9 1]

On 3/18/2017 at 6:39 PM, Posterboy said:

hersheygirl9,

This response will be a little technical and probably longer than it should be so hold on for the ride.

But I am trying to educate here and sometimes that requires a long post.

I will quote Jennifer Scribner in her entirety because I can't say it better than she does.  she writes for the bodywisdomnutrition website

I will let you know when I am typing again so know it is me.  But in short digestion is a north south process and when you think of it that way it helps you to understand it better and it works better that way too!

Quoting Jennifer

"Digestion: A North to South Process

By Jennifer Scribner on in Digestion

I started writing a bit about digestive issues and then I realized that I should probably start at the beginning and describe how digestion works when it’s functioning optimally. Digestion is a north to south process, but until I was studying it I didn’t really have a good grasp on how the organs interact with each other.

Digestion is a North to South Process

Digestion is defined as the mechanical and chemical breakdown of food. Proper digestion breaks food down into molecules that are small enough to be absorbed by the body’s cells. This is how we get the nutrients that are reassembled and used to make our entire body!

When training to become a Nutritional Therapist we learn that digestion is the foundation that all the body’s processes rest on. If you have a problem anywhere in your digestion it will eventually lead to other health problems. If your fats, proteins and carbohydrates aren’t properly broken down in to their individual parts, how will you successfully build new cell membranes, muscles, or neurotransmitters?

Digestion begins in your northernmost organ – your brain. The thought of food or the site & smell of food are what triggers your salivary glands to kick up production of saliva. When you put a bite of food in your mouth your teeth grind it smaller and your saliva mixes with it to lubricate things and start breaking down the carbohydrates. Chewing begins the mechanical breakdown of the food, sparing your stomach from having to do so much work. Notice the difference in how your stomach feels after a rushed meal where you’ve “inhaled” your food compared to a relaxed meal where you have taken the time to chew things a few extra moments. That bloated or achy feeling may be your stomach complaining that it’s overworked.

When you swallow, the mix of food goes down your esophagus and through the Lower Esophageal Sphincter (LES) into your stomach. This is the valve that typically works one-way to keep your stomach acid contained (when it works inappropriately you get heartburn – more on this in a future post). The stomach is muscular and it moves and contracts to continue to mechanically break down the food, while gastric juice is secreted and these chemicals starts to work on it at the same time.

It’s important that the stomach maintain a very acidic pH of between 1.5 – 3.0 in order to work optimally. This turns the food into a paste-like consistency that is then ready to be released into the first part of the small intestine, called the duodenum. Since the pH is still so acidic, the pancreas is triggered to release some bicarbonate (yep, like baking soda) to return it to a neutral pH of 7 so the rest of the intestine doesn’t get burned. Then the pancreas secretes enzymes to further break things down, and the gall bladder secretes bile to emulsify the fats so they will be the proper size to be absorbed. At this point the food is almost totally digested and is ready to be absorbed.

Muscular action of the small intestine moves the components through and millions of tiny, finger-like, villi grab a hold of the nutrients so they can be carried into the body through the blood and lymph system. 90% of what nourishes you is absorbed in the small intestine!

The leftovers, which consists of undigestable fiber, water, bile, and old cells, gets pushed through to the large intestine, aka colon. Here the water gets recycled and missed nutrients get captured and turned in to vitamins K, B1 & B12. What’s left after that becomes the feces and exits to the south.

With the basics covered, I’ll get a little more in depth about stomach acid and indigestion in my next couple posts!"

It is me again.

Your digestive enzymes works best at a certain PH and when you take an acid reducer their affect is limited and hence the fat goes unabsorbed.

Medical/pharmaceutal companies know this and actually study ways to "reacidify" your stomach.

see this link  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3946491/

a strong PH is needed to help the medicine's we take work properly.

the livestrong website has a less technical but still helpful article on why fats needs to be emusified for good absorption to take place.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/420307-what-does-emulsify-fats-mean/

dr.heaney's blog simply illustrates (with graphs) for evaluating nutrient's affect see. figure 2.

http://blogs.creighton.edu/heaney/2013/06/25/some-rules-for-studies-evaluating-nutrient-effects/

By changing the PH of you stomach you shift the curve of absorption limiting your fat intake or lack there of passing the fat along to areas of the GI not equipped to absorb fat int he first place thus it passes out into your colon.... and finally your stool.

Nutrient's and fats in this case go through undigested/metabolised because they are not being digested properly.

there are two drugs I run away from when I get the chance statins and PPI's.

the news on PPI"s keep getting wore and worse.

Here is a great summary article on their long term (more than 2 months use) when people often take them for years and years.

http://www.liveinthenow.com/article/acid-reflux-drugs-dementia-risk-heres-need-know

subtitled "Is your antiacid making you sick?".

they can cause chronic kidney issues (latest news), dementia in the long term, increase your chance of Diff C. (like your H. Pylori only worse in the colon) etc.

quoting another site discussing the health affects on the heart.

http://www.thecardiologyadvisor.com/heart-failure/acid-reflux-medication-linked-to-death-in-coronary-artery-disease/article/639391/

"PPIs are commonly used to prevent or treat these GI complications, but PPI use may lead to pneumonia, micronutrient deficiencies, and osteoporosis-related fractures." not counting low magnesium Levels.

Read the label or listen to the  fine print/read the next TV add for acid reducers.

You need magnesium to make energy.  Find a Magnesium Citrate and you body will thank you for it.

3/day will help your energy levels.

Going low carb can help some of these GI symptom's you might be having because carbs ferment and splatter stomach acid onto your uncoated esophagus wall.

sorry to go on a tirade. go back and read chris kresser link and the 20somethingallergy link and it will tell you how to take powdered stomach acid to get off PPI's for good.

***this is not medical advice.

I hope this is helpful.

posterboy,

 

 

I will be seeing my GI in three weeks and my PCP tomorrow so I will ask them about their input. I will have to wait for my h. pylori treatment to end though i think before I can stop PPI.

Thank you!

[hersheygirl9 1]

8 hours ago, Jmg said:

There are two contrasting approaches here and I understand where your roommates mother and nurse are coming from. The TTG is considered the most accurate of the serological tests: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19664074  It's also cheaper to run. 

However, there are some people that test negative on that test but who do show up on one of the others. That's why the preference here is for the full panel to be run. There are diagnosed celiacs on this board who DO NOT TEST POSITIVE for TTG so the decision not to run the other tests may be as much related to resource management as clinical best practice.

 

It's very difficult to even question medical professionals. They're doing their day job and see lot's of different people in a day, you're incredibly personally invested. They have knowledge and experience. You have some alternative viewpoints you've researched but little way to validate them. They have the terminology. etc etc. It's a very stressful experience and no-one could blame you for feeling stressed out by it. I do and I've had a lot of experience over the past few years. 

Try writing some short notes for yourself before you see the dr. Just some bullet points that you want to convey and maybe one sentence outlining the outcome you want to see. The more concise and punchy you are, the better chance you'll be listened to. 

I think I will do that when I see my GI in a few weeks. My only concern is that I don't want the GI to assume that I'm undermining his knowledge which is most definitely not what I'm trying to do but so many outlets have given me so much different information I'm not sure what to do with it. I know he won't do another endoscopy to retake a biopsy but hopefully another full celiac panel and maybe a gene test? To completely rule out celiac or keep it as an option. Any suggestion on how to approach the doctor about my concerns? Thank you!