Taking Combination Pancreatic Enzymes Vs. Just Protease!

[Ray21]

Hi,

I am new to this board and first of all I want to say I am very thankful for such a forum to exist. It has helped me educate myself alot.

About 3 weeks ago I was diagnosed with leaky gut syndrome, and one of the products my doctor has advised me to take is a Pancreatic Enzyme product. I had taken Combo Pancreatic enzymes in the past and although it helped alot with the inflammation of the gut, it gave me a feeling of depression and low energy, so I stopped. (this was a couple of years ago) ... Now to my surprise, my doctor wants me to take it again!

So the curious person that I am, I decided to do a little search, and learn more about Pancreatic enzymes. As it turns out that out of the 3 main enzymes that is pretty much included in all these Pancreatic enzyme products (Amylase, Protease, and Lipase) only 1 is used to digest proteins which is Protease. Amylase is to digest starch and Lipalase is to digest fats.

My question is this: Why should I take a product that has all the enzymes when my problem is digesting Gluten which is a form of protein?? Why not just take Protease??

Protease is sold by itself also, just not as popular. I could not find it in a store, but did see it online.

My goal is to get the inflammation down without the feeling of depression and low energy. So I am so curious to try Protease by itself to see if it does just that.... after all if my pancreas is producing enough Amylase and Lipase, why give it in excess??

So please educate me as to pros and cons of taking Protease by itself vs. a combo of all pancreatic enzymes... Thanks

[Ray21]

I came across something interesting after putting up the original post.

Apparently, there is a test that can measure the enzymes called: Chymotrypsin enzyme test

Also, when I did a search for the word Chymotrypsin enzyme I came across this link that explains more about enzymes:

Open Original Shared Link

Not sure how reliable it is, but just wanted to share.

[Chaff]

Thanks -- I just started taking these, so more information is good.

I don't know anything about these yet, but for leaky gut my understanding is that some people have trouble digesting a ton of things, not just proteins, like carbohydrates (fructose intolerance, especially). Also fat malabsorbtion is a standard celiac thing, I hear. In my case, all of the above is going on.

But please keep this thread updated. If you can get what you need from just taking one or two instead of the whole kit 'n' caboodle, and you avoid your known side effects, that could well help someone else.

[1desperateladysaved]

I had a nutrient absorption blood test called Nutri-VAL from Genova labs. This found I was very low in pancreatic enzymes. I will check if it has the threee mentioned seperate, but I think I need all around help with digestion. I highly recommend taking such a test, so you can find out the best way for you to heal.

Diana

[Ray21]

Well I ordered some Protease alone and should get it next week. I will report back the results to see if it does help digest as well as the combo of all 3 without the side effects that the combo of all 3 causes for me. Another side effect I forgot to mention in my original post is that the combo gives me constipation. For the combo, I am using Gluten Digest by NOW.

[Madagascar]

interesting post. i've been taking digestive enzymes for probably 15 years - and when i discovered them, i started being able to eat a lot of foods that i couldn't eat before. for whatever reason, the one type of food i didn't need to take them with was gluten-containing foods. so i never took them with a bagel, doughnut, basic sandwich, french bread, that type of thing. i've only been diagnosed with celiac disease for a couple of weeks - still not really clear why that was the one kind of food i could eat.

the digestive enzymes made me able to eat steak, fatty things like gravies, pot pies or a piece of fried chicken, high fiber-hard to digest foods like salads and baked potatoes. basically, i could eat a regular plate of food like a "regular" person - no running to the bathroom before the meal was even over.

but anyway, i'm a huge fan of those digestive enzymes. i also take Schiff's Lactose Advantage every day to help with milk products - with them, i'm basically "cured" of my lactose intolerance. i can have a milkshake, bowl of ice cream, whatever. sometimes i take an Accuflora probiotic along with the milk product, but not always.

over the years i've asked several docs what is wrong with me that i have to have digestive enzymes in order to eat - honestly, nobody was interested in pursuing answers for me. i've always found health food stores more helpful than docs for my issues. finally, when my daughter met with a celiac specialist and went gluten-free, i started researching online and when i googled that as a question - the answer is brief: acute or chronic pancreatitis (typically from alcohol abuse), cystic fibrosis, pancreatic cancer and celiac disease. my heart stopped when i read that - there was the answer to what has plagued me my entire life - 40 years of symptoms and wondering what was wrong with me. finally i had the answer. i got tested and yup, that's the issue.

but that's a side story - i'm puzzled that they make you depressed, constipated and have low energy. are you certain there's a direct cause & effect? if so, i wonder if another brand might be different. i haven't had those symptoms, but of course, everyone is different. i buy the Digestive brand ones mentioned in Newbie 101 that are gluten-free. also, here is a link about those symptoms written by a celiac specialist. she connects a lot of things to malabsorption and resulting poor nutrition. take a peek at what she says about depression & insomnia. I also take 5HTP for insomnia and it lets me sleep well and wake up refreshed. you can get 5HTP at many stores. my son takes it for insomnia and anxiety. it provides the tryptophan that she mentions. Open Original Shared Link while it says fibromyalgia in the link address, she is looking at the individual symptoms in it.

let us know how you do with the protease alone. i'll be curious.

[Ray21]

Just wanted to give an update,

I used protease by itself . It helped with digestion as did the combo panc. enzymes, but it caused constipation again...and as before, after a few days the constipation would cause low energy and then feeling down.... I then tried a bit OX Bile 125mg capsule with it and it solved the constipation problem. So all this time, I had a 2nd problem that needed to be addressed... The problem was not the enzymes, it was that in my case there must be some bile obstruction from the gallbladder that was causing constipation in the first place....

I guess this is why fixing Leaky Gut is so difficult. There could be multiple patterns doing on at the same time , and they need to be dissected one by one and a complete and unique solution needs to be put together to work for the individual.

[foam]

Yes there's usually 10 things out of control you need to fix one at the time. It's very very complicated. You also need to fix all the mineral and vitamin deficiencies you will have developed thanks to years of absorption too. B12 and Vitamin D and the main culprits there + magnesium and probably Zinc but B12 and D make you either sleepy or have insomnia or even more likely both at once. When I start not being able to sleep before midnight I know my b12 levels are dropping, it's 100% accurate. I can also tell by the amount of sleep I need per night, as the b12 lowers the hours and minutes sleep I need sneak up

[Ray21]

Yes there's usually 10 things out of control you need to fix one at the time. It's very very complicated. You also need to fix all the mineral and vitamin deficiencies you will have developed thanks to years of absorption too. B12 and Vitamin D and the main culprits there + magnesium and probably Zinc but B12 and D make you either sleepy or have insomnia or even more likely both at once. When I start not being able to sleep before midnight I know my b12 levels are dropping, it's 100% accurate. I can also tell by the amount of sleep I need per night, as the b12 lowers the hours and minutes sleep I need sneak up

Thanks for reminding me about B12 and VitD... I was low on both of those when I had a blood test a year ago.. this was even before knowing I have leaky gut.. I just got a B12 shot last night and noticed my sleep improved the same night! I started taking VitD again too although that one does not seem to show any benefits right away for me.