I am posting this information up for people who are dealing with GP or knows someone who is. These are treatment options that go towards the heart of the problem to hopefully improve quality of life. There are additional drugs that people may add such as proton pump inhibitor(heartburn medication), anti-emetic(nausea suppression). Continue reading “Treatments For Gastroparesis” »
Perhaps you’ve heard about all natural colon cleanses that cure your body by ridding toxins and built up waste in your system. Usually these colon cleansing systems are touted as miracle cures for everything from Irritable Bowel Syndrome to Crohn’s Disease to even cancers. Unfortunately the truth is that there is no ultimate or best colon cleansing program & in fact most are downright frauds. Continue reading ““Natural” Colon Cleanses May Ultimately Not Be Healthy” »
Debbie DeAngelo of GoErie.com wrote an article highlighting some interesting things about ovarian cancer which routinely goes undetected due to misinterpreting warning symptoms. I will have to admit that the symptoms are rather vague and could be hard to decipher as being related to ovarian cancer, especially for someone with a chronic digestive disease like Irritable Bowel Syndrome or Crohn’s Disease.
Some symptoms too look out for are:
“…abdominal bloating, increased abdominal size and urinary urgency.”
as well as:
“…feeling full after a small meal, unexplained weight loss, indigestion, constipation or diarrhea, fatigue and abnormal uterine bleeding.”
Factors that could put you at risk are:
…[a] personal history of breast cancer, family history of breast, uterine, ovarian or colorectal cancer, certain breast cancer genes and use of fertility drugs, especially without achieving pregnancy.
Check out the full article on GoErie.com.
On Sept 2nd, 2010 the Today show ran a segment on Gentrie McKall Hansen, a girl, who recently was diagnosed with Gastroparesis & underwent surgery for an Enterra neuro-stimulator implant. I am glad Gastroparesis is getting some national attention. Her story highlights major issues with our medical system here in the United States. So many things are written off as being “in your head” or mental problems. We’re starting to have a problem with “fast food” doctors, who do not truly care about or listen to their patients or possibly are under immense pressure to push patients in & out the door. I think another story that highlights this is Michael Douglas’ recent diagnosis of stage 4 throat cancer, even though he had been trying to find the reason for his sore throat and ear ache for months, no one caught his cancer early until now. It makes me angry, isn’t the United States supposedly the best healthcare system in the world?
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
References:
Gentrie’s Hunger Game
Gentrie McKall Hansen’s facebook
G-PACT
Gastroparesis & Dysmotilities Association
Living With Gastroparesis
Plantains - Photo By Daegis
Well it appears your mother may have been right about eating your broccoli, especially if you’re dealing with Crohn’s Disease. Scientists have found that people dealing with Crohn’s Disease seem to have problems with certain bacteria invading their gut, specifically a certain type of E. Coli. The fiber in Broccoli & Plantains may help block the E. Coli bacteria from being absorbed by the gut, thus reducing chances of infection & irritation.
Just what is a plantain? It’s basically a banana that isn’t sweet. In some places you can find “plantain chips” which are salted, not sweetened. As far as broccoli goes, the best way to cook
it is to steam it until it’s brilliant green, then remove it immediately. This will allow it to retain flavor & texture. I really do no like mushy broccoli. Even with these findings some people may not be able to tolerate these foods, so don’t put caution to the wind. Take it slow.
References:
Endogastric Solutions, the maker of the Esophyx device announced on Monday(Aug 30th, 2010) that they had secured an additional $30 million dollars in funding. You can read more information about the Esophyx procedure from my previous post on it.
Thierry Thaure, President and Chief Executive Officer of EndoGastric Solutions commented: “Our technology offers significant clinical, economic and strategic benefits to our hospital and surgeon customers. Over the past two years, the EsophyX and StomaphyX product platforms have been embraced with a high level of enthusiasm by the surgeon community…
Esophyx is a fundoplication device & procedure that does not require incisions and instead is performed completely through the esophagus. Esophyx has come under fire recently for misleading statements & performance. It is marketed as a reversible procedure, but many have been told that their procedure cannot be undone. Additionally some have found no benefit or have had their symptoms worsen after the procedure. There is currently at least one lawsuit claiming Endogastric Solutions has made misleading statements regarding the Esophyx procedure.
References:
Endogastric Solutions Press Release
Zoi Greek Style Yogurt Strawberry
The Rise of The Greek Yogurt Empire
Today we’re reviewing Zoi Greek Yogurt.
Zoi Yogurt is made by Auburn Dairy Products. It’s a regional brand found in the Pacific Northwest(USA). The packing is simplistic but charming. It advertises itself as having a “Great Taste – Fit For The Gods”. You can get Zoi in the following flavors: Plain, Vanilla, Honey, Strawberry & Blueberry. One of the best things about the fruit flavors is that they have “Fruit on the Bottom”, which I feel lends to the use of higher quality ingredients and allows one to mix the fruit in or slowly make their way to the fruity explosion awaiting at the bottom. I initially didn’t even know that there was fruit on the bottom(failed to read the label), there was the essence of fruit flavor throughout the yogurt even before I hit the bottom, so the fruit on the bottom was an extra bonus. Continue reading “Yogurt Review – Zoi Greek Style” »
YouTube user rickvanman has a two-part video explaining his experiences with Irritable Bowel Syndrome. He explains both the physical and mental toll IBS can take on the sufferer. I can completely relate his experiences to my own while dealing with Irritable Bowel Syndrome. You can view the videos below, also check out his IBS website.
PART 1:
PART 2:
I am sure your mind must be pondering, “that title doesn’t mean what I think it means”, well actually it means exactly what you’re probably thinking. The first time I heard about fecal transplantation was when my girlfriend discussed it after seeing an episode of Grey’s Anatomy. I thought it was a joke, no way they would really do that. Thanks to the internet and research, it turns out it is indeed not a joke, but an actual procedure that has helped many people.
Fecal transplantation is simply taking stool from a donor who has a healthy, functional digestive system and implanting it into the affected patient. A poo slurry is created with saline, stool & in some cases added fiber. This is done with a blender(you probably won’t want to make smoothies in this thing afterward). Implantation can be done in different ways, such as via enema, colonoscopy or naso-jejunal tube. This is repeated for 5 – 10 days.
The idea behind fecal transplantation is that the sufferer with the disease is suffering from a bacterial/microbial imbalance in their digestive system. There are literally thousand and thousands of different types of microbes and bacteria in our bodies. If you are missing certain types then you will have an imbalance that will either cause problems with digesting food or allow harmful invaders to setup shop in your digestive system. Since you won’t have the good bacteria available to fight off the infection, this can cause long-term problems. This is the case with Clostridium difficile, a bacteria that is extremely hard to get rid of with normal antibiotics or by the immune system. Also in some cases Crohn’s Disease may be the bodies response to invading bacteria, but since it has trouble penetrating the gut to attack the bacteria, it instead inflicts damage on the gut itself.
One thing that is interesting is that many people who had a a history of taking antibiotics seemed more likely to see improvement after transplantation. Antibiotics are known to wipe out your bacterial flora. When I was little I went through many ear infections which involved many doses of antibiotics. I am wondering if this might play some part in my Irritable Bowel Syndrome. A lot of this is theory, but the facts are that fecal transplantation is real and has had beneficial results for many people.
Prof. Thomas Borody has been pioneering this technique in Australia at the Centre for Digestive Diseases. There hasn’t been much effort taking place in the United States, though there are some Gastro doctors who may be willing to entertain the idea. There have been suggestions that the University of Chicago has been holding focus groups regarding fecal transplants & possibly seeking a grant to do further research. There is nothing on their website right now confirming this though.
If you are in the US or UK or you’re not a character on a Grey’s Anatomy episode, you might try doing this on your own. Some enterprising individuals have taken up doing the job of doing it on their own by recruiting stool from their spouse or family. Some have had surprisingly good results as far as combating Crohn’s or Irritable Bowel Syndrome symptoms. Here is a very informative discussion from the HealingWell.com forums with experiences from people who have done the procedure themselves.
Have you done fecal transplantation? Are you a doctor researching it? Comment or e-mail and tell me your story.
References:
There have been a lot more personal injury lawyers airing commercials about Accutane being linked to Inflammatory Bowel Disease. This perked my interest so I hopped online to find out what was going on. There are quite a few lawyers out there offering their services for pursuing legal action against Roche Holdings(creator of Accutane). Some of these lawyers though are incorrectly stating that Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Inflammatory Bowel Disease(Crohn’s/Ulcerative Colitis) are the same thing. They are not & Irritable Bowel Syndrome is not what these lawsuits are about. Continue reading “Accutane Linked To Crohn’s / Ulcerative Colitis / Inflammatory Bowel Disease” »