My Little Monsters

Hello my peeps. I'm going to try to remain positive in this post though this past month has served up many challenges and I have so much to write about. I must admit that there were a few positive things as well that will be worth mentioning.

H. Pylori

So, if you haven't guessed already, the H. Pylori is still here. My lovely little monsters have just decided that my gut is a sweet little place to take up residence and they have really overstayed their welcome. I knew that conventional antibiotics were most likely in order as soon as I received my labs near the beginning of June. The idea of having to implement conventional antibiotics along with the fact that the H. Pylori remained created alot of anger, frustration and sadness. I wanted to give up, but I knew that was not an option. I had a major melt down and head check in with my Psychotherapist and then it was time to move on. With a combined effort between my two very capable and wonderful doctors (my Naturopath, ND and my Doctor of Osteopathy, DO) it was decided that the "Prevpac" or "Triple Therapy" was in order. This consists of two antibiotics, Clarithromycin and Amoxicillin, and a Proton Pump Inhibitor (PPI), Omeprazole.  A PPI for those of you who are wondering is a stomach acid inhibitor. This is utilized in treatment to give the lining of the stomach a chance to heal in the case of ulcers caused by the H. Pylori. To make matters worse, adding more anxiety... Clarithromycin is from a family of antibiotics that give me horrible nausea and Amoxicillin is from the Penicillin family of which I had an allergic reaction (hives) to as a kid. I wasn't thrilled at what I was about to embark on, but somehow I had to view this as helpful and a lesser of two evils since H. Pylori can lead to stomach cancer.  To complicate matters even further, and here comes the good news, my labs had indicated that I had finally eradicated the Candida overgrowth that we had been battling for more than a year. Hoorray!!! The bad news is that I'm terribly sensitive to conventional antibiotics and I typically end up with Candida overgrowth following the use of conventional antibiotics. That said, my ND had planned MEGA probiotics during my antibiotic protocol and 4 weeks of replenishing all the good flora following the end of the antibiotic treatment. Fingers crossed that this has kept my gut in good condition. I had finally gotten my head in the right place mentally to begin my antibiotic regimen when another challenge was placed in my path. It was a Thursday and I had picked up my antibiotics and was just leaving the pharmacy when an email had come in. I had sent an email a week or so prior to a friend about my anguish of having to go on antibiotics. She is a doctor and has worked on my case in the past. She urged me not to go on the antibiotics because there is new research showing that H. Pylori that are only colonized in the lower bowel are  somewhat protective. Apparently stool test are very sensitive to detecting H. Pylori, but do not indicate which part of the bowel the H. Pylori exist in. Breath tests and biopsies that reveal H. Pylori are more indicative of H. Pylori colonized in the upper bowel and this according to my friend the doctor is where the H. Pylori are considered more dangerous. I was appreciative of her concerns, but had to trust in the direction my doctors were headed with my case and frankly the timing was a bit late and served to frustrate and anger me even more, at least in the moment. Besides, I had all the digestive issues that would indicate the H. Pylori was reeking havoc on my system. So, I embarked on my 10 day journey of "Triple Therapy." It was not an easy journey. I had severe nausea for the first 4 days, watery diarrhea for the first 7 days, complete exhaustion, terrible bloating and a foul taste in my mouth. We have been having record breaking heat in the state of Colorado and I was not immune to its effects. On day seven I ended up with heat exhaustion from running just a few short  errands during the midday heat (100 ++ degrees) and the following day I ended up with hives that got progressively worse. They were hot and prickly feeling. This was sort of a delayed allergic reactions because if I hadn't been on the antibiotics, the hives most likely would not have occurred. I still have them and it has been about a week. They are getting better, but very slowly. They are hanging on for dear life. That said, I'm done with the antibiotic treatment. I will send my labs off tomorrow and will know the results in about 2 weeks. Fingers crossed the H. Pylori is gone. H. Pylori is known to be very difficult to eradicate and it is a bacteria that has become more and more antibiotic resistant. I chose the risk (nausea &  hives) of this particular treatment because it is supposed to be the most effective at eradicating H. Pylori and I didn't want to have to turn to antibiotic treatment again. Though the findings are that even with the "Triple Therapy" success rates are only about 50-75% for eradication. That said, I am hopeful that the H. Pylori is gone and that I will finally be able to start on my journey of healing my gut. 

H. Pylori, Candida and Parasites are all closely linked with Hashimoto's and with other autoimmune conditions. They all cause leaky gut in addition to other factors. Next steps on the horizon are to heal my gut, which I hear can take anywhere from 3-6 months and sometimes longer for more difficult cases. I'm not entirely sure of what my gut healing protocol will consist of but I am including this interesting link written by a well known reputable nutritionist, David W. Rowland, whom teaches nutrition and founded two schools of nutrition:  Leaky Gut

It will be interesting to see what my protocol will be. I know that many protocols also include aloe vera. I'm obviously ready to move on, so my peeps, I ask that you cross your fingers for me that the H. Pylori is finally gone and that I am able to take the next steps in my journey. 

Either before or after healing my gut, I cannot remember the order according to my ND, I will have to do an elimination diet again and possibly IgG testing to see what my body reacts to, so that I can avoid further damage. I believe it is after healing the gut, because a leaky gut reacts to everything. Also, once my gut is healed we'll do all the typical labs like CBC, Cholesterol, TSH and we'll also check to see where my thyroid anti-bodies stand at that point. I'm hoping to see many of my inflammatory issues (psoriasis, arthritic pains...) dissipate once my gut is healed. I also hope that I'll finally be able to refocus on weight loss at this point. I've been putting it on the back burner as it truly hasn't been my main priority. I've just made sure that I have been eating healthy foods and quantities and I continue my regular workouts. All these bugs have really gotten in the way of my progress in this area and I've had to give myself credit for just simply hanging in there. It would be so easy to be hard on myself about not meeting any weight loss goals and even gaining a few pounds despite not changing any eating or workout habits, but I truly think it is amazing that I've even made it to the gym on most days. Given the journey I've been on I  guess I should be most proud of myself for not giving up and gentle with myself because my goal will take a little longer than it would for the average person. Those of us whom suffer from autoimmune conditions are very aware we are not average. We are unique, very unique.

On a positive note, I got my inaugural meeting for BUBL off the ground. I even had someone ask me a ton of questions about autoimmune conditions and I was really able to answer her questions thoroughly. To me that was a success and I look forward to future meeting of being able to empower individuals with autoimmune conditions and helping them to learn to advocate for themselves and to seek out better quality of care, that said, take a look at this petition post from one of my blog readers:

Have you heard of the int'l thyroid patient petition for better care: petition

Only 2months old, and it is supported by over 3000 signatures from 65 countries. We are trying to reach every thyroid patient we can so, they can choose to be represented. We all know we need change and it will take large numbers to accomplish that goal.

Here is an interview by Sarah Downing to help you get to know us better: Sarah Downing interview

Thank you in advance for your support,

Michelle

Author
Patients with Thyroid Dysfunction Demand Better Care
www.facebook.com/thyroidpetition

Please sign the petition at the link provided above. 

The next BUBL meeting will be at the new location for the Denver Integrative School of Massage at:  1221 Galapago Street in Denver. The meeting will be held on Wednesday, July 25^th at 6:30 p.m. Come and learn about the benefits of Thai Yoga Massage and see a demo given by the owner of the school. This is a great modality for chronic pain and I’m a huge fan. If you are interested in coming to the meeting, please R.S.V.P. at BUBL.Denver@gmail.com

We hope to see you there.

Until next time, be well!