Gastro/ sibo detectives

So apparently this is THE place to go for an FMT. There's one in the UK and one in the bahamas. I'm setting up a call with them. I think I will do this in the bahamas once you can safely travel there, assuming i like what i hear.

https://taymount.com

yep - that is the one I was thinking of - a very interesting podcast with that guy on Chris Kressers RHR - will try to find the link.
of course, all these guests appear to promote their product and tell us how much better than everyone else's their particular product is - but this guy made a lot of sense to me and if I were to do it I think it would be at that place.

my gut feel though - if you pardon the pun is that it's more likely that the gut environment is screwed - making it impossible to keep a good balance of gut bacteria - rather than bad bacteria ruining the environment - if you see what i mean.

my reasoning for this is largely based on my personal experience - and that of my partners - before i got a lyme diagnosis we both treated the gut for sibo and overgrowth with a very comprehensive dysbiosis protocol - tested before and after with Drs Data stool test and OAT test - results showed we had knocked back all undesirable overgrowths - but symptoms all came back within a couple of weeks.

we were also supplementing like with multiple probiotics,( multiple bifido and lactobacillus, saccharomyces b. homemade Kefir and Saurkraut) and yet these strains hardly made any appearance on a PCR stool test - though my partner who was less sick than me had about 50%-100% more of each - indicating perhaps that the sicker we are the less these good guys are able to prosper....

that said there are some cases where the microbiome gets so knocked out of shape it doesn't seem to be able to get back into a good balance on its own even after the threat/disturbance is gone. I think this is documented in patients after c-diff for instance - and that this the main approved use of FMT. so who knows....

i can certainly understand why you would want to try it - and i might as well somewhere down the road - so v interested to hear how you get on if you do go that way.

Great points garzie, and very interesting anecdote. My understanding is that over the counter probiotics just dont colonize that well, or at all. But an FMT has a legitimate shot at colonizing.

Remission rates for things like Ulcerative Colitis are actually quite high, too, which would imply long term colonization for some people, i think

WalkingbyFaith said...
I am trialing Atrantil right now. It’s a non-Rx herbal product designed to target the archaea bacteria. I’m on my third day. I will do a minimum of 2 weeks at full dose and possibly 30 days to know if it will work for me. I’ll keep you posted.

I mentioned Atrantil in another post and decided to do a search on it. havent tried it myself. How did you make out on it WBF?

Thanks WBF. I'm going to try it since I have the bloating, gas, etc. I agree with you, if you dont have the bloating andg as it doesnt really fit the IBS mold.

Is ropeworm a real pathogen? I remember you were thinking for a while it wasnt a real pathogen just a mucus of sorts? Have you tried ivermectin?

Geez these diseases are just too much. I'm sorry you have to go through this. Have you considered moving to the desert for a while? Seems like it would be good for you.

It sounds like your nervous system is on edge. Did you get benefit from DNRS? I assume you must have tried it?

Also, do you think Alinia caused the UTI?

Maybe start with NAC instead jumping right to the glutathione? Increases glutathione but will allow your body to decide how much to make

Interesting my NAC was literally zero as well. I wonder if that means mold or some other toxin is using it up

I think SIBO is a form of immune deficiency - bugs suppress WBC and overgrow is the result of WBC loosing control over gut biome.

dcd2103 said...
Interesting my NAC was literally zero as well. I wonder if that means mold or some other toxin is using it up

yep - my NAC, Glutathione Marker and Vitamin C were all on the floor in my OAT test
(i think i stopped supplementing 3 days before to try to avoid skewing the test too much)

basically all the antioxidants being used up

glutathione is the master one involved in the redox reaction ( NAC is a precursor for it ) and Vitamin C allows glutathione to be recycled - i think its a sign the the redox reaction ( the burning of energy in the mitochondria ) is running really dirty with lots of free radicals - and they are using up all the anti-oxidants.

fatigue is linked to this poor redox control / mitochondrial dysfunction also

i wish i knew Dcd.

the easy answer is to resolve what is driving it - but of course therein lies the million dollar question.

people like Myhill believe it can be any one of a number of things that cause the mitochondrial function to breakdown ( she has published a few papers on this - with some supporting evidence )
-infections (incl Lyme disease )
-heavy metals
-organic toxins ( like pesticides, organophosphates etc - she says she sees this a lot in farmers )
-immune dysregulation/auto-immunity
-mold - but i don't recall her talking about this one too much

note the similarities with people like Horowitz etc - multiple causes aggravating and perpetuating an underlying issue.

my take on it is that this is a very real issue but somewhat downstream of the true root cause - and that many root causes can lead to the same or very similar condition in different individuals.

in one person the root cause might be infection - in another a toxin - in another heavy metals.
or perhaps infection weakens / stresses the system - that was already loaded to near it maximum limit due to an accumulation of other factors - and this tips is over the edge of what homeostasis mechanisms can sustain - then it get stuck in a loop.

there is a clear feedback loop in the redox cycle malfunction - poor redox efficiency leads to lots of free radicals made when burning energy - which causes more damage to the mitochondrial membranes - and this leads to even poorer efficiency - and round we go again.

some of her papers describe damaged phospholipids in the mitochondrial membranes - which is the membrane across which the energy is transferred for use in the cell - things like oxidised lipids and metals can be found there in people with severe fatigue.

she is a big keto advocate and says this helps the redox system dramatically - and healthy undamaged fats in the keto / paleo style diet help replenish the damaged lipids over time
so you and i are both doing that to a fair degree already with some improvements - but not cure (though she maintains this does happen for many / most of her patients over time - every CFS doc seems to say this - yet the forums are full of people who are well and truly stuck.....)

she is also a big advocate of pacing for people with CFS/ Fatigue/PEM - to avoid stressing the system while it recovers - but again - while this helps manage the condition - its not really helped me move forward.

in my case i feel what she talks about is part of the issue - but not the root - at least in my case - something is driving the process to continue at the root

my guess is either infection of ongoing immune dysfunction / auto-immunity - in my case.
i cannot rule out some kind of environmental toxin all together - as my partner and i became ill at the same time - but as to what - very hard to even compile a list of what it could be - and do have positive lyme test and v good fit of symptoms to lyme and Bart and both are notoriously hard to treat - so again this fits best - along with moderate response to abx and also to lyme and co-infection herbs.

certainty over root cause would be a very nice thing indeed!