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General health

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Original poster

digestive enzymes

41 replies

Iworryalot · 05/10/2008 17:35

hi there does anyone take or know anything about digestive enzymes ? i have ibs since having bad childrens tummy bug 2 years ago , also stress and worry have made things worse but is better than was but having done some research found Enzyme Digest with betaine HCI , sounds a good thing to take may help my digestion problems any advice .

OP posts:

jimjamshaslefttheyurt · 05/10/2008 22:36

HN-Zyme contains amylase and lipase....

shrooms · 05/10/2008 22:55

Woops, my mistake. But I still think that they would not work as well with PI.

Original poster

Iworryalot · 06/10/2008 08:51

thanks to you both , i will bring my appt nearer with my gastro man and raise these questions , however im sure he will still say the same IBS , i dont get any pain and only go once a day of which it varies from semi normal to shreddy slush ....i get very bloated throughout the day and by pm im huge ... also as i said i do get vary anxious and stress out about all of this , im thinking it could be intolerance or gut imbalance , have been reeding about candida infections in the gut and paracites to could be these? i had coiliac blood test done all normal had fecal fat test came back normal ?

OP posts:

tatt · 06/10/2008 09:22

Hi - like the name! My OH's "IBS" improved a lot when he excluded all dairy from his diet. He really missed chocolate but had Sainsburys dark chocolate instead .As that was pretty inconvenient we tried him with lactase tablets from Holland & Barrett. A couple of years on and he can now eat an ice-cream without the lactase although still needs it if he has too much milk. He still has to be careful not to eat too much fruit or fibre but lactose intolerance was his major problem.

"Temporary" lactose intolerance is often caused by stomach bugs but it can persist for a very long time. The yoghurt should be helping a bit but I'd suggest you either exclude all dairy for 2 weeks or take lactose tablets daily for the same length of time.

Try it before you see your consultant, you may be able to educate him .

shrooms · 06/10/2008 09:26

Ah, if you had a normal fecal fat level and you only have to go once a day, then I guess you are making enough enzymes. Definately go down the probiotic route then, as I'm sure that imbalances can cause loose stool, where the bacteria make alot of gas and acid, and water is retained in the gut to balance the acidity. Good luck and I hope it gets much better soon! x

Original poster

Iworryalot · 06/10/2008 11:04

what about Acidophilus plus 2 billion lactic bacteria ? the guy in health food shop said this would help me to ? bought it the other day alog with Enzyme Digest with betain HCI. at a loss as what to take if any ?or should i just live with this ? am i making a big deal over nothing ?

OP posts:

jimjamshaslefttheyurt · 06/10/2008 15:16

Don't take enzymes and probiotics at the same time - leave a good few hours between them.

Any gut problems I'd start with the probs. I use biokult because I think its the best, but there are plenty you can try now.

If it persists then try with the enzymes.

DS3 does much better on goats rather than cows milk - could be because it's main casein protein is slightly different or it might be because its easier to digest.

For excessive bloating I'd be tempted to trial cutting down on gluten (or using enzymes if that's hard to do- lots out there that target gluten). If something is going to help I'd expect to see a change pretty quickly though.

Something that really helped ds1's gut was saccromyces. yep it;s a yeast, but a non-colonising one so it helps decrease candida.

Had a long chat recently with a a leading researcher on guts and development. We had a general chat about guts etc and he was very into probiotics.

Original poster

Iworryalot · 06/10/2008 15:22

thankyou for advice it is a bit of job to know which to chose , i thought as these were from health food shop cant harm me but i guess i was mislead by owner who said take the lot ..

OP posts:

jimjamshaslefttheyurt · 06/10/2008 15:25

Nothing wrong with taking both, just don't take both at the same time (you don't want enzymes that could break down your probiotics sitting in your stomach together...)

I think it is always useful to try one change at a time, so you can get a clearer idea of what might work.

Original poster

Iworryalot · 06/10/2008 15:34

yes i think your right .
i can live with the BM as at times it is a bit better ( not perfect ) but its the bloating i get, at times i look pregnant again !

OP posts:

Original poster

Iworryalot · 07/10/2008 11:28

Just looked up coiliac desease , wondered if i may have a mild form ?

doc said blood tests were normal though ? earlyer this year .and the only other way to be sure is to have a coloscapy ( cant spell ) the camers down the throat and it tummy and take biopsys ......

my symptoms are .

Bm once a day ,sometimes shreedy, indigested food

sometimes fluffy and floating , sometimes quite normal .

no pain

lots of bloating and gas

hair thinning .

( although may be stress i guess ) and im worrying alot ..

any advice please

OP posts:

tatt · 07/10/2008 14:13

Possibly you could be coeliac. However as it started after a stomach bug I'd bet on lactose intolerance and too much worrying about it.

Original poster

Iworryalot · 08/10/2008 08:04

been doing some reading up , sounds as thought i could have to, parasites or candida overgrowth or leaky gut , i suffer with a lot of those symptoms , anyone had any of these and knows how you get tested ?

OP posts:

tatt · 08/10/2008 08:45

your gp would probably want to treat you for anxiety. Spend too much time looking at internet health sites and you can convince yourself of almost anything.

You have spent some money on probiotics and digestive enzymes so try them and see if they help. If they don't try lactase for a few weeks. If you are still no better then go to your gp, describe your symptoms and tell them what you have tried so far.

It's a lot easier to try a few things and see if they help than it is to persuade a gp to put you through a load of tests.

Original poster

Iworryalot · 08/10/2008 09:04

thank you , as you can tell i am an anxious person , just want to feel normal again have got obsessed with it all i do know , i will give the digestive enzymes a go first i think and probotic drinks and see what happens , also food combining may help ...

and the doc has wanted to give me AD to take for ages for anxiety ,but i really dont want to take them .

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BlessThisMess · 09/10/2008 10:54

I resisted ADs for a very long time until I had no choice but to take them (I was suicidal) and I have to say they have made such a difference to my anxiety levels that I hope to stay on them for the rest of my life! Been on them 9.5 years now. I think if I came off them now I wouldn't be depressed but the anxiety would increase, and I just much prefer feeling like a normal person! I hated the idea of needing to have them, and really wanted to sort my own head out myself, but now I wouldn't go back for anything.

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