Quick Summary: After a surprisingly rough year, we're finally making progress. I need to build on that progress, by continuing to improve gut function, and by investigating two things that have never been properly addressed -- a possible h. pylori infection, along with the possibility that my mitochondrial (energy) function may be impaired by arsenic toxicity.
In Depth: The year began with a 'fresh start' -- a plan to tackle bacterial overgrowth in my small intestine, which sadly backfired. The resulting side effects took seven(!) months to resolve, but thanks to your support -- after tests and three appointments with 2 local doctors, and many trials of a variety of specific high-dose probiotics -- that part of my digestion is finally improving.
And that is huge. I'll write about that in more detail very soon in a separate post because it's a rather complex but very important piece of the puzzle. In fact, studies have shown that addressing these gut problems can actually lead to remission.
Because I was so distracted by the ever changing intestinal symptoms, I realized that a symptom that I've had during almost my entire illness has never been properly addressed. And that's the fact that I produce...
...almost no stomach acid.
Most people are troubled by excessive stomach acid. With me, it's the exact opposite. In fact, I cannot remember the last time my stomach growled with hunger. I've been prescribed treatments for it, but have never really addressed why it's not producing acid on it's own.
As always, all avenues will be explored. But the first one is to find out if I have an h. pylori infection. Now while an acute infection can raise acid levels, a chronic infection results in reduced stomach acid secretion. That means not only poor protein digestion, but also an increased risk for bacterial infections and the resulting overall poor digestion I've been experiencing.
So what could be lowering the vitamin C levels? Well, this study showed that vitamin C levels normalized following h. pylori eradication.
There's also a chance that normalizing vitamin C levels could improve my muscle wasting. Author Paul Jaminet, who had an infectious MS-like illness, discovered 12 years into his illness that he had scurvy, and it wasn't until he was able to correct that, that he regained the 25 lbs he had lost.
So investigating this possibility -- or anything else that may be causing the low stomach acid -- will be a huge part of the path going forward.
Plus, is there an arsenic connection?
There have been patients who have recovered after they found out that for one reason or another, arsenic was building up in their bodies. One such ME/CFS patient was so sick, they thought he had HIV/AIDS, yet he recovered completely and is now living a full life.
Why am I thinking it might be a problem in my case? Because ever since I went gluten-free in late 2007, I've been eating rice on a daily basis, at almost every meal! Rice is well known to contain elevated levels of arsenic, which usually isn't a problem for most people -- but what if you've been eating it every day for 12 years?
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| On the right -- arsenic in the mitochondria |
And that's where I need your help. My plan going into 2020 is to focus on the three issues I outlined above, in order to determine if these may be factors that can then be addressed to improve my health.
I'm here today because of you. I've only been able to make progress because of your generous support. Please take a moment to consider a contribution to my Birthday Fundraiser so I can continue to see more progress in the New Year.
Thank you!