Gi Repair Kit ?

[monika]

So I did the GI testing and I have alot of things I need to avoid. I was told that the GI repair kit would help repair my stomach and build my tollerance to the foods on my list. The only thing is... it is isn't covered by insurance :/ I cannot dish out $200 plus dollars for the first step so I was wondering if any of you would know if there was a substitute or side vitamins I can take? I've asled the doctor and they try to push the the repair kit on me and don't tell me anything else.

Gracia,

Monika

[kareng]

What's in it? Sounds like one of those things where the doc makes $125 on as profit.

Just curious - what type of doc is pushing products?

[Korwyn]

GI Repair Kit? Sounds questionable to me. The best 'GI Repair Kit' I found was a good probiotic and three months on the strict GAPS diet.

[GlutenFreeManna]

I agree with the PP's. When a dr tries to push questionable products on you it's time to RUN in the opposite direction and find a new dr.

[monika]

  On 5/31/2011 at 7:22 PM, kareng said:

What's in it? Sounds like one of those things where the doc makes $125 on as profit.

Just curious - what type of doc is pushing products?

It's just a regular Doctor and he told me that it was natural and it contained vitamins and I'm not sure what else.

It is 3 steps. The first is $200 some, Second $60 and the last step is $35ish

[monika]

  On 5/31/2011 at 7:40 PM, GlutenFreeManna said:

I agree with the PP's. When a dr tries to push questionable products on you it's time to RUN in the opposite direction and find a new dr.

Hahah yeah I really want to get a second opinnion but just tired of the whole doctor thing hahah but oh well.

[monika]

  On 5/31/2011 at 7:25 PM, Korwyn said:

GI Repair Kit? Sounds questionable to me. The best 'GI Repair Kit' I found was a good probiotic and three months on the strict GAPS diet.

What Probiotic did you use? I've heard of that before but I'm not sure what it is really. I just remember yogurt commercials.

[kareng]

Monika,

What is your diagnosis? How were you diagnosed? I can't remmeber if you said before. I have a hard enough time keeping track of myself!

[Korwyn]

My Dr. & my GI suggested PB8. I did quite a bit of research and started taking it. That plus three months - or maybe it was four - on the strictest GAPS diet did wonders. GAPS is based on research into 'Gut And Psychology Syndrome'. I'll oversimplify, but basically you remove all processed foods, grains, and sugars of all kinds and most dairy. Fermented foods (homemade yogurt, sauerkraut - both of which are very easy to make), full fat soups and soup stocks (also very easy to make), etc. I was really skeptical because a friend was really pushing it. Her husband has Celiac, she has multiple food intolerances, one of their kids has Celiac and other two have multiple other food allergies and intolerances as well. I got a book on it, read the book, read some of the other stuff I could find, read some papers on intestinal dysbiosis and leaky gut, some medical journal articles and some other research and decided to give it a shot. I was not healing up well at all and seemed to be developing more and more food issues with other foods by the day.

It helped tremendously. You'll find a lot of people talk about the SCD (Specific Carbohydrate Diet) and GAPS on here. They are very similar in many respects and I don't think either one would be a bad thing to try, though personally I prefer the GAPS.

[monika]

  On 5/31/2011 at 7:54 PM, kareng said:

Monika,

What is your diagnosis? How were you diagnosed? I can't remmeber if you said before. I have a hard enough time keeping track of myself!

Hahah sorry I didn't say... oops.

I got a GI test done and they drew a bunch of blood and it took a me a while. I have food intolerances that cause my stomach linning to swell and I can't get nutrition and all that good stuff. This was causing me to be sick for a long time and it's slowly fixing itself but the doctor said that the repair kit would speed things up.

[kareng]

  On 5/31/2011 at 8:03 PM, monika said:

Hahah sorry I didn't say... oops.

I got a GI test done and they drew a bunch of blood and it took a me a while. I have food intolerances that cause my stomach linning to swell and I can't get nutrition and all that good stuff. This was causing me to be sick for a long time and it's slowly fixing itself but the doctor said that the repair kit would speed things up.

Did they say Celiac? Is it your stomach or your small intestine? Probaly your intestine, I don't think much of anything is absorbed from the stomach into your blood stream.

You may have more issues with this doc than him trying to sell you products. I'm wondering about the diagnosis and what he did to get it.

[Korwyn]

  On 5/31/2011 at 8:03 PM, monika said:

Hahah sorry I didn't say... oops.

I got a GI test done and they drew a bunch of blood and it took a me a while. I have food intolerances that cause my stomach linning to swell and I can't get nutrition and all that good stuff. This was causing me to be sick for a long time and it's slowly fixing itself but the doctor said that the repair kit would speed things up.

Umm....Are you not getting nutrition because your stomach isn't breaking foods down? Because your stomach doesn't actually absorb anything. Acid and enzymes in your stomach break down protein and fats and some carbs. Bacteria in your small intestine breaks down more carbs. Nutrients from the protein and fat, along with the bacterial waste (in the form of nutrients now) are absorbed through your small intestine (by the vilii). Undigested carbs, fiber, and some other undigested materials are passed to your large intestine where additional bacteria perform similar work.

Leaky gut: Is still under a lot of study and some medical professionals still don't believe it exists. However, research into it seems to indicate that many food intolerances develop when protein chains and other fragments that are not in proper nutrient form (i.e. bacterial waste or amino acid chains) pass through the small intestine wall into the blood stream and trigger immune system responses. So if your doctor said you aren't getting nutrition because your stomach lining is swelling and preventing production of acid, pepsin, and other enzymes, he may be correct. But from what little you've said, plus the fact that he is pushing a $300+ product really makes me slightly queasy. At least I hope that's what's making me queasy, not the chicken I ate for lunch.

* Edited for speeling and more better grammar

[Korwyn]

Doh! Sorry Karen, I didn't read your post first, I wasn't trying to upstage you As usual somebody else said in two sentences what it took me 20 to say.

[monika]

  On 5/31/2011 at 8:09 PM, kareng said:

Did they say Celiac? Is it your stomach or your small intestine? Probaly your intestine, I don't think much of anything is absorbed from the stomach into your blood stream.

You may have more issues with this doc than him trying to sell you products. I'm wondering about the diagnosis and what he did to get it.

He told me I don't have Celiac. The problem is that I am sensitive to these foods and they are causeing by stomach linning to swell and the reason why I had been getting really sick for these past couple of years. Other than that I got no detail except to saty away from the foods on my list.

[monika]

  On 5/31/2011 at 8:33 PM, Korwyn said:

Umm....Are you not getting nutrition because your stomach isn't breaking foods down? Because your stomach doesn't actually absorb anything. Acid and enzymes in your stomach break down protein and fats and some carbs. Bacteria in your small intestine breaks down more carbs. Nutrients from the protein and fat, along with the bacterial waste (in the form of nutrients now) are absorbed through your small intestine (by the vilii). Undigested carbs, fiber, and some other undigested materials are passed to your large intestine where additional bacteria perform similar work.

Leaky gut: Is still under a lot of study and some medical professionals still don't believe it exists. However, research into it seems to indicate that many food intolerances develop when protein chains and other fragments that are not in proper nutrient form (i.e. bacterial waste or amino acid chains) pass through the small intestine wall into the blood stream and trigger immune system responses. So if your doctor said you aren't getting nutrition because your stomach lining is swelling and preventing production of acid, pepsin, and other enzymes, he may be correct. But from what little you've said, plus the fact that he is pushing a $300+ product really makes me slightly queasy. At least I hope that's what's making me queasy, not the chicken I ate for lunch.

* Edited for speeling and more better grammar

I'm not sure anymore because I was just told that I have sensativities to the foods on my list and I should avoid them fro the rest of my life. He said the reaction to sensitivites was that my stomach linning was swelling and that was causing my problems. Other than that I was told nothing more. So I'm just like .... :/

[kareng]

Monika- Are you in the US? I think you need to get a copy of all your medical records including any blood test, other tests procedures.

What tests did the doc do?

[monika]

  On 6/6/2011 at 8:44 PM, kareng said:

Monika- Are you in the US? I think you need to get a copy of all your medical records including any blood test, other tests procedures.

What tests did the doc do?

Yeah I'm in the US.

My mom really wants me to get a second opinnion and I am thinking of getting my records and switching Doctors. All the blood test I have gotten come out with real bad Anemia. Other than that I am fine... minus the food thing.

[kareng]

  On 6/6/2011 at 8:48 PM, monika said:

Yeah I'm in the US.

My mom really wants me to get a second opinnion and I am thinking of getting my records and switching Doctors. All the blood test I have gotten come out with real bad Anemia. Other than that I am fine... minus the food thing.

You need to find out what test he says he did that diagnosed all those food problems. They may not be legit. I would get the records and another doctor.

[laura4669]

  On 5/31/2011 at 7:25 PM, Korwyn said:

GI Repair Kit? Sounds questionable to me. The best 'GI Repair Kit' I found was a good probiotic and three months on the strict GAPS diet.

I have the same issues with food sensitivities. Is the GAP diet the same as the Paleo diet? I have also heard of the SCD, but I am not sure what the differences are. I think they all basically take out grains, dairy and sugar, is that correct? Thanks.

Laura

[domesticactivist]

Hi Laura,

My family also has benefited greatly from the GAPS diet and I've posted a lot about it on this site. I also have a blog post on here with recommended reading and a bit about the difference between GAPS and SCD.

GAPS is not the same as Paleo, but it has some things in common. Paleo is based on the idea that we should eat what humans evolved to eat. The dietary recommendations end up very similar to the GAPS full diet.

However, the GAPS diet is aimed at restoring healthy gut flora and detoxifying your system as well. It is based on the idea that grains and some other foods damage the gut, and that fungus and some bacteria also damage the gut, causing it to be leaky. Those tests that show IgG reactions to lots of foods are a result of the leaky gut. Simplistically, whatever you eat will end up showing an intolerance. By restoring the health of the gut, many intolerances can be reversed.

The GAPS diet has a series of stages that you go through as you heal. It starts out with homemade bone broths, cooked vegetables, and home-fermented foods, which become the basis of the diet as you add things in. On the blog linked above you can find a link to a full description of the intro diet.

It does take some doing. I'll be writing a post soon about how to get started.

[domesticactivist]

OK, I did it! You can read my post about how to get started on the GAPS Diet here:

[laura4669]

Wow, thanks so much domesticactivist! I think I have seen some of your other posts. I have been doing mostly Paleo, but I really think I need to try GAPS. It just seems like so much work to make all of the homemade food, especially with traveling during the summer. I guess I will just do the best I can. I am so sick of being sick!!

[jenngolightly]

  On 6/8/2011 at 9:22 PM, laura4669 said:

Wow, thanks so much domesticactivist! I think I have seen some of your other posts. I have been doing mostly Paleo, but I really think I need to try GAPS. It just seems like so much work to make all of the homemade food, especially with traveling during the summer. I guess I will just do the best I can. I am so sick of being sick!!

I hope you have good luck with GAPS! I definitely had a transformation on SCD and wouldn't trade the experience for the world. It was the toughest thing I've ever done, but well worth it. I have to warn you, it takes a lot of self-control and dedication to preparing proper meals to maintain a strict elimination diet for any length of time. It's not for the faint-of-heart. I hope you have a good support structure. I had some people who were on board, and others who kept trying to get me to stop.

Good luck!

[domesticactivist]

You're welcome! I have a post coming up about traveling on GAPS (haven't finished it yet), and if you look on my archives I have some posts of what we brought to eat on short trips. I hope it helps! The most important thing with GAPS is to get in a rhythm of preparing the basics like stock, yogurt, sauerkraut, defrosting meat, soaking nuts, so that you'll have those things on hand when you need to use them in another recipe. Actually that's true for anyone who avoids packaged products.

[laura4669]

  On 6/8/2011 at 9:29 PM, jenngolightly said:

I hope you have good luck with GAPS! I definitely had a transformation on SCD and wouldn't trade the experience for the world. It was the toughest thing I've ever done, but well worth it. I have to warn you, it takes a lot of self-control and dedication to preparing proper meals to maintain a strict elimination diet for any length of time. It's not for the faint-of-heart. I hope you have a good support structure. I had some people who were on board, and others who kept trying to get me to stop.

Good luck!

Thanks Jenn! Yes, I am a little nervous about how much work this is going to be. I have two small children, and I spend most of my time taking care of their needs! I just feel so bad though, that I think I will be a better mom if I can heal my gut. I have NO energy, and my hair falling out in handfuls just puts me in a bad mood every day. My husband is supportive, even if he thinks I am a little nuts!