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Hello Everyone! I’ve been following Bernadette for sometime now and have really learnt so much from her in a very short span.
Hello Everyone! I’ve been following Bernadette for sometime now and have really learnt so much from her in a very short span.
I’ve been diagnosed with fibroids in my 20’s and have been dealing with painful periods pretty much all my life. Was put on birth control pills for over a year and eventually went off it due to the adverse effect it had on my mental health. I feel ever since coming off the pills, I have been struggling to undo the damage they wreaked on my body. 3 years down the line and I’m now dealing with IBS-D and other gut issues, hormonal cystic acne with debilitating periods. All this did propel me to explore more about nutrition and healthy living, which is precisely what landed me here today.
Am glad to be a part of this community and here’s hoping to find my way to healthier happier days! -
4 Replies
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Hello Marsha – welcome to our fabulous community of health go-getters! Happy you’re with us, and I can’t wait for you to dive into the Gut Health Masterclass and Beginner’s Health Roadmap courses.
Dr. Carrie Jones will be our next guest expert on August 25th. Please feel free to post any hormone related question underneath her event in the “Event Calendar” space.
And I’ve also addressed fibroids in a prior post/thread, so please search for that in the search bar at the top. Estrogen dominance is likely at play.
In the meantime, if I may offer some additional guidance. Long term estrogen-based birth control pills are notorious for depleting B vitamins, especially B6.
B6 is needed for so many functions in the body:
• to make serotonin and dopamine neurotransmitters to help ease anxiety and addictive behaviors
• to make taurine which is critical for making bile salts (I discuss this in detail in Gut Health Masterclass) and keep bile free-flowing and smooth to support overall digestion, especially dietary fats and fat soluble vitamins (A,D,E,K). Bile also has anti-microbial action so it helps keep the gut microbiome balanced and can prevent IBS/SIBO type of dynamics to take place. And in the brain, taurine helps potentiate GABA to promote a sense of calm and relaxation (and help stay asleep).
• to convert 5-HTP into serotonin to make melatonin to help with sleep
• to methylate/detoxify and breakdown histamine
• to produce glutathione, our body’s most potent antioxidant, and detoxifier of heavy metals
• to metabolize and get rid of oxalatesSo you can see how far reaching the side effects of birth control can be. In a blood test, you can look at ALT, AST & GGT markers in a liver panel. If any of them are below 10, it could indicate a need for more B6 since these enzymes are dependent on B6 for their production.
An organic acids test can also measure B vitamin status at a cellular level.
Birth control can also wreak havoc on the gut lining, so do focus on gut healing therapies while watching the course.
Hope this helps for now.
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Thanks B for your inputs!
I will plan to add this liver panel when I get my bloodwork done.I’ve also been asked to do a SIBO test by a nutritionist I consulted recently. Before this consult, I’d been on an elimination diet for over 3 months and supplementing with Betaine (with digestive enzymes) and still no relief from diarrhea and excessive gassiness. SIBO test isn’t a very common procedure where I live presently. If you could you please share some inputs about the test and what I should look for. And if tested positive, is there a course of action you recommend, or would I need antibiotics?
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SIBO is a symptom, and not a root cause. So even if it does come back positive, the course of action is not going to change, so I often tell clients to save their money with SIBO testing, and instead use it on tests that will change the outcome/direction of a protocol, and instead, start taking preventative action.
If SIBO is suspected, here are some root cause culprits so you can start addressing them:
• Drugs – and it doesn’t necessarily have to involve long-term use! Especially NSAID use (damage mucosal layer), hormones (e.g. birth control pills, steroids) and those affecting serotonin (e.g. SSRIs), PPIs and others which suppress stomach acid, antibiotics by decimating endemic bacteria and lowering SCFAs and also increasing toxic bacterial release.
• Microbial overgrowth via byproducts which erode the mucosal lining
• Low levels of endemic, beneficial bacteria
• Low Vitamin D as well as other key nutrients such as zinc and Vitamin A
• Moderate alcohol intake
• Poor immune function. Nutrients above but also low WBCs, secretory IgA, etc..
• Intake of pesticides/herbicides and other chemicals, artificial ingredients
• Hypothyroid function
• Persistent stress. High cortisol increases permeability, impairs immune system
• Gluten consumption (may promote greater zonulin secretion)
• Poor Migrating Motor Complex function
• Poor digestion e.g. low stomach acid, pancreatic output or bile
• Poor Eating Hygiene
o E.g. poor digestive secretions due to sympathetic nervous system mode, poor motility, grazing or frequent meals limits MMC waves, overconsumption of water during meals can dilute stomach acid.So, testing your immune nutrient levels, getting a full thyroid panel, working on eating hygiene, reducing stress/sympathetic state, removing alcohol (if any), work on gut healing (Gut Health Masterclass), and supporting bile (you mentioned only taking Betaine and enzymes which support the stomach and pancreas – but remember, in Gut Health Masterclass, the 3 major players are “GPS” gallbladder, pancreas and stomach), so supporting bile is key too as it’s naturally anti-microbial!
Herbal antimicrobials (if still needed) are as effective or better than rifaximin.* This study’s regimen was 2 caps, 2x/day of Biotics’ Dysbiocide & FC-Cidal or Metagenics Candibactin-AR & -BR.
Reference: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24891990/
For rapid relief of diarrhea, consider these in the meantime:
• Activated charcoal (away from food/supplements), bentonite clay (away from food/supplements), L. Plantarum, L. Rhamnosus, S. Boulardi, add soluble fiber to diet e.g. chia seeds, banana).All of these are covered in the Gut Health Masterclass, so I highly encourage you to watch it if you haven’t already, or go back to those sections for a refresher.
In terms of diet, have you tried following a low FODMAP diet for symptom management in the meantime? It’s not meant to be a long term diet, but it can offer some relief on the short term while addressing the root cause.
I’d be happy to look at your 3-day food journal if you’d like to upload it here for me to look at. You can find a fillable pdf handout in the Resources>Tools & Guidelines. Perhaps I can help troubleshoot some culprit foods that might be causing you excess gas.
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Hi – just wanted to check in with you. How are you doing?
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