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low immunity post covid
In June I caught covid for the first time and since then I have gotten sick so often – specifically after travel. In August I got an upper respiratory infection – my eyes were blood shot red and I had difficulty sleeping. At the beginning of this month I had a high fever for 3 days while traveling and upon returning the doctor told me I developed acute sinusitis. I am now taking antibiotics for 10 days. Since my diagnosis I have slept through the night 3 times only without waking up in the middle of the night to use the toilet, and I am waking up with eyes so dry that I need to use eye droppers. I have difficulty taking full breaths and I’m honestly exhausted. I already have very poor gut health (my tongue is full of cracks) and have been fighting hair loss for years now. Would be grateful for your guidance. -
13 Replies
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Hey ,
I’m so sorry to hear! It looks like your immune system & gut could use some support.
Could you help us help you and describe exactly what kind of symptoms you experience in your gut? Do you feel boated? Cramps? Diarrhea? Constipation? Lots of gas? Do symptoms seem to be worse at special times of the day?
Gut problems can sometimes be at the root of some nutrient deficiencies. For example, iron absorption can be blocked by an inflamed gut. An iron deficiency can lead to hair loss. A doctor could test your iron status.
A zinc deficiency can lead to poor immune health & hair loss as well.
Another reason for hair loss is a slow thyroid. Have you been ever tested for that? Common other symptoms with a slow thyroid are feeling fatigued, easy weight gain or a hard time losing weight, feeling depressed, feeling slow, constipation, and thinning of the outer parts of the eyebrows. Do recognize any symptoms?
Since you are feeling sick often you could start with the immune-boosting protocol (click here to find the protocol). I would recommend, as soon as you feel better, you focus on your gut health and dive in a little deeper into why you are losing hair.
We are happy to help you!
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Thank you Daniel. I have actually done a thyroid panel several times and it has come out ‘normal’ every time however my acupuncturist told me he wouldn’t have guessed I was 34 because my symptoms are similar to someone experiencing menopause.
Some of the symptoms are constipation, gas (morning + night), bloating. Weight gain, feeling depressed a lot, anxiety, brain fog, fatigue. My hair and skin are super dry.
I just received my results from my pulmonologist and it seems I have developed asthma.
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Hi – would you mind sharing your latest thyroid results please? Given what you’ve shared so far, I would be curious to know the status of the following markers:
-Iron, ferritin, TIBC, %saturation
-RBC zinc, serum copper, ceruloplasmin
-vitamin D
-vitamin AAlso, do you take any medications and/or supplements? If so, can you please provide a list so that we can have a broader perspective of possible contributing factors?
As Daniel mentioned, the gut is definitely playing a major role with all of your symptoms. If you have the time to watch the Gut Health Masterclass in its entirety, please do so. Otherwise, you can watch the summary videos of “how digestion works” and “how it dysfunctions” for now.
And since your immunity is affected, I would also recommend watching this video here discussing how the microbiome health impacts immunity, and then this video for some solutions to help support gut immunity.
Hope this helps. Let’s keep this conversation going…
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Hi Bernadette! Thank you so much for your time. I have done an oligoscan recently and its telling me that my vitamins A,C,D, E, B6, B9, and B12 are all low (all around 48-57%) with the exception of B9 which is at 38%. My minerals are all more or less good with the exception of silicon, zinc, phosphorus + chromium. I will have a look at the videos you mentioned!
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based on the scan, all 3 immune nutrients (zinc, vit A & vit D) are low which makes me question nutrient intake (diet) and nutrient absorption (gut health and more specially liver/gallbladder health!). The videos I shared above will help you understand why.
Do you consume animal proteins? Do you get regular sun exposure?
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Hi Bernadette – thank you so much for recommending these videos – for the first time in my life I feel like I have a valid solution and I’m not guessing. I have mistreated my body in the past with the low fat diets / skipping meals / drinking and smoking – had a very stressful job in the past. I’m thankful that this journey has inspired me to change my lifestyle so I no longer work those long stressful hours or depend on harmful substances however it has been so frustrating going around in circles guessing what the issue is – especially lately with getting sick so frequently. I feel like I finally understand what the issue is. I will definitely look into digestive enzymes – I think this is the missing link – because I make all my food at home and I eat well / clean – and take probiotics too – but it seems like its all gone to waste. Are there any brands you recommend for digestive enzymes? I apologize if it’s somewhere on the platform I haven’t had the chance to look properly. To answer your question about animal protein: yes I do consume animal protein. Sun exposure is something I am beginning to prioritize (20-30 mins in the morning) since taking the supplement has not made a difference.
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I’m so happy to hear that you’re gaining some clarity! THAT is exactly what I want for all of you here in B Better.
Can you please share why you believe you need digestive enzymes after watching the videos? The reason I ask is because I truly want you to get to the root cause, and often times, enzymes simply offer rapid relief until you address the actual root cause.
Keeping the North to South approach in mind, are you sure it’s not stomach acid support that you might need instead? Or perhaps bile support? When in doubt, I prefer to start with digestive bitters since these will stimulate all digestive secretions, including digestive enzymes. It covers a wider base than only digestive enzymes. I like Quicksilver’s Dr. Shade’s No. 9 and this is available in B Better’s Fullscript dispensary. You’ll need to create an account here.
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From the dysfunction video I could relate to gut dysbiosis – I know that my liver is overburdened from my acupuncturist – the main reason I went initially was to treat my constipation and sudden weight gain. Despite switching to clean products + taking supplements for years (C/D/Magnesium/zinc) + eating healthy nutrient rich foods my deficiencies are still very high all around similar levels – which makes me think maybe I am not absorbing nutrients from the food I am ingesting. I still have constipation, my hair is super dry and have suddenly blooned up again recently despite not eating junk food / practicing yoga and having a relatively clean lifestyle overall. Let me know your thoughts.
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I literally just finished writing up the Constipation symptom handout for the Symptom Dictionary. It’s getting designed and will be sent out in the November Insider Email on Tuesday.
You can also watch these 2 videos on constipation: common causes and rapid relief solutions for constipation, both inside the larger Gut Health Masterclass course.
And here is a list of the common causes I listed in the upcoming handout for constipation:
-Dehydration
-Magnesium insufficiency or deficiency
-Insufficient intake of dietary fats
-Insufficient insoluble fiber
-Hypothyroidism
-Dysbiosis (imbalanced microorganisms or an overgrowth like SIBO/SIFO), parasites
-Food sensitivities
-Hypochlorhydria (low stomach acid)
-Chronic stress (sympathetic dominance) resulting in decreased peristalsis
-Retroflexed uterus (or other structural blockages)Given your history of low fat diet and liver issues, I would suspect bile support is needed. Do you have any liver markers to share?
These would be: ALT, AST, GGT, Alk Phos or ALP, Total and direct bilirubin, Albumin, Total Protein.
The digestive bitters I suggested above would help in this case too with constipation. Please watch this short video for a deeper dive on liver/gallbladder solutions.
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Hi Bernadette – thanks a lot for recommending the liver / gallbladder support. I definitely think my liver is sluggish / not optimal because a lot of the symptoms mentioned I suffer from. I’m seeing how everything is really connected now. I’ve also watched the stomach acid and digestive enzyme support. I may start off by supplementing with thorne’s S.A.T. along with the digestive bitters or ACV and digestive enzymes (health nag’s pro enzymes seems appealing to me) for a while and see how I feel. Funny enough I always crave artichokes specifically and spinach as well. I’ve started to take spirulina tablets (kiki’s health) along with adding more greens to my diet.
My health insurance is quite tricky – they haven’t allowed me to do a blood test to test for vitamin D deficiency – so I’m not sure how they will allow for liver markers. My insurance doesn’t even cover the oligoscan but I feel its a good investment – it gives me some clarity on my over all deficiencies + heavy metals. In the past 3 years I can say my levels have pretty much been the same give or take 10-15%. Always in ‘survival’ never great.
How do you feel about supplementing with Glutathione? I’ve found relief in the past taking it via pills + IV.
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Hi Laila – I came here to check up on you to see how you’re getting along, and just realized I somehow missed your question! Sorry about that.
Yes, insurance is a pain, but a liver panel is pretty standard and usually easily covered if a doctor requests it. I’m not surprised the oligoscan isn’t covered – most functional tests aren’t unfortunately.
To answer your question about glutathione – yes, it’s definitely something I’ve recommended a few times, especially when I feel toxicity is at play in a client’s case (ex. mold/mycotoxins, heavy pollution, and/or heavy metals). It’s a powerful antioxidant and detoxifier. Some can’t tolerate it though, so NAC its precursor can be an alternative. It’s important that glutathione is in liposomal form and it should smell rotten (sulfur smelling).
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Hi – just wanted to follow-up with you. How’s it going? Any positive progress made so far? Feel free to share if none at all so we can help.
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Hi Bernadette! I’ve tried different things however I’m still feeling stuck in a loop. I’ve gone to see my doctor and have requested a full thyroid panel because everything is pointing to that it seems. I will keep you updated on my results!
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