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URGENT HELP NEEDED
Hello B,After extensive work with Dr. Saad and other doctors he referred us to, we have been working on the cause of my husband’s eye inflammation for about 10 days now. They have come to the conclusion that he is HLA-B27 positive and have recommended he start taking biologics (NOW) for a course of 6 months to 1 year. However, I have made an appointment with a rheumatologist at Cleveland Hospital Abu Dhabi for a second opinion tomorrow. We are very reluctant to take the biologics as none of the doctors could give us a clear answer on the side effects or long term effects.The inflammation (uveitis) in his eye hasn’t gone away yet. It first appeared in 2020. We saw a rheumatologist back then in Florida where we resided, but decided to take a more holistic approach with a 7-week raw fruit and veggie diet. I then worked hard to put my husband on an anti-inflammatory diet combined with yoga and the symptoms disappeared. However, after reintroducing red meat and eggs back into our diet about a month ago, the symptoms resurfaced. When discussing this with Dr. Saad and other doctors, their answer was that food has no link to it. I personally believe that the root cause of anything and everything starts with food, diet and lifestyle.I am at a crossroads here and seriously stressed as I can’t decide what the right course of action is. They claim that future ramifications of the autoimmune “disease” can lead to spinal infusion. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. -
11 Replies
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Hi I also have to respectfully disagree that there is no link between food, diet, lifestyle and disease. It’s ALL connected and your gut instinct is 100% spot on!
Make an appointment with Dr. Heather Eade at Novomed. She’s an excellent naturopathic doctor who will take a holistic approach and help connect the dots in your husband’s case. She often has a long waiting list so if she’s not available, you can try to get in with one of her colleagues in the same clinic.
If she’s not available, you can also consider seeing Dr. Sean Penny at Bedaya Polyclinic. He’s a homeopath/functional medicine practitioner who also takes a holistic approach to health.
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I’m at a loss for words to express my gratitude for your help and the community you’ve built. I don’t know where I would be without it going through all of this here. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
I can’t help but wonder, do you offer one-on-one patient consultations, Bernadette?
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I’m so happy you feel well supported here. Thank you for validating B Better’s mission.
And yes, I do offer 1-1 consultations but I’m not taking new clients at the moment. We will however be introducing 1-1 consultations for B Better members with our practitioners in due course since this is a popular request. Stay tuned!
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Hey ,
What you might have done by removing red meat and eggs is removing food sensitivities. Are you familiar with this?
In a nutshell, food sensitivities are caused by foods that aren’t digested well and penetrate the gut lining. The reason why these foods penetrate the gut lining can vary. Here are examples of some reasons: stress, gluten, and a lack of fibre in the diet which can cause the microbes to feed off the gut lining creating holes or an overgrowth of bacteria.
Because the lining lets undigested foods through, the immune system gets quite busy. If the immune system sees these foods daily, it can lead in time to a more aggressive response of the immune system. The remnants left behind can cause problems elsewhere in the body. This is an image we regularly see with autoimmune problems.
Some general tips that can help:
• Get vitamin D up (I usually aim with my customers at a serum level of 50 ng/ml. Make sure you use a vitamin D supplement which contains vitamin K2 as well. I usually recommend liquid vitamin D/K2 from thorne. Vitamin D is an important nutrient that helps the body with inflammation. It also is needed to close the ‘tight junctions’ between the cells in the lining of the gut.
• If you like to work with anti-inflammatory supplements, here are some supplements you could consider as well:• Fish oil – depending on disease progression and severity, the dosage needs to be sufficient for a therapeutic effect. Research shows anywhere from about 2,000 mg to 6,000 mg of EPA+DHA may be beneficial.
• Curcumin has anti-inflammatory effects. If you are looking for a good supplement, make sure you choose a liposomal form or a supplement that contains the Meriv phytosome complex. This ensures that the curcumin in it has a high bioavailability. I usually recommend 1,000-2,000 mg per day. A supplement that I often recommend is again from the brand Thorne: Curcumin Phytosome.
• GLA in the form of borage or evening primrose oil has an anti-inflammatory effect as well and you could try this as well.
• The food recommendations I often make are to remove gluten and dairy. Preferable having a grain-free diet for a while!In the presence of autoimmune disease often microbial imbalances and infectious drivers play a role. Having a stool test might give you some insight into what plays in the gut. GI Maps from Diagnostic Solutions Laboratory is a stool test that I often recommend.
I know your question was different, but I hope you can use some of these tips as well!
Good luck!
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Hello Daniel, your advice is truly invaluable. Thank you so much for taking the time to provide such an extensive answer to a question that I didn’t even realize I needed to hear the answer to so badly. I have a few more questions regarding your advice:
1. Could you recommend a specific brand of fish oil tablet and GLA that you trust?
2. If I were to order from Fullscript, how quickly can I expect delivery to Dubai, assuming it’s not based in Dubai already?
3. What is your advice on taking Collagen gel (1 teaspoon daily) to support his immune system, blood vessels, and joints? My husband is now experiencing back and hip joint pain.
4. When you say “grain-free,” do you mean returning to a diet that solely consists of fruits and vegetables, or more of an anti-inflammatory diet?
5. Where can I have a GI map and food sensitivity test done in Dubai? -
you can email support@bernadetteabraham.com with name, email, phone number, date of birth, shipping/billing address and we can help connect you to the lab for the GI map.
In terms of food sensitivity testing, you can checkout Valeo Health for at-home blood testing service in Dubai. They’ve also given our members a discount on their tests which you can find here.
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, I’m not based in Dubai (although I would love to!), so I don’t know exactly how fast the order will go. Fullscript only delivers in the US, so you will need to use a company like Boxit4Me or Shop&Ship to redirect your order. These mail forwarding companies provide local addresses worldwide. You will need to use their US mailing address when placing your order with Fullscript.
If I order, it will take me about 2 weeks.
By grain-free, I just mean a normal diet without grains (minus the food sensitivities!). An anti-inflammatory diet can be a good starting point if it worked before. Here are some tips you might want to add:
• Make sure your anti-inflammatory diet has protein sources. They can be plant-based!
• Food sensitivities can develop to all foods, especially to foods you consume regularly. Working on gut healing simultaneously can reduce the chance of developing new food sensitivities.
• Chances are big some gut healing needs to be done. I would recommend watching the full gut health masterclass!Here are some brands I trust on GLA and Omega 3 supplements:
• OmegAvail Hi-Po from Designs for Health (800mg of EPA + 800 mg of DHA in triglyceride form. It is also molecularly distilled)
• OmegaGenics® EPA-DHA 1000 from Metagenics (710 mg of EPA and 210 mg of DHA)
• Take it with food.GLA:
• GLA 240mg from Designs for Health
• OmegaGenics® GLA 240 from MetagenicsCollagen is a good supplement. It can help with gut healing. And you are right, collagen can also help with joint health. But it is important to understand why the joint pain is there first. I can only do an educated guess, but this is a reason that occurs on regular bases:
Sometimes immune complexes (for example: the complexes that are formed after the immune system dealt with undigested food molecules) can accumulate in joints. This can in time lead to these types of symptoms.
Proteolytic enzymes taken on an empty stomach could help to break down immune complexes, especially to counter the joint pain. You could for example try this one:
• Intenzyme Forte by Biotics Research -
Hey ,
How did it went with ordering the supplements? I hope all went well!
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Hi Daniel, thanks for following up and apologies for the late reply.
I was feeling quite frustrated with the extended duration it would take for the supplements to be shipped to Dubai. Therefore, my husband and I have decided to fly to the US to spend some time with family, purchase the supplements, and obtain the recommended IG test while we’re there.
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Hey ,
Keep us updated about the process if you like! And no need for apologies here!
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jumping into the thread here – generally it takes about 2 weeks for the supplements to arrive from the time they are ordered on Fullscript until they arrive Dubai.
But yes, since you’re in the US, it’s much faster. Let us know if you need any guidance while you’re there. We have teamed up with Rupa Health and True Health Labs in the US to allow members to access functional tests.
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