[bernadette]

bingo!

[bernadette]

Hi  – support his immunity to help his body fight off whatever pathogen it is. Here is the protocol I use for my kids.

Also ensure he stays hydrated with all that vomiting. Coconut water diluted in water, with some magnesium (open up a capsule and dump contents in), and a pinch of salt or 1/4 tsp sole will help.

For nausea relief, brewing ginger tea can be helpful as well if he tolerates it (add honey otherwise). I also give my kids Nox Vomica 200c homeopathy for nausea.

Wishing him a speedy recovery!

[bernadette]

– vitamin D is amazing, but again, only when needed. So step 1, test your levels. If they are low, then ask why – no sun exposure? liver/gallbladder dysfunction? kidney health issues? low magnesium?

If someone does want to supplement or get vitamin D IV infusions, it’s important to make sure magnesium, and vitamin A are optimal first, and combine it with vitamin K2.

You might find this handout in the library resources on Vitamin D helpful. It provides dosages and timeframes for supplementing with D3.

[bernadette]

 keep in mind that cortisol rules over the thyroid, so it makes sense that you have sluggish T4 to T3 conversion. And yes, as I stated in my initial reply about the possible causes of high cholesterol, hypothyroid function and stress are both root cause reasons. So I think we’re onto something for sure.

Your electrolytes also point to a pattern of parasympathetic dominance, which usually happens after a period of “flight or fight” chronic stress. It’s the way the body protects itself from ongoing stress.

Helping your body feel safe, and in “vacation mode” is the best way forward.

Do you have GI related symptoms? If so, I would also consider a GI map since your white blood cell differentials are pointing to some sort of low-grade simmering infection. This can also be taxing the immune system and thyroid conversion as well.

In addition, ensure that your iron/ferritin, selenium, vitamin A and zinc are optimal since these are needed for thyroid conversion as well.

[bernadette]

Hi  – I’ll also add that supplementing with selenium (through food therapy or supplement) before taking iodine is a good idea for those with autoimmune thyroid disease.

[bernadette]

 please note that if her detox pathways were blocked when she did the Mycotox test, she may not be properly excreting mycotoxins in her urine, so a low level on the test may actually be reflecting poor detox status instead of the actual level of mycotoxins.

Very often when clients begin to feel better, and their drainage pathways are beginning to open up, when they repeat the Mycotox test, the levels become much much higher. And that’s because they’re now actually excreting them in urine.

This is where the Mycotox test can be a bit tricky and misinterpreted, especially if you know there was exposure to mold. Is she still living and working in the same moldy environment? If so, was an ERMI test done to test the level of mycotoxins in that environment?

As for testing for histamine, yes, there is a test that can be done to see the level of degradation of histamine (DAO). But instead of spending more money on testing, a trial of Seeking Health’s Histamin Block or Histamin Block Plus (which contain DAO enzyme to process histamine) could be telling. Here’s more literature about DAO gene and enzyme to figure out which one is best.

Please re-read both posts I shared carefully, as I did share some product suggestions for those with methylation issues (with links).

Regarding stomach acid support, she can consider a dosing challenge to determine the dose she needs with Biotics Betaine Plus HP. Here are the instructions in the Resources section.

While all of these measures will be helpful, I’m sensing that mold is at play. I could be wrong since I’m just getting bits and pieces of her case, but if she’s still exposed to mold, parasites will continue coming back, creating a vicious cycle. So for me, step 1 should be to check her environment with an ERMI test if that hasn’t been done. Let me know if you need guidance with that.

[bernadette]

Hi  – I’d like to add my thoughts as well since one of the labels my son was diagnosed with was dyscalculia. This makes math really hard for even some of the brightest students. He’s in grade 9 but is at a grade 7 level of math as a result of these struggles.

If you’d like to explore her brain health further, I would recommend reaching out to Dr. Shiess at German Neuroscience Center in JLT and discussing these issues with her. She might recommend a qEEG map test like we did, and then be able to devise a customized treatment plan which may involve biofeedback/neurofeedback therapy.

The idea is that if there is a weakness in neural connections somewhere in the brain, they can target and train them with electrical stimulation (like exercise) to create new connections and links (i.e. neuroplasticity).

But I must warn you – it is very costly and not covered by insurance. I was able to get partial reimbursement fortunately, but it’s not typical.

Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions.

[bernadette]

Hi  – I’m sorry your daughter is struggling with vertigo right now.  Did she explore toxicity/heavy metals/mold/histamine overload as the possible root cause and try any of the recommendations I had shared previously in this post for symptom relief?

Please let me know what has been done/tried since that post so I can better guide you.

Addressing the H Pylori was a great first step. Please re-test to make sure the overgrowth was properly dealt with. Her stomach acid likely needs support if she had an H Pylori overgrowth, and this is important to be able to absorb proteins needed for mitochondrial health (specifically carnitine and CoQ10). Poor mitochondrial health can be a major contributor to migraines and toxins also affect mitochondrial health.

I have had clients do a trial of 500mg L-carnitine and 100mg ubiquinol (form of CoQ10) – both twice daily – to see if it helped with migraine incidence and/or severity. It has worked for my clients many times!

Adding in binders (if tolerated) 30-45 minutes before a sauna/sweaty exercise session will also help reduce her toxic burden whatever it is (if that’s at play). This has also helped many of my clients suffering from migraines.

Her DUTCH test showed a need for B12 and phase 2 liver detox support, which is dependent on proteins and good stomach acid production. So what is her diet like? Does she eat animal products? Supporting stomach acid will help with protein absorption and phase 2 detox. She may also need a B complex that emphasizes B6 (P5P form), B12 and folate (B9). Seeking Health has great methylation products (here’s one for example).

I would also investigate her blood sugar status since there seems to be some androgen dominance at play. Stress and higher insulin can increase testosterone in women.

For rapid relief of the migraine, she can try the frozen socks method which I share in the new Protocols section. This helps pull blood away from the head to relieve the pressure.

For migraine prevention, clients have had success with magnesium supplementation to relax any tension in the body, and therapeutic doses of riboflavin/B2 (400-500mg). (Seeking Health has a good one)

Let’s keep the conversation going… 

[bernadette]

Hi  – it lasts about a week or so. I had a little left that I forgot about and it went moldy after about 2 weeks. You’ll be able to see and tell from the smell/look. It’s real food at the end of the day, so it won’t have a very long shelf-life.

[bernadette]

 Daniel shared great insights about detox. In addition, I would add in bile binders to help eliminate toxins from the body. Here is a passage from Dr. Jill’s book about binders: 

“Environmental medicine guru, Dr. Walter Crinnion has been treating environmental illnesses of all kinds for decades (including mold). He uses fiber that have been shown to bind bile and reduce toxin burden. In his book, Clean, Green and Lean, Dr. Crinnion recommends rice bran fiber. Rice bran fiber and other similar fibers work very effectively at grabbing toxin-laden bile from the intestines so they’re pooped out and not reabsorbed.”

Knowing that you’ve struggled with mold and is likely the case for your son as well, the following list of insoluble fibers are mycotoxin-binding in order of least constipating to most constipating:

Flaxseed 
Chia seed
Rice bran
Oat bran
Psyllium husk

In children, I always prefer to use a food first approach. And lots of sweaty, outdoor play!! If he doesn’t sweat easily, draw up a hot bath for him and add 2 Tbsp ginger powder to the water to help him sweat.

Bitter foods and bitter supplements like QuickSilver’s Bitters No. 9, can also help stimulate production and flow of bile – all in the name of supporting our body’s natural detox process.

I do not have experience with that brand of zeolite you shared so I can’t comment, but in general, zeolite can be an effective binder that is utilized (and so can activated charcoal, bentonite clay, fulvic & humic acid (ex. Cellcore’s Biotoxin binder), etc), depending on what your son is dealing with.

Hope this helps!

[bernadette]

 I’m also relieved for all of you. It was likely missed all of these years because he didn’t present with the “classic” symptoms of appendicitis – which can happen with children. And no, elastase will not be directly affected by the appendix as far as I’m aware.

[bernadette]

 if mold is indeed part of her picture, then she needs to prioritize avoidance of mold. Meaning, getting a mold inspector and then taking proper actions to remediate or move out. It becomes very difficult to heal as long as a person is living in a moldy environment. It’s like trying to fill a sink with the drain open… they will feel a little better, but real progress will only be made once you’re out of the environment that is making you sick. Makes sense?

[bernadette]

ok, please keep us posted. And the GI map shows elastase which is a marker pointing to pancreatic health, not the appendix.

If it is truly his appendix that is inflamed, the same recommendations provided during the case study review will still apply.

A little about the appendix…

Conventional medicine often views the appendix as perhaps being a “superfluous” or unnecessary gland. I think this philosophy  is one of the reasons why it is so often removed without regard to downstream circumstances (the same is true of the gallbladder and the tonsils, by the way).  Research is starting to show that perhaps the appendix provides a “safe house” where our endemic beneficial bacterial balance can “hide out” when we take a course of antibiotics, in order to allow more effective and restorative re-population after the antibiotic wipes out both the good and the potentially harmful bacteria.  It is also well understood that the appendix is a lymphoid vessel that houses large numbers of white blood cells which help us to fight infection in the gut (the same as the tonsils, by the way).  This may be of interest to you: http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/your-appendix-could-save-your-life/.
Of course, when tissue is inflamed, it means there is a localized, inflammatory process at play. It is also more likely to happen when a body part is over-worked but is doing its job.

If it is caught early enough, it may be possible to recover from appendicitis through the use of antibiotics paired with antifungals, enemas, fasting from solid food (to give the gut a break), high intake of bone broth, and use of gut-healing supplements (ex. Designs for Health “G.I. Revive” and probiotics).
Other colleagues of mine have had success with their clients using Dr. Schulze’s Colon Cleanse and then Liver/Gallbladder cleanse (each, a five-day intense regimen, also involving fasting (fresh veggie juice only) and intense detoxification support).

In terms of potential, natural healing, I think you will find this physician video to be inspiring and informative (it’s Pt. 1 – which will roll over to Pt.2 which is another ~3 min.). Politics aside, this covers many key concepts that both of these people used to allow full healing.
There are many things we do routinely in modern society that cause inflammation in the GI tract. I think any and all of these could easily be at play in eventually causing any type of GI disease, especially with many of them at play at once over a long period of time – in the appendix and otherwise:
• Constipation causes tissue in the GI tract to be in contact with a wide array of toxins for extended periods of time.
• Eating conventional (vs. organic) food that is produced with a variety of toxic herbicides, pesticides, hormones, and antibiotics.
• Using artificial sweeteners, especially sucralose (which presents a tiny dose of chlorine with every use). Witness that pretty much every brand of regular, sweetened chewing gum now also includes one or more artificial sweeteners in order to give their product an “over the top” level of sweetness.
• High intake of sugars and refined carbohydrates which feed specific types of microbes preferentially – especially when paired with low intake of vegetables fibers/starches which feed others.
• Ongoing use of various drugs that imbalance gut microbes and can also damage the protective mucosal lining throughout the GI tract (e.g. ibuprofen, aspirin, OCP, SSRIs, hormones, alcohol)
• Absorption of heavy metal toxins such as mercury that can impair the immune system (e.g. silver amalgam fillings, contaminated fish, vaccines, high fructose corn syrup).

To avoid future GI issues, ongoing lifestyle change is necessary! Daily use of probiotics and a few months of gut healing as described above (ex. GI Revive) is beneficial. Check Vitamin D, Vitamin A, and RBC Zinc to gauge sufficiency for immune system strength if not done already.

[bernadette]

 I typically recommend my clients start with the doses recommended on the bottle as directed, and increase the Biotoxin binder as needed if they are experiencing die-off symptoms.

[bernadette]

 bless your soul! Here’s my practitioner code: 7SWpI1xR