I just got LTYG book and product from your shop and wanted to make sure I have made the correct choices.

My background.
Age 51
Childhood lots of antibiotics for bad toncils.
18yo bad food poisoning that left me nauseus for months.
20's in good health, ate well, never ill. Lots of sport, 2 marathons, fit and athletic.
Mid thirties.Back problems- discectomy, not successful, lots of anti -inflamatories.
42yo-2nd discectomy- more success but still anti-inflammatories.
After several years using drugs for my back I began to notice I had loose stools, and going to loo twice a day. Cut down on drug use but no improvement. Otherwise felt fine, good appetite, no other sickness, good energy.
48yo. On holiday in Ireland on Xmas day I find it difficult to breathe. Doc prescribes antibiotiics for bronchitis(two weeks). Two weeks later I am no better and go to see doc in Scotland while visiting my Dad where I am given another 2 weeks of antibiotics! On return to Holland where I am living I go back to see my own doctor. I am so breathless I can hardly walk at this stage. He tells me I have asthma and puts me on two weeks predniisone and inhalers!!

Asthma goes very quickly but when I cease the prednisone my whole body seems to be falling apart. I have severe stomach pains and diarrhea I remember I had 22 symptoms in all. I can't even remember what some of them were now.

I return to my doctor in despair and he sends me for blood tests -all neg. Says there really isn't anything else to be done!

Very distressed at where my faith in modern medicine has got me I start to look elsewhere, try acupucture and homeopathy, neither seem to help.

I go to naturopath who puts me on no gluten, no dairy diet and within months all my symptoms except loose stools have gone. (three times a day) I have no asthma and never use an inhaler, i feel the best i have felt in years. I keep this diet up for a year and then we more to US. I also use digestive aid and acidophilus but nothing more. I think i am well enough to introduce whole grains like kammut and beans and fish oils but am not and end up with very bad diarrhea which is further exacerbated by the stress of intensive three months study sessions to pass exams in Natural Horsemanship. Things get very bad. Loo 8 times a day, didn't make it a couple of times! There were no naturopaths where I was so I stupidly went back to normal medicine. Also keep pulling muscles which refuse to heal.

Colonoscopy was done, large lesion low in back passage, inflamation slightly further up, one polyp removed. Ulcerative Colitis diagnosed. Put on Canasa, didn't really help. Start no dairy /gluten diet again and then return to Ireland, more stress, things get worse, put on asacolon. At the same time they discovered I had osteopenia so I was given calcium+ vit D and HRT and asacolon all in one week. Had also developed arthritis in sacroilliac joint and knees. At first I think it is my usual back problem. This is a disaster for me as I cannot ride and am in danger of loosing my job. After one and a half months drug is changed to Salazopyrin. I decide to go back on strict diet , things have improved slightly but very very unhappy about the drug use. Start using chinese herbs and slowly wean myself off salazopyrin. At this stage I am going to the loo twice a day and things have firmed up a bit, pain in joints is also less but it dosn't seem to bother me too much unless I ride or walk a lot and I have stopped all this as I couldn't get out of bed in the morning!

I have been off Salazopyrin for a week now and only took it for two weeks. So far I have experienced no change as a result of stopping it. I started your diet one week ago (identical to the one I have been on in the past) and have halved my herbs. I started with the three Natren probiotics yesterday. I am being conservative at quarter tsp. each twice a day to start. I have had no more gas than usual but would have a lot of gas in the morn. and eveningnormally. I am eating small meals, four times a day.

I ordered L'glutamine but am afraid to use this as I have very bad piles as a result of stools firming slightly. I ordered fissure heal and have experieced slight improvement. I ordered mucosa heal too and am not sure when or if i should start this? For last three days have gone to loo only once a day, semi solid.


I did the candida test and got score of 11 but had strands in my saliva in the glass test?
I scored 38 on digestive test, 38 on endocrime test and 16 on nervous test.

Do you think I should use the wild oregano oil?
Are there any other products you think I should use?
Should I stop the calcium+vit.D. I notice it has aspartamane in it!
Is their a healthier alternative?

I am so delighted to have found Jini and her work. I am more commited than ever to finding a healthy way to heal myself.

Welcome to the LTYG forum!

I actually noticed some things we have in common. I, too, have a history of prior antibiotic and anti-inflammatory (NSAID) use, and I used to teach horseback riding, too.

You sound like you're at a good place to begin, actually. You already know that a gluten-free, dairy-free diet helps you. You already know that stress makes things worse.

So definitely continue with the non-irritating diet; this will go a long way towards nurturing your colon back to health, especially if you combine it with other supportive strategies.

Have you already read the chapters on mind/body therapies and using your mind to help your body in LTYG? You will probably find something in there that will click with you and that you can use to deal with unavoidable stresses and strains on an ongoing basis. My own personal favorite is EFT, because I have found it to be both very effective and flexible.

For instance, you can use it for physical complaints....pain in the back, the awful feeling of not making it to the loo in time....or for emotional worries/issues....what will I do if I lose my job because of my physical issues? who am I if I can't work? why did I stupidly go back to normal medicine? (Not that I'm saying I think you're stupid! I'm just quoting.) Just some ideas of directions you might go in.

The L-glutamine is very healing to the lining of the gut for most people, but if you are worried about a firmer stool causing or exacerbating hemorrhoids, you might take the L-glutamine with food as opposed to on an empty stomach. You can at the same time continue with the FissureHeal, if you are finding that helpful. With time and consistent nurturing, you should find that your GI tract becomes more resilient.

Within the holistic healing paradigm, most people have to address their healing in layers. That is, you might need to address your most serious symptom(s) first and let the less serious ones ride for the time being. Trying to do too many things at once stresses the body in another way. In the meantime, as you address your symptoms (and don't be surprised or too discouraged if there's a bit of "two steps forward, one step back" going on), I like Jini's advice, which is basically to let the positivity of what you ARE doing flood your body, rather than worrying about what you haven't gotten to yet.

For myself, I alternate between the various phases of Jini's Wild Oregano Protocol depending on my symptoms or lack thereof and on what I feel my gut is asking for/needs. That is, if things are in an irritated state....increased or looser stools for more than a couple of days, that type of thing....I'll go on Phase One. Usually, I take ten drops of Joy of the Mountains Oil of Oregano three times per day. When things have calmed down, I go onto Phase Two and eventually Phase Three, in which I am only taking probiotics.

I combine this with mental/emotional support. For instance, has something been going on in my life that my gut may be storing or expressing? I invariably find something and addressing things from this angle is just as important to healing as addressing the purely physical. You can read an example Jini gives of this in her own life on pages 297 through 301 of LTYG.

As I mentioned, I use EFT extensively for this. Chris, the moderator of the IBD Remission Diet forum writes letters back and forth to/from his gut, which I also find interesting and something that sounds like it would be helpful. You can read about this at the following link:

http://www.jinipatelthompson.com/bb2/vi ... .php?t=197

Basically, you need to go with your intuition as far as what treatments to pursue and in what order. Your body will give you the feedback you need to make adjustments as you go along.

You can begin using MucosaHeal at any time. It will take longer to work in the colon than if your problems were in the stomach or small intestine, but will still be beneficial in helping to soothe and heal the lining of the intestine. Just make sure that you don't take it at the same time as your probiotics. On an empty stomach, take the probiotics first, then wait a half hour or so and take the MucosaHeal.

I would definitely stay away from aspartame and any other artificial sweeteners. If you feel you will benefit from vitamin/mineral supplementation, you might check out Jini's online store. www.holistichealthshoppe.com. These are the supplements she takes herself and we have the benefit of the homework she's already done on the formulas as far as quality of ingredients, potency, etc. Even if you choose to purchase items elsewhere, you will probably enjoy reading her comments about the various formulas.

I completely resonate with the delight you express to have found Jini and her work.....basically, finding a kinder and gentler way to support health than the conventional medical therapies typically used for IBD. I felt and do feel the same way.

Don't hesitate to write back if you think of any other questions or if I forgot to respond to any of the ones you've already written.

Nicole

Dear Nicole,

Thankyou for your great reply. I am enjoying reading the forum.It is so good to know there are many others out there just like me. All this fuss over my health and diet over the last few years has often made me feel like the weak one of the family. My husband and daughter are NEVER sick. At this stage my husband has little tolerance for my health problems, after two major back surgeries that were not sucessful and now all this I am not really surprised.

Reading Jini's book has made me take a new look at my body. I do have to get my head around the fact that my body is not just a bad burden I have to carry around, my cross so to speak! I guess it's also hard to take because it was a body, at one time, with such ability and potential.

I am going to try to make a concerted effort to look only for the positive in it from now on.

I am also doing acupucture which I initially hated as it hurt but I stayed with it and now i can relax to the point that it hardly bothers me at all. When this session is over i am going to look at some other stuff, like cranio sacral.

I have been taking the probiotics for only five days now and already there is a marked difference.

I have less wind and my stools are almost normal, well I am not really sure what normal is... but they are formed if a little thin, they are not half as slimmy and they do not smell as bad. I am now taking just under half a teaspoon of each probiotic, twice a day. Can so little really make a difference? I can't think what else it can be as I had been on the strict diet for two weeks prior to starting the probiotics, and the diet alone has never produced this result.

My pattern of going to the loo has changed too. Yesterday i felt the need to go in the morning,and then again in the evening, today i didn't need to go until the evening and then i had to go three times each time passing a small amount of well formed stool. However having to go so many times with harder stools is not doing my piles any good and I am still in bits, even afer a whole packet of fissure heal. I guess this condition might be on going for a good while?

I would like to start on the mucosa heal. Are you sure it will not make my stools harder?

Just one other question. I think I mentioned that I also have arthritis that is associated with colitis and also some muscular problems, like a bisceps tendon strain that has been with me for almost a year and will not heal.
Do these type of problems tend to resolve themselves as the whole digestive system improves or do they have to be dealt with in their own right. Jini says something in the book about a certain bacteria- cross thing??? that they now know invades the joints. If this is the case should i also take the wild oregano oil for this or something else.

I know you will probably think i am getting ahead of my self here but not being able to ride as a result of the arthritis is putting my job in jeopardy and if I loose it there will be no expensive probiotics etc. My insurance refuses to have anything to do with this type of treatment. They will pay for endless drugs and colonoscopies... the health care system is really all wrong. I feel so strongly that people who are trying to do the best for their health in a good way should be penalised like this.

Anyway better stop rabbiting, again thankyou both.

Laura Sexton

Hi, Laura.

Sorry it's taken me a couple of days to respond.

You're absolutely right....it's a really tough balance having to work to make money for treatments that insurance won't cover. And to be honest, I was really fortunate because my body actually didn't have a "break-down" if you will until after I'd quit my job (and by then, we were prepared to live on one income). So at least I COULD be sick without a boss and dependents to worry about, although the money part was still a worry, as while my insurance was happy to cover the $1,200/month Asacol would have cost, they wouldn't pay a penny toward $125/month for probiotics, for instance. It is indeed very frustrating.

Anyone else want to comment on how they're doing it?

Speaking generally, in the sense of working toward any goal, sometimes you have to make compromises while you're finding your way around obstacles in your path. I planned on having a nice little emergency fund behind me as I embarked on the life of a stay-at-home Mom, but instead I BECAME the emergency and now have to gradually build it back up again.

That's wonderful to hear that the probiotics are already making a difference for you! It certainly sounds like that is the new factor causing the change and if you're already seeing improvements, by all means savor that good sign and enjoy them.

I think it is unlikely that the MucosaHeal will make your stools harder, but if you want to be on the safe side, ramp up very slowly. For instance, take just one a day on an empty stomach and if all goes well, after a week or two, increase to two a day and so on. Of course, it takes longer to see results this way, but you also decrease your risk of adverse reaction.

You can indeed take Jini's Wild Oregano Protocol to address any infectious component to your colitis. However, if you're seeing such a marked improvement already with the probiotics, I'd almost advise you to stay on them and see if they make some difference in time with your arthritis. However, definitely go with your own "gut feeling". We live in our bodies 24/7....we have a kind of intimate knowledge of them that transcends whatever a colonoscopy or other test of the sort can tell us. So if you have a kind of intuitive feeling that the Wild Oregano Oil is the thing that will most benefit you, go with that feeling, with the proviso that you educate yourself in its use, as it is a very strong, medicinal herb.

People often see other health issues improve or disappear as they resolve their initial problem. We have to remember that everything in our bodies is connected. When disease manifests itself, it is probably after years of exposure to factors....be it diet, medications, stress, emotional troubles, etc., maybe all of the above....that wore things down and imbalanced the whole system, not just the part that's giving us the most trouble. Conversely, because everything is connected, as we do the things to heal and nurture one part, the rest benefits as well. For instance, over a period of months, as I adjusted my diet, took various supplements, used EFT extensively, removed what toxins I could from my life (body-care products, installed a water filter, stopped using a microwave, etc.), not only did my gut improve but I stopped waking up every day with major sinus congestion and a dry, flaky patch of skin on my foot smoothed out.

Hope this helps!

Nicole

Hi Nicole,

I am so glad of your contact.

Things have taken a litle turn for the worse. I held a dinner party last night and I don't know whether I have been going on adrenalin for the last two days but my energy levels along with he poo have been much better. I was feeling very hopeful. However after feeding everyone (I must admit eating too much, my stomach no longer used to large quantities) I felt a huge wave of exhaustion. At 1am I excused myself and went to bed but I had such a sore stomach and couldn't really sleep and at 6.30am had to get up really fast to vommit repeatedly. As someone who is rarely vomits it took me by surprise but I had to congratulate my body on telling what it thought of my idiotic behaviour.

I was so cold and shivery afterwards it took me ages and lots of extra blankets to get warm.

When I woke up my hips and kness were sorer than they have been in weeks. I tried to think of anything i might have eaten the night before that may have induced this reaction but had stuck to what I normally eat even though I ate too much. i find this very strange? Would be very intersested in hearing from others who have arthritis as to what they find their triggers. I have not had this complication that long so it is all a bit new to me.

I will hold off on the wild oregano for a while and just see how i do with the probiotics first.

Again many thanks for your help. it is s cool to talk to others who do not think I am nuts.

Laura

Hi, Laura.

I'm glad you're enjoying the forum. Nobody here is going to think your nuts! One thing I think we all have in common is wanting to manage/heal our disease as naturally and holistically as possible.

How are you doing now? Did those symptoms abate or have they stayed the same or gotten worse?

Glad to see that you are enjoying the forum and got to watch the movie Jini recommended with your daughter; that's terrific!

Nicole

Hi Nicole,

Thankyou for your reply. I am now pretty sure it was a bug that I had. I felt awful the next day, shivery, splitting sore head. My daughter came down with it the next day. I felt back to normal in two days but i was still burping and felt a bit nausous for one or to days after so I didn't eat much at all, chicken soup and white rice, steammed courgettes, dill tea. I stopped the probiotics for a day cos my stomach just told me too.

When i re-commenced I did so slowly. I am now taking just over half a teaspoon of each pro. three times a day. and had also got up to 2 mucosa heal, one at night one before lunch.

However my poo is once again loose and smelly. It was so good for a few days.

I don't know if this is a result of the bug or whether i am taking too much pros. too quickly or the mucosa heal.

I stopped the mucosa heal two days ago... no change

I have also finally weaned myself of the chinese herbs and this might also be a factor.

Not quite sure how to proceed now?

What is the most important thing, to stop the diaarhea or to take the probiotics?

I am still only going to the tiolet one or twice a day however and that is good.

I know this is going to be a long journey. i think the most difficult things is keeping the faith.

laura

Hi, Laura.

Well, the probiotics address one of the typical causative factors of IBD....an imbalanced gut flora. So they really are paramount. Rebalancing the gut flora will automatically improve or eliminate chronic diarrhea, but it does typically take some time (often months) to see peak results.

You have a few options that I can think of to counteract the loose stools, in the meantime. One is to stick with the probiotics and the diet you know works for you and give it some time....where you're not starting off in too bad a place (only one or two trips to the loo per day), it may very well resolve itself. I'd look to see some improvements (not necessarily complete resolution, but certainly some improvements) within four to six weeks. At the same time, check out the immune strengtheners section of Chapter Two in LTYG. While you're bouncing back from your "flu bug" as we'd call it in my part of the U.S., you can consider one or more of these to help your immune system strengthen and rebalance. The ones I find work really, really well for me are the Maitake Mushroom extract and Vitamin C. It takes some experimentation to find what your body responds best to.

Another effective way to rebalance the gut flora is by cycling according to your symptoms through the various phases of Jini's Wild Oregano Protocol. I continue to do that as I feel I need to.

For short-term relief, while you're waiting for the probiotics to colonize, you can try either L Glutamine or psyllium; look under "Diarrhea" in Chapter Two of Listen to Your Gut for instructions. But where you also tend to suffer with painful piles when your stools firm up too much, you may have to ease carefully into trying either one of these.

It is very difficult sometimes, when you're trying different things and waiting to see results. As Jini says in Chapter One of LTYG, it's when you're laying the foundation for healing that you see the fewest results and yet you need that good foundation to build on. I certainly found that to be true in my case.

To be honest, there were a few times on my healing journey that the thought came into my head that I might HAVE to resort to pharmaceuticals. Everybody has to make their own choice on something like that, but when I really went deep inside to consult my inner compass as it were, something always stopped me. And things have turned out fine.

I know I've mentioned it many times before on the forum, but a tool like EFT that you can use to help you deal with the fears and frustrations that come up in recovering from a serious disease is beyond price. I truly believe that I would not have done nearly as well as I have without that tool to help me with emotional hurdles, past and present. Always look to address the whole self, not just the physical body.

Very glad to hear that you're feeling better than you were, though! Keep in touch.

Nicole

P.S. One other thing I just thought of. If you can take a couple of days to rest quietly at home and just "eat" very light things like broth and take small doses of the probiotics every couple of hours, I find that helps give me a real boost when I'm getting over a bug. Don't know if your work and home schedule would allow that, but just a thought.

Hi Nicole,

Thankyou once again for your long reply.

I would like to try the wild oregano oil but am a bit frightened of it somehow. Do I not have to be taking the full level of probiotocs to support it?

I will read section on immune boosters again.

i bought some L'glutamine but have not used it yet. I was trying the mucosa heal first.

I am not going to give up this route, I might moan occasionally at all the trouble it is, but it is a matter of attitude. The first time i did this diet/ holistic thing i think i did it with a martyr complex. Now i have a different out look, it is my choice to treat my body in this way. I think i had to get to a really disillusioned place to make this change though.

Once again thankyou

Laura