On Sept 2nd, 2010 the Today show ran a segment on Gentrie McKall Hansen, a girl, who recently was diagnosed with Gastroparesis & underwent surgery for an Enterra neuro-stimulator implant. I am glad Gastroparesis is getting some national attention. Her story highlights major issues with our medical system here in the United States. So many things are written off as being “in your head” or mental problems. We’re starting to have a problem with “fast food” doctors, who do not truly care about or listen to their patients or possibly are under immense pressure to push patients in & out the door. I think another story that highlights this is Michael Douglas’ recent diagnosis of stage 4 throat cancer, even though he had been trying to find the reason for his sore throat and ear ache for months, no one caught his cancer early until now. It makes me angry, isn’t the United States supposedly the best healthcare system in the world?
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Well it appears your mother may have been right about eating your broccoli, especially if you’re dealing with Chron’s Disease. Scientists have found that people dealing with Chron’s Disease seem to have problems with certain bacteria invading their gut, specifically a certain type of E. Coli. The fiber in Broccoli & Plantains may help block the E. Coli bacteria from being absorbed by the gut, thus reducing chances of infection & irritation.
Just what is a plantain? It’s basically a banana that isn’t sweet. In some places you can find “plantain chips” which are salted, not sweetened. As far as broccoli goes, the best way to cook
Plantains - Photo By Daegis
it is to steam it until it’s brilliant green, then remove it immediately. This will allow it to retain flavor & texture. I really do no like mushy broccoli. Even with these findings some people may not be able to tolerate these foods, so don’t put caution to the wind. Take it slow.
Endogastric Solutions, the maker of the Esophyx device announced on Monday(Aug 30th, 2010) that they had secured an additional $30 million dollars in funding. You can read more information about the Esophyx procedure from my previous post on it.
Thierry Thaure, President and Chief Executive Officer of EndoGastric Solutions commented: “Our technology offers significant clinical, economic and strategic benefits to our hospital and surgeon customers. Over the past two years, the EsophyX and StomaphyX product platforms have been embraced with a high level of enthusiasm by the surgeon community…
Esophyx is a fundoplication device & procedure that does not require incisions and instead is performed completely through the esophagus. Esophyx has come under fire recently for misleading statements & performance. It is marketed as a reversible procedure, but many have been told that their procedure cannot be undone. Additionally some have found no benefit or have had their symptoms worsen after the procedure. There is currently at least one lawsuit claiming Endogastric Solutions has made misleading statements regarding the Esophyx procedure.
Greek style yogurt is a yogurt that has been strained to reduce extra moisture. It also has a higher fat content. Those two properties causes it to have consistency similar to a high moisture cheese. I would say it’s half-way between a firm sour cream & a soft cream-cheese. Even that doesn’t quite describe it properly, as the texture is pretty unique. Basically, it’s thick, it’ll stick to your spoon without sliding off. The texture is much more satisfying than a lot of the goopey mass marketed yogurt you’ll find on store shelves.
Zoi Yogurt is made by Auburn Dairy Products. It’s a regional brand found in the Pacific Northwest. The packing is simplistic but charming. It advertises itself as having a “Great Taste – Fit For The Gods”. You can get Zoi in the following flavors: Plain, Vanilla, Honey, Strawberry & Blueberry. One of the best things about the fruit flavors is that they have “Fruit on the Bottom”, which I feel lends to use of higher quality ingredients and allows one to mix the fruit in or slowly make their way to the fruity explosion awaiting at the bottom. I initially didn’t even know that there was fruit on the bottom(failed to read the label), there was the essence of fruit flavor throughout the yogurt even before I hit the bottom, so the fruit on the bottom was an extra bonus.
Zoi Yogurt has Vitamin A & D3, as well as live cultures(S. thermophilus, L. bulgaricus, L. acidophilus, B. lactis, L. rhamnosus & L. casei). This is a cow’s milk yogurt. As far as I can see it looks as though the ingredients are all natural. One thing that might be concerning is the fat & calorie content. For example the Strawberry flavor contains 5g of fat(3.5 of which are saturated fats) & 200 calories per 6oz cup. I actually don’t think that is a big deal as the cups are very satisfying & can easily take the place of your breakfast or lunch. You are at least getting 7g of protein out of that as well. Also because the texture and flavor is so good, I could easily see someone using it to substitute for something much worse like cheesecake or ice cream without feeling disappointed.
Overall, I really like the product. You can find it at QFC, Haggens, Winco or Top Foods. There is a $1.00 off coupon on their website.
YouTube user rickvanman has a two-part video explaining his experiences with Irritable Bowel Syndrome. He explains both the physical and mental toll IBS can take on the sufferer. I can completely relate his experiences to my own while dealing with Irritable Bowel Syndrome. You can view the videos below, also check out his IBS website.
I am sure your mind must be pondering, “that title doesn’t mean what I think it means”, well actually it means exactly what you’re probably thinking. The first time I heard about fecal transplantation was when my girlfriend discussed it after seeing an episode of Grey’s Anatomy. I thought it was a joke, no way they would really do that. Thanks to the internet and research, it turns out it is indeed not a joke, but an actual procedure that has helped many people.
Fecal transplantation is simply taking stool from a donor who has a healthy, functional digestive system and implanting it into the affected patient. A poo slurry is created with saline, stool & in some cases added fiber. This is done with a blender(you probably won’t want to make smoothies in this thing afterward). Implantation can be done in different ways, such as via enema, colonoscopy or naso-jejunal tube. This is repeated for 5 – 10 days.
The idea behind fecal transplantation is that the sufferer with the disease is suffering from a bacterial/microbial imbalance in their digestive system. There are literally thousand and thousands of different types of microbes and bacteria in our bodies. If you are missing certain types then you will have an imbalance that will either cause problems with digesting food or allow harmful invaders to setup shop in your digestive system. Since you won’t have the good bacteria available to fight off the infection, this can cause long-term problems. This is the case with Clostridium difficile, a bacteria that is extremely hard to get rid of with normal antibiotics or by the immune system. Also in some cases Chron’s Disease may be the bodies response to invading bacteria, but since it has trouble penetrating the gut to attack the bacteria, it instead inflicts damage on the gut itself.
One thing that is interesting is that many people who had a a history of taking antibiotics seemed more likely to see improvement after transplantation. Antibiotics are known to wipe out your bacterial flora. When I was little I went through many ear infections which involved many doses of antibiotics. I am wondering if this might play some part in my Irritable Bowel Syndrome. A lot of this is theory, but the facts are that fecal transplantation is real and has had beneficial results for many people.
Prof. Thomas Borody has been pioneering this technique in Australia at the Centre for Digestive Diseases. There hasn’t been much effort taking place in the United States, though there are some Gastro doctors who may be willing to entertain the idea. There have been suggestions that the University of Chicago has been holding focus groups regarding fecal transplants & possibly seeking a grant to do further research. There is nothing on their website right now confirming this though.
If you are in the US or UK or you’re not a character on a Grey’s Anatomy episode, you might try doing this on your own. Some enterprising individuals have taken up doing the job of doing it on their own by recruiting stool from their spouse or family. Some have had surprisingly good results as far as combating Chron’s or Irritable Bowel Syndrome symptoms. Here is a very informative discussion from the HealingWell.com forums with experiences from people who have done the procedure themselves.
Have you done fecal transplantation? Are you a doctor researching it? Comment or e-mail and tell me your story.
I recently started noticing there were more and more TV commercials for injury lawyers advertising their services in lawsuits against Accutane. Searching the web shows a ton of injury lawyer websites offering all sorts of information on it & in some cases incorrectly stating IBS & IBD are the same thing. There have also been some big settlements taking place regarding Accutane in the news as of late.
In my research I found that Accutane has been studied for possible links to IBD as far back as 2001. Also non-public internal documents from Roche Holdings suggests that Accutane damages the intestinal tract & that physicians who were prescribing Accutane also noted a higher risk for IBD. Accutane was “discontinued” by Roche Holdings in 2009, the claim it was not due to the lawsuits or concerns over safety. Keep in mind that even before this link to IBD, Accutane was noted for causing birth defects when taken by pregnant women as well as causing depression.
The first Accutane lawsuit ended in 2007 in which found Roche Holdings liable for failing to label the drug correctly. Plaintiff Andrew McCarrell was originally awarded $2.62 million dollars, Roche Holdings appealed & the case was re-tried. In 2010 the retrial ended and Andrew McCarrell was awarded over $25 million dollars. Since 2007 then there have been other lawsuits that have come to completion & the outlook is not looking good for Roche Holdings. Although one judgment was overturned on appeal, there are hundreds more lawsuits on the way.
Most of the people who have won awards have been severely affected by IBD, needing parts of their lower digestive tract removed. Due to the large quantity of people who are filing for lawsuits, I am wondering if this may turn into a class action lawsuit, though the award settlements usually amounts to far less when dealing with class-action style lawsuits.
Are you someone who is pursuing legal action against Roche Holdings or are you a lawyer representing something who is? Please comment below and let us know your story.
Well the giant egg recall is big news right now as it just keeps getting bigger and bigger and unfortunately more and more people are getting ill from it. The day before this recall was issued I had made some french toast which used quite a bit of eggs in it. Luckily the carton of eggs I had in the fridge were not part of the recall since I got them about two weeks before the recall happened(I don’t use a lot of eggs). Needless to say, I will not be making french toast for awhile.
One thing I am wondering is why so many people are getting sick. Salmonella is a bacteria that does die when heated to 165F or above. I have a feeling that many people who are getting sick are possibly mishandling the eggs or not cooking their eggs thoroughly. There are also possibilities of accidental gross contamination say within a grocery bag or in the fridge. I always keep my eggs separate from all my other groceries in the bag and in the fridge. I just don’t have much luck what with developing IBS from swimming in a river and later feeling nauseated with diarrhea that night, then later in life getting a three month bout of Gastroparesis from a norrovirus or food poisoning. So I take food handling very seriously.
It seems like ever summer we have a big name food recall related to salmonella. Last year it was peanuts, the year before it was tomatoes(which is a recurring theme), now it’s eggs. Eggs are actually less shocking as salmonella has always been a risk with eggs. Things like peanuts or tomatoes are scary as you don’t assume those would be a risk and in many cases they’re eaten raw. Even on a local level we’re seeing salmonella recalls. Umpqua dairy had to recall milk, cream, half-n-half & even orange juice because the processing plant was contaminated with salmonella and many people have become ill.
It makes you wonder about where our food is coming from and the people or businesses that produce it. Because our food system is becoming more consolidated all the time, a small outbreak can quickly spread across the nation & while it would seem this consolidation would make it easier to track down where the outbreak started from, that’s rarely the case. For example the tomato recall last year, took a long time to track down and in the end some were even doubting if it was the tomatoes and not a batch of bad jalapeno peppers that were actually causing the illnesses.
Inspections of our food supply & enforcement should be a top priority, but time and time again businesses fly under the radar until people start getting sick or even dying. For example the company Cadbury Chocolates in 2006 was finally fined almost $2 million US dollars because it knowingly put tainted candy bars on store shelves in the UK and lowered it’s hygiene standards to save money. The Peanut Corporation of America had a sloppy history of health violations and when it finally caught up with them causing a major salmonella outbreak, sickening many people, they just closed up shop and filed bankruptcy.
Ultimately I think the public & the government should take a firmer stance to ensure the purity of our food. The FDA may need to be expanded and we also need to “beef-up” the USDA inspection power as well. There are also powerful food industry lobbyists corrupting Washington, would be nice to kick them out too.
There has been some recent news on the drug Rifaximin(brand name XIFAXAN) showing some promising results for treating Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Rifaximin is an anti-biotic that is poorly absorbed by the body. What this means is that most of it stays in the gut where it attacks bacteria. The idea here is that harmful bacteria create toxins in the body causing neurocognitive and neuromuscular dysfunction. By using Rifaximin you can kill off these bacteria and hopefully restore the gut to it’s regular functions.
Rifaximin is being studied for use in people with diarrhea predominate Irritable Bowel Syndrome, it is not for those experiencing constipation. According to one study, of the people who took Rifaximin orally 3 times at day at a 550mg dosage, Rifaximin worked 11% better than a placebo, which really isn’t that great. Another concern I’d have about it, is that it is an antibiotic & antibiotics do not usually discriminate on what they destroy. While the study did follow people 10 weeks after treatment, I am wondering if this is truly a long time solution or if people will need to do follow-up treatments farther down the road. Keep in mind that those who did benefit did not see total resolution of their symptoms, but merely that their symptoms improved.
One interesting thing this does bring up is the link between chronic viral or bacterial infection & Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Since so many people get Irritable Bowel Syndrome after dealing with a bacterial or viral attack, it gets the gears turning in my mind that perhaps there is some sort of prolonged low-level infection that causes these problems.
Special thanks to Hypnotherapy Directory (UK) for writing this detailed post on Hypnotherapy.
Many suffers of Irritable Bowel Syndrome only get occasional pain and discomfort, but for some the condition can effect their lives on a daily basis. You may suffer from constipation, or diarrhea, some may even have both. Pain can vary from mild to severe and can occur at any time of the day. You may also be suffering from indigestion, nausea, cramping, heart burn and muscle pain.
There has been lots of information and research into the condition. Some research suggests that parts of the gut may be over-active, some of the contractions in the muscles can become abnormal. Other research has found that sensitivity to the amount of gas in your bowel and your genes can all contribute to the development of IBS.
Because there is no known cause for IBS there is no definite cure. There are things that can help though, although it is important to recognize that as IBS is a medical condition you should consult your doctor before trying a new method. One method that is growing in popularity is Hypnotherapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, both have been shown to help relieve IBS symptoms.
Hypnotherapy can help you learn how to relax and teach you new ways to manage stress. Your state of mind can influence your physical health as well as your mental health. The stress and anxiety that IBS can cause can undermine your immune system which can then fuel the IBS further. Being able to relax and control your stress can be invaluable tools in coping with your IBS.
Hypnotherapy can also help you to stay positive about your condition. By communicating with your sub-conscience mind a hypnotherapist can help you change your reactions and feeling to certain situations and feelings. Meaning you may be a much happier and positive person.
Finding a professional hypnotherapist can add to your stress and confusion though, there are no government regulations in place in the UK for hypnotherapy at the moment. This is why the website Hypnotherapy Directory was created. You can search their network of UK based, qualified and insured hypnotherapists by your postcode, town or county to find help in your area. You can also find out lots more information on how hypnotherapy can help IBS, and many other areas . This is a free and confidential service for all.
