Case History 1 - Leaky Gut/Anxiety
A young woman came to me with several health issues.
Chronic pain and regular headaches, rhinitis (allegedly from a dust mite allergy), frequent sinusitis and poor digestion with IBS-like symptoms. Despite all efforts with making her diet healthy, exercising and reducing stress, she was still in a lot of pain all the time and really wanted to know why and how to fix it!
From taking her case history I could see that the most obvious symptoms were poor digestion, anxiety which expressed itself as a light OCD, pain and allergic reactions. She had a history of kidney and bladder issues, repetitive bouts of cystitis and nephritis which eventually led to surgery to try and correct the cause of the problem. However this caused complications and she then had to have further surgery and intravenous antibiotics.
From her health history I could see that she had problems with her lymphatic and immune system. As a child she had frequent middle-ear infections, had her adenoids removed and her tear ducts were blocked. Her family had a history of anxiety and mental health issues, which shows a weakness in the endocrine and central nervous system. This had an effect on this young woman as she coped with this stress in her environment by adaptations which manifested themselves as controlling behaviour.
As a teenager she had difficulty around puberty which resulted in taking medication for depression and acne. Her rising anxiety levels caused insomnia from time to time. It is interesting to note she was vegetarian at this time. As she aged she developed eczema (which she felt was stress related) and post natal depression, amongst other things.
Leaky Gut
Healing happens in stages and the first stage for this young woman was to improve her digestive system.
From looking at all the information I was given I believed that this lady had what is known as 'leaky gut'. Our digestive tract is lined with a very secure membrane to stop the
This situation can exhaust the immune system, drain the body’s resources of anti-oxidants, and allow for a colonisation of parasitic bacteria because of the rise in the tissue’s acidity (bad bacteria love acidity, good bacteria love alkalinity). With a growth of the ‘bad’ bacteria we see a depletion of the good guys. This will also affect the absorption of nutrients as the bad guys will soak up all the good stuff and leave us with the dregs. The good guys will produce vitamins and minerals for us as well as serve as part of our immune system, so if they are overrun then it weakens us on many levels.
Healing the Digestive System
I advised this young woman to cut back on carbs and sugar. Even though she was already wheat-free and dairy-free, and had found that this really helped her digestion, she needed to go further and cut out refined carbs and processed foods. This included things like porridge, oatcakes (she was very fond of these), spelt pasta, white rice, fruit juice, ham and what little cheese she did eat.
Changing the Body's Environment
In order to create a more alkaline environment she needed to up her intake of vegetables, eat lots of soups and stews, include hydrating foods like congee and linseed tea. She needed to include a fresh vegetable juice every day. I prescribed therapeutic amounts of probiotics, a specialist anti-parasite herbal supplement and a selection of nutrients that would help keep her immune system fueled, and support her endocrine and central nervous system. This health program would have the effect of getting the good bacteria back into balance, which would put pressure on her liver and eliminatory systems as her body would need to detoxify the ‘bad’ bacteria. So I prescribed naturopathic techniques that would support that process. Skin brushing to reduce the body’s acidity, improve lymph circulation and oxygenate the tissues. Enemas, to help cleanse the bowels, and the use of coffee enemas to reduce the pain she was feeling as well as release toxicity. Finally epsom salt baths which would soothe her body with the magnesium sulphate, increase circulation and detoxify the skin.
The Story the Blood Told - Before
Here you can see ‘target cells’ these are the red blood cells that appear to have a smaller circle within them. This shows a lack of iron and a lot of this young woman's red blood cells (RBC) had this symptom. Iron is one of the minerals that the bad bacteria gobble up and one of the minerals that the good bacteria produce for us. So this can be seen as a symptom of the bacterial imbalance.
The Story the Blood Told - After
Here you can see how much the blood has changed, there is not one target cell in this picture.
Improvements
When she came to see me 3 months later there were several improvements. One of which was that she no longer needed to take antihistamines. Her rhinitis was almost non-existent. She reported that her pain levels had changed and were much improved, she did not feel like she was in pain all the time. She felt clearer in her head and less inflamed in her body. Her bowel movements were easier. All of this was great news and you can see from the before and after blood pictures the difference in her blood.