Villicote & Glutashield - aka rebuilding my gut lining
I've been at this for a while. "This" is trying to find a cure, or at least better coping strategies, for my ME/CFS and Lupus. I can't even begin to tell you the number of things I've tried on this journey so far. The idea to blog some of my experience has been floating in my head for some time now and I've never gotten to it. Honestly, I haven't felt well enough to write about it. Suddenly today I feel up to it and I'm excited to share this new experience with others, as it happens. Eventually, I hope to go back and do some writing about the other pieces of my healing experience, but for now let's dive into to...rebuilding my gut lining.
I'm seeing a Functional Medicine doctor (FMD). No doubt I'm not the only one who feels desperate for treatment and thus seeks out anything and everything available. There is always a worry about falling prey to a snake oil salesman in the back of my mind, but at the end of the day I rationalize that I'm not spending any money on life or travel or fun so I may as well spend my last pennies on the promise of a cure.
A bit of a backstory on things I've been researching lately, as the backstory is key to understanding why I decided to part with my hard earned $$$ and left with $300 of product that will hopefully coat my gut lining and "cure" or at least begin to heal me. It turns out that just as I read or learn new things, the FMD coincidentally prescribes something similar to me. When what she advises usually seems to fit with what I've learned I reach into my wallet and hand over the Visa.
I recently listened to some podcasts by Dr. Jess P. Armine:(http://www.blogtalkradio.com/drjessarmine/2016/08/04/mthfr-methylation-a-primer-with-dr-jess-armine) Here, I learned about Methylation pathways and how he likes to do genetic testing to see where people have vulnerabilities in their Methylation pathways to guide his treatment. I also learned that while we are all busy taking probiotics, they will fail to help us if the mucosal lining of the gut is compromised.
Low and behold if I don't head to my FMD appointment today only to find her recommending that I do the 23 and Me genetic testing AND begin to rebuild my mucosal lining with the following products:
After two weeks I am supposed to introduce a new probiotic. I was thrilled to learn that the FMD's favourite probiotic doesn't need to be kept in the fridge. While I manage to take at least 20 pills a day the probiotics always throw me for a loop as I can't keep them with the rest of my pills. These are the probiotics she recommended:
I'm seeing a Functional Medicine doctor (FMD). No doubt I'm not the only one who feels desperate for treatment and thus seeks out anything and everything available. There is always a worry about falling prey to a snake oil salesman in the back of my mind, but at the end of the day I rationalize that I'm not spending any money on life or travel or fun so I may as well spend my last pennies on the promise of a cure.
A bit of a backstory on things I've been researching lately, as the backstory is key to understanding why I decided to part with my hard earned $$$ and left with $300 of product that will hopefully coat my gut lining and "cure" or at least begin to heal me. It turns out that just as I read or learn new things, the FMD coincidentally prescribes something similar to me. When what she advises usually seems to fit with what I've learned I reach into my wallet and hand over the Visa.
I recently listened to some podcasts by Dr. Jess P. Armine:(http://www.blogtalkradio.com/drjessarmine/2016/08/04/mthfr-methylation-a-primer-with-dr-jess-armine) Here, I learned about Methylation pathways and how he likes to do genetic testing to see where people have vulnerabilities in their Methylation pathways to guide his treatment. I also learned that while we are all busy taking probiotics, they will fail to help us if the mucosal lining of the gut is compromised.
Low and behold if I don't head to my FMD appointment today only to find her recommending that I do the 23 and Me genetic testing AND begin to rebuild my mucosal lining with the following products:
- https://www.villicote.com/consumers/product/
- https://www.orthomolecularproducts.com/glutashield-chocolate/
Some initial research on the Villicote product looks promising. I found this study (https://www.naturalmedicinejournal.com/journal/2015-04/n-acetylglucosamine-treatment-inflammatory-bowel-disease) which while not directly related to my condition, shows that the product was able to help restore the gut lining for some individuals and decrease certain symptoms. Thank goodness this blog is anonymous as I don't know I could share this otherwise, but I am convinced there is something going wrong with my bowels because of a few recent bouts of urgent diarrhea which ... okay ... even though this is anonymous I just can't go there. Let's just say it was BAD and I never in my life thought I could have such a bad washroom experience.
This regime is on top of what the FMD previously recommended to start rebuilding my nutrition which included a long list of supplements and this nutritional shake:
And this!:
The glutathione deserves its own entire post at some point. Short story - referred to by some as a super anti-oxidant, glutathione is a key in the bodies' methylation and detoxification pathways. Early on in my illness I spontaneously developed an alcohol intolerance which was a first clue that my body wasn't detoxing as it should. Along the way, many a naturopath etc have recommended glutathione and I was happy when FMD recommended this product which I can take on a daily basis at home. Just one teaspoon is relatively easy to manage and I'm happy to report it tastes lemony fresh.
Honestly at the moment I'm doubting I am going to be able to manage ingesting all of the new products above on top of the many supplements I'm already taking. The thought of all this stuff in my stomach is making me nauseous, but I hope to give it a whirl. Retrospectively I kind of wish I asked her to prioritize and didn't take it all. Our appointments just move so fast and I want all the help I can get. That said, it didn't really sink in that I was going to spend the balance of the day drinking shakes and mixing powders which at the moment seems like my fate. That said, I am quite excited to think that I could restore my mucosal lining and solve some of my health problems.
Which reminds of one more thing. She tested me for many things - too many to summarize here. One interesting thing that I tested positive for however was something called Indican. Here is a little bit of info on Indican (http://brodynd.com/urine-indican/). It was an easy and inexpensive test to do (covered by OHIP in Ontario) and I was interested to see I tested positive. Research indicated that it was a sign of the much discussed "leaky gut". I hear so much about this and am never sure if it is hype or science, but this test made me feel like there was some science behind the hype so now I am that much more motivated to take the probiotics and try the Villicote and Glutashield.
When I went to the appointment, I had a note to ask FMD about genetic testing and low and behold she was recommending 23 and ME before I even had a chance to ask! Her thoughts are that they have one of the most comprehensive assessments out there. She noted that they don't do the analysis she likes to see (which I've heard before) but that can be solved with some analysis by these folks:
I hope to update this blog with my progress on some of the above. Until then, wish me luck with smoothie making, powder mixing and my new full time job of supplement taking!
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