Unexplained Chronic Nausea

[James_Street]

I could really use someone's thoughts about my condition. This is very specific and detailed, so please bear with it.

I have had waves of nausea and weakness on a daily basis for the last 13 months with low levels of constipation, but never any diarrhea. One hour I can feel up, the next I feel down. Some days are worse than others. I can't seem to find any triggers that set it off, like certain foods or drinks, stressful situations, or certain times of the day. It goes off at random times in random intervals, whether I've just eaten, about to eat, or haven't eaten for a while, or whether I've got a lot going on or nothing at all, or whether it's in the morning, afternoon, evening, or in the middle of the night.

I do a lot of speaking and the longer I speak in a given presentation, the more the symptoms flare up. There’s never been a speaking opportunity the last 9 months I wasn’t nauseous. Half of the time I don’t think I’m going to make it to the end of the presentation without hurling, yet somehow I always do. I love speaking. It doesn’t scare me. And I used to speak all the time with no problems whatsoever until just recently.

This all started 6 years ago and back then it lasted for 1.5 years and then spontaneously disappeared for 3 full years until just over a year ago. The first time around, it went undiagnosed even though the doctors ran test after test, including a colonoscopy, endoscopy, MRI on my head, 2 ultrasounds, a CT scan on my abdomen, a stomach emptying procedure, and a boat load of blood test to rule out diseases and other conditions. Everything came back negative and the doctors were all mystified, including my G.I. doc and an allergy specialist.

About 9 months ago, when this returned, I had a comprehensive stool test done that uncovered a lack of beneficial bacteria in my gut. Finally some answers. But after faithfully introducing a wide variety and high levels of probiotics into my system for the last 6 months, it's done absolutely nothing to relieve my symptoms, although I should hope my bacteria levels have balanced by now.

I've been seeing an integrative medicine specialist for the last 3 months. She's put me on a very restrictive diet. It's FODMAP plus no grains, dairy, soy, or eggs. After 2 straight months of none of these foods, my symptoms remained virtually the same. The nausea and weakness are still a daily experience. This doctor’s been helpful, but it’s very expensive to see her. Each visit’s $165, and that doesn’t include any supplements I need to buy or tests I need to have run.

This doctor has me taking probiotics to replenish my gut flora, L-glutamine to repair the wall of my intestines, adrenal assist to boost my energy levels, digestive enzymes to help process the food I eat, and an ultra magnesium supplement to help relax my muscles and regulate my bowel movements. Nothing seems to help.

The only thing I've been diagnosed with is Gilbert's disease, which is just a slightly high bilirubin count and shouldn't bear any symptoms or get worse over time. I'm also missing the MTHFR gene that processes folic acid. I've been taking Methyl CPG to compensate, but it's done nothing for my symptoms.

I don't smoke or drink alcohol. I usually get 8 hours of sleep a night. I do drink coffee almost everyday, but it's not much. I've been off soda for almost 6 months.

Thank you for any thoughts you can give.

[TheLightSeeker]

I would stay away from the probiotics for a few weeks, until you get your intestinal lining repaired. Probiotics will do more harm than good if they end up in your blood stream.
The one thing that you need to ensure is that you are taking a large enough
amount of l-glutamine. If you are on capsules, just ditch them.
Consider getting a large quantity of  l-glutamine powder.
and start with 10 gr daily mixed with water and sipped throughout the day.
Taper up to 50 grams withing a week-if well tolerated and then taper down
to 10 grams daily, but always paying attention to how your body is accepting this.
Give it a few weeks, until you feel better-l-glutamine will help with many other things, including overall digestion, before resuming the probiotics.
Do not take extra glutamine containing foods, as they will be antagonistic with the powder.
One thing to note is that should  candida been present and having been a factor in your compromised intestinal lining, it would take a very long time to eliminate. I would take therapeutic doses of virgin, organic coconut oil -it has a broader action against the entire spectrum of candida species, better than any antifungal drug on the market.
Start with 1T daily and taper up to 6-8 T daily in 4 weeks.
It can be used in cooking, added to your veggies, or mixed in your drinks.
It takes years for candida to develop into a fungal overgrowth infection
and you need to allow one month minimum of anti-candida therapy per year of candida, counting from the beginning stages of the onset, which are unsymptomatic.  I would follow the anti-candida program for a year
to be on the safe side.
Can you give me details/ingredients/forms/quantity of all your supplements?
The magnesium oral supplement may not be doing much, considering
the already low absorption rate combined with G/I & digestive issues.
About your MTHFR gene mutation, is it the 677 mutation, or the 1298 mutation or both and is it heterozygous or homozygous?
Do you have a genetic profile report?
You could be both a hypomethylator and hypermethylator, or there could be other genetic conflicts.
Did you get tested for cobalamin B12 and folate levels prior to taking the
Methyl CPG? High levels of these are indicative of Methylocobalamin B12 and Methylfolate deficiency in the presence of MTHFR mutations.
Let me know.
Best wishes,
Niko