Has Anyone Tried Any Alternative Healing Methods???

[GoldFishy222]

I’m a firm believer in western medicine, but I was reading an article the other day on Reiki.  The woman in the article was dealing with a lot of stress.  But they said Reiki can be used for all types of healing.  So maybe (its far fetched, but maybe) something like that could help my stomach.  Then I started to wonder if anyone here has tried anything like that or acupuncture, hypnosis, I’ve heard people mention medical marijuana, or any other form of alternative healing???  And how did it work for you???

A little bit about my tummy woes:
I’m 25 and female.  I’ve been having server stomach discomfort with nausea and diarrhea for almost 6 weeks now and have seen my doctor several times (who put me on prilosec) as well as a GI (who told me to take a probiotic and try a BRAT diet) with no real solid answers.  Blood test (I’ve Done a bunch of them) urine and stool test all came up fine.  Though I did test positive for blood when they did a rectal exam.  I think the next step is for them to scope both ends of me (I think this is terrifying, though everyone tells me it will be fine).  I have to wait for my GI to get back in the office though and then pray that he can see me with in the next few days (why is it always so hard to get an appointment!)
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I feel sick every day and I just want it to stop, this week I think depression has set in because all I want to do is curl up and die, so I go and lay in bed and cry till I can fall asleep (which is the only time I seem not to feel sick) I feel bad for saying that I’m reaching the end of my rope after just 6 weeks, I just don’t know how to cope with this anymore and I can feel myself breaking down, I really miss my life and feel terrible for my BF because hes the only one around who can take care of me (my family is all far away) so any help at all Is greatly appreciated!  

[EmmaJANE21]

My mum took over this week and put me on Yakult which is a probiotic drink that i take every morning and centrum a to Zinc which is a pill made up of all these vitamins that are used to build up your immune system and fill in the gaps in your system where your body is laking. The diarrhea has stopped and while im not completely feeling better i have started to cramp less, and the nausea goes away long enough so that i can get some food into me, and it isnt coming up. Unfortunately with what you have, and what i have its just trial and error trying different things and finding what works for your stomach. I however am a very strong believer in things other than antibiotics if i can get them more so because they tend to kill both good and bad things in your body where as the herbal things tend to only kill off the bad. If you need more info on the things im taking let me know and ill pass some info your way.

[GoldFishy222]

Yeah I'm worried that antibiotics might be what did this to me in the first place, since i was taking them for a skin infection a week before.  But who knows.  I know i definitely need to try and start taking some vitamins because my hairs shedding much more the usual and I’m getting really dark circles under my eyes making me look much older (this is also adding to my depressed state) I’ve never heard of Yakult, i was drinking Ensure but it seemed to just add to the nausea.  What is it?

I’m really glad your able to eat some, I’ve been living on crackers and bagels mostly and oddly enough Spaghetti-O’s seem to sit ok but no other soup does.  

If you find out anything else let me know and ill do the same for you!

[EmmaJANE21]

I was worried about that too!!, I took an extremely strong course of antibiotics 5 a day for three days that wiped me out completely and i think this is the reason i havnt been able to bounce back and this has lagged on for so long, because it took the good bacteria in my stomach aswell. I find Yakult great, ive only taken it twice and already have started to feel better and they are literally tiny doses which is FANTASTIC when you dont want to drink anything.

I couldnt eat much either which was why i started eating these sandwiches that have a mixture of mashed potato - powdered as it isnt to strong tasting that way and i just mix it with water, frozen vegetables for the same reason and a little bit of cooked lamb on white bread. It is pretty bland but stays down and it has alot of nutrients in it which i was lacking. PLUS all i could think of was, whats the worst that could happen? im going to throw it up or poop it out? well i was already doing that so why not see if something would stick?

I put some descriptions below for you of the things im taking at the moment.

WHAT IS YAKULT ? ;;
Yakult is a fermented milk drink that contains a very high concentration of a unique, beneficial bacterium called Lactobacillus casei Shirota strain. This bacteria was named after Dr Shirota and is exclusive to Yakult. It is pronounced as follows: Lack-toe-bass-ill-us case-e-i Shirota strain.

Each one of us has around 100 trillion bacteria in our intestines. Some of these are beneficial and some are potentially harmful. To work efficiently our digestive system needs a healthy balance where the number of beneficial bacteria outnumber those that are potentially harmful.
  
The unique beneficial bacteria in Yakult are strong enough to survive the journey through the stomach's gastric juices to reach the small intestine alive, where they help maintain an ideal balance of beneficial bacteria. Each 65ml bottle contains hundreds of millions of these highly acid resistant bacteria, which are exclusive to Yakult


ALSO I DID SOME CHECKING UP for you and found out that this is available in the US.

http://www.yakultusa.com/


Centrum is a complete multi vitamin that ive started to take because i havnt been able to eat normally and my mum is a strong believer in that you cant fight anything if your body has nothing to fight with.

http://www.centrum.net.au/product_range.html

Thats a link so that you can go and see what is in their mixture to find an american equivelant to this for you.

[GoldFishy222]

Thank you so, so, so, much for all of your help.  I found out that there are some stores about 30 minutes away from here that sell the Yakult, so some day when I'm feeling up to it maybe I will make the trip to get some.  It can't hurt I guess, I'm pretty sure that whats going on isn't a dairy sensativity anyway.  I see the GI at 8am monday and I remember ill bring it up with him too.

And I got some much needed Centrum (if anything at least I hope it will stop my hair from falling out and keep me from looking so sickly) They seem to carry it every ware here...I think its the same thing.  

I really wish I could be as possative as you seem to be.  I think maybe I will try and make something more "real" for dinner.  My Boyfriend agrees with you about it not being any worse then it already is... I'm either going to throw-up or have it go the other way... though I guess my stomach could possible hurt more, but maybe not.

Hope you keep getting better!

[EmmaJANE21]

Yakult is really!!!!! good because it is a powdered fermented milk. So while it is a dairy product it actually isnt in the same way. As a probiotic it has helped me alot get through the days and be able to continue working. My nights are still a little shaky and the nausea comes and goes. I also still havnt had my period only mild spotting through this entire episode though i am not pregnant [ have had tests ]  have you had anything like this?

The centrum will be absorbed fast because you dont have alot in your stomach so that should definately help in your health state. You havnt been eating well so your body is missing all of the normal nutrients that helps it to maintain your body. Im sure if you looked closely at your nails and skin you will find that they are also deminishing because all your nutrients that you are getting are going to try and make you feel better and not focusing on other things like fueling something like hair [ which is a dead cell anyway, bit of trivia for you XD ]

Your boyfriend is most definately right as i think i am. You need something with nutrients in it. Aim for very bland flavours and things that are soft and have the ability to be digested easily. Stay away from complex fibres and anything that is going to make your stomach work to hard. You already have diarrhea so you will loose nothing from trying purree'd vegetables and soft things like pasta.

At 5 weeks i was at my lowest point seriously i was at the end of my rope. Now in my 7th to 8th week as much as i have low points where i sit and wonder, is this how my life is going to be? or more seriously what if i go to the gastro and he tells me there is nothing wrong? Is this all in my head? am i creating it because i seriously think that is an impossibility.

If your stomach hurts when it empties then if you throw up, your just going back to square one right? So you dont really have alot to loose. While it isnt helpful and it isnt an outcome you want, there where many times when i literally had to cringe through forcing food down my throat to get my stools back to normal and my body to recover even the slightest bit.

IF YOU NEED ANYTHING someone to talk to, someone who knows how you feel and where your at, send me a note, contact me on aim, send me a message and ill reply. Sometimes it is just comforting knowing your not the only one out there like this, going through this. Your not, and this isnt going to last forever, your not going to let it! Your young, im young and we will get better! Sending good health your way :)

[HelpinUtah]

Another good thing for vitamins is liquid G-3.  You can only get it at health food stores.  It has all the essential vitamins and minerals the body needs and it's liquid so the body absorbs it better.

Also, I've been drinking Chlorophyll.  It's a wonderful thing to heal the body.  Google it, you'll find a ton of great information.

Good luck!!!!

[aaronmac5]

Definatley probiotics help considerably! They keep your intestinal gut in check that antibiotics totaly trash. It's like a frat party down there when you're taking antibiotics, but without taking the pro biotics there is no cleaning up afterward! Along with taking a general pro biotic, take a multi vitamin w/ no extra iron. Unless you've been diagnosed with iron deficiency taking extra iron can be bad for you.

Ive done a little bit in the form of acupuncture to relieve anxiety and such. To some degree it does actually work! It helped with stress levels if anything, and my muscles are less tense. Not sure about depression but the more you relieve the stress and anxiety, the better the depression