[Bernadette_Abraham]

Hi @Inga-55 – just letting you know that I’ve moved your question to the correct forum category called “Brand Recommendations & Ingredients”.

[Bernadette_Abraham]

Hi @Inga-55

In addition to Daniel’s suggestions, hyperemesis gravidarum is associated with increased levels of maternal blood histamine. Therefore, supporting healthy levels of maternal blood histamine levels during pregnancy, can potentially be very helpful.

Seeking Health has a supplement called “Histamine Digest” that contains DAO enzyme which helps breakdown histamine and lower levels.

Typically histamine overload decreases in pregnancy because the placenta is designed to produce a lot of the DAO enzyme. However, sometimes the levels of histamine exceed the ability of the placenta’s DAO enzyme to digest histamine, so nausea and vomiting can occur.

Histamine Digest is something she may want to consider if approved by her healthcare professional.

[Bernadette_Abraham]

Hi @Annie – we’re all going through the teething stage of getting used to this new platform together. I also missed your question notification so thank you for your patience. I will reply tomorrow as I’d like to review our previous threads to see where we left off…

[Bernadette_Abraham]

Hi Annie – sorry to hear that. It’s unfortunately a common side effect of Xylitol in larger quantities, as it is not easily absorbed by the body and can draw water into the intestines.

Making sure he stays well hydrated is key. Coconut water and electrolytes can help stay hydrated.

As for the vomiting, I like the homeopathic remedy called Nox Vomica. Not sure if your husband is open to trying homeopathy.

But he can also consider activated charcoal, and high dose ginger if the nausea persists.

You can find more instructions about both options in our “Food Poisoning Relief” protocol HERE.

Hope he feels better soon!

ps. I’ve also moved this discussion into our dedicated forum called “Immunity, Getting Sick & Antibiotics”.

[Bernadette_Abraham]

Hi Annie – just wanted to let you know that I’ve moved your discussion over to our dedicated forum category called “Supplements & Medications”.

Daniel asked some really good questions if you can please let us know.

GI Revive combines many gut healing nutrients and compounds, so it could be that he’s not tolerating one of them. That’s the problem with combo formulas in sensitive individuals. They are usually better off with a single-nutrient supplement.

We also have a video on gut healing therapies that shares many other food/supplement options in our Gut Health Masterclass course HERE.

[Bernadette_Abraham]

Hi Bahareh,

Unfortunately, I do not know of any holistic ophthalmologists in Dubai. I’ve been taking my kids to see Dr. Fadi Saad at the American Hospital: https://www.ahdubai.com/doctors-profile/fady-saad

He’s been quite thorough.

[Bernadette_Abraham]

Hi @Kkol – I’m really sorry to hear about what your son is going through. But I want to commend you on the swift actions you are taking and the additional tests you are considering pursuing.

Unfortunately, there is no direct or immediate way to lower CK levels. But rest and hydration are critical first steps to help flush out CK through urine, which you’re already doing.

Low levels of potassium, calcium, or magnesium can make muscle tissue more prone to damage so ensuring he’s getting in enough of these electrolytes is important too. You may want to test these. Check both serum and RBC magnesium.

In the meantime, consider adding in food-based sources of these into his diet. Coconut water is great! A diet rich in potassium (bananas, sweet potatoes), magnesium (leafy greens, nuts), and calcium (dairy products) can support muscle health as well.

Also consider anything that reduces muscle inflammation and promotes recovery like omega-3 rich foods (salmon, chia seeds, walnuts)/fish oil and curcumin.

Proteins are also important for muscle recovery, but just be careful not to overconsume it while CK levels are still high. If he’s taking any protein or creatine supplements, please ask him to stop that. But a moderate amount of protein sources like chicken, fish, eggs, and plant-based options can help with muscle recovery. Combine that with antioxidant-rich foods like berries, leafy greens, turmeric, and ginger.

Given that this episode of rhabo happened after he got sick, the cause could be infection related. Viral and bacterial infections can sometimes cause muscle inflammation and breakdown. But since it’s not his first episode, it’s not a bad idea to work with a geneticist to rule out genetic conditions like GSD and carnitine deficiency.

I would also test ANA marker as a starting point to see whether or not some autoimmune dynamic is at play that can be contributing to enhanced muscle breakdown. Checking his vitamin D, RBC zinc, copper, and vitamin A would also help look at nutrients that support overall immunity.

A full thyroid panel can also be considered, since CK is often elevated in hypothyroid states. I’d encourage you to read this study on CK elevation to learn more about potential causes to help you ask the right questions to the doctors: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4871266/

And if you’d like to be more specific and know the location of muscle damage, different isoenzymes can be measured to determine the location of the damage. M (muscle) and B (brain) are used to differentiate, and the three isoenzyme tests are CK-MM, CK-BB, and CK-MB.

Hope this helps give you additional areas to explore. Please keep us posted.

[Bernadette_Abraham]

Hi @Kkol can you also please share what the doctor’s opinion was on the latest results?

[Bernadette_Abraham]

Regarding your brother’s recent labs. I read through our last threads and this was the summarized list of additional tests to consider:

• Genetic PANK2 test: did you decide to pursue this? Or holding off?
• Blood sugar & electrolytes: unfortunately, they didn’t measure fasting insulin. His fasting glucose at 97mg/dL (although within normal clinical range) is suboptimally high (in functional medicine, we consider anything above 90mg/dl as a potential sign of insulin resistance). Has he improved his diet? How’s his stress level?
• CBC & CMP including renal panel: nothing new jumped out that I can share
• Vitamin D: can be optimized. The typical recommended range is to get between 50-70ng/dl.

There were also a few clinical highs and lows worth noting:

-PTH was low, but calcium is within normal range (which is a marker for kidney function). Since the parathyroid handles calcium balance, and calcium is important for brain function, there could be a connection here. We need magnesium for PTH release, but his serum magnesium looked good. I have however seen cases where serum magnesium was normal, but RBC was low. That’s why I recommended RBC magnesium in our previous threads.

-Reverse T3 was high, which is a marker of metabolic stress. When the body is under chronic stress (due to illness, malnutrition, or inflammation), it may convert more T4 into rT3 rather than active T3, leading to symptoms like low energy, cognitive impairment, and mood disorders. His CRP (marker of inflammation) is clinically high, which makes sense for his rT3 to be elevated. The cause of inflammation? Well we already know mold and heavy metals are present. Is he still living in the moldy environment or has other arrangements been made for him?

And thanks for letting me know about the technical problem you were having. I believe they were making a few changes to the website today so that could have been the reason for the glitch. I also noticed with other members facing issues posting, that a title is required, otherwise the ‘Post’ button doesn’t turn green to allow you to post. Just an FYI.

[Bernadette_Abraham]

Hi Nadine – can you please email support@bbettermembership.com and ask them to give you access to purchase the tests you need. Please let them know the exact test you’d like to pursue. I would suggest the OAT test, MycoTox test (for mold exposure) and Doctor’s Data Hair Elements (hair sample to show longer term circulation) since you’ve already done a heavy metal blood test which shows what is currently being excreted in urine.

Regarding the high SCC Antigen serum, malignancy in children is rare. I would definitely repeat this marker again to make sure it’s not a lab error as a starting point. Does she have any skin conditions like eczema or psoriasis, or have any conditions affecting her lungs like asthma, bronchitis or pneumonia?

What did the doctor tell you about this latest marker? What further investigation would they like to pursue next?

[Bernadette_Abraham]

Very good! Wish they’d run a full thyroid panel at once but that’s the way they do things unfortunately when it comes to insurance approvals. But glad you found a cooperative doctor and they’re taking the cautious approach with CK enzymes. I agree.

Please keep us posted with neuro appt. Good luck!

[Bernadette_Abraham]

@Kkol no, that panel won’t really add much, except to differentiate between heart muscle and skeletal muscle involvement, and if budget is a concern, I’d prefer you spend your money on tests that will help provide information that can help you take the right preventative and corrective action.

I still believe efforts are better spent investigating chronic conditions (e.g., hypothyroidism, autoimmune diseases, or genetic muscle disorders) given his history of thyroid autoimmunity and repeated episodes of rhabdo.

And since we know he has thyroid autoimmunity, I would start an action plan to address that first and foremost. That’s already telling us his immune system is hypervigilant. So if you can, please make time to go through our Thyroid Balance course. It will give you so much to start working on. I believe the course duration is about 2+ hours or so in total, broken up into smaller lessons.

FYI – I’m still waiting to hear back from First Genomix. Their online chat feature never connects with anyone, so I think it’s best to call them directly. I’m still currently out of the country caring for my dad.

[Bernadette_Abraham]

@Kkol you’re so welcome! This is exactly why I created B Better, so it fulfills me to know you feel well supported.

[Bernadette_Abraham]

@Kkol yes, I commonly refer to both Dr. Sean and Dr. Heather. Both are good. Dr. Sean is “labeled” as a homeopath for insurance purposes, but he works very much like a naturopath and functional medicine doctor. Dr. Heather Eade is a naturopath, so functional medicine is within her toolkit and approach.

In terms of insurance, alternative care usually covers homeopathy over naturopathy, so Dr. Sean Penny might be a better option if that’s what you need. I just felt Dr. Heather would be a better fit for your son, but she’s also very fully booked for months, so definitely go see Dr. Sean if you can’t get in to see her soon. None of them work with insurance however, so it’s on a pay and claim back basis.

[Bernadette_Abraham]

Replying to your questions one by one:

1. Regarding ANA. It can be positive in individuals with autoimmune thyroid diseases, but not everyone with thyroid autoimmunity will have a positive ANA because it’s organ specific. ANA tests typically screen for systemic autoimmune conditions (such as lupus, RA, etc) that involve multiple organs, not just a single organ like the thyroid so that’s why it can vary from one person to another with an organ-specific autoimmune diagnosis like Hashi’s or Graves.

2. Yes, vitamin A is a regular blood test. It’s not commonly ordered so you’ll likely have to pay out of pocket. I do not know a geneticist in Dubai personally, but I reached out and chatted with First Genomix who are CAP accredited (College of American Pathologists). I’m waiting to hear back to see if they can help. You may want to call them: +971 4 344 0238

3. Given that your son has an existing autoimmune thyroid condition, it’s not uncommon to develop a 2nd autoimmune disease unfortunately, so I would explore autoimmunity further and still request an ANA from the doctor.

And with rhabdomyolysis, the following specific tests can help identify underlying autoimmune or inflammatory muscle diseases (myopathies) that might trigger rhabdo. So in addition to ANA, speak to your doctor about these:

• Anti-Signal Recognition Particle (Anti-SRP)
• Anti-HMGCR Antibodies (especially for statin-induced myopathy) – may not be relevant
• Anti-Jo-1 Antibodies (associated with polymyositis and dermatomyositis)
• Other Myositis-Specific Autoantibodies (e.g., Anti-Mi-2, Anti-TIF1γ)

But from a functional perspective, the diagnosis is not as important as much as determining the underlying cause. If it’s determined to be autoimmune, we then focus on the 3 main pillars to reverse that immune hypervigilance; gut health, immune health, and removing triggers (i.e. traumas, toxins, metals, mold, etc). Here’s a video to better understand how autoimmunity develops.

4. The only doctor I can confidently recommend that will look at your son holistically and from a root cause perspective is Dr. Heather Eade at Novomed.

Please keep us posted.