Thank you @Daniel that’s quite reassuring to hear. I will work on cleaning up his environment especially the AC.

Regarding @Bernadette_Abraham questions, Yes I’ve stopped dairy for him during allergy flares. Should he stop it entirely?Regarding the parasitic infection, symptoms like anal itching? No he’s never complained about that. He does have a huge appetite though and is constantly looking for something to eat, especially something sweet, I’m not sure if that’s a symptom or just a teenage thing or because he is a foodie.Regarding the bilirubin, no he has never mentioned any stomach discomfort or bowel issues. However I will ask him to keep a check in his bowel movements.He does have red meat and chicken throughout the week but he isn’t on any B vitamin supplements. Should I start them?

Hello @Bernadette_Abraham

Since now I will be getting my gallbladder removed. I was wondering if you had any reading material on what to expect post surgery and how to support gut, liver and digestion after removal.

From what I have been reading gallbladder stores bile and releases it in concentrated form when we eat for optimal digestion but after surgery it sort of continuously drips which can cause loose bowels.

However on an optimistic note, from what I’ve been able to understand ,since my cystic bile duct was blocked it was preventing bile from entering the stomach and aiding digestion and most probably preventing the leaky gut from healing ( the existence of h pylori which I had previously could be because of this since bile is also anti microbial) I hope I’m correct in understanding this. So could this surgery help move things in a positive way in bringing down my thyroid antibodies by helping heal the gut?

Hello Bernadette

Since now I will be getting my gallbladder removed. I was wondering if you had any reading material on what to expect post surgery and how to support gut, liver and digestion after removal.

From what I have been reading gallbladder stores bile and releases it in concentrated form when we eat for optimal digestion but after surgery it sort of continuously drips which can cause loose bowels.

However on an optimistic note, from what I’ve been able to understand ,since my cystic bile duct was blocked it was preventing bile from entering the stomach and aiding digestion and most probably preventing the leaky gut from healing ( the existence of h pylori which I had previously could be because of this since bile is also anti microbial) I hope I’m correct in understanding this. So could this surgery help move things in a positive way in bringing down my thyroid antibodies by helping heal the gut?

Thank you so much, The Dr has recommended a MRCP to get a better idea of what’s going on as well as getting another LFT done, strangely the direct bilirubin has come down to 0.1 (does this mean the blockage is gone??) though AST and ALT have elevated more since my last labs in January.

I will be getting the MRCP scan anyway to find out.

I got in touch with her a few hours before your reply, her opinion is that since there’s a stone in the bile duct there’s not much a functional approach can do for that so removing the gall bladder is the best option otherwise it can cause complications

One more question, do you think it might be a good idea to still keep on taking TUDCA and milk thistle supplements right now?

I understand. Sounds a bit nerve wracking. Anyways I’ll keep you posted after I meet with the doctor

Is it the Dr Shultz liver cleanse? What do you mean when you said it’s not for the faint of heart? Does it taste bad? Or is it painful? Couldn’t find reviews regarding that specifically on Amazon that’s why I ask.

Hi Bernadette My account seems to be having some technical problems.Any way before it glitches again, I got a gall bladder/liver ultrasound and turns out I have gall stones which are causing the blockage. I will see a surgeon in the coming days, but I’d like to know if functional medicine has any options for me. Is D limonene something that might work for me?

Attaching my ultrasound report below

Ok so the brand of BETAINE HCL I’m taking has 650mg of BETAINE HCL and 140mg pepsin. For 4200mg total I should be taking 6.5 capsules, so should I give taking 7 capsules a try?I’ve not had a liver ultrasound, but did get an LFT in January, I’m sharing that along with other tests including estrogen so you could check how the values compare to optimal ranges. My practitioner didn’t make any comments on it so I have no idea. Also she didn’t recommend getting checked for zinc or copper so I have no idea how the levels are.My zinc carnosine contains 18mg zinc, l carnosine 65mg.

P.s my estradiol was checked on day 23 of my cycle

I have to add that sometimes I do have floating stools.

Also I’m attaching a previous LFT that I got done last year around October so you could compare both.

Hello again Bernadette,

I’ve been following the mastic gum protocol for h.pylori since 14th October.

I also added black seed oil, L.Ruetri (Pylopass), S. Boulardi to tackle the HP.

I also started L glutamine, zinc carnosine and slippery elm for gut healing. And today I got tested again and thrilled to see a negative on the results.

My question is now I should start with the betaine HCl right. Though I think I do feel some bloating and burping happening. But is that because the stomach acid is still low right and we have to supplement with betaine HCl to increase it?

Also on my CBC, lymphocytes are now within the reference range, whereas previously that was also elevated.

However few things I would need help understanding:

ESR is still slightly elevated (though it has decreased from the previous value of 27 to 22) I’m assuming it’s going to take time to reduce further?

TG antibodies jumped up from 185 to 230

Vitamin D and ferritin values decreased further , I understand I need strong stomach acid for them to be absorbed and I don’t have that right now.

My serum iron is elevated more than the reference range. What does that mean?

Thank you, really appreciate it

Thanks for the detailed reply. Sourcing and pricing is one of my primary concerns with the herbal supplements. While I’m able to source mastic gum, getting my hands on broccoli sprouts supplement is proving to be very difficult. Although we get fresh broccoli here I have to get the supplement from abroad and it’s getting very pricey.