At the beginning of my journey, someone wise once told me, that in order to treat people with a specific condition, one must experience it up close. Many therapists who read this post will surely agree with me on this matter.
When I started my studies, I had severe sleep problems, high blood sugar, and occasional constipation. I did not pay much attention to these issues until a year into my studies. Today when a client tells me that he/she feels tired, suffers from constipation or has high blood sugar, I know exactly what they feel. During my studies, I ran all the functional lab tests on myself and my family and discovered the bacteria found in about 70% of the population and generally not detected by conventional doctors until severe symptoms appear. The H. pylori bacterium.
A chain of imbalance
H. pylori resides peacefully in the stomach and is primarily involved in reducing the acidity level that interferes with its ability to dig deep into it. When the acidity level is low, a spike is created when we eat acidic food, and we feel a burning sensation or pain in the upper stomach. A lack of stomach acidity slows down the secretion of enzymes that break down carbohydrates in the intestines. That is causing us consuming more carbohydrates; the body does not break down the carbohydrates into energy in an optimal way, and as a result, it seeks for more sources of energy. This leads to bloating and constipation. In short, a chain of symptoms that may seem unrelated but have a close connection.
What harm does the Helicobacter pylori cause?
Aside from the unpleasant symptoms, the presence of Helicobacter pylori in the body over time not only harms the stomach. The acidity in the stomach is primarily intended to kill bacteria that enter our body with food and drink. A decrease in stomach acidity would allow them to penetrate it and reach the intestines (which are less acidic) and colonize there. Therefore, in many cases, when Helicobacter pylori is detected in a stool test, the presence of bacteria and other parasites is seen. In addition, Helicobacter pylori is one of the causes of cancer in the digestive system and can even cause headaches, acne, depression, and extreme changes in mood.
Conventional solutions
Many months or even years may pass before we feel the classic symptoms of the bacterium that has colonized our body (heartburn, bloating and upper abdominal pain).
Antacids - the first thing that is done to ease the burning and pain will be PPIs (proton pump inhibitors) medications. They will stop the heartburn and upper abdominal pain by reducing the level of acidity that the body tries to produce in order to break down food. PPIs actually help the bacteria to burrow deep and create a safe environment for other bacteria to pass through the intestine and grow comfortably in the colon. While they do alleviate the pain, they also mask the problem.
Antibiotic cocktail.
The first thing I did when I received the results of my test (a stool test that revealed a lot of unpleasant bacteria, enzymatic imbalance, and even parasites that got a free flight ticket from my travels around the world), was to call my doctor in a panic and tell her that I have the bacteria and I'm afraid of colon cancer. The doctor looked at the results, belittled me and replied that she cannot treat me based on a test that she didn't order. So I asked her to send me for a test of her own. She replied that until there are symptoms, the insurance won't cover the test. I was prepared for that and listed all the symptoms that the microbiome causes to me.
I did a breath test, and the surprise was great - I have the bacteria. The doctor offered me conventional treatment - two weeks of antibiotics. To her credit, she prepared me that in the coming weeks, and maybe even a few months after that, I would feel weak, sick, have a metallic taste in my mouth, and it would be advisable not to take them during work or studies.
I bought the antibiotics. They sat with me on the island in the kitchen for a week, then moved to the kitchen drawer for another two weeks, and then wandered into the unused medicine cabinet. And there they sit until today, long past their expiration date, and should be thrown away.
During this time, I mainly overcame the fear of saying no to conventional treatment. I consulted with functional medicine doctors, the same ones I consult with today when building protocols for my clients. They helped me release the fear, the dependence that I developed for decades in traditional medicine, and told me what I already knew theoretically and practically, that antibiotics may kill the terrorist, but it's like throwing a giant bomb on a city of innocent residents hiding a terrorist cell. It turns the gut from a rich and healthy forest into a barren desert. And it will take many years to restore the emptiness.
I was convinced.
The Functional approach
The functional approach says something simple: terrorists will always exist in the environment, the wisdom is to have a strong and intelligent army that knows how to deal with them without harming the population. The approach states that as long as the immune system is strong, the liver, kidneys, intestine, and thyroid gland work optimally, the body can cope with intruders. In the functional approach, we treat systematically and selectively, just as an advanced country protects its citizens.
There are quick fixes, but they work like an atomic bomb, and unfortunately history shows the destruction they leave behind for many years.
Mental and physical strength We can do it differently, it requires a change in perception, perseverance, and self-confidence in our body. It took me three months to overcome my illness, and the symptoms disappeared on their own. Half a year later, I repeated the test and confirmed that it had disappeared. The experiment succeeded!
Believe in your body, take responsibility for it, don't stop searching for the source of the symptoms, and the most important thing is to be healthy
If you like me, have or suspect you are having H. Pylori, its time to treat it while boosting your body immunity. Contact me if you want to learn more how you can do it without destroying your flora bacteria and make a larger damage to your gut.