I scheduled an appointment with our DAN! doctor a few days ago, to discuss the whole h pylori findings and what needed to be done now that we were on the heavy duty antibiotics. Of course, I’d already added more probiotics to her regime. The doctor recommended a slightly different, more powerful probiotic, but he was more concerned that we do things to help her leaky gut heal and hopefully prevent a recurrence of h pylori or other problems.

So he recommended two things. First he recommended that we start on digestive enzymes to be taken everytime she eats anything. Since she isn’t gluten-free, and after removing casein for so long, I know that I can’t even guarantee that we’re 100% on that. He also wanted us to start on one of three options to help her leaky gut:

1. Caprylic Acid is a fatty acid, found in breast milk, and used to treat candidiasis or yeast infection. It can also be used to treat fungal and bacterial infections. We decided against this because caprylic acid can be upsetting to the stomach in higher dosages, and since LuLu’s stomach has been giving her such discomfort, the doctor thought there were other options.

2. Grapeseed Extract (not to be confused with grapefruit seed extract) is primarily used as an antioxidant, but has immune system boosting properties and has been used to treat allergies as well.

3. Gastrochrome is a medication used to help reduce the histamine released from mast cells. Mast cells are the cells in tissue (including stomach lining) that are responsible for developing allergies. While antihistamines block the histamines’ effect on nerve endings, gastrochrome actually keeps the mast cells from releasing histamines, reducing allergic reactions, and ultimately inflammation caused by these reactions.

We opted for the gastrochrome over the two over-the-counter options for two reasons. One because we know LuLu’s histamine levels are very high and she has responded well to antihistamines in the past, actually improving her behavior. And also because it is a prescription drug covered by insurance, versus and out-of-pocket expense. In weighing the side effects, the gastrochrome was the one least likely to produce stomach discomfort.

So, we start it today. We’ll see what happens…


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