[BETTER BUT NOT CURED]  10/28/2010: Gitmogrunt from Houston, Tx replies: "I suffered with Acid Reflux, hiatal hernia, gastritis, etc. for years, which in the past year turned into esophagatis. Many years of prilosec, nexium, prevacid, etc. Apple cider vinegar did nothing for me. I read your post on banana's and tried them, after dinner, and I have not felt so good in years. I have tried numerous natural remedies, including plantains, and cabbage juicing. The bananas are a great help, although I'm not saying they are the "cure" , they have definitely helped a lot. To the point where I can have a sip of coffee, in between green tea, kefir and yogurt. Daily doses of plain yogurt, not the sugared up stuff, have helped alot also. I could go on, but will cease for now."

06/10/2011: Lavoras from Chicago, Il replies: "Hi Nydad so sorry for not getting back to you sooner. I fired the chinese doctor he made him worse and all I kept hearing was that he was cured. In fact he became worse vomiting 10-15 times a day. So back on the elimination diet, and did not follow it rigidly. Well today we had the endoscopy and results were not good. So I am going back to the very restictive 6 food elimation diet and he will be reviewed in 6 weeks."

12/14/2011: Dean from Chicago, Il, Us replies: "Lavoras,

We are also in Chicago and our daughter was just diagnosed with EE. We would love to speak with you about your experience. Feel free to email us at info(at)carsinpedia.com

thanks"

Reply to this Thread

Email

Print

Back to Top

12/10/2010: Nydad from Deer Park, New York replies: "Hi Lavoras.. My son has been diagnosed with EE as well less than a year ago and we are using prevacid and going through alternative route for a while now. We did not see much improvment but still searching for the right option. Can you share your experience with Chinese medicine as we are trying to go that route ourselves. Thank you."

12/14/2011: Fm from Crystal Lake, Il replies: "I have had a persistent cough for years. Years before that I was diagnosed with leaky gut and then I reduced my Candida problem with Greys formula. I have a degree in human biology and for the cough tried many vitamins and minerals. None helped except a spleen polypeptide product that no longer is made. I did find that Thymuril by integrative therapeutics works too. Spleen or thymus polypeptides are the key. The cough can be very powerful and unrelenting if I do not take the Thymuril. For those who understand embryology the bronchials are getting the referred irritation from my esophagus. Like the gallbladder refers pain to the shoulder. The heart refers pain to the left arm etc. Later I had an endoscopy done to deal with a esophageal ring that had formed. The doctor also diagnosed EE. The only thing that keeps the cough well under control is the Thymuril. Other spleen and thymus extracts do nothing. I do not think it cures but controls so the real problem is with allergies and whatever is still causing that. Perhaps leaky gut is still around. I believe that elimination is fine for quick relief but for some people the list of foods grows and it would be better to find out what is causing the problem so the list can be cut down. I fear that cutting out foods will cause other deficiencies in time."

Reply to this Thread

Email

Print

Back to Top

12/06/2010: Lavoras from Chicago, Il replies: "Hi my son is 4 and was diagnosed 6 months ago with EE. I am a nurse and I am on the pursuit to find the cure, as physicians dont seem to know too much about this disease. When he was born they told me he had GERD and Colic. After many doctors, they went in did a biopsy and voila we now know what it is. We then did the elimination diet, went back in scoped and no eosinophils, great, however 4 weeks after he was vomiting 10-14 x a day.

Currently I took him off prevacid and I am trying the alternative route (chinese medicine). He is back on all foods due to chinese teas including ginger and we have 1 more week, no vomiting for 2 days and then yesterday only 1x. I must exhaust this avenue before I start pumping him up with steroids, etc. We havent gone down the road of a gtube because he is gaining weight. Let me know if I can help in anyway."

12/06/2010: Deb from City In, Iowa replies: "Hi,
Sounds like one of my grandchildren. Come to find out that he was a celiac as was his mother and her dad. All went on a gluten free diet. No one has anymore digestive problems."

[BETTER BUT NOT CURED]  12/09/2010: Kpack from Ruston, La replies: "I am a 33 yo Female diagnosed EE 2 years ago through biopsy. This led me to get skin prick allergy tested and I was shocked to learn that at 31 I had 14 food allergies I had not had in my teens when I was 1st tested. My allergies including wheat, onion, chicken, peanut & green beans comprised about 90% of what I had been eating. My doctor put me on budesinide and the compounding pharmacist made it a suspension liquid that is easier for me than puffing the inhaler and swallowing the medicine. I've been asthmatic so long I totally kept inhaling every time I tried to take it. It was a GOD send!! Dysphagia and nausea was eliminated almost immediately and I only had to take it a week or 2. Now I just take it as needed.

Elimination diet helped with alot of my symptoms- no more headaches (Daily, debilitating stress headaches $thousands of dollars in meds, MRI's and testing only to find no known cause and was on Lortab 10's 2x a day just so I could hold a job), less asthma, less fatigue, less anxiety and also it increased the range of motion in my neck by reducing the inflammation in my neck and shoulders. Before I felt so bad all of the time I didn't realize how inflexible I had gotten. My Dr.s just kept saying exercise more, that I was getting older and was out of shape. :(

I still have insomnia, anxiety, IBS symptoms, occasional dysphagia and I am always bloated with water retention- I mean BAD bloated whether I am taking the steroids or not. It hurts to sit for more than an hour because I'm so bloated with water. After 2 years on elimination diet- my food allergies have mysteriously disappeared as quickly as they came. I only have a slight allergy to peanuts, but still have EE symptoms because I have many inhaled allergies like pollen and dustmites- but I have always had those allergies. My Dr.s don't know what has reversed my allergies (Lord knows it wasn't anything they did).

Last year I started eating only organic foods, much more whole foods- no processed stuff (Mainly because processed foods are all made with wheat and things I am allergic to) I wash my fruits and veggies religously and I try to grow a couple of veggies on my patio when I can. That way I know what's on them. My husband is a hunter so we ate mostly meat he killed which is very organic and untreated with antibiotics. I also started eating yogurt pretty regularly because it was convenient for me to pack for lunch since sandwiches were out of the question. I believe that my diet accidentally becoming more probiotic and less antibiotic and that along with getting away from the allergens has helped my intestines heal. This started me reading about leaky gut syndrome. Intestinal wall is damaged- leaks large protein molecules of food you eat across into bloodstream- white blood cells attack that protein and instantly you have food allergies. Before you are identified EE/ or allergic your Dr. may treat the symptoms with antibiotics, anti-inflammatories and antacids all of which further destroy the flora in your GI tract that is thought to protect your guts from leaking and you have a perpetuatal cycle. Stress, processed food diet and antibiotically treated food are also thought to destroy flora in the tract.

So elimination diet made me better- next I decided to start an actual probiotic regimen. 2 weeks in and I am not bloated AT ALL!! Since I've been sick I gained 30-40 Lbs. I felt hungry all the time, I craved sugar, I was exhausted so I didn't excercise and my body was in anaphylactic shock daily for years before I was diagnosed. The day I started elimination diet I was so sleepy for 3 days all I did was sleep. I hadn't taken a nap in almost 5 years my constant adrenaline rush made me too anxious to rest well. It was hard for me to diet because I would eat chicken and whole wheat when I did which was what I was allergic to. I'm still a big girl but Jeans with no bloating and no muffin top is such a blessing for me!!! I'm eager to learn more about the possible probiotic/ EE link and am currently looking into digestive enzymes, but haven't had time to read much about it. Is the probiotic thing anything you have looked into?"

12/11/2010: Merryanne from Orange City, Florida, Usa replies: "I am glad that you are doing so much better. I have found that I am more healthy also by cooking all my on food, bread and not eating any thing made/processed in the store. I do not eat sugar, white flour, white potatoes, no dairy, no animal products. My diet consists of vegetables frozen or fresh cooked, some raw, brown rice, whole flour(nonbromated, non-enriched), chickpea flour, rice flour, flax seed, sea salt, coconut oil, a little olive oil, lots of fruit(not real sweet) Since I am eating healthy I do not take 40 units of insulin every day, maybe 5 units 4 times a week. I do take some vitamins and minerals every day, and I have taken some probiotics for my digestive system. I drink kefir sometimes, and I make my own now. I have made kombucha tea, and have drank some of it also. I feel like a new person now. God is good and full of mercy."

01/29/2011: Nydad from Deer Park, New York replies: "Hi Lavoras,

Can you please let me know how your son is doing with Chinese medicine so far? This is the route we want to take for my son who is 5 years old and was diagnosed 1 year ago."

[BETTER BUT NOT CURED]  04/25/2011: Marie from Houston, Tx replies: "Hi Nydad:

My son who is 12, was diagnosed with Eoseonophilic gastroenteritis via endoscopy in 2010, which eventually also manifested into esophagitis as well. It began after he was placed on a heavy round of antibiotics last February for an upper respiratory. My guess from what I have learned through research is this: the antibiotics caused an overgrowth of candida, which perforated the intestine walls, and caused small holes through which food and environmental allergens were passing through.

I believe many children diagnosed with EE or EG, probably all have some sort of fungal issue from past antibiotic use or processed foods-you can check this through a spit ph test or simply look at the tongue for a white coating. By March, he had lost 15 pounds, was anemic, vomited everyday, was only able to eat approximately 5 or 6 different types of food, had a constant body pain, and slept for hours throughout the day, his body had become extremely toxic and seemed to be shutting down-this disease was taking over our lives. He missed all of the Spring school semester, so we eventually withdrew him and began home schooling while searching for a doctor with a cure. We spent countless hours and thousands of dollars on different specialists, doctors, naturopaths, and even an acupuncturist to try and understand how to function day to day. I never was told specifically what caused the sudden eosoniphil increase, but I wanted to give you some insight as to what I discovered worked (and what did not work) for us and how my son has improved over the course of a year. (We too were quickly reaching the point of feeding tube and I was desperate to help him get his life back).

Because his food and environmental allergies grew increasingly worse every single day, we guessed each day as to what foods he could and could not eat. The things the others are saying is true, your child probably has leaky gut syndrome-there are many causes besides just antibiotics-the most prevalent being processed/fast food and high sugary foods. I changed my sons diet to whole organic foods-primarily leafy greens which helped tremendously regulate his digestive system-and in moderate amounts allowed *some* dairy because he is a child and this was very difficult to balance to keep him from being stressed. I completely eliminated bread for several weeks and then when I reintroduced it, I used all gluten free products or made the bread at home, being cautious about the ingredients I used. I also added in 1 cup of Kefir a day-this completely eliminated the constipation issue associated with EG. I then began researching drastically on rebuilding the immune system. He started taking the following supplements: Colostrum (3 per day), Vit. D3, Flax seed oil (2 tbls. Mixed with a 1/2 cup of organic cottage cheese), Zinc, potassium, Selenium, Probiotics (over 10 billion per pill) and a whole food liquid. I gave him digestive enzymes during meals.

Over the course of the year, he very very slowly began improving-very slowly. We continued on this routine faithfully over the course of the year - then in about December began experiencing problems again. We visited with an allergist this time to specifically identify his food allergens-in December, skin testing revealed he was allergic to approximately 64 different food and environmental allergies, while a food allergy test from a Naturopath identified his primary food allergies were milk and eggs. We finally decided on a steroid anti inflammatory in January. He received a prednisone injection which significantly helped, and began taking Singular (but not without either causing side effects), as well as began sublingual immunotherapy aka SLIT. The injection in January helped significantly, however if you read up on the side effects of steroids, they are pretty horrific, however I did find a clinical study from the Mayo clinic showing there was an 86% cure rate from a steroid injection for people with EE and EG. We continued on with the Singular which appeared to be hiding symptoms, but not curing-at this point the disease prevented him from swallowing in the morning. The allergist informed me to give him a salty drink or to have him eat a salty food first thing in the morning and it will reduce the swelling-a nifty little trick that works well. The allergist also surprisingly prescribed Vit. D3, fish oil, probiotics, and pomegranate fruit juice along with his SLIT therapy (the same old vitamin supplementation we had already been doing over the past year)-he said if you keep going, you will see a 90% recovery by the end of the year.

I then found earth clinic by just looking for information on how to help him as it seemed we were not doing enough and was not happy that we were back to Rx's again. I discovered the apple cidar vinegar cure and began drinking it myself first. I then incorporated it into my son's diet for two weeks and all of a sudden his allergies and asthma were diminshing. I would not say he is 100% cured, but it is getting better and better each day. I believe it is working because it is killing off the underlying root of the problem-the candida. We continue to take the supplements mentioned above, especially the colostrum and kefir as they both rebuild the intestinal lining and drink the ACV everyday and he is continuing on his immunotherapy drops. For him, I use 1 tsp. of ACV in 12 oz. of spring water with a small amount of honey. We also oil pull with Extra Virgin Coconut Oil in the mornings and have seen improvement from that as well (he has had a skin rash appearing-a common detox reaction as the candida leaves the body-I just rub coconut oil on the skin where the rash shows up until it goes away). Since the oil pulling and ACV, he has no longer had to take any prescriptions-this is the first time all year, and is actually eating what is considered "normal" food again-the bad stuff, but is not having any adverse effects and has even ate a few nuts the past few days without any problems (I normally carry an epi pen for just in case situations). Because of the supplements, probitiotics, and whole food vitamins, he has not been sick in over a year-not even a low fever or sore throat. I believe his immune system is on its way to being rebuilt.

I believe we are finally on our way-it was a very very long road, there were many days of frustration, but I wanted to encourage you to not give up and keep searching-you are on the right track. I also purchased two books that helped me understand the whole body tremendously- one is written by a very popular nutrionist, Doug Kaufman, called the *Fungus Link* which deals with systemic candida and inflammation and the second one is by Gary Huffngale, Ph. D. Entitled *Probiotics Revolution*. Both will help tremendously. I believe what worked for us was a combination of many things-diet change to all organic, heavy vit. , mineral, and probiotic supplements, the immunotherapy along with traditional medicine under an allergy specialist.

I hope this helps and my heart reaches out to you, this is a terrible terrible disease, but I can assure you if we can bounce back from where we were last year-everyone can. Use every resource you have to throw at it, attack the symptoms with scripts until you can find the root cause, then start identifying the nutritional deficiencies, along with any pathogenic organisms that may be lingering around."

09/16/2011: Noelle from Waterford, Mi replies: "Hi Marie from Houston.

So nice to hear that all your hard work is starting to pay off for your son. I am just beginning this journey.What is the type of probiotics and amounts that you have been giving your son? I have read The Probiotic Revolution and noticed that different probiotics help different ailments.

Thanks so much. And please keep us posted on your future success."

09/21/2011: Nicole from Staten Island, Ny replies: "Marie from Houston, Tx - I readed what you wrote about your son. I feel the same way. One out of 2 of my drs feel that it could of been the antibiotics. I would love to talk more. Please email me Ngerardi11(at)gmail.com"

03/09/2012: Marks from Glen Allen, Va, Usa replies: "I have three children with eoe. They have been on Flovent for several yrs. Over the past 9 months they have been on the 6 food elimination diet at their Dr's suggestion. Two of the kids were clear on the last scope and are adding egg back into their diet. My youngest has been on the 6 food elim. Diet and taking flovent. If he is not clear on his next scope Dr. is suggesting ng tube. I need some advice quick. The ng tube for 6 weeks would help determine if his eoe is food driven, but I hesitate to go to that extreme. Our chiropractor had my son take a stool analysis test which showed the following:

4Candida albicans

Commensal/Bacterial Overgrowth Detected:

Klebsiella/Enterobacter/Serratia Group - moderate

Alpha Hemolytic Streptococcus - Moderate

Klebsiella pneumoniae - moderate

Chiropractor is suggesting 3-6 months to get my son's gut working properly instead of the ng tube. I am very confused and would like some advice.

Thanks"

03/09/2012: Debbie from Melbourne, Australia replies: "I would go with what the chiropractor is saying. Go to youtube and watch Dr. Natasha McBride's videos on the GAP diet. It is all about healing the gut. Also on youtube some good videos by Donna Gates on the Body Ecology diet which is similar. Many people have had great success with both of these protocols."

Reply to this Thread

Email

Print

Back to Top

12/12/2008: Chad from Atlanta, GA replies: "I have recently been diagnosed with EE and would like to find a more holistic treatment than what my Gastroenterologist is prescribing since he seems incapable of answering my questions satisfactorily. He has told me to stop eating fish, eggs, milk, soy, nuts, and wheat. Since i'm mostly vegan i asked him what i should eat and he replied, "i don't know just do what you can" He has prescribed Flovent HFA 220mcg which is an steroid asthma inhaler 2 puffs on my tongue 2x a day. Hoping that the steroid will be then swallowed down to my esophagus. Because one of the side effects of this action is yeast infections i'm supposed to mouthwash with baking soda several times a day. After every 5 or 6 months he wants me to come in for endoscopes. This just isn't really acceptable in my opinion so i'm here looking for some better options. I have done some muscle testing for my allergies but not 100% sure on my results. Seems that I should reduce my soy intake. Would love to hear more detail on how you and others (if there are others) have dealt with this. My Dr said that they have only very recently diagnosed this problem in adults. Thanks!"

05/21/2010: Krissi M from Washington, Pa replies: "My son's been diagnosed with this condition after about a year of throwing up and gagging. He does appear to have acid reflux because I observe him closely right before an "episode". We still have no idea what causes it in him, aside from the reflux. They've put him on Pulmicort which is a steriod he swallows. I sure do not like this and want something natural as well. Unfortunately, the common cures for acid reflux are things like cayenne pepper and ACV, and he's not quite old enough to take capsules. I'm afraid also that the course of treatment makes one worse before making them better. My son is three so I feel I cannot do this. Hoping someone else has found something."

05/22/2010: T from Maryland, Usa replies: "Hi Krissi,

Sorry to hear your little one is going through all that. Has he been tested for food sensitivities? Have you tried an elimination diet?

Reading here:

http://allergies.about.com/od/foodallergies/a/ee.htm

...tells me:

"How is EE Diagnosed?
The diagnosis of EE is generally made by performing a biopsy of the esophagus, with evidence of eosinophils infiltrating the esophageal tissue. A biopsy is performed via endoscopy (a camera inserted into the esophagus), usually by a gastroenterologist. There are many other diseases that can cause eosinophils in the tissue of the esophagus, including gastroesopheal reflux disease (GERD), parasitic infections, fungal infections, inflammatory bowel disease, certain cancers, recurrent vomiting, and others. These diseases need to be ruled out before EE can be diagnosed."

Did he have that biopsy done? Was he tested for the things noted above?"

08/17/2010: Anelec from Indianapolis, In replies: "Hi, I have a 1.5 year old son who has been struggling with food allergies, vomiting, etc. for the last year. We went to the allergy specialist today and he is pretty certain he has EE. I just wanted to make a note to Krissi above. Read the book Guts and Psychology Syndrome by Natasha Campbell-McBride. My son was developing more and more allergies to food. Basically anything he ate on a regular basis he would develop an allergy to it and start throwing it up every time I tried to give it to him. We were down to about literally 3-4 foods he could eat and I knew it was only a matter of time before he would start reacting to those foods also. Then I found this book and it has been such a blessing to us! We have been following the intro diet (find it on her website) and added the suggested supplements and have seen great progress. His allergies are still very prevalent but so far he has not thrown up in just over a month and I've been able to add some more foods back into his diet. I've read a lot of books and articles on allergies, candida, leaky gut, etc. over the last year and Dr. McBrides has been the most informational and helpful. I do recommend an allergy screening to help you to know what foods to avoid and that could be causing the inflammation. We also tried the NAET route with someone who I felt was a very gifted and qualified practitioner. We did the treatments for about 7 months. However NAET will not take care of the leaky gut and in my son's case he was developing new allergies as we treated the previous ones and then would be okay for a while with a food he was treated for and then start reacting to it all over again. The whole focus of the GAPS diet is healing of the digestive system. It has been the only thing that has helped us in the last year. Also to Kloe above, what were you able to do about your chemical sensitivities? I want to learn more about this as my son also has has MCS. Thanks for all the advice and info!"

12/09/2010: Sherri In Bc from Surrey, Bc, Canada replies: "Our son is 14 1/2 years old and has been dealing with EE for over 4 years. The only thing that has completely stopped the reflux was the elimination diet. He could only eat 9 or 10 food items but at least he could go off his 40mg of Nexium. Unfortunately it wasn't enough nutrient to get him through puberty and baseball so we started the meds again and let him eat what he wants. Currently we have been working with a naturopath who said she could cure him. She actually said those words. I was not happy but it gave our son hope. After the Vega Testing she put him on a strict diet to bring down his candida numbers. After 4.5 weeks we retested. His number for candida went from 9 to 4 and it showed that we could reintroduce many of the foods that he had been denying himself. Unfortunately, if he missed his Nexium pill, even for a couple of hours in the morning, he had reflux. The goal was to get him off the pills and if the beginning stages of the diet didn't help what was the point of reintroducing foods?

She has also sent us to a 'chiropractor' that does visceral manipulation. She 'listen's' to my son's stomach (hands on stomach, eyes closed) and does cranial adjustments to put him 'back in sync'. She has recommended that we see a Constitutional Therapist. At this point we've spent several hundreds, if not a few thousand, searching for a cure for EE. I'm not interested in putting out more money because someone thinks my son has a 'sulphuric' constitution and therefore needs some Essence of Sulphur. So.... He has chosen to stop the diet, go back on the Nexium and live his life. Hopefully the Nexium will continue to work and he will continue to eat most of what he wants. (He cannot eat potatoes! )

We are discouraged and I was hoping that this discussion might be able to direct us to a legitimate 'natural' cure for EE. Sherri"

12/10/2010: Brooke from Montgomery, Tx, Usa replies: "Did he have an infection right before he started having these symptoms? If so, then the infection may have rested in his spleen or pancreas or his liver, causing an "over acid" condition throughout his body that manifests when he eats foods, or breathes in pollen, etc.. Is his stomach refusing to digest food?

He needs to clean out his stomach with distilled water, and Elm water.

Elm water is made by taking a pinch of powdered Elm and putting it into distilled water, with an ice cube in it -let it steep for 3 minutes and then drink it. This will help his acidity. Saffron tea also will coat the stomach - take yellow or American saffron - the non-expensive kind - and boil water - to 16oz of water put 3tsp of saffron - let that steep for 30-45 minutes and have him take this before every meal. Milk of Magnesia - one tsp after every meal would be great also. This is to cleanse and quiet the stomach. To cleanse his colon - there is nothing better than Fletcher's Castoria - look around and find the cheapest place. And for your son, I would suggest using your own intuition. From 1 tsp a day - to the whole bottle taking 1/2 tsp every half hour! This will come from within. I would start him on Castor Oil packs also, 4 days on and 3 days off, every week, until he feels better. After that just do them for maintenance.

When he sees his Chiropractor - ask him about concentrating on his C3, D1 - D9, D11 & D12, Sacral and Coccyx, also ask your chiropractor if there is anything pressing on his Facial cranial nerve. If so, then do what your Chiropractor says to do about that. In the evenings it would be great to massage his area with a mixture of oils - Olive oil (2 ounces), Lanolin (1/2 ounce), Pine Needle Oil (1/2 ounce) - all along his spine - especially D1-D9. Also massage his abdomen area with pure olive oil - very gently and rub in a clock wise motion to get his stomach and intestines moving and to stimulate his lacteal ducts. Let me know if you decide to try this, what your results are!"

09/08/2011: Elvira from Barrie, Canada replies: "I MUST recommend to everyone to visit an OSTEOPATH instead of the chiropractor. Osteopath works with the entire body: bones, muscles as well as internal organs. I am not saying that chiropractors are bad, but this is much, much better. It did miracles for me and practicaly everybody that I recommended it too."

Reply to this Thread

Email

Print

Back to Top

11/06/2011: Ben from Auckland, New Zealand replies: "Hi Greg, and how is this 'Riboflavin, folic acid' remedy working out for you? I'm the same - proton pump inhibitors don't work for me, and I'm keen to try anything to get rid of my ee."

12/01/2011: Barbara from Colorado Springs, Co replies: "I am also wondering how the riboflavin is working out? We want to avoid medications for my son and are curious if this is still working for you. Thanks"

03/19/2012: Leslie from Moorestown, Nj replies: "My 12yo son had mild EE, but serious abdominal pain just left of and below the navel for a few months. He had some lymphoid nodularity in his terminal ileum on colonoscopy. We have him on zinc l-carnosine (polaprezinc) and soy-free diet. He is amazingly better. Try googling zinc and eosinophils or zinc and gastric mucosa to get a better idea of what zinc does. Best of luck."

Reply to this Thread

Email

Print

Back to Top