Do you need help with persistent intestinal problems? I wanted to share this email from a reader because I think his issues and questions are common to anyone with gut issues – whether they have SIBO, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, colitis, diverticulitis, etc.
His plan is a good one – and as you can see, he’s had some really good results for several months. He may simply be confused or off track on some crucial points.
Go through the checklist I give him to assess and treat his SIBO/IBS and see if you’re on the right track with your own gut condition…
QUESTION from reader:
I have not been diagnosed with any medical condition by a doctor except when I went to the emergency room this summer for intestinal pain. I did blood tests and x-rays and was told I was FOS (full of shit) but I was there daily and based on my analysis I wasn’t constipated. After reading your book over the summer and deciding on a plan, I ordered the Natren Tripack and oregano oil. I still had some grapefruit seed extract, so I went ahead with that and started the three pack. I haven’t taken the oil yet. After 30 days of the probiotic, I switched to one Trinity capsule daily and have been taking it ever since.
My condition improved and I felt normal for a few months.
In November, my bowels started feeling like they did in the summer again. I was still taking 1 Healthy Trinity per day but had stopped taking the GSE in September. My BM was still normal at 1/day and there were no signs of abnormality in the stool. At this point I started adding 5 drops of oregano oil three times a day. I did this for about three weeks and got better.
For maintenance therapy, I reduced the dosage to about 5 drops per day. Last month I had stomach problems for a few days, not as bad as June or November but still annoying. Every few weeks I feel good and then not good again. I’ve started taking 10 drops of oregano oil 3 times a day again, I’m still on the triple of 1 a day, and I’ve also started Life Start in the last two weeks, but I’m starting slowly as the first few days of taking it seem to be even more taxing on my gut, so I’m still taking 1/8 teaspoon a day.
I know I still have emotional issues that I need to resolve, but they seem to be based on my health being like I’m walking around on and off.
I think I have a bad bug or parasite or some form of IBD or SIBO, but I’m not sure. Can I find out? I realize that there are things that cannot be commented on…
My questions:
- I heard about bentonite clay for gut health and started taking half a teaspoon twice daily. I seem to be doing well. Can you comment on this?
- How long can I take 30 drops of oregano oil per day? Should I try something else?
Is colloidal silver a good product for intestinal problems? - Should I increase the Healthy Trinity dosage?
- Could this be a sustained Herxheimer reaction?
ANSWER from Jini:
In my opinion, the most important things to check or keep in mind, both when assessing the condition of your gut and formulating a plan moving forward, are:
1. Check the timing of your supplements – Make sure you are not taking competing supplements at the same time. So bentonite absorbs all bacteria (good and bad) and eliminates them. Wild oregano, colloidal silver and GSE kill all bacteria (good and bad). Therefore, you should make sure you take your probiotics 2 hours AFTER bentonite and 2 hours before any antimicrobials.
2. Bring the intestinal flora into balance – It is good to kill and drive out the villains. But you don’t want to leave a vacuum. They need to fill the intestines with beneficial bacteria in high doses. An easy way to do this – if your condition is not severe – is to take your antimicrobials during the day and then take a high dose of probiotics following Jini’s Wild Oregano Oil protocol right before bed (and 2 hours after your last antimicrobial dose). If your body can tolerate GSE, you may want to alternate it with wild oregano. Colloidal silver is usually well tolerated by most people. You may also want to experiment with both increasing the Healthy Trinity dosage and alternating it with the powdered version of Natren probiotics containing the supernatant or growth medium. I suggest you watch this series (or download the audios to listen in the car or while walking/exercising) to really get comfortable with using probiotics as it is a cornerstone to lasting health:
3. Long-term vs. short-term – Because bentonite clay eliminates bacteria, I recommend not using it for more than two weeks at a time. Clean everything up and then focus on building your good bacteria population. The same goes for wild oregano; Become more fluid as you cycle on and off as your symptoms/gut tell you. Keep in mind that stubborn infections or yeast-bacteria hybrids such as MAP (Mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis) can have a dormant/active life cycle that can take 2-3 years to eradicate.
4. Keep a diary – I would keep a diary every day for 4 weeks with short, point-in-time supplements, symptoms, food/drinks, any exercise, and emotional feelings or events. At the end of the 4 weeks, see if you can see any patterns. I don’t know why we humans think we’re able to catalog all of these elements in our heads and then think we can make connections… but that’s what we think! It’s ridiculous and none of us can recognize patterns or “recurring coincidences” unless we keep a daily diary (written or on your phone) and actually track the key elements. Then go through it again at the end of the 4 weeks and see what patterns emerge. What events or substances seem to trigger symptoms?
Me with one of my tree elders
For example, let’s say you track everything for 4 weeks and at the end you realize, “You know, every time I eat a ham sandwich, I get this symptom.” Then you take a closer look at the contents of the ham sandwich and realize that the meat is preserved with nitrates, a known intestinal toxin that causes colitis in studies on rats. Or maybe you notice that your symptoms flare up every morning after your sister visits – and then book a session with a craniosacral level 2 therapist or an EFT tapping therapist to figure out what’s happening in that relationship and what’s making you sick. What is it that you just can’t stand?
Or work through it yourself with Lazer Tapping, my oversimplified version of EFT (or acupressure) tapping that accesses the wisdom of the body itself; the actual consciousness of the cells and tissues of the body. It was the foundation of not only healing myself physically, but also healing my relationships (even abusive ones).
Whether you suffer from SIBO, irritable bowel syndrome, colitis, diverticulitis or Crohn’s disease, the principles are the same and the healing path consists of similar elements. The other thing I would like to highlight as really important is to somehow get the body moving outside in nature. If you can go somewhere where there are mature trees, that is especially beneficial. We have lost awareness of how much our bodies are naturally in harmony with and aligned with Mother Earth and nature – and how much our bodies need this to be balanced and healthy. So Exercise at least a few times a week and get outdoors as much as possible.
Hope this helps! And look on the bright side – in the end you will be a true gut health expert and will probably be able to help all your family and friends! These diseases are reaching epidemic proportions, so everyone will likely need your help at some point.
Jini Patel Thompson is an internationally recognized expert in natural healing of digestive diseases. She healed herself from widespread Crohn’s disease and has been medication and surgery free for over 25 years. Jini has appeared on numerous podcasts, TV and radio shows in the US, UK, Canada and Australia, giving people hope and vision on how to heal their colitis, Crohn’s disease, diverticulitis and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) using all-natural methods. Her books on natural healing of digestive diseases have been sold in over 80 countries worldwide. Jini is married and has three children, nine sheep, 11 horses, a cat and three dogs.
