Leaky gut? TMI- not for the faint hearted.
By sylviekitty
@sylviekitty (2083)
United States
January 23, 2007 8:33am CST
I have done a lot of looking around online to find information on "leaky gut" with regard to Autism, and I don't know that it quite applies to my son. This won't be a pleasant discussion, but please bear with me.
A while back, within the last year or two (I can't remember exactly) , he had a bout of very pale stool. It was more or less "normal", except that it was very pale in color. It was like this for some time. I asked his Ped. about it, and she suggested possible liver issues, and so she had some blood work done- of course everything looked normal. The issue went away. Then he randomly got a serious attack of diarrhea, and it was also very pale. And extremely foul smelling. This lasted for well over a week. I do know that he refused pedialyte (sp?) or anything like that- only wanted milk. Of course milk made it worse. Typically milk gives him little to no problem, except for during these "attacks". So that finally went away, and he was ok for a while, until he got a cold, and then again- same thing. It was/is extremely horrid- and this time came with vomiting. I asked his Ped. about it, and she figured he just keeps getting some kind of weird viral thing.
Now, I already know this Ped isn't too knowledgeble about Autism, which is why I went elsewhere for all of his medical testing. (Otherwise, I really like her). He hasn't had this particular problem with the pale stool for maybe a couple months? So it doesn't happen all the time... Is this leaky gut? Or what. Do you have any ideas?
2 people like this
5 responses
@deberooney (418)
• United States
23 Jan 07
I wish I did Hun! We have the same problem here. Today we started enzymes. If you want to read up on them just do a search on Enzymes in Autism...it will definatly get your attention!Here is my private email if you want to write off site.. deberooney@yahoo.com BTW...our pediatrician doesn't know squat either when it comes to Autism!
2 people like this
@sylviekitty (2083)
• United States
23 Jan 07
What kind of enzymes? Are they for helping the body digest food better? Like papaya? Or something different? I'll have to look that up.
Are you at all familiar with Florastor?
http://www.florastor.com/ I don't know if any dr's have suggested this to children with Autism (if not, why they wouldn't?) but it is supposed to help maintain normal balance of the intestinal "flora". I got a free sample of it in the mail a while back, and my sister uses this type of product for both herself, kids and husband, all the time- they all have intestinal issues.
1 person likes this
@deberooney (418)
• United States
23 Jan 07
look up Enzymedica,Kids Digest. This is what my son just started...good luck!
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@blueskies (1186)
• United States
23 Jan 07
No, that's not leaky guy. What you are describing really sounds like he had a virus of some sort each time, or ate a food that he was sensitive to. Leaky gut occurs when the bacteria (such as candida albicans) in your digestive tract run amuck and cause damage to the tissues. These damaged tissues allow the passage of free radicals which go throughout your body systems and cause widespread inflamation and other damage. I'm just going off memory here, but this is what I remember from my leaky gut research.
@sylviekitty (2083)
• United States
23 Jan 07
Ok, thanks. :) I'm trying to figure out if he has similar intestinal issues that other children with autism seem to have. I have no idea what any of his medical test results are or will be, and which have anything to do with his stomach/liver/etc..? I did mention to the dr at the Autism clinic about this problem.. and I know she is looking a little into allergies, because he is developing sinus issues more and more frequently. (Not to mention the fact he has eczema). Sigh..
2 people like this
@rainbow (6761)
•
23 Jan 07
I have no idea, it does sound as it your son is having a few problems with his tummy, as if his tummy is a little weak if getting a cold upsets him too, I would question my Dr about it again and ask to have it refered to a pead that works mostly with digestion issues. I'm sure since he has already done some tests he will refer you to someone with specialied knowledge although you may have to wait until the next time he is ill bless him and collect a sample, yucky but at least then they have somewhere to start from, take it to your Dr, I'm sure it'll help.
I know you are probably careful with his diet anyway, his tummy can be tickley I am careful of Bongs in case it affects his ADHD more than his autism really.
Bong often does paler poo than I would expect but not enough for me to spare it much thought. I assumed it was because he likes milky drinks, and dismissed it.
I hope you can help him get this sorted out as quickly as possible, poor kid.
2 people like this
@kittykatzz (1132)
• United States
24 Jan 07
hey there!.. fortunately i believe the problems that you've been experiencing here seem to bee only viral or something like a "bug".. thank goodness!.. always good to look out and be on the watch.. and NEVER think your too paranoid to ask yor doctor questions.. always better safe than sorry!!.. my experience with "leaky gut" or "gut inflammation" is that it alot of the time will start a little later for a child, not baby or toddler, but years after eating certain types of foods that harm their systems..(my own son is 9).. it can have alot to do with diet and the ability or lack thereof to process certain things properly in ones digestive track, and can mean alot of pain for the child.. alot of it can be controlled with diet, there are many different diets that can discussed with doctors about how to control GI as it is extremely aggravated by certain foods, because they "leak" out into the bloodstream. unfortunately GI doesnt usually "correct itself" therefore im inclined to believe that if your son in fact was showing symptoms that they would persist untill medical attention or change in diet occured to reverse the problems, here are some links that i hope may prove to be useful for you.
http://www.breakingthevisciouscycle.info/autism/autism_and_gi_problems.htm
http://autismtoday.com/articles/Leaky_Gut.htm
http://www.autism.org/leakygut.html
@albert2412 (1782)
• United States
11 Feb 07
The pale stool may be caused by a lack or taurine. Tourine help the bile flow and helps get the proper color back. The SCD diet has helped many children with leaky gut. You can read about the SCD (Specfic Corbohydrate Diet) at groups.yahoo.com/group/pecanbread
Please email me back later on and let me know how your child is doing. Albert
