Stomach problems

[Heidiv]

Hi, I've started to SI once a week about 3,5 months ago. I went downhill very fast (existing symptoms getting worse) after our move to Singapore. Somehow, my body can't deal with the climate and I get joint/muscles aches/inflammation all over my body and my knees get very tired very quick. But I think that thanks to the injections my muscles get more oxygen now.

One thing that hasn't got better at all are my GI-problems. I've really bad "post-infectious IBS" (this means that I feel as if I have a stomach flu all the time) since I picked up a parasite in Africa 3 years ago (but I think that it was the harsh antibiotic treatment with Tinidazole that was very bad for my GI-system). I was able to manage it more or less thanks to an antihistamine (I found this out by accident) and have been eating gluten free for 5 years now. But lately I get bad stomach upsets all the time (churning & painful stomach sometimes even to the touch + the whole array of IBS). I heard that H.Pylori is a common issue in people with Vit. B12 -deficiency in that it prevents the B12 being absorbed by the stomach. Have some of you been treated for it? I've had several endoscopies in the past (but not recently), and I don't really see the point in doing another one as they always come out clear. Also, one of the medications to treat it is Tinidazole or some other antibiotics and PPI's. My stomach can't tolerate antibiotics or PPI's.

Thank you as always for your reactions!

[Nackapan]

Hey pylori is treated aggressively with antibiotics. A faeces sample csn test for it. Alot of people at risk symptom free with it .

Perhaps best to try and get your gut in better shape.

There is alot of information about eating for a healthy gut.

Also fodmap is helpful to work put if any more intolerances .it takes months to try and work it out .sounds like you've had alot going on.

Hope you try things out and get more comfy.

A dietician or nutritionist may help.

[lownskater52]

One thing that struck me in your post was about not being able to adapt to weather. I'm drying to move from a subtropical climate to a desert and my body simply cannot cope. I guess it really is a symptom of b12d.

[Heidiv in reply to lownskater52]

Sorrtly to hear you have similar problems (although the otherway around). Oh, I wish I could move back to a desert or mountaineous area (dry climate suits me best). But cannot find a place where we could find a job. We used to live in Abu Dhabi for 5 years. The summers were horrendous (strangely enough it gets very humid and horribly hot), but the winters are dry and perfect temperature (not too hot,not too cold). My body could recuperate during those months. The everyday tropical climate with felt temperature around 36-38° is very unforgiving for people who have already health issues (e.g. arthritis,...). Hubby thinks the solution is to move back to (northern) Europe, but I don't think it's a good idea with the issues I have now because it's cold and humid for 6 months/year there.

[LWhelan]

Hi, I also have B12 deficiency and for 3 years I was fine with my monthly injections. I then moved from Scotland to Singapore for 18 months and went downhill quite a lot. I saw various specialists and one thing that really helped me was the Haematologist who recommended that I take daily salt tablets as due to the climate I was sweating a lot and my body was loosing a lot of electrolytes ........ this certainly helped especially with the dizziness. In Scotland you grow up being told to avoid salt thus taking two salt tablets a day seemed excessive to me but I was tested regularly for my electrolytes and it is what my body needed.

[Heidiv in reply to LWhelan]

Thank you for your reply! I've been looking for a link between the climate and the fact that my health declined so quickly (in a matter of 5 months). I thought I was the only one. Yes, the tropical climate (I sweat so much) is draining. I lived in Abu Dhabi for 5 years, so I learned about Oral Rehydration Salts th. I thought that it would be ok if I would keep that up in Singapore. But clearly the climate is so hard on my body that I loose a lot of vitamines together with the electrolytes (+ my body seems to have trouble absorbing them). I got to the point where I could barely walk. I didn't know anything about Vit. B12-deficiency until a couple of months ago. A holistic dr. here did test me for it and marked the results but didn't say anything about it to me. Only months later somebody told me to check my B12 and I noticed that my B12 was low. I feel I really need at least weekly injections for now. I am outside a lot here and also have low vit. D (which is crazy as I'm very tanned!). And I have gluten sensitivity so a lot of malabsorption issues. I think the climate just depleted what was left of my "stock" of vitamines (and electrolytes).

[KimberinUS]

hi there, i had a b12 deficiency and finally figured out it was due to h pylori after demanding to be tested for it.

i took a breath test. i think that test is the best one for h pylori. it took appox 8 months before my stomach healed enough to absorb b12 on its own but it finally did. i havent had a b12 injection since may 2018, so appox 17 months.

best of luck and health.

[Heidiv in reply to KimberinUS]

Wow, that's great. I didn't realize that you can take a breathing test for H. Pylori. Good to hear that you're doing well now.

[JAMV in reply to KimberinUS]

Did you have any neurological symptoms like tinnitus, pins and needles when you were b12 deficient?