Stomach issues and swelling

I have been lucky enough to have mostly kept my weight stable and had a nice flat stomach, I am 53 years old. From last summer, prior to B12 deficiency diagnosis and one of the reasons for my referral was continued upset stomach, had B12 injections and going forward mostly bowel motions returned to normal. GP said my bowel issues were not connected to PA!! I am continuing SI as well as injections at my surgery. I have now found my bowel issues are intermittent and suffer with excessive bloating, meaning elastic waists or loose dresses, (ladies you may understand)... is this as I have not sorted my co factors yet (very confused about them I am embarrassed to say).. I believe I have low stomach acid. I read every day about B12 def/PA and check my diet. I have very little caffeine or alcohol. I am dairy free and hardly any sugar. Any tips/advice greatly appreciated. Thank you for all your support and I am a pro at self injections too now.

[Nackapan]

My daughter used fodmap.

Going gluten free and alot of other things ommitted really helped her digestion and bowels

Have you tried probiotics. She has those too.

Has to be done slowly so you k now what is helping . She has lemon juice at the end of meals

Are you on iron? Have you seen a gastro specialist. My daughter had an endoscopy too. That was okay. She has regularly b12 injections folic acid .

[Hidden in reply to Nackapan]

My GP mentioned the fodmap diet previously, but prior to ruling out gluten allergies etc. I have regular colonoscopies due polyps, but do appear to have low stomach acid. I drink hot water with lemon too. I have tried some probiotics, bit of a minefield and expensive. Yes you are right, it's slow to recognise what is causing symptoms. I do have oats and fruit for breakfast, an apple at 11am, sandwich or salad at lunch and a healthy meat/veg dinner. very consistent and boring generally! I need desperately to ascertain the co factors required for B12 injections, which to date I think are 5mg folate, vit d, and K2 and not to overdose on B6, but am struggling and wonder whether I am missing something.

[wedgewood in reply to Hidden]

You should not take 5mg of folic acid ( vitamin B9) , unless you are really severely deficient , and then only for a very short time . Can have very nasty side-effects . A 400 mcg daily tablet suffices ( the amount recommended for pregnancies!) If you are severely low in stomach acid , you could try Betaine Hydrochloric acid with Pepsin . You can look up online how to use them , or be directed by a nutritionist. Also eat smaller meals more often , chew very thoroughly , and eat in a relaxed atmosphere !

I also recommend kefir as a great probiotic drink .You can make your own with organic milk or use lactose -free milk . ( recipe online ) Just remembered you are dairy -free , so you could make water kefir . Of course organic sauerkraut eaten raw is a great source of probiotics , as well as other valuable nutrients .

These measures may well rid you of bloating. Even if they don’t , you will have done no harm. Very best wishes l

Here is a useful link

healthygut.com/articles/4-c...

[Hidden in reply to wedgewood]

Thank you for the very informative reply I think I should have said 4mg of folic acid, although not purchased it yet, I was planning on a trip to Holland and Barrett to buy a B complex. I eat small and often. I have used a vegan probiotic, but did not notice the difference, happy to try alternatives. Thank you very much for the link.

[wedgewood in reply to Hidden]

No definitely not 4mg of folic acid !!! 400mcg is the right normal dosage .

1milligram ( mg) is 1000 micrograms ( mcg )

[Hidden in reply to wedgewood]

Oops, lots of learning... i currently have 400ug. I take zinc and vit D. I read i need b6 and k2 also? Why do our GPS not help, this is a minefield.

[wedgewood in reply to Hidden]

. It’s best to take Vit. K with D , unless you are taking a blood - thinning medication like warfarin .

Doctors don’t seem interested in anything else except drugs provided by the pharmaceutical industry .

[Nackapan in reply to Hidden]

Yes 2-3 hrly small meaks and dont eat after 5 or 6pm. Fodmap is tedious but worth doing. I was really surprised my daughter cannot eat apple. She has berries, oats !and soya yoghurt for breakfast. Uses chia seeds tk thicken it up. We are alo different.

400mcg folic acid is enough. Anythi ng higher would be prescribed by your doctor.

If you have regular bloods go by the results what to supplement.

Even 400mcg of folic acid was too much for me . Took me above range. Only have 200 mcg in a multi vit now and not every day.

Low roughage good too.

Hope you find a way.

[TFH1]

The only thing that helped me was making Grace coconut milk kefir at home. It has a huge variety and number of probiotics. I joined a facebook group called uk fermenting friends and picked up loads of advice and recipes there and now also make sauerkraut and kimchi at home too. For those who use dairy milk for their kefir, the grains multiply quite rapidly so they share them with other members for the price of an SAE or they can bought cheaply online - you only need about a tablespoon of grains. Lots of how to videos on youtube: youtube.com/watch?v=xlZrlm9...(Not working as expected?)

[Hidden in reply to TFH1]

Thank you, I will take a look. I do not drink cows milk and dislike sauerkraut, but Will look into further

[Pasjc]

Im PA and self inject ive low stomach acid to. I take folic acid according to guidelines on PA forum you won't absorb B12 without the correct level of folic it all seems very complicated at times these forums being able to chat with people with similar problems is a life line. Best of luck xx

[rosehill in reply to Pasjc]

Does anyone know the correct level of folic acid when testing blood? I am in the US, and hope the answer I get here translates into something I can understand here.

[Pasjc in reply to rosehill]

If you join the B12 forum members from all over the world the have many files with everything you need. I don't want to quote them they are very experienced and I'd hate to get it wrong. They are on FB XXXXX