Friday, October 20, 2006

Digestive enzyme for Lactose Intolerance

This stuff looks the biz! could be v v useful for when I want to eat in a restaurant etc...anything that may be not 100% non dairy......

foodreactions.org: Digestive enzyme for Lactose Intolerance: "Prolactazyme Forte Capsules
Designed specifically for the complete digestion of milk and its products. Ideal to persons suffering from LI and/or milk allergies. It helps to eliminate all symptoms associated with Lactose intolerance, such as cramps, bloating, flatulence etc. "

Healthy Lifestyle Changes for Fibromyalgia: Diet (Excerpt from �The Complete Idiot�s Guide to Fibromyalgia� by Lynne Matallana)

Interesting to read that lactase enzymes can be bought to help with dairy intolerance which I certainly suffer from...

Healthy Lifestyle Changes for Fibromyalgia: Diet (Excerpt from �The Complete Idiot�s Guide to Fibromyalgia� by Lynne Matallana): "Lactose intolerance is the inability to digest lactose, the principal sugar of milk. This intolerance is caused by a shortage of the enzyme lactase, which is produced by the cells that line the small intestine. When there is not enough lactase to digest the amount of lactose consumed, a person may suffer from nausea, cramps, bloating, gas, and diarrhea. Individuals with lactose intolerance need to limit their intake of milk and dairy products or take lactase enzymes that are available without a prescription. "

Will research to see what if such lactase enzymes are available in the UK......

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Robitussin - Dextromethorphan for Fibromyalgia

Wyeth UK - Robitussin: Robitussin Dry Cough Medicine - nb only this one type contains the "Active ingredient:Dextromethorphan hydrobromide."

Erowid DXM Vault : Complete Guide to DXM in Non-Prescription Drugs: " list of more than 80 non-prescription medications containing various forms of DXM. Listed are the active ingredients (as of 2001) and any relevant notes or cautions"

The highest pure dosage is "DexAlone
by DexAlone
Active Ingredients (per gelcap):
DXM Hydrobromide (30mg)
Notes: Manufactured by DexGen"

DexGen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Interesting site esp as it mentions P Holfords bug bear - homocysteine....






"

Old Remedy/New Help for Fibromyalgia

The cough medicine rumour revived......ABC30.com: Health Watch - Old Remedy/New Help for Fibromyalgia: "Fibromyalgia affects one in nine people and leaves its victims in constant pain. It's difficult to diagnose, and there is no cure. But there is hope. An ingredient found in a common over-the-counter drug may ease patients' pain.....A new twist on an old drug may help. Dextromethorphan is an ingredient commonly found in cough syrup, but doctors found it also targets nerve cells.

Dr. Staud says, "The activity of these nerve cells is significantly decreased, resulting in less amplification of pain."

He says, however, the levels found in cough syrup are not strong enough....

"about four to five-times stronger than what you can buy over-the-counter.......

At high doses, dextromethorphan causes problems related to memory and confusion. The drug is still being studied and isn't available to the public yet."
so now to find out which brands of cough medicine contain the active ingreditnt.....

Sunday, October 01, 2006

IBS and Chronic Fatigue

CO-CURE Archives -- September 2006, week 5 (#17)

Very interesting especially as irritable bowel is one of my most longstanding problems - improved by dairy free diet and after a course of mega antibiotics (metronidazole I think) plus another stomach ulcer drug whose name eludes me ...to treat my gut which was inflamed mouth to bottom.....

"The relationship established between irritable
bowel and the serum IgA to enterobacteria suggests that
irritable bowel in CFS reflects in part disorders in gut-intestinal
permeability rather than psychological stress as most
psychiatrists tend to confirm.


Interestingly, the intestinal barrier may be compromised by
factors which are known to trigger CFS, e.g. psychological
stress (Meddings and Swain, 2000); sustained strenuous
exercise (Davis et al., 2005); food allergies (Andre et al., 1987),
surgery and trauma (Pape et al., 1994), but also inflammation.....

...The results show that enterobacteria are involved in the etiology of CFS
and that an increased gutintestinal permeability has caused an immune
response to the LPS of gram-negative enterobacteria. It is suggested that
all patients with CFS should be checked by means of the IgA panel used in
the present study and accordingly should be treated for increased gut
permeability.

Keywords: Chronic fatigue syndrome; Inflammation; Immunity; Autoimmune;
IgA; Enterobacteria; Gut permeability; Oxidative stress; Leaky gut"