Cured for over 3 years. My experience with CC.

[threegen]

I seem to have an endless run of questions, I hope that's ok?
I was reading an old post from 2015 where the discussion was Raynauds. I have been trying to solve my Raynauds problem for many years as the slightest variation in drop of temperature always sparks the blood vessels in my fingers and feet to freeze, so I researched this site and viola it seems there's a connection to CC.
I read where Tex said "Collagenous Colitis is a connective tissue disorder, because it's primary diagnostic criterion is collagen in the lamina propria layer of the lining of the intestines." So I finally get the connection between MC and Raynauds. From what I understand, the solution to help combat this is Vitamin D3 and Magnesium? I would love to find out more about this if you could point me in the right direction please?

Claire

[Gabes-Apg]

Claire
we encourage questions!

bone broth - drinking pure bone broth can be a bit strong for some. I have always used it as the basis of my cooking.
cooking vegetables in it. Making stews with home made bone broth as the basis.

depending on preparation and storage, bone broth can be high in histamine and cause issues for some.
start with plain small batch of chicken, and see how you go.

[tex]

Am I correct in thinking it's the kidney that releases magnesium into our system and there could be a kidney problem if we are deficient?

I'd be interested in learning more about constipation too as my sister who is in her 70's has had chronic constipation since her teens. She has tried everything and is now trying an elimination diet.

I hope you are doing well...
Claire

If I understand the digestive process correctly, magnesium is absorbed from the intestines (mainly in the terminal ilium and the colon, unlike most other nutrients) into the bloodstream, and if more magnesium is available in the bloodstream than is needed for normal body processes, than much of the excess is transported by insulin into the cells of the body, where it's needed, such as the bones, and excess amounts are stored in the large muscles of the body, such as the leg muscles. if more magnesium is available in the bloodstream than can be handled at the moment, then any excess that would raise the blood level above normal, is purged by the kidneys. And yes, adequate magnesium is necessary in order for the kidneys to do this. If kidney function is compromised, then the blood level of magnesium can exceed safe levels, increasing the risk of cardiovascular issues. If insulin is insufficient (note that diabetes is associated with chronic magnesium deficiency), then the transporting of nutrients from the blood to the cells (including magnesium), will be compromised.

Because insulin and magnesium are codependent (this is backed up by published medical research), rebuilding magnesium reserves after a period of chronic magnesium deficiency is usually not only difficult, but a slow, tedious process, since insulin is unable to function normally without adequate magnesium reserves. Consequently, magnesium reserves are very slow to rebuild. Trying to rebuild them too quickly can lead to kidney problems. This is a brief description, if you want more details, as I recall, it's explained in much more detail in my book on magnesium, Why Magnesium Is the Key to Long-Term Health.

Thanks, yes, I'm staying out of circulation, and doing well so far. I had a routine blood draw followed by a consultation with my doctor scheduled for next week, but in my opinion, one of the best places in the world to catch Covid is hospitals and clinics. So I rescheduled the appointments. They screen patients, and ask them all sorts of questions, so they claim to be a safe area. But because a Covid patient is infectious at least 2 days before he or she tests positive, or shows symptoms, I believe that most people catch Covid during that infectious period, otherwise, the disease couldn't spread so fast, since most of us have sense enough to avoid people who show symptoms. Most of us catch Covid from people who we would never suspect as being infectious, due to this undetectable infections period.

I hope this helps,

Tex.

[threegen]

Hi Tex,
glad to hear you are keeping away from the hospitals, I agree.

I will have a read of your magnesium book to get a better understanding, thanks. Does it cover what form of magnesium to take to avoid diarrhea?

I listened to Dr Carolyne Dean speak about magnesium last night so am gaining a bit more understanding now. I have never been into vitamins and supplements before as I prefer to get them naturally combined in food that I eat, however I can see how after battling MC I could be deficient in one or other. I am now only eating meat, some fat, water and salt, which I think will help my nutrient levels rise, as long as I am retaining and processing properly I guess.

Also, as I mentioned previously my sister who has had chronic constipation all her life is taking magnesium with little success of relief, do you have a recommendation of what type she should be taking?

Claire

[tex]

Claire,

Yes, the book discusses the various common types of magnesium supplements, and pretty much everything else that you might want to know about magnesium. Magnesium oxide, for example, is really only useful as a laxative, because humans can only absorb about 3 to 4% of it, at best. While there are other forms that can be useful, probably the most beneficial form for MC patients, in terms of optimum absorption of elemental magnesium, with minimum likelihood of causing diarrhea, is magnesium glycinatye (chelated magnesium).

Tex

[threegen]

Hi Tex,
I just finished your magnesium book, which I found really interesting and helpful. I was very surprised to read about the body odor cause in particular because I have noticed a strange side effect since beginning the carnivore diet. Although I still perspire I have no sweat odor, infact I don't even need to wear deodorant any longer. Although previously I didn't have a strong odor but would always wear a deodorant because I still needed it. I noticed it after about 3 weeks on the new diet and just thought it was strange. Could that be a result of my improved diet absorption of bio available vitamins like magnesium from meat? Is that likely?

thanks
Claire

[tex]

That certainly might be possible, because besides magnesium, a deficiency of vitamin B 2 or zinc can cause body odor.

Tex

[tex]

Claire,

Remember Steve Job's of Apple Computer fame? About 5 years ago, I wrote a book on how to avoid pancreatic cancer in which I mentioned Steve Job's body odor in a case study. As you may remember, his coworkers were always complaining about his obnoxious body odor, which they blamed on his not bathing often enough. Here's a quote from my book, that includes some insight based on my own personal experience with magnesium deficiency:

Jobs' early body odor issues were almost certainly caused by a magnesium deficiency.
I have personally experienced not only a chronic magnesium deficiency, but also an acute (severe) magnesium deficiency brought on when a series of 3 back-to-back antibiotic treatments for dental work depleted what was left of my meager reserves of magnesium, and caused a serious magnesium deficiency. In addition to all of the debilitating symptoms that can sometimes occur when the autonomic nervous system is unable to perform normally, so that it becomes incapable of properly regulating vital body functions, I would wake up in the wee hours of the morning, sweating profusely (even though the room was very cool), and the disgusting odor of the fluids flowing out of my pores seemed toxic enough to knock a buzzard off a garbage truck at least half a mile away. The timing was almost surely determined by the likelihood that this was when my body would run out of magnesium because the amount of magnesium in the last meal had been used up by then. Like Steve Jobs, I found that odor to be extremely offensive and intolerable.

I had never smelled anything like it before (nor since), but now I would recognize it immediately if exposed to it again. Because my doctors were unable to make the connection between all my symptoms and the cause, this went on for weeks before I finally figured it out myself and resolved it by increasing my magnesium intake.

Magnesium deficiency is a widespread problem that physicians simply do not recognize (because they're not trained to recognize it and they have no experience in recognizing it). The Emergency Room doctors even missed mine when I went there after my symptoms eventually became so severe that I couldn't force myself to eat breakfast one morning. When I went to the ER, my heart rate was way too high and my blood pressure was up in the "stroke risk" range. My blood sugar was high (because magnesium deficiency causes insulin resistance), and a serum magnesium test result was below range, and it was even flagged by the lab. In addition, my estimated glomerular filtration rate (EGFR) test result was flagged as significantly below normal (because magnesium deficiency compromises kidney function).

And yet the doctors there assured me that my test results were "fine" and there was nothing apparently wrong with me, and they sent me back home. Fortunately I checked my test results online a couple of days later and I recognized what the flagged test results meant. But those test results apparently meant nothing to the ER doctors because they are not trained to look for, nor to recognize magnesium deficiency symptoms and lab test markers.
So my point is that if magnesium deficiency was initially the cause of Jobs' body odor problems when he was young, or even part of the cause in later years, then his doctors would almost certainly never have caught the connection.

Tex

[threegen]

Hi Gabes,
thanks for your recommendations. Today is the first day I actually feel like chicken broth, so I will try some and see how I go. I will try and add it as a base to some meals when winter comes if I tolerate it well.

Can you recommend a spray magnesium for my sister who struggles with constipation? It seems she would need magnesium oxide in it? Not sure what would be a good one here in NZ but as you are Aussie based (I read that somewhere) I thought perhaps we may have access to the same brand?
thankyou
Claire

[threegen]

Hi Tex,
yes, for sure, the medical profession does not have all the answers, one only has to think back to the Thalidomide disaster to realise sometimes they are just plain wrong. However when all else fails I will seek their help, and am thankful we do have doctors to go to for many other reasons. (I won't get into the vaccine debate raging presently )

Another thought I had is regarding salt, as I have increased my salt (sea salt) intake since beginning carnivore could this have contributed to my no odor benefit? Do you think it's a good idea to increase salt intake for MC in general?

Also, how can I tell if I have Bile acid malabsorption?

Thankyou
Claire

[tex]

Salt is a desiccant, meaning it pulls water from its surroundings. So it can have a drying effect on tissues in the body. A little is okay, but too much can lead to problems. Taxidermists use salt to dry hides, to preserve them for mounting.

As far as I'm aware, there are no tests that can be used to diagnose bile acid malabsorption (BAM). Normally, it's best to try conventional methods for controlling this disease first, and if they don't bring remission, then BAM should be suspected. But BAM treatments won't work for most of us initially, because we have to clean up our diet first, to remove all the foods that are causing our immune system to react. If we don't, any remaining food sensitivities will prevent a BAM treatment from being successful.

Tex

[threegen]

Thankyou Tex, I really appreciate the helpful, knowledgeable answers I get on this forum from you and Gabes. Helps so much to just be able to converse with people who know and are pioneers in the discovery of what works to assist healing.

Claire

[LauraGld]

Thanks so much for this...gives us all hope :). Did you ever reintroduce gf bread or do you continue to stay away from it? Thanks again for the hope :)

[dolson]

I think my MC came after I developed Boop Pneumonia. I was on a high dose of steroids and that's when I had a mad rush to the bathroom at the nursing home where my mama was a resident at in Thunderbolt, GA.

I don't think it caused my MC. Dr. Gresham, my diabetic doctor in Savannah, GA, informed me that Type 1 diabetes is not inherited, but Type II is inherited. I was not taught that in nursing school. So where does my diabetes come from, I ask.

[cfurer]

Hello All,

It’s been 4 years since I created this post and I have a couple of key updates to share.

Collagenous Colitis:

I had a relapse in 2021 that lasted 4 months, from Aug through Nov. I am not sure what precipitated it, but it was a very stubborn, full-symptom relapse. I tried to eliminate everything dietarily based on my many years of experimentation, but nothing produced an improvement.

During my research I came across studies of a probiotic called “Bacillus Coagulans GBI-30” which seemed compelling. I purchased “Schiff Digestive Advantage Intensive Bowel Support” which includes 1 billion CFU’s of this strain. Much to my surprise, my experienced gradual improvement within days and within 2 weeks I was back to normal.

That was 19 months ago and I’ve been perfect ever since. I’ve taken it every day since then. I do not have any dietary restrictions and have eaten every type of food that I previously thought could have been responsible for causing my CC and no matter what I have consumed I have not had a recurrence.

Note, I have not performed a placebo phase of my n=1 experiment with this product by seeing what would happen if I stopped. So I can’t say with complete confidence that my experience proves causation; perhaps it’s just correlation.

Magnesium:

On a completely different topic, I have determined recently that I have been magnesium deficient. For at least 5 years I would get painful leg cramps while sleeping. I run 3 to 5 miles several times a week, and the cramps would typically occur on those days when I didn’t run.

I have been taking a nightly magnesium supplement for years - Vitacost Magnesium Ultra 300mg - which has the following types of mag: oxide, amino acid chelate, malate, taurinate. I assumed I was covered on the magnesium front. I even tried doubling my mag dose to 600mg, but the cramps would not improve. The only way I could sleep through the night was to massage my calves for 15 minutes before bed with a pneumatic calf massager – it was a great discovery!

A few months ago, as an experiment, I switched to Magnesium Citrate 600mg/day spread throughout the day - morning, afternoon, and before bed. Magnesium Citrate is 30% absorbable which is much higher than the other form I was taking. The magnesium you get from a mag citrate supplement is only 11% of the product weight so my regimen results in 66mg of magnesium/day. The official Tolerable Upper Limit for magnesium supplements is 350mg/day so I am not getting an excessive amount.

Result - Since the very first day my leg cramps have gone away!! No more massaging needed. And it did not cause diarrhea, which I was concerned about.

That’s it for now. Will post another update in a few years, hopefully with more good news. Wishing everyone health and happiness.