Hi Courtney- that is interesting. Sorry for your frustration. You may want to get them a stool test as this will give you a better picture of what is going on. You may have already done this, but we’d also suggest adding in some enzymes as well. Email us at support@scdlifestyle.com and I can give you more information on stool testing.

Liz, look at taking some ox bile with your meals, or at least those meals that have fats in them. Avoiding fats is not the answer as you will miss out on some essential vitamins & fatty acids. Try a product called Bile Acid Factors by Jarrow. I a amazed at how any people have their gallbladder removed and they dont get any more support from their doctor, as if their gall bladder is a totally redundant organ. What’s worse is when their doctor denies their subsequent digestive troubles as being hypochondria.

Hi Brianne – hanks for reaching out. We are all the different healing diets can be VERY confusing. The most important thing to remember, however, is that a healing diet is only the foundation of good health – If you have another underlying cause (like a gut infection or adrenal fatigue) diet alone will never be enough to heal.

We recommend you check out our free webinar on how to heal the root causes of your gut issues here: http://solvingleakygut.com/webinar/internal-leakygut2/

I hope this helps! Hang in there

My doctor prescribed a bunch of antacid medications but doesn’t want to do more testing unless those don’t work. But I don’t really believe that drugs are the answer so I haven’t taken them. I went to a naturopath but it wasn’t much help either, just a ton of expensive supplements that I haven’t noticed any difference with.

Figuring it out myself seems impossible with all of the conflicting information online and in books. For example, where one will recommend juicing vegetables and greens, another will say to avoid raw greens and vegetables because of the fiber or the plant toxins (enzyme inhibitors, oxalates, etc..).

So I am looking into other options to try, such as the AIP or SCD diets, but I’m not so sure at this point. I want to get better but I’m scared to make things worse.

Hi Liz – thanks for reaching out. I’m so sorry you’re going through such a tough time. I really recommend you work one-on-one with a functional medicine practitioner. You can learn more here or email us (support@scdlifestyle) for more suggestions https://healthygut.com/practitioners/

Hello. I need help. I been in the gaps diet for over a year, I been losing a lot of hair, I am way to skinny and every single time that I eat something I get very bad headaches. I don’t have a gallbladder. I don’t knew what to do anymore. Would you help me?

Hi Barbara – we’re sorry to hear you’re struggling right now.

I’d suggest this podcast: https://healthygut.com/vegetarians-tips-for-improving-gut-health/

I’d also suggest you check out our eBook here: http://scdlifestylebook.com/

You should only follow the Intro diet for 3-5 days before moving on and introducing more fruits and veggies to supplement your diet – and we explain exactly how to do so in the book. I hope this helps!

Hi Brenda – thanks so much for reaching out to us. I’m really sorry you’re so frustrated.

First, you’re definitely not too old to get healthy. We want to believe that if we follow the diet perfectly then we can achieve 100% perfect health – but that just isn’t always true. Some things are beyond our control. Instead of focusing on where you’re still trying to improve, I hope you can appreciate all the incredible progress you’ve made in 18 months (especially considering your symptoms likely developed over your entire life, so we’re talking about 50 years vs. 18 months on the diet to see these improvements!)

All that being said, the foods you’re describing and the symptoms you’re experiencing could be related to a histamine issue. I recommend giving this podcast Steve did with Chris Kresser a listen: https://chriskresser.com/what-you-should-know-about-histamine-intolerance/

We’d also recommend you work one-on-one with a practitioner. https://healthygut.com/practitioners/ (If you need more practitioner recommendations, email us at support@scdlifestyle.com)

I am 51. I am not overweight. I try to take walks regularly. I’ve never drank alcohol on a regular basis. My body does not produce sweat easily. I eat small amounts of fruit daily, along with honey on grass fed butter, occasionally. I take digestive enzymes, including lipase. I don’t take Betaine HCl because it tears my colon. I take other supplements too: vitamin D and C, magnesium, multi-vitamin, B-complex, molybdenum and NAC.
I’ve had a blood test and know I have methylation issues. My stool is a 4/5 on the Bristol Stool Scale and I poo 1-3 times a day. I drink lots of filtered water. All fruits and veggies are organic. I consume 1/2 avocado a day, plus olive oil in salad dressing and a tablespoon of UDO’s oil each morning. I also take cod liver oil and eat wild salmon weekly. Lots of steamed veggies.

My brain/head is so bothersome I want to call it quits, but there’s no way I could re-introduce anything right now. I fear I am too old for this challenge and I worry my life will never be what I intended when I started this journey in 2015. Can you help me?

Brenda

Hi Amy – thanks for reaching out! Yes, SCD can help people with all the issues you’re describing here. Our approach to SCD is to customize the diet to work for you – making the “Amy” diet rather than just following SCD by the book.

Our eBook explains how to customize the diet to work for you: http://scdlifestylebook.com/

Hi Susan – I’m so sorry you’re having a hard time. You shouldn’t be starving on the diet.

https://healthygut.com/5-easy-ways-to-add-calories-to-the-scd-diet/

https://healthygut.com/are-you-starving-yourself-on-the-specific-carbohydrate-diet/

We recommend you stop any new food you added in and keep a really close eye on your grandson. If he gets worse or his symptoms are worse than a typical cold, you should take him to the doctor for treatment.

Hi Matt, thanks for commenting.

We recommend both digestive enzymes and testing for low stomach acid to see if you might benefit from an HCL supplement. You can learn more about both here:
https://healthygut.com/who-needs-digestive-enzymes-and-how-to-take-them/
https://healthygut.com/3-tests-for-low-stomach-acid/

Digestive enzymes and HCL can be a game-changer for those on SCD who aren’t having as much success as they would like, in our experience.

Hi Betul, this may be something else if it has lasted this long and you might consider speaking with our practitioner as well as changing a few things up in the GAPS protocol.

Hi Apple, thanks for reaching out. There are a few things you can do here. First, Please read this article here: https://healthygut.com/what-to-do-when-the-scd-diet-isnt-working/ Second, you may need the help of a practitioner and some funcitonal medicine testing and supplementation. If you are in need of one, you can go here: https://healthygut.com/practitioners/ Digestive enzymes are going to be imperative as well: https://healthygut.com/recommended-products/

Hi Jess, thanks for reaching out! We’re so glad to hear that you decided to start SCD and are taking matters into your own hands. Steve wrote some really great posts on constipation here: https://healthygut.com/category/constipation/

I’m worried about it but other then that o feel really good so far.

Nancy, my heart goes out to you two. I have UC as well and have had a roller coaster 3.5 years with very little relief from symptoms. I just started SCD and and hopeful for some help but we’ll see. My wife and I looked into it and are reading the book and supposedly after 30 days you should know if this diet will help you or not. I think Jordan and Steve will say that if it’s not working after 30 days you need to tweak it, and they are the experts on here, but my plan is to try it for 30 days as a marker to see if I’m moving in the right direction. If I were you guys I would consider stabilizing with possibly a course of prednisone and working the diet on the side as the diet is a longer term fix and you guys have an acute, short term problem that needs to be addressed. Quality of life and other areas are extremely low when you are that bad, so that’s my 2 cents. I’m not a doctor and I’m not an expert on this diet. Just someone who has dealt with this disease for a few years and knows exactly how you guys feel. You may already be doing the medical route as well, but if you are not, going on meds for a little while to help your body quiet the inflammation while you make a diet change makes sense to me. Again, you have a short term and a long term issue here. If you could fix the symptoms with meds, and then fix the cause with diet (if bad bacteria is indeed the cause), then you’d be looking good sooner AND later. Just a thought.

My husband began the SCD journey about 8 days ago. He has been following the diet to a T (although with no dairy, as we thought this may be an issue for him). Unfortunately, he is feeling worse than before starting. He has moderate – severe UC, and we’ve been relatively lucky as he’s only been in the hospital 3x over the past 10 years. He recently experienced a bad flare and we decided it was time to change his diet. The past 8 days have been pretty unbearable – he has more D (about 10x per day), tired, achy, headaches, dizziness, and overall seems pretty sad. We are trying to stay positive, but it’s hard to feel like we are making the right choice when things seem to be going downhill. I’ve read in numerous places that it takes time to see changes – but how long should we wait? When should we see at least a minor sign of improvement? Thanks!

“To summarize: “die-off” symptoms might last anywhere from the first 3-7 days on a real food diet and symptoms related to low-carb adaptation might last anywhere from the first 2-3 weeks.”

I am now confident now that I can ride through my 3 week of paleo.

Also can we take imodium at any point on this diet?

Thank you!

Thanks for commenting Sharon. We continue to teach a custom diet for each person through proper testing and science. So glad your feeling better!

my digestion got better w paleo, BUT after about 6 mos. lc paleo it got worse…again. holy grail? ‘fraid not! added back the carbs (starches, fruits) and digestion better than ever. carbs were the answer. i can’t buy into all this ‘die off’ stuff anymore, not like i would have about a year ago. i won’t even go into all the other negatives from following lc over the years. let’s just say that it nearly destroyed my metabolism. do your research…on BOTH sides!! much luck to you 🙂

Based on what you’re telling me, I would attribute your constipation to low stomach acid, not meat:

https://healthygut.com/hypochlorhydria-3-common-signs-of-low-stomach-acid/

Jordan

Great comment Maree – you’re right on: this stuff works, buy we have to find the custom version for our body!

Glad the betaine helped, so many of us have low stomach acid it’s staggering.

Keep us posted on your progress.

Jordan