Milk for My Infant's Bleeding Gut

[Cascade]

Ugh, the burning, bleeding, cramping gut.  I can't take it anymore!  There have more days with the symptoms than without for past couple weeks.  I'm considering asking for a test for the bug (H. pylori) that causes ulcers.  Then I get a sense it's just due to all the stress of CPTSD, and I don't want to bother with the test because that involves my horrible GP and the triggering history with doctors (and effort, and leaving the house, and probably disappointment).

Yesterday, my therapist guided the first family meeting under internal family systems (IFS).  Up until we got into it, there's pretty much just been my six-year-old and my teenager.  Then my infant appeared when my therapist introduced herself and said she was here for anyone who needs help.  My infant felt so abandoned and alone, crying for love, touch, soothing, connection... and food!  My mother, in her post-partum depression, was sobbing and saying she just couldn't take it anymore.  I don't think she breast-fed me as much as she said she did.  Of course, adult me picked up the infant and assured her I would take care of her and love her.

Milk has always served as an excellent buffer for my gut.  A gluten-free diet helps my gut issues a lot, so I adhere to it very strictly.  I'm grateful that lactose doesn't bother me.  It's like I need the milk, I crave it.  I drink it with my meals, even though other people look at me like I'm weird.  Maybe that's just not enough right now.  I drank a glass this morning first thing, even before coffee.  I cut my coffee intake by half lately, but the symptoms are so persistent and severe.  Guess I'll just try more milk throughout the day, just especially for my special little infant.

More journaling homework today, back to exploring shame as well as processing the IFS session and thinking about creating security for myself.  Need to pay a few bills.  No stress with all that, eh?  Don't want to do anything, but this is the work that heals, right?

Making it through another day,
   -Cascade

[Blueberry]

 

[Papa Coco]

 

[Chart]

Hey Cascade, sorry to hear about the tummy troubles. Oddly I just got a pang in my stomach... Some kind of sympathy connection with your stomach? Not sure... might just have eaten too much pizza with my daughter.
Sending hugs and hope! Feel better   

[Cascade]

🍕🍕 
That helps me feel better, Chart.  Thanks.
   -Cascade

[Chart]

 

[NarcKiddo]

 

I have a feeling you may be able to get home tests for h pylori. I could be misremembering and have no idea how reliable they are. But thought I'd mention it in case that appeals more than the GP

[Cascade]

Blueberry, Papa Coco, Chart, and NarcKiddo, I feel all the warm, comforting hugs!  Thank you for stopping by to share them.


I didn't think about a home test.  Thanks for mentioning it, NarcKiddo!  I will look into that.
   -Cascade

[dollyvee]

Hey Cascade,

I had a lot of tummy troubles/health issues and have been gluten free for about 10 years. I had H. Pylori which was cleared (did it naturally with monlaurin and mastic gum), but also learned that I had SIBO (small intestinal bacteria overgrowth) due to issues with mycotoxins. I think there's a post about it elsewhere on the forum, but helping settle health issues has also been helpful in settling some of the anxiety. Stress can lead to inflammation in the gut, which then to my knowledge, can help contribute to gut dysbiosis, but I believe that relieving some of the issues in the gut also helps relieve stress and inflammation in the body. Apparently, inflammation travels throughout the body and it becomes much more difficult to heal cptsd, or dismantle self limiting beliefs when there is neuroinflamation present (as per the Holistic Savage on Insta).

My functional medicine practitioner also mentioned once that sometimes the things we crave aren't the things we need, and might potentially be masking something else, but that's just my experience.

If you're a nerd like me and want to read further:

Inflammation‐driven brain and gut barrier dysfunction in stress and mood disorders
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9290537/

Neuroinflammation is a susceptibility factor in developing a PTSD-like phenotype
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/behavioral-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnbeh.2023.1112837/full 

Assessment of small intestinal bacterial overgrowth in Alzheimer's disease
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34841505/

"SIBO treatment has been shown to modulate neurological inflammation, motor and cognitive outcomes there."

I'm glad that you were able to comfort your baby in ways that your mother could not 

Here's to another day 

dolly

[Cascade]

Awesome, Dolly!  Thanks so much for putting together those resources and sharing your experiences.  It has always seemed like so much to figure out.  I don't have a good relationship with food.  Imagine that! 
   -Cascade

[dollyvee]

Oh it was a lot! It took me 10 years and had to pay out of pocket for a FMP after being told by almost all doctors that there was nothing wrong with me. Now, the gastroenterologist was trying out what I used for mycotoxins. I guess that's a little validation. So, it is not an easy path by any means and I don't blame you for feeling overwhelmed.

I never had a good relationship with food and was always under the impression that if I eat I get fat. Starting weightlifting, as well as knowing what was going on with my body (ie why wasn't I losing weight) really helped improve that relationship though and it's ok for me to eat after seeing that eating 1900/2000 calories a day doesn't make me fat and is probably on the low side for muscle definition.

[Chart]

Hey Cascade, When I first read your thread here I must've been more focused on the IFS and therapy part. I've just reread through it again and I want to say I'm worried about your stomach and intestinal troubles. I know firsthand what intestinal pain is, and when it is chronic it's no fun at all. I'm so sorry to hear you are coping with this pain as well.

I agree that for sure its related to Cptsd, perhaps a lot. But there're other things you mention that could be contributing factors. Quick question: Have you ever tried removing milk from your diet for awhile to see what or if that changes anything? I'm not at all an expert, but I've cut down my dairy by at least 90% and I believe that's helped me immensely. For sure we're not identical, but dairy does have a growing bad reputation on all sorts of fronts. Inflammation included. (Sorry if I'm poopooing on one of your principal pleasures, but it all seems so significant.)

Dollyvee's info looks super interesting, but I haven't had time to check it out yet.

Okay, I'll leave it there for now. I'm wishing you health and balance. I really hope you can pacify your stomach. It's really great when things calm down down there.
Big hug! -Chart