Wednesday, August 20, 2008

The Gut, The Bad and The Ugly...

Had some time to look over Salamander's CDSA results and put them into some context:

The Good:
sIgA has NEVER EVER looked better. And this means that, despite the continued dysbiotic flora issues, Salamander's gut based immune system IS starting to come on-line.

Digestion/Absorption parameters have continued to improve (well, duh, considering Salamander's incredible growth since September 07..)

Short Chain Fatty Acids: NORMAL for the first time ever, which means that I'm getting Salamander's Fatty Acid Digestion issues under control.

Beneficial Flora: Really, really good growth of bifidobacterium and saccharomyces, so some good flora are finally getting established.

The Bad:
Gut pH is too low (too acidic)

No growth of lactobacillus, despite constant supplementation.

Escherichia coli (E. coli; by many considered a beneficial flora) too high. You want a nice variety of good flora and right now the balance between lactobacillus and E. coli is not the way it needs to be.

The Ugly:
Gamma strep is too high, and we had a new Escherichia strain take up residence (Escherichia hermannii).

Overgrowth of pseudomonas aeruginosa and candida albicans (but I've licked two nasty strains of candida in the past; I know I can do it again).

Very high lysozyme, which is indicative of inflammation in the gut.


So we've got our work cut out for us. We are two weeks away from start of school and my plan is to blast the bad critters hard for the next 10 days or so (while at the same time working on bringing gut pH up and getting the inflammation down). Poor Salamander, he's just getting his feet back under him, and now I have to pull the rug out from under him again....But I've got no choice, I have to get his gut back in better balance...

(but as testimony to how far Salamander has come.. we had a long chat tonite about what is going on in his *belly* and he understands why we need to address a few things.. And here for once his fascination with all things military came in handy. The agents we'll be using to blast the bad critters are *the carpet bombs*, and then the soothing/boosting stuff + probiotics are *the foot soldiers*...)

Do send some positive thoughts and extra TLC over this way for Salamander, please. We're going to need it...

3 Comments:

At 12:54 PM, August 21, 2008 , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Sorry to admit but this is like reading Greek but I want to let you know that I hope that whatever it is that you h ave to do for him will work out. It is so hard to see our little guys go through so much and we just sit by in the sidelines trying to find ways to help and we feel stranded, even though we are doing everything in our power.

Lots of love and hope and prayers and incantations and crop circles and everything else that might help!!!

 
At 2:52 PM, August 21, 2008 , Blogger Petra said...

Greek eh? That made me laugh, thanks for that.

NOT Greek, but biochemistry instead, or more specific gut chemistry.. more than I EVER wanted to know or understand..

Thanks for the love, hope, prayers, incantations and the whole shebang.. If the *little ripples* I saw in Salamander's behaviors this morning are any indication, I'm gonna need all of it.. and more..

SIGH..

(Is it wrong to want to drink heavily at this hour of the day??)

 
At 4:49 PM, August 21, 2008 , Anonymous Anonymous said...

No - it's not bad to want to drink heavily, now actualy doing it - that's a different story!

You'll make it through this - it is just one of the many mountains we face but we can overcome!

 

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