Today is the beginning of week 7 of weaning myself off Omeprazole.  I have to say that it really hasn’t been bad at all.  I believe the L-Glutamine and digestive enzymes have helped it go smoothly.  After reading the book Eat Dirt by Dr. Axe I have self diagnosed myself with leaky gut syndrome.

Here is a little information on leaky direct from Dr. Axe’s book Eat Dirt:

What Is Leaky Gut Syndrome?

Think of the lining of your digestive tract like a net with extremely small holes in it that only allow specific substances to pass through. Your gut lining works as a barrier keeping out bigger particles that can damage your system. 

When someone has leaky gut (often referred to as increased intestinal permeability), the “net” in your digestive tract gets damaged, which causes even bigger holes to develop in your net, so things that normally can’t pass through, are now be able to.

Some of the things that can now pass through include proteins like gluten, bad bacteria and undigested foods particles. Toxic waste can also leak from the inside of your intestinal wall into your bloodstream causing an immune reaction.

Leaky Gut Symptoms and Progression

This leads to inflammation throughout your system and can cause symptoms, such as:

• Bloating
• Food sensitivities
• Thyroid conditions
• Fatigue
• Joint pain
• Headaches
• Skin issues like rosacea and acne
• Digestive problems
• Weight gain
• Syndrome X

Dr. Axe also states in his book that leaky gut can be attributed to long term usage of medicines such as Nexium, Prilosec, Omeprazole (generic Prilosec).  Well hello, I’ve been taking Prilosec or Omeprazole for over 20 years.

A few things I’ve learned while weaning off of the Omeprazole are:

• Daily stomach pain, cramping and bloating is not normal.
• Portion control of every meal is important in eliminating acid reflux.  This was especially hard for me because I’ve never specifically portioned food, I just filled the imaginary sections of the plate.  I also ate untill I was full, which by that time was too late, I had already overeaten.
• Drinking a good amount of water through out the day, but limit beverages during meals.
• Allow plenty of time for digestion before bedtime and try to prop yourself up a bit when sleeping.  I start out that way but end up always sliding down in the bed during the night.

So this is where I am in the process.  Last week I did experience some discomfort but it was directly related to some foods that I ate.  I can add white pasta to the list of things that are difficult for me to digest.    I did fine with the honey wheat bread I made, and honestly I didn’t have any issue with the buns I bought for our hamburgers, so I don’t believe it’s a gluten intolerance.  But something about boxed white pastas causes me discomfort.  Looks like I’m going to need the pasta attachment for my kitchen aid. 😉

I’ve been putting some probiotic fermented whey lemonade in my morning water.  I got my recipe for fermented whey lemonade from http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/ I love her website as it is filled with a lot of great information and videos.

This is going to be a long, well actually it’s going to be a lifetime process for me.  Changing my diet from where it was to where it needs to be with organic real foods, quality over quantity and eliminating the chemicals from our lives as much as possible.

Today I started the lower dosage of removing 175 of the 200 little balls in the 40mg Omeprazole capsule, which means in next week I’ll start the every other day process for a week and then hopefully I’ll have completed the weaning process ( I hope, I hope, I hope).

Have A Great Day!

Till Next Time,

Lori