October 19, 2016

48hrs to Alleviate 35yrs of Digestive issues and Sciatic Pain [CASE STUDY]

Don was aged 72 when he contacted us. For 35 years he’d been experiencing stomach discomfort and sciatica pain (lower back/leg area). The conventional paradigm or approach to health would typically see these two presentations as separate and not particularly connected.

In fact over the last few decades Don had been to see many different specialists, but to no avail. It’s incredible to think that within 48hrs a very simple nutrition change alleviated both the digestive and sciatica pain, completely!

And over the next 3 months of work together he was able to transform his vitality to a new level. Today we’ll share more details of the process that we took and start by looking at the long list of symptoms Don was experiencing when we ran an Initial Consultation:

Don’s Pre Symptoms

  • Vitality Level 7/10
  • Sciatica pain for 35 years
  • Stomach discomfort for 35yrs
  • Lower Abdominal discomfort
  • Constipation
  • Bad taste in mouth
  • Fingernail Fungus
  • Hungry after eating
  • Craving Salty Foods
  • Dark Circles under eyes
  • Bruise Easily
  • Right Ear rushing and occ pain down neck
  • Disrupted Sleep
  • Need for Naps
  • Frequent Urination during day and night

The advantage of the Functional Health Restoration Program is that we perform a comprehensive and detailed case review that ensures we look at the bigger picture as well as the specific results that we can obtain from lab testing.

If all we did was to just continue to chase his symptoms then Don would be in exactly the same situation as he was for the last three decades of his life.

A Functional Health is pretty simple really. The body has a blueprint. This blueprint is designed to create optimal function for our bodies. If we assess this function and find some imbalances/dysfunctions then we can then change something to create more balance/function.

Yep, pretty simple!

The result is that the symptoms reduce and alleviate because the blueprint is being expressed by all our systems/tissues/organs (eg digestive, detoxification, immune, hormonal, neural etc.

So what did Don do?

Comprehensive Gut Health Test

Don ran a Comprehensive Digestive Health Test alongside his Case Review. The quality of your answer will be based on the quality of your question! And in this case the success of alleviating Don’s symptoms and enhancing his vitality would be based on the quality of his assessments.

“When I consider the costs, they are miniscule when compared to what I have spent with all but useless mainstream medicine. It is my advice to anyone considering this approach that you run, not walk, to your computer and sign up.”

he_tests_image

We ran various functional lab diagnostics as you can see and it was especially important to identify the Candida (fungal) overgrowth and Norovirus markers.

Gluten Marker on the Stool Test

However, Don’s remarkable recovery was actually sparked by the following findings on his stool test result:

he_siga_resultHere’s the part of a digestive health test that includes a very simple marker to let you know what your immune system thinks about gluten/gliadin and in this case, what led to such a quick turnaround in digestive and sciatic symptoms.

The good news is that you can leave the rest of the internet to debate about whether gluten is ‘good’ or ‘bad’ and simply find out for yourself, on an individual level.

Interestingly, Don had been “90%” gluten-free for years, but on discussing this high test result he switched to 100% and felt the impact after just a couple of days. It’s quite amazing that even very small quantities of gluten can cause such an inflammatory cascade in the body!

That’s quite a radical change in wellbeing and it certainly doesn’t always happen that quickly, but it highlights what can be achieved with valuable insight and priority changes.

It also doesn’t mean that gluten is an ‘evil’ food and problematic for everyone. The most important aspect is to assess for clarity and make an informed choice to help you on the next step of a healing process.

In Don’s case gluten appeared to be causing an inflammatory and immune response in his gut. Not only was this causing discomfort inside the GI Tract, but it was also likely causing an autoimmune response in other parts of the body.

Research highlights the link between gluten and neurological problems and here it was creating a physical sciatic type pain ‘outside’ the gut.

No matter how much physiotherapy and lower back exercises Don had been doing or continue to do, this pain was not a structural issue. It was originating in the digestive system and beyond that even – It was something that was on his plate!

90 Days to 9/10 Vitality

This was an immediate success, but we continued to work together for about three months to consolidate this progress and make an even greater impact on his other health challenges and symptoms.

Here’s a brief summary of Don’s original symptoms following the process of creating an individual nutrition, lifestyle and gut healing program:
Program_Overview

  • Vitality 7/10 – Now 9/10.
  • Sciatica pain for 35 years – No pain after 48hrs onwards.
  • Stomach discomfort for 35yrs – No pain after 48hrs onwards.
  • Lower Abdominal discomfort – Completely alleviated.
  • Constipation – Completely alleviated.
  • Bad taste in mouth – Significantly improving.
  • Fingernail Fungus – Identified as related to coffee intake and reduced.
  • Hungry after eating – Completely alleviated.
  • Craving Salty Foods – Completely alleviated.
  • Dark Circles under eyes – Lessening.
  • Bruise Easily – Similar.
  • Right Ear rushing and occ pain down neck – Significantly improved and links to identified foods.
  • Disrupted Sleep – Much improved sleep quality.
  • Need for Naps – Less need for naps.
  • Frequent Urination during day and night – Slightly Reduced.
  • Inspired and Motivated to get back to writing!

Not bad for a few months focus at the age of 72 and I’m sure there will be continued success in other areas of health.

The journey of restoring health is truly different for everyone. There will be different rates of success, steps, strategies, results and durations. But a common theme will always be the ability to achieve clarity from your Assessments.

If we aren’t assessing, we’re just guessing!

Not all assessments have to be a Functional Lab Test, but selecting and prioritising the most important test for you is a fundamental starting point for the healing process.

And of course if you have any questions please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Warm Regards
Jack

Here’s Don’s Full Testimonial

My experience with Hompes Method and Functional Medicine Practitioner Jack Walton, was nothing short of remarkable.

After years of searching for the answer to my ongoing digestive problems, I followed Jack’s advice to take a simple, at-home test. When the results of that test were sent to Jack, he advised me to take a single action that would change my life for the better within 48 hours. He was correct.

That was the beginning of a most remarkable three months of support (with Jack leading me all the way.) The information I gleaned during that time has been instrumental in improvements to my overall health that were wonderful.

When I consider the costs, they were miniscule when compared to what I have spent with all but useless mainstream medicine, it is my advice to anyone considering working with Jack that you run, not walk, to your computer and sign up.