Re:Re: CDSA reliable?

[Guest guest]

Tests like the CDSA are helpful in some respects, but not finding high levels of "bad" bacteria isn't to say that you don't have a disturbed gut ecology. Your body can still have higher numbers of some bacteria species than can be tolerated, or your immune system is overwhelmed and can't keep things in check. Hence the symptoms.

Can you describe your symptoms in more detail? Have you been diagnosed with a digestive disorder? Leaky gut is very general, and is part of having dysbiosis (disturbed gut ecology).

Generally speaking, dysbiosis accounts for a lot, regardless of whether a test did or did not identify an overgrowth of one microorganisms species or a lack of same. Testing microorganisms levels only look for the extreme numbers, either high or low. But our bodies can still develop symptoms if the numbers are slightly different than they were in the past -- and some of our bodies react faster to a slight change in our gut ecology. There really is no "normal" level; all depends on our own bodies.

I'd continue to stay on SCD and give your body time to heal. Eventually your gut ecology will be re-balanced, and symptoms should improve.

Kim M.

SCD 6 years

>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Hi,I did a CDSA about a year ago and besides finding low levels of lactobacillus and some candida, it didn't find any bad bacteria. Yet I'm suffering from pain and flareups (they've gotten worse but I did have them even several years ago). Does this mean I have bad bacteria that the test didn't find, or could the symptoms just be leaky gut, which I have?

[Guest guest]

Thanks for your response. That's good info. I guess then that the bad bacteria

are always there in small numbers. Leaky gut diets say to eat a lot of brown

rice and oatmeal but that would seem to feed the bad bacteria, so it's

confusing. I notice my tongue is nice and clear on this diet and it was not when

I was on a modified candida diet and eating brown rice and sweet potatoes.

Main symptoms have pain and soreness in the lower left abdominal quadrant but it

sometimes migrates to other areas. Flares up badly sometimes, this has been

getting worse, spread to ribs and back; swollen lymphs there; low-grade fevers.

Other auto-immune stuff too such as (sometimes) chemical sensitivities, rashes.

Always whole-body pain, joint pain. Have had less knee pain since starting the

diet. Lyme, CFS, FMS. Irregular periods Sometimes hurts to eat. No elimination

issues. Had candida but I fought it for a year, not sure now. I'm going to get a

colonoscopy and endoscopy but I have no dx now. I'm assuming my dx will be IBS

even though technically it should be chronic abdominal pain since I don't have D

or C. (Two doctors have already given me the IBS label). I also throw up easily.

I was on long-term antibiotics given by CFS doctor for misdiagnosis of

mycoplasma. Probably made a lot of this worse but I did have the lower left side

pain already, seemed to go with CFS. I'm doing well after a couple of very bad

years of CFS but this new flareup thing is worrying.

Barb

>

> Tests like the CDSA are helpful in some respects, but not finding high levels

of " bad " bacteria isn't to say that you don't have a disturbed gut ecology.

Your body can still have higher numbers of some bacteria species than can be

tolerated, or your immune system is overwhelmed and can't keep things in check.

Hence the symptoms.

>

> Can you describe your symptoms in more detail? Have you been diagnosed with a

digestive disorder? Leaky gut is very general, and is part of having dysbiosis

(disturbed gut ecology).

>

> Generally speaking, dysbiosis accounts for a lot, regardless of whether a test

did or did not identify an overgrowth of one microorganisms species or a lack of

same. Testing microorganisms