My SIBO Journey With Dr. Melanie Keller is a multi-part series. If you haven’t read my first post, please take a look at my introduction.

Welcome back to My SIBO Journey with Dr. Melanie Keller from SIBO Solution! In this post I’m going to take you through my new patient paperwork with all of my disease details, my first appointment with Dr. Keller, my progress, basically the whole 9! Y’all get ready!

Before I fully dive into the nitty gritty I think it is important that you know that I have struggled with chronic illness for 13 years. I have 14 diagnosed diseases, conditions or syndromes that I battle and honestly the last 13 years have felt a bit like a living hell and torture chamber with moments of true living sprinkled in here and there. I know those with long-term diseases can relate. It’s indescribable what we go through mind, body and spirit.

As you can imagine after dealing with poor health for so long, I have gone to great lengths for healing. I have gone down the pharmaceutical route, the natural route, the holistic route, the extreme diet change route, the deep intensive therapy route, the spiritual cleansing route and while they all provided valuable pieces to this monumental jigsaw puzzle, none of these have added up to overall physical wellness and healing.

As this journey has been unfolding, I have decided to break each week into two posts. The first post will contain all of the details of the week, any testing that has occurred, my appointment(s) with Dr. Keller, my progress and Dr. Keller’s point of view. The second post will contain the emotional and spiritual components of going down such a road as this. I think they are both vital to put out there, but I don’t want every post to be 5,000 words long! (You’re welcome!)

Personal Disclaimer: My SIBO Journey is just that, my very own journey. I cannot stress enough that everyone treating SIBO should have an individualized plan towards healing since it is so specific. I am a unicorn among unicorns. I have multi-layered diseases that can make my journey not look like the typical one. Please keep that in mind as you travel down this road with me.

Starting The Process

Prior to my first appointment with Dr. Keller I needed to fill out some New Patient Paperwork. It was very thorough and detailed. It included documenting all of my health concerns in order of priority, a list of the 20 supplements I currently take (including each ingredient in them) and what I would like to accomplish in my consultation.

Here’s a screenshot of my actual New Patient Paperwork and my list of concerns and priorities. Guys…it just got really authentic up in here!

If you look closely you will see that #9 and #17 are the same, hence #14! Due to the fact that I am seeing Dr. Keller remotely (holler to SKYPE y’all!), I uploaded my previous test results to my patient account for her to review. These are my actual test results that I sent to her. By the way, nobody has ever accused me of being an A+ scanner :).

SIBO Test Results

GI Stool Results

Most Recent Blood Work Panels

MTHFR Test Results

EBV Or Epstein Barr Virus Test Results

Nagalase Test Results (Viral Component)

Hematology Panel Test Results

What I REALLY loved here and highly valued is that Dr. Keller took her time prior to my appointment to go over my New Patient Paperwork and tests that I had uploaded. I think that practice is GENIUS! You can see my laundry list of crazy and at times I would feel like I was verbally assaulting a doctor, downloading all of my background and info to them. Having all of my information presented to her prior to my appointment allowed her time to digest all that I just threw at her. It allowed her time to process and game plan verses doing that on the fly.

Lastly, there was a question on the New Patient Paperwork that said, “What would you like to accomplish on your consultation?” My response, “To inform Dr. Keller on my many, many layers and to use this as a jumping off point.” Armed with hope, no agenda and openness, off I went.

Enter Dr. Keller

Well, she did it. She threw me off my axis and I LOVED it! She advised me to get off of ALL, I repeat ALL of my supplements for 21 days (!!!). The supplements that I feel have kept me alive this long and help me sleep? She wants me off?! She said that a lot of the ingredients in my supplements could be causing some of my issues and triggering an immune system response. She also strongly suggested that I stop the helminthic therapy that I am doing. She had very compelling reasons for this due to the many layers of illnesses that I have including viral. Even though she suggested an extreme change in my world, I was game for it all. Guess what? We didn’t even talk SIBO! I suppose we have some weeds to get through before we get to that layer!

Recommended Testing

Her blood test recommendations: The recommended testing for my ‘environmental toxic load’ assessment H.E.R BASIC Panel: CBC, CMP, Cortisol AM, DHEA-s, Estradiol- total, Ferritin, FSH, Hemoglobin A1c, Homocysteine, IGF-1, Insulin- Fasting, LH, Progesterone, Sedimentation Rate, SHBG, Testosterone- total, Thyroxine (T4), Triiodothyronine (T3), TSH, Vitamin D3 (OH25). Thyroid Antibodies and Reverse T3, C-Reactive Protein, Vitamin D 1,25 Dihydroxy (Calcitrol), Calcium-Ionized, Parathyroid Hormone (PTH),  Bone Resorption Assessment Urine Test, IBSChek -This test measures antibodies that can be elevated due to a history of food poisoning and / or traveler’s diarrhea (cytolethal distending toxin B and vinculin). She also asked me to consider getting a Heidelberg Test done to help accurately identify the presence of any digestive disorders.

Her emotional recommendations: She suggested that I do free writing and tapping, which I will get into in my emotional and spiritual post for week one.

Her diet recommendation: She said to continue the way I am eating which is a version of AIP/Paleo for now. She encouraged me to head out to the grocery store and look around intuitively at food and see if I would be drawn to anything in particular.

Her educational resource recommendation: Dr. Keller asked me to consider reading Dr. Edward Lichten’s Textbook on Bio-Identical Hormones to further educate myself on the medical discoveries linking our health to balancing our natural bio-identical hormones. Given the association she has seen with environmental xenoestrogens influencing the bacteria, other microbes and hormones, she thought this would be beneficial tool to have in my arsenal.

Her recommendations moving forward: She suggested that depending on what I was comfortable with, to schedule a weekly or biweekly appointments in the initial four to eight weeks as I learn how to navigate my responses.

Her recommendation on finding the lowest cost pharmaceuticals: She recommended that I check out GoodRx if a pharmaceutical need arose to find the lowest price in my area. This is a great resource! It’s free and I totally love it and cannot believe I didn’t know about this sooner.

Beyond the logistics of our appointment, I left really in awe. I felt like she got me. She seemed to understand all this crazy “unicorn” deals with. I felt a great deal of compassion from her and that she would really be with me through all of this. I think that is so important for anyone dealing with chronic illnesses. We have so many layers and crazy things that pop up and to know that there is someone fighting for us in our corner is a BIG deal.

How My First Week Looked

The first three days off of my supplements went very well. I felt good enough to run errands, do stuff around the house, and I was sleeping fairly well at night. On the evening of the third day I started having some brain fog and my mind seemed to race.  I found myself feeling confused in moments. I could feel my adrenals start to lag. Yet all of these things weren’t dominating.

Day four is when things started to shift. I started having really loose stools that turned into diarrhea, sulfuric gas, nausea, and really bad lower back pain. Dr. Keller suggested I incorporate ox bile supplements with each meal. That helped with my digestion, but interfered with my sleep at night.

My adrenals started feeling depleted and the lower back pain got worse. I contacted Dr. Keller and she predicted this would be the case. She advised me to start a medication called Orapred to help with sleep and adrenal function, but she let me know that it may take three days before I could develop traction in that department. She also predicted that I would probably wake up at 4am for a few mornings.

Sure enough, she was right! As you can imagine waking up early after not sleeping very much at all took a toll. I was exhausted and brain fried! No matter how tired I felt, I could not sleep!

Then my digestion which initially got better while on the ox bile, took me on a little bit of a roller coaster ride. First it stopped the diarrhea, then it brought constipation, and then more diarrhea. So we had to work on determining the correct dosage for me.

Lastly, what I have realized on my journey is that whenever I go through a physical detox I also experience an emotional detox! Can you relate to this? I’ll touch more on this in my emotions and spirit week one post. But for now, just know that I was detoxing on all levels!

Dr. Keller made herself available during this time and it was such a relief that she was in my corner. Knowing that she had been down this road with other patients before and that she knows what she is doing has been huge! After having multiple doctors tell me I’m the 1% they just can’t figure out, it felt good to know I was in good hands.

I got most of the blood work done during that first week as well. Am I the only one that dreads fasting for blood work? Ugh! Fortunately, it was a quick and easy experience. Although it was recommended, I was not able to get the IBSChek Test, the Bone Resorption Urine Test or the Heidelberg Test done at this time. But it remains on my list.

Dr. Keller’s Expertise & Point Of View

The importance of a Supplement List by: Dr. Melanie Keller

The patients that I see tend to come to their first appointment with a long list of supplements they are currently taking. This can be for many reasons: self diagnosis and treatment via the internet, lack of communication with their physicians on what they are currently taking, following current trends, etc… This is why the ‘New Patient Paperwork’ I request asks for very detailed information about each supplement the patient is currently taking. I ask for the following:

1. Name of the Supplement & the Company name
2. List of ingredients & dosage
3. Why you are taking the supplement?
4. When you began taking the supplement?
5. Changes in dosing/frequency since you began the supplement?
6. If you currently take the supplement as directed?

After reviewing the answers and speaking with the patient during the appointment concerning health history, current symptoms, risk factors, physical examination, etc… I begin to deconstruct the supplement list.

I like to take the less is more approach when it comes to supplements. Not only is it more economically feasible for my patients, but many of the patients I see have compromised digestion and detoxification abilities, putting a further burden on the body when trying to heal. It is important to note that it takes 21 days for an antibody to dissipate so it may take time before the patient begins to feel an improvement after discontinuing certain supplements. And I can not stress enough how important follow-up with your physician is at this time. There may need to be modifications made and this should be done under the care and supervision of a professional.

For these reasons and more it is important to keep a current and comprehensive list of supplements and medications for your own record and for your physician too as they are human and can use the reminder 🙂 An up to date supplement and medication list will reduce the risk of you taking contraindicated medications, taking medications that are hindering your healing process, and it may help explain certain symptoms you are experiencing.

Please remember: results take time! Make sure you are following up with your physician regularly to check-in and make modifications as needed to continue on your journey to good health!

Week 1 DOWN!

It was a topsy turvy kind of week, but this is only the half of it. If you are interested to seeing how this looks on an emotional and spiritual level, please take a look at my Emotions & Spirit SIBO Week 1 post.

UPDATE: To continue reading my SIBO Journey, take a look at the next article in the series.

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Disclaimer

The medical information on this site is provided as an information resource only, and is not to be used or relied on for any diagnostic or treatment purposes. This information is not intended to be patient education, does not create any patient-physician relationship, and should not be used as a substitute for professional diagnosis and treatment.

Please consult your health care provider, or contact Dr. Melanie Keller at SIBO Solution! for an appointment, before making any healthcare decisions or for guidance about a specific medical condition. Dr. Melanie Keller of SIBO Solution! and Kacy Anacan of Sisters Undercover expressly disclaim responsibility, and shall have no liability, for any damages, loss, injury, or liability whatsoever suffered as a result of your reliance on the information contained in this site. Dr. Melanie Keller of SIBO Solution! and Kacy Anacan of Sisters Undercover does not endorse specifically any test, treatment, or procedure mentioned on the site.

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