Enzymes to help digest protein - Digestive Disorders Message Board

Audrey-B · 04-18-2008, 06:18 AM

I found out this week that my pancreas isn't producing any/sufficient enzymes to help digest protein in my diet. My doctor has put me on prescrption enzymes for this. He told me to take the enzymes 3 times per day "during" meals.

Is anybody else taking enzymes for this problem? and when do you take yours? Some places say to keep them in the fridge and others say it's best not to. Am wondering whether this condition fixes itself over time or whether it's a lifetime condition.

I have found out that as i haven't been getting sufficient protein due to this condition that this is likely the reason i have shed so much of my hair. This has been happening since 2001. It does grow, but sheds beyond what is normal. I'm hoping to see my hair get back to normal after a time so hope these enzymes work.

Would be interested in hearing what anybody has to say on this topic. Thanks in advance

russki1 · 04-18-2008, 05:42 PM

I read your other post "Many reasons for hair loss" and I belive I am going through a similar thing, I have been diag. with IDA and have low protein and am underweight. Brittle and flaky hair and white spots on my skin which could be related to liver. Also have a sluggish thyroid. I am taking digestive enzymes and eating bio-yogurt.

I am also taking some homeopathic medicine and a detox for the intestine and liver. I am 18 years old if it matters and have had this for atleast 3-4 years as I remeber, beginning in 9th grade. Only now it has become a serious concern.

Audrey-B · 04-18-2008, 11:10 PM

It is difficult knowing what precisley causes the way we feel and the symptoms etc. It's taken me years to get to the point i'm at now.

How did they diagnose you regarding the enzymes? Mine was via a stool analysis and they found out my pancreas wasn't doing it's job regarding protein digestion.

I told the doctor i had some enzymes i had purchased from the healthfood store and he said not to take those, that he would prescribe me something which is closes to the human form of enzyme and that it would work far better and be better for me.

You are very young at 18 to be having all these problems. How is your diet? sometimes diet is the culprit as a lot of people have a bad diet. My diet was excellent and healthy, not many processed foods, no fizzy drinks, chocolate was a treat, i didnt smoke or drink heavily. I believe all my problems are a combination of hereditary or stress related issues.

russki1 · 04-19-2008, 10:24 AM

My diet is good my parents cook very healthy and I rarely eat out. I went to a naturopath and bio-electric diagnosis which suggested around 10 reasons, the top reasons for the symptoms included IDA, zinc deficiency and vitamin b12 deficincy. The causes were speculated to be not enough good bacteria in the digestive tract because I was born unable to move my muscles so I had to take strong nerve drugs which killed my stomach and liver bacteria.

The speculation is I am simply not digesting properly (constipation) which could also be parasties, I am not taking iron supplements anymore but they boosted my iron from 5 to 21 in a month, and I took them for another month (no test) before dropping it as they are bad if you take them for too long.

I did around 3-4 stool tests and all came back negative. Also my liver portion of the bloodtest is at the top of the safe range. My thyroid was also said to have been a little sluggish I think it was like 3.2 in the .5-4.5 range, but I recently read that the new healthy range is .5-2.99.

How is your thyroid, Liver? Have you ever speculated you might have parasites? Constipation?

Audrey-B · 04-20-2008, 04:21 PM

Sounds like you have a good healthy diet then so it can't be dietary related. I would agree with you that it could be your digestion/stomach related.

My doctor always did a full iron study, B12, vitamin d, iodine, selenium, zinc and hormone study, plus full thyroid study (eg: TSH, T3, T4 and much later he did the thyroid antibodies test which showed me as having Hashimoto's thyroiditis). The figure you gave for your thyroid, was that your TSH figure? My TSH was only 2.70 and i had this Hashimoto's for who knows how long as doctors simply say your test results are find as they fell within the 'range'. Your thyroid can be out by just a bit and you can still have symptoms.

My ferretin had been down to an 8 and now i'd say it's over 61 (am getting new blood test results when next i see my doctor) My doctors goal was to get my ferretin up to 70 or over.

Have you been tested for a gluten intolerance/Celiacs? This too can cause malabsorbtion of vitamins and minerals. I did a blood test for that and i just got over the maximum range which was 15 and i got 18, but this can still cause problem despite the figures on my results. Some people get symptoms which others get no symptoms from a gluten intolerance.

The stool analysis i did showed no parasites, no yeast, nothing bad. The only problem i had was with my pancreatic enzymes not producing the ones to digest protein.

Do you know the name of the nerve drug you used to take? maybe if you look up the name on the net and see what people have to say for it. Sometimes years later medical authorities realise that a drug was bad and caused certain side effects. Some drugs are known to ruin the lining of the stomach.

All you can do is keep up with the research and either get repeat tests done or find new related things to get tested. The main thing is that you are looking into it and that you don't give up.