Today on the Doug Stephan Show Feb. 24, 2009

Hello Everybody.....Good morning from the Doug Stephan show!!

I thought I would give you a sample of my email I get on a regular basis from one of my patients. She and her daughter live in California, but we treat them in Utah.

"Hi Dr. Stockwell,

My mom passed along your Digestion CD to me and I CRINGED when I heard you speak of the parents who are put their 3 week old babies on antacids, because I did just that.

 My daughter had such horrible projectile vomiting and was in so much pain that I felt that it was all I could do even though my gut told me it was bad news.  She was on Previcid from 6 weeks until 10 months of age.  Even then she seemed miserable - I could just tell her tummy hurt all the time  but if we ever tried to take her off of the meds she acted as though someone was torturing her.  I have Celiac and already had a limited diet but I also excluded all dairy, soy, chocolate..... all I could think of in hopes that I could eliminate whatever was bothering her from my breast milk.
I brought her in as a newborn to have you adjust her and all was well so I don't think it was structural.

ANYWAY... Here is am 3 years later with a little girl who is just a mess. After she went off Prevacid (sp) she went through a year of diarrhea and a severely bloated tummy. Her doctor (who is an amazing Osteopath down in San Diego where we live)  ordered a food allergy test thru (sp) great plains lab when she was 2.  It came back showing that she was basically allergic to all the foods she was eating at that time.  I switched her diet all around but then it seemed after a few months the new  foods were bothering her. We kept her on a gluten free diet for her first 3 years because of my history but she was still sick so I don't think that is the problem.  She eats very healthy but looks malnourished.  She has dark circles under her eyes, bumps all over  her arms, and although she is so skinny her tummy is so so bloated.  She has even grown a "ghost belly button" as we call it.  It is an indentation about her belly button that looks like a ghost finger is pushing in on her stomach.  Her BM's are almost always very large.  My mom is a ped. nurse and even she was very taken aback by the size.

She is severally allergic to oats so she cannot take catalyn unfortunately but I was hoping you could offer any advise!  I wish I could bring her in for a bioscan but we will not be in Utah until this summer and she is just so miserable.

FYI - She takes a probiotic from Nature's way and Green pastures cod liver oil

I know you are a busy guy - I really have learned so much by listening to your radio show and NUCCA has helped me in numerous areas.  Due to financial issues we are not able to take my daughter to her doctor as much as I would like and I was feeling so worried but your lecture seemed to just hit home. 

 I feel terrible that I was so ill-educated about this topic.  If you have the time I would so appreciate any help you can offer.  

Thank you so so much

J......"

My response to J....

I just read your email. You should thank the heavens you heard my radio
show and listened to my audio CD on digestion. You and your infant are
the all-too-common victim of medical ignorance and arrogance.

Giving an infant Prevacid at 6 weeks old is the most pathetic
thing imaginable (you give this digestion-destroying drug to your
infant and you can’t even spell the name of the drug – instinctively; I
think you can’t bear to look at the name on the label and spell it).

 Prevacid ($4billion in annual sales -2006) is a proton pump inhibitor, that blocks
stomach HCl production. It is obvious that you feels very guilty about this
and even though your child continues to suffer terribly, your own mother, a
pediatric nurse, and her doctor, a DO, haven’t got a clue.

Of course she is allergic to her food – she can’t digest it. You only become
allergic to proteins you don’t digest. Allergies don’t form against the amino acids,
which is what a protein becomes when digested.  Thanks, Prevacid.

Now the child is 3 years old and looks and feels like hell. That’s what 3
years of not absorbing proteins, fats, and micronutrients do. Let’s make it
simple: she’s hungry – that can be a symptom of starvation (my sardonic tone
stems from my dread of what the next generation will look like).
The chances are that if she had been given Lactic Acid Yeast Wafers as a
colicky infant, none of this would have happened. (Grind to a powder with
the back of a spoon and have the infant suckle it off a moistened finger.
Several times per day.)

What to do now, three years later and the situation growing worse?
Much worse, in fact.

Supplements:
1. Chewable Tuna Oil Omega 3 perles. 3 per day.
2. Zypan. 1 tablet with meals. Up to 4 per day.
3. Lactic Acid Yeast Wafers. Chew 1 wafer three times per day.
4. Zymex Wafers. Chew 1 wafer three times per day.
5. Calcium Lactate Powder. 1⁄2 tsp. in water or unsweetened juice twice per
day (between meals).
6. Whole Food Fiber (rice polish (bran), beet root, carrot root, apple
pectin, oat bran fiber – don’t be concerned about the oat bran fiber). 1
tsp. per day in water or unsweetened juice.

Dietary suggestions:
1. Plain yogurt. You can add raw honey. Add blueberries (organic).
2. Ripe organic fruit: apple, pears, blueberries, bananas.
3. Brown rice (organic)
4. Avocados (organic)
5. Salmon (wild), cod, tuna. Lightly grilled or broiled. Add fresh squeezed
lemon juice. Mix with brown rice.
6. Chicken (organic – free range).
7. Eggs (organic – local). Soft boiled or lightly scambled.
8. Buckwheat groats and cereal (gluten free). Ex: Arrowhead Mills Organic
Gluten Free Maple Buckwheat Flakes.  Ex: Arrowhead Mills Organic Buckwheat
Groats: When roasted, this grain is called "Kasha." Buckwheat is rich in
amino acids and considered the "heartiest" grain. If you can’t find these
locally, order them online. Even Amazon.com sells them. (by the way,
Arrowhead Mills was founded by Frank Ford, a close friend of Royal Lee).

The diet may not contain:
1. Sugar, high fructose corn syrup
2. Soy
3. Commercial grains and white flour
4. Pasteurized dairy, except yogurt
5. White rice
6. msg
7. Processed meats and nitrites
8. Synthetic vitamins
9. Soda and pop
10. Dried fruit (raisons), candy, pastries, artificial sweeteners

This is where you begin. She is only three years old and way behind where
she should be.  This program will get her balanced enough to where we can
begin to feed her starving endocrine system within a few months. Then we
will add products like Ferrofood, Trace Minerals B12, Iodine, Catalyn,
Bio-Dent, etc.

We are the only ones in her life who can help her....Good luck!

Hi Dr. Stockwell,
Thank you so much for taking the time to send me this information.  I am going to stick to this 100% and get this kid better. Her diet is already void of most of the "Dont's " but I will stick only to the foods listed on the dietary suggestions.
What signs should I look for to know she can start the Ferrofood, Trace Minerals etc....?
Is it ok to give the tuna omgs, yeast wafers, and zymex wafers at the same time?

I am going to make her an appointment with you in July when I come to UT to visit my mom and hopefully we will see some improvement by then.

Again, I really appreciate your help.  I don't know how you find all the hours in the day to do all that you do!!! 

Comments

[HMR]

Dr. Stockwell and J:

I found this web page during a search for information about prevacid and digestion. My son's story is the same story J just told you, except he has not been on a gluten-free diet. He is now 4 years old. His symptoms are the same as J mentioned in her child, except my son is exhibiting signs and symptoms of autism which are worsening as the months go by. He didn't look autistic a year ago. He is a wonderful eater but he is tiny, weak, uncoordinated, and developmentally delayed, and getting worse despite all the therapy he gets. We finally found a physician near-by who explained to us what prevacid may have done to our son. He has ordered thousands of dollars worth of tests and we expect to begin treatment of amino acids, fatty acids, yeast control, etc in the next week. My question is this: the recommendations you mentioned to J, Dr. Stockwell, can these be implemented at the same time or should we follow our new physician's treatment first?

You are right about the guilt. I gave my son that prevacid twice per day for 8 months, and every time I administered it, I felt proud that I was helping him digest his food and grow and thrive. The guilt I feel now fuels my motivation to fix the problems I caused my son.

I have taken it upon myself to warn as many parents as I can about the risks of acid controlling drugs. If I can prevent another family from living through what we have, perhaps I'll feel better.

HMR