HouseCall: Numbness, Rapid Weight Gain, Pregnancy Hormones, Detox Faster, Post Nasal Drip, High Bilirubin

Thank you for joining me this weekend on the Cabral HouseCalls!

I’m happy to have you and can’t wait to share our community’s questions with you now:

Jen: Hi Dr. Cabral I am experiencing Brain Fog, joint pain in my knees, some numbness in my arms when I am sleeping, lower back pain, bloating, fatigue to a point of unmotivated to do anything, especially after eating, and some constipation. I do sit at work a lot but I walk during my lunch hour and I try to do workout videos with weights during the week as well. What could all of this be a sign of and what can I do about it? Thank you, Jen

Lizbeth: Hi Dr. Cabral, Around march, I gained about 12 lbs out of nowhere. I went from 120 lbs to 132. and it seemed as if it had happened literally overnight. I am only 5’2″ so that is a huge change in my body. I have always kept a clean diet, with maybe a couple of cheat days. And I have always been extremely active, working out 5 to 6 days a week. So I sense something was wrong. At first, I didn’t notice the gain right away. I thought I was bloated (as usual). I have always been sort of constipated and suffered from bloating, so I thought it was one of my episodes. When I was 16, I was overmedicated, and it wiped out my intestinal flora. So I got used to some discomfort. Also, I had thought that all of this weight gained was due to the high stress I have had during the months before March since I had just gone through one of the most stressful times in my life (moved to the US, got married, and then my husband got deployed a few weeks after the wedding). However, my stomach was killing me. This time around the pain was 10x the usual. I am very glad that somehow I found you, after listening to your podcasts, I decided to do your detox only for a week. I figured the stress had filled my body with toxins and detox would be extremely helpful. I lost about 4 lbs, But then I noticed that I was very bloated and gassy especially in the mornings. In your FAQ you explained that this means that my digestive system is very weak so I started taking the enzyme to help my stomach. And then, I heard your podcast on h pylori and I had all the symptoms. I also listened to your podcast on how to seal a leaky gut, and I was wondering if this could be the reason on my change of weight. What steps do I follow? Once I start the healthy gut, is the intestinal cleanse the second part? And would I need the candida protocol? Thanks again for all the information you provide! You have no clue how much knowledge and helped I have gotten from your podcasts! Thank you doesn’t seem enough.

Leah: Hello. I believe I am in moderate adrenal fatigue and possibly low thyroid as well. I was about to get all of my blood work and tests done when I found out I am pregnant. The ND I was working with said to come back after the baby is born. Is there really no way to get answers before then? Should I just eat and act as if I am these things to be safe? I’ve read about links between low thyroid and issues with baby like Downs Syndrome, and I am worried about crashing really bad after baby is born. I really don’t want postpartum depression or even lower thyroid from all the stress. How do I go about this?

Gina: Hi! Thank you for your informative and refreshing podcasts! Took me a while to find podcasts actually worth listening to. So I quit smoking about a month ago and am finding so little information about the withdrawal period! It’s really frustrating understanding what’s going on with my body. For the most part, I feel good but I’m very lethargic, have a sore throat and chronic headaches. Is there any way to speed up the recovery period!? I REFUSE to relapse and go back to that awful habit so anything helps! Thank you so much!

Cristie: Dr. Cabral, Thank you once again for all that you do. I was wondering if you’ve done a podcast on postnasal drip, if so if you could direct me to those episodes that’d be great. If not, I have post nasal drip ALL of the time, it’s awful. I take Claritin with Sudafed to stop it, it only helps a little, but I’d really like to know the best treatment for it because I’d really like it to stop. Thank you again for being so amazing and helping the way you do!!

Anonymous: Dear Dr. Cabral, Thank you for sharing so much knowledge, I love listening to your podcasts every day on my way to work. My question is about high bilirubin levels. For the past 10 or so years, every time I do my annual blood tests, my bilirubin levels are elevated. I believe it’s called Gilbert’s Syndrome. It’s not high enough to cause concern according to my doctors, but I’m wondering what is the underlying issue that is causing my body to always have slightly higher levels of bilirubin? I don’t have my latest numbers for you, but previous tests showed: 2014 – total bilirubin: 28.8 (normal = <21) / Free Bilirubin: 20.7 (normal = 0-18) / Conjugated Bilirubin: 8.1 (normal = <5.00) 2010 – total bilirubin: 26 (normal = 0-20) 2009 – total bilirubin: 35 (normal = 0-20) 2008 – total bilirubin: 49 (normal = 0-20) Does this indicate a problem with my liver? I’m 37 years old, I hardly ever drink alcohol, I have the odd glass of wine with a meal, but that can be months apart. I don’t smoke, I don’t eat much meat, I hardly ever drink coffee. I’m sensitive to gluten and dairy, so avoid those foods. I start my day with warm lemon water, followed by herbal teas – I drink at least 2 liters of water every day. I also have a berry smoothie for breakfast. I eat a lot of fruit and regularly make carrot and ginger juice. I do at least 10 000 steps every day – I used to run 4 times a week but due to new working hours I only get to run 5-7 km once a week. I’m still trying to figure out when to fit regular exercise into my new schedule. I got my first amalgam fillings when I was about 6 and I had 6 amalgam fillings removed in 2014 by an holistic dentist. Although he didn’t offer intravenous vit. C during the treatment, he just told me to take high-strength vitamin C tablets before I come and I had to finish the bottle. I believe it was 1000 mg, 3 times a day. He also told me to take Selenium and Activated Charcoal until I finish the containers (not sure if they were 60 or 90 tables/capsules per bottle). But my high bilirubin was an issue before the amalgams came out in 2014. One of my doctors once said that I don’t have to worry about my elevated bilirubin until I have digestive issues. Lately, I’ve been feeling very bloated and my bowel movements are not as good as they used to be, so I went to the doctor for new tests and again it showed slightly high but he didn’t sound at all concerned, he said it was nothing serious and there was no suggestion to follow up with any other tests – he told me to have my levels re-checked in a year. I’ve also been having a dull ache/lightest of pains in my right side, just inside my right-side rib which I thought would be my liver. But my liver & kidney function came out normal – just my iron was low. Again, I don’t have the numbers, I will try to acquire a copy for my person records. I’m not sure if this is linked but I thought I should mention that my hair has gradually been thinning and my nails have been soft, brittle, and flaking for at least the past 5 years. Do you have any thoughts on this? Is there something you can suggest? I live in Europe so I’m not eligible to purchase and do your test kits. If you have any European-based recommendations on tests and products, that would be extremely useful. Thank you in advance for your time and assistance – and thank you for trying to make the world a healthier, happier place. God bless you & your family. Thank you very much.

Thank you again for tuning in and be sure to check back tomorrow with more questions from the community!