HouseCall: Implants, Alcohol & SIBO, Crohns, Hormonal Acne, Vascular Headaches

Thank you for joining us for our 2nd Cabral HouseCall of the weekend!

I’m looking forward to sharing with you some of our community’s questions that have come in over the past few weeks…

Let’s get started!

Christa: Hi Dr Cabral, Thank you for this great podcast. I’ve been listening to daily since I heard you on another podcast about a month ago. I am 42 years old. 5′ 7″ 130 lb small-boned typical type A personality so primarily Vata. I was diagnosed with MS about 11 years ago. I immediately decided to start exercising and eating healthy to give my self a sense of control over a condition I was told I had no control over. I currently workout 5 days a week as well as walk daily and am starting to work yoga back into my routine. I eat a primarily plant-based diet. I gave up grains and dairy in 2017 when I decided to stop listening to my doctors who had me on prescriptions for migraines, fatigue, and bladder control on top of the Tecfidera for the MS. All my issues were blamed on MS but after changing my diet I successfully got off all but the Tecfidera. I still have some gut-based issues such as bloating, the occasional headache that comes along with flushing (a side effect of the Tecfidera??) I’d like to get off the Tecfidera and figure out what is causing the rest of my gut-based issues. I am wondering where to start. Since I had so much success with my recent diet changes I’ve been wanting to get a food sensitivity test done to see what else could be an issue. One more complication, I had breast implants done 6 months before my MS diagnosis. Not a single doctor has suggested a correlation but recently I’ve seen a lot of information that suggests this surgery could be the root cause of the MS. I plan on getting explant surgery in the next 12 months so I am not sure what I can do in the meantime and what I should wait to do after the surgery. Thank you for taking the time to read my long email. I appreciate any suggestions and advice you can give. Christa

Hill: Hi Dr. Cabral, Firstly, your podcast has seriously changed my life and I appreciate all your sage advice. My inquiry is regarding alcohol use & SIBO. I am 29 and My GI diagnosed me with SIBO after taking a breath test and I’ve since began the Candida Protocol. I was an athlete in High School & College and had to stick to a strict diet consisting of veggies, only fish, no sweets, and occasional starches. I’ve maintained this diet to present day. I was a pretty heavy drinker in my early 20s and continued to drink on the weekends up until my diagnosis with SIBO. Can alcohol use cause SIBO? And/or what is the relationship between alcohol use and SIBO? Thanks!

Katie: Can you talk about Crohns on a show? Specifically what are the best and worst foods to eat & why? My husband has had a terrible quality of life for the last 15 years or so when it comes to pain & flare-ups. He gave up on his medicine & medical doctor after coming to the understanding that what he was taking led to cancer (Cimzia) – he gets by with drinking ensure and naked juice as his main nutrition, toast or cream of wheat for breakfast and chicken with Mac n cheese or rice as dinner – this is his typical diet for about 6 years) He believes at this point in his journey that veggies will put him in the ER (he’s not tried it) and that milk is one of the only things he can tolerate. I think he needs re-education but I’m not sure where to send him (yes, I’ve tried getting him to listen to your podcast) thanks for any thoughts! I owe so much to you in my own personal health journey

Amber: Dr. Cabral Where to begin how grateful I am to have stumbled across your podcast about a year ago now! Since then I have been able to implement some of your protocols. Despite lifestyle changes I continue to suffer from cystic acne, with occasional headaches, and brain fog. I am 31 yr female, 5’9 160 lbs, I lift weights regularly with yoga & mobility work. I have had acne since about the age of 15. I have let my skin affect all aspects of my life, and have never felt comfortable in my own skin. I struggle with anxiety because of this. I wrote to you before and now again after I found out my dermatologist of 15 years was now retiring, and despite my many years of commitment to healing my skin naturally, and through my efforts to heal my skin through elimination diet, 21 day detox, and eliminating alcohol, caffeine, sugar and grains I still struggle with my skin. As a personal commitment to myself, I chose to take Accutane. In my last resort and desperation to live life without being at the mercy of how my face looks. I started this the beginning or December 2017, and not even a month in I am beginning to feel heavy pressure in my head, along with mild hair loss, and recently noticing some g.i. upset. Terrible pain in my stomach, clay reddish colored stool, and orange tinge urine. However, I am also just recovering from some stomach flu so I don’t know if this could even correlate with the Accutane. This is extremely concerning, going against my beliefs and values in treating your body holistically, I have resented myself and this decision. I would like to reach out to you one more time, in hopes for your recommendation on where to go from here? I believe my acne is mostly hormonal, I only break out on my face, my skin otherwise is beautiful. what alternative supplements beside DIM do you recommend? If acne is due to dirty blood, how do I begin? What is your input on the drug Accutane and its uses for acne? Despite my horrible side effects, I’m already noticing my skin clearing which is more frustrating. I’m intending on continuing the daily protocol, and loved the way I felt while on the 21 day! Also I believe I must have some food sensitivities, but I noticed more when I was fasting that my ears would become beet red, and become really warm lasting anywhere between 20-60 minutes! This also happens when I eat, I cannot correlate this to one food. However, is definitely happening more frequently. This reaction began before my course of Accutane. Thanks in advance for all the differences you make in peoples’ life’s each day, it’s truly amazing what you do! -Amber

Melissa: Hello, My name is Melisa and I am writing to you regarding my husband Nathan who had an injury 4 years ago & is still suffering ongoing headaches 2-4 times per week. We have sought medical advice from neurologist consultations on several occasions but have been unsuccessful in finding answers or a solution. Please find Nathan’s story below of injury and where he is at today. In 2012 we were living in Far North QLD and went for a holiday to Southern WA. Nathan was going out for a surf after 4 months of not surfing. After Nathan got out of the surf straight away he felt like he had an earache (nothing unusual had happened in the surf). We were having to fly in 3 days time & Nathan was concerned about the earache on the plane, so we decided to see a doctor. The doctor advised Nathan he had an earache & also mild conjunctivitis (his eye was a bit droopy and sticking) & prescribed medication for both of these issues. Nathan commenced the treatment. Three days later we flew home to Far North QLD. When we got home Nathan had a headache & the headache went on for 1 week before the left side of his face & head had a funny sensation & he felt congested in his nose. He decided to go to the doctor, the doctor also found Nathan’s left eye had dropped & his left pupil was unresponsive. We only have minor medical treatment where we lived so the doctor immediately put Nathan on a flight to Cairns. Upon arrival Nathan had scans & was told he had a dissected carotid artery. He was prescribed medication & advised to have another scan in 1 years time. Prior to the incident Nathan had also had a chiropractic appointment where his neck was manipulated. So we understand the incident was trauma caused by one of these two events. On the anniversary of the incident, Nathan had another scan & saw a Neurologist in Cairns. We were advised the scan showed the artery had completely healed & was back to normal & they were happy with how the artery looked. We advised the Dr, Nathan was still getting regular headaches (at least 2 per week) eye is still drooping when tired & occasionally getting a slight earache. The Dr advised to take medication to prevent/relief headaches & advised although the artery has healed perhaps the artery is irritated & is causing symptoms & internally could still require further time to heal & hopefully within time symptoms will stop. However, Nathan did not need any further scans or monitoring as artery had healed. 2 years later the headaches were still occurring 2-4 times per week. So Nathan decided to see another Neurologist to get another opinion. Unfortunately the Neurologist could not help and advised Nathan should not be getting headaches. Nathan then decided to try another avenue & booked in to see a Vascular surgeon. Again the surgeon was unable to help, but after further persistence the surgeon advised he would send Nathan’s latest 2015 MRI scan away to a radiologist who specialises in vascular imagery. A few months later we received a letter advising the radiologist had viewed Nathan’s scans and found an aneurysm on the opposite side to the original dissected artery also. Again this would need yearly scans to monitor them. After not receiving many answers from the medical industry, we decided as a family to change our lifestyle to see if this had an effect. Nathan stopped working to live a stress free / simply life. We also changed Nathan’s diet to be a whole foods plant-based diet & eliminated all coffee & alcohol. Nathan has been eating a high raw plant-based diet based for 3 years now in hopes this would help heal his arteries & reverse the aneurysm. Unfortunately his headaches are still the same to date 2-4 per week & he takes maxi-gesic & naproxen when they are at their worst (2-4 per week) I am writing to you, after listening to your podcast with Melissa Ambrosini which gave me with renewed hope that we need to keep searching for an answer. We live in Australia, I’m wondering if there is anyway to do testing with you to find the best way of eating for Nathan and a solution to his on-going debilitating headaches. Thank you, Kind regards, Melisa.

Thank you for tuning into this weekend’s Cabral HouseCalls and be sure to check back tomorrow for our Mindset & Motivation Monday show to get your week started off right!