Holistic Health Solutions for Enzyme Deficiency - Common Symptoms of Enzyme Deficiencies

My husband has been put on digestive enzymes due to terrible diarrhea, gas, and extensive weight loss. There are clear puddles of fat that float on top of the toilet water. The diarrhea has stopped after six months. The coloring of the stool is slowly going back to normal, but now he never feels like he can get enough food. He has lost 30 lbs. He is 5'8" and has gone from 175 lbs. to 141 lbs., which he cannot afford. It seems like when he has a high fat diet the puddles happen. Just last weekend we went to a all you can eat buffet and ate two big plate fulls of various foods. He walked away still hungry came home and ate two sandwiches and lost 4 more pounds. He never gains any weight. He just keeps on loosing weight. His bones are sticking out and he reminds me of a starving person, which I think he is. This has been going on since the first of the year. He has had lab tests and low enzymes were detected. The Doctor said they were not in the basement. He has had Cat Scans, MRI's, Nuclear Medicine tests and all they could find was that he was low in digestive enzymes. He has been taking them for six months, and he still has weight loss. The Dr. thinks that what possibly caused it was antibiotics for his ear infection. Why does it take so long for the enzymes to recover to normal, and why after all this time is he still loosing weight? I am frantic and now I have lost faith in the Dr. I have called my Dr. for a second opinion on this matter. Can you shed some light on this matter for me? Also, are there any diseases that have these same symptoms? I just fixed him a very large breakfast of oatmeal, buttermilk pancakes, 4 of them about 6" in diameter, ham, eggs, juice, and milk. He got up from the table and fixed himself two sandwiches. Help please, many thanks in advance.

Dear Karen, Your husband has a major symptom called Steatorrhea, which means that there is excessive fat in his stools, which is characterized by pale, foul smelling bulky stools. Steatorrhea is not a diagnosis, but rather, a symptom of an underlying cause or disease. Usually, these causes are lumped together under an umbrella term called "Malabsorption Syndromes" and as you can see, are characterized by excessive weight loss, abdominal bloating, gas, chronic diarrhea, and can result in severe vitamin and mineral deficiencies, including B12 deficiency, and muscle wasting, if allowed to continue for an advanced period of time. Some underlying causes of this condition could be due to: Chronic Pancreatitis, Pancreatic Insufficiency, Pancreatic Cancer, Celiac Disease, which is an allergy to gluten products, liver diseases such as Cirrhosis, Cholestasis, Bile Stasis or obstruction, Short Bowel Syndrome, caused by abdominal surgeries, Zolinger-Ellison Syndrome, bacterial or fungal overgrowth of the intestines, Pernicious Anemia, Cystic Fibrosis, Crohn's Disease, Addison's disease, or excessive alcohol intake. As you can see, merely taking digestive enzymes will not remedy the situation, if there is a deeper more serious defect and underlying problem. The finding of decreased digestive enzymes is the result of the underlying defect. Many of the above named diseases are difficult to uncover unless more extensive testing is involved. Is your doctor a Gastroenterologist specialist? If not, then it would be prudent to find a referral to a specialist who is familiar with GI problems, especially the complicated Malabsorption Syndromes. The focus should then be put upon performing gastrointestinal or GI tests, especially for the pancreas, Barium Contrast Series, intestinal x-rays, C-zylose Breath Test, or Schilling test etc. Good luck in seeking out the cause of your husband's problems.

Since I had pancreatitis about seven years ago, I have suffered from severe fluid retention in the morning around my eyes. I also have dentable fluid on my legs but no ankle swelling. I have put on loads of weight and dieting does not work. I have also developed chronic hives and angioedema and many allergies. I have found that if I eat a high fat diet with virtually no carbohydrates the fluid goes, and I lose some weight but after about six weeks the loss stops. The hives are made much worse by salicylates and I cannot take any herbal remedies. I am allergic to aspirin. Do you have any ideas on this matter. Thanks Linda.

Dear Linda, Pancreatitis is an inflammation of the pancreas. The pancreas normally secretes digestive enzymes which help to digest fats, proteins, and carbohydrates, and also releases insulin and glucagon, two hormones important for the processing of glucose or sugar from the foods ingested. Acute pancreatitis is a short term infection which occurs suddenly and usually resolves in a short period. Chronic pancreatitis does not resolve by itself, and usually results in a slow destruction of the pancreas, whereby the digestive enzymes become active inside the pancreas and begin to "digest" and destroy the pancreas. Serious complications can result from either acute or chronic pancreatitis, causing bleeding, tissue damage, and infections that may enter the bloodstream and may injure other organs, including the heart, lungs, and kidneys. Causes of pancreatitis include heredity, alcohol abuse or ingestion, and gall stones, so hopefully, you do not drink any form of alcohol and have been checked out for gall stones. Usually an abdominal ultrasound or sonogram and pancreatic function tests will be able to visualize if you have gall stones and will also visualize the extent and severity of your pancreas damage. Gall stones can cause inflammation of the pancreas, and when they are removed, then the pancreas will return to normal. It is very important that you have your pancreas rechecked and visualized with these tests so as to ascertain the extent of damage to your pancreas after all these years. Usually, with chronic pancreatitis, people lose weight even though maintaining the same appetite and diet. The impaired pancreas is unable to secret enough pancreatic enzymes to digest food, so nutrients are not absorbed normally and will cause poor digestion of your foods. The reason you have been able to lose weight with eating enormous amounts of fat is that the body is temporarily flushing out the water weight and dehydrating the body tissues, but then the water retention returns. It is not good to have a high fat, low carbohydrate diet when you have pancreas problems. As you can see, this was not long term way to lose your water retention nor weight. This type of diet can cause more problems for you in the long run and will only make matters worse. You also appear to have developed severe allergies and a case of hives, which is a manifestation of allergies. Food allergies occur because the large food protein molecules are unable to be broken down by the digestive system due to the lack of digestive enzymes, in this case, pancreatic enzymes. So, having been without any enzymes over all these years, has increased these problems. Your local Naturopathic doctor may be able to help you with your leaky gut syndrome and restore health to your digestive system after you have had extensive testing done by your Medical doctor. I would advise you to return to your doctor to obtain these diagnostic tests mentioned above to rule out kidney problems or damage, heart problems, gall bladder stones, and to visualize the pancreas to ascertain the extent of damage that has occurred. You may want to ask your doctor about supplementation with pancreatic enzymes if it is applicable. Good luck.

I am curious about enzyme deficiency. About twenty years ago, when I was sixteen, I was diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Ever since then I have tried to control it, but I never found any food triggers necessarily. Then ten years ago, I started getting heart palpitations, high blood pressure, severe edema after eating, especially high carbohydrate foods, very bad acne, cellulites, headaches that wouldn't go away with medication, severe and sudden nausea with cold sweats that would last about two hours then subside. All in all I felt very toxic. None of the tests done showed anything wrong. I have had all the workups looking for major disease but nothing was ever found. On a whim and totally not related to my symptoms, I decided to go on the Atkins diet to try to take off a few pounds. I was amazed at how great I felt. My acne cleared up, my blood pressure was normal, no more heart palpitations, no more Irritable Bowel Syndrome, everything was gone. I mentioned it to my doc and they couldn't figure it out. I did Atkins for a year and didn't really lose weight, and since the docs said it shouldn't be related to my symptoms, I went off of it. Well, the symptoms came back, but at least now I know how to control them. I have ruled out that it is carbohydrates in general, by elimination diets, and feel that it is sugar in general. I can go about three days of eating sugary items here and there before I notice the "build up" symptoms mentioned above that get progressively worse. I quit eating sugar and it takes about 3-4 days for my body to feel relatively normal again. I am at a loss and am really having a hard time understanding what this could be, or even what to ask the doctors about anymore. I at least have it under control but would sure like to know exactly what it is so I can know for sure what to avoid. I have a very hard time eating fruit too. Any thoughts are greatly appreciated. Thanks Laura

Dear Laura, Irritable Bowel Syndrome is a common digestive disorder which can occur in one out of every five American adults. Usually twice as many women than men have this condition. The signs and symptoms of this syndrome are extremely variable and may include abdominal cramping, gas and bloating, diarrhea and or constipation, and mucus in the stool, although these symptoms will vary in each individual in severity and in consistency. In most individuals, it can be controlled by diet, healthy lifestyle, and decreasing stress. Even though the exact causes are not known, most researchers believe that Irritable Bowel Syndrome or IBS involves the nerves which control the sensation and muscular contractions of the bowel. Because these nerves are more sensitive in people with IBS, sufferers can feel symptoms of pain or bloating when the bowel stretches and contracts with the passage of food through their system. Hormonal changes have been implicated in some women when their symptoms become worse during their menstrual cycle. Here is a good link which explains Irritable Bowel Syndrome in easy to understand terms > Digestive Information. It is interesting that you did not originally find correlated triggers with your problem, since common triggers include food such as milk, alcohol, chocolate, carbonated beverages, some fruit and vegetables, caffeine, sugar, and also chemical drugs, medications, and stress and even emotions. In your case, it appears that you do well with a diet that is low in carbohydrates and sugar, although a strict Atkins diet is not recommended for long term use. I realize that it is difficult, but it would be well to keep the sugar content, this includes all sugar, fruit sugar, milk sugar, honey, molasses, etc., low or non-existent in your diet if you want to continue to feel well. Also, it may be that since sugar is a severe trigger, you might want to further investigate if you have the condition called Polysystemic Candidaisis, or yeast overgrowth in your gastrointestinal system. Naturopathic doctors are knowledgeable on this subject and can test you for it using a blood antibody test, a questionnaire, and also a comprehensive stool analysis test. If you are found to have this condition, you will be put on a strict diet with supplemental enzymes and homeopathic remedies which are specific for this problem. You might also want to experiment with fiber in your diet and see if it helps or hinders your digestive problems and constipation or diarrhea. Elimination of high gas causing foods may also be necessary. If you want to experiment with using digestive enzymes, you might want to try a full spectrum enzyme with each meal, to see if this will help with your digestion, especially of the carbohydrates. A full spectrum digestive enzyme consists of HCL or hydrochloric acid, protease for digesting proteins, amylase for carbohydrates, and lipase for fats. Take the enzyme right after each meal or as directed on the bottle. Hopefully, you will find some relief and be able to eat carbohydrates in moderation after using a good digestive enzyme with your meals. Because this diagnosis of IBS is a syndrome, it can be a catch-all for any digestive disorder which is not clearly defined or where the cause is not found. Additional testing such as a colonoscopy, flexible sigmoidoscopy, CT or a computerized tomography scan, lactose intolerance tests, and food allergy testing may be needed to further assess the condition. In addition, you might seek out an Acupuncturist in your area, who will be able to lessen the severity of your symptoms and to balance your body's energy system. Acupuncture has a good track record for digestive problems. Good luck in your exploration into improving your health.

My father was recently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Creon is one of the medications he has to take daily with every meal. Is this similar to the enzyme supplement mentioned above and would my father benefit from these supplements?