Strengthen Your Gut Before and After an Endoscopy

My father was having some odd upper GI symptoms for a few months. Compared to the journey I had (severe Ulcerative Colitis), he had relatively a healthy gut for most of his life. So we knew something was up!

I looked into the mind-body component of course, and different supplements, but he had decided he really wanted to proceed with the recommended endoscopy procedure. For him, he wanted a baseline to know what the possible issue may be to then decide how to proceed with treatment. This was despite my protests, as I had read and knew very well the risks involved with these procedures after reading Jini’s What You Need To Know About Colonoscopy eBook.

Don’t get me wrong, I never shame anyone who decides to get testing! Often times a little bit of both western and natural medicine is good to understand root causes. But as I am a fan and firm believer of natural methods, I’m personally not a fan of those scopes. Still, I respected his decision and offered all the help I could give to support his GI system back post-procedure.

A few weeks before the endoscopy, my dad said to me, “what does Jini say about scope procedures?”

I sent him the eBook Jini had written on colonoscopies, which he was excited to read, but he wanted to know more about endoscopies. I knew the same guidelines she had written for a colonoscopy would apply to an endoscopy as well – with some modifications, of course. And in her book, she does touch on endoscopies slightly…but I decided to do some more research on it myself.

As I read through Jini’s information on that area of the body, I created an experimental protocol with my dad…

Before the endoscopy:

• Take Natren probiotic powders and swish them in the mouth multiple times a day leading up to the test – up to three times a day
• Georges Aloe Vera on an empty stomach during the day and at bedtime, as much as he felt comfortable with
• DGL tablets to help soothe and control his constant heartburn/GERD (plus licorice root is a mucosal healer to help prep for the test)

As Natren can be powerful (and I suggested he take bigger doses in prep for the endoscopy) he reported having a slight tingling in his stomach after taking it. But that was it! Everyone is different though, so start low and slow at first to make sure you don’t have any reaction.

After the endoscopy:

• Continue with high doses of Natren probiotics for at least 3 days
• Drinking as much Aloe Vera as possible – he could tolerate a lot with no bowel issues at all (that’s why Georges’s aloe vera is so great!)
• For any upper GI discomfort, he took the DGL tablets
• I had him drink a lot of bone broth! Again to soothe post-procedure and strengthen the tight junctures that make up our GI system.
• Post-procedure I also gave him Jini’s MucosaCalm. He took that on empty stomach, 1-3 capsules at a time. If swallowing is hard after this procedure, making this into a tea is another great option. Keep reading for my Mucosal Healing Tea recipe.
• He also decided to follow a fully liquid elemental diet for a few days after the endoscopy to further facilitate the healing of his GI tract.
• After things calmed down in his body and he started to heal from the procedure, I had him do a course of antipathogens (while continuing to supplement with Natren probiotics to replenish the good bacteria). Because if you read Jini’s Colonscopy eBook, you will know there’s a whole chapter on how colonoscopes cannot be sterilized. Yikes!! If you haven’t read this book, I REALLY recommend you do it to protect yourself and your family if the choice of a colonoscopy is on the table. If my dad did have any bacterial, fungal, or viral intake from the scope, I wanted to ensure all that was eliminated by implementing JIni’s Wild Oregano Protocol.
  **Note that immediately following the procedure, I personally didn’t think it was a good idea to start the wild oregano oil – as the body needed time to heal post-procedure. Of course, listen to what your own body needs!

And here is my Tea recipe for those who want to try it. It’s great to drink at bedtime to allow it to do it’s thing as you rest, but it can really be consumed anytime.

Mucosal Healing Tea Recipe:

• I first open up a MucosaCalm capsule into a cup of hot water (Not too hot – 98 degrees is preferable)
• *Optional: I add a small amount of organic honey. You can also use stevia if you prefer, or Jini’s favorite monk fruit sweetener.
• I then add in George’s Aloe Vera – about 1 oz of that.
• Finally, I add one dropper of Chaga tincture to the cup of tea.

My theory with all of this was we need to repopulate good bacteria back in as soon as possible and soothe/strengthen the area. That’s why I chose the above supplements that I knew could help with both of those concerns.

Another product that would be great for this is L-Glutamine! This and bone broth work similarly in that one of their many benefits is to strengthen the tight junctures that make up our stomach, intestines, etc. Read more about The Health Benefits of Bone Broths and grab Jini’s Healing Broths Recipe eBook for free.

When people have a leaky gut, usually their tight junctures are weak! And we certainly don’t want any kind of scope or biopsies to loosen those junctures, so this is why I wanted him to hit the ground running with all these supplements.

Before or after procedures like these, it also could be a great idea drink Jini’s Absorb Plus shakes like my dad did. These shakes also contain L Glutamine, and many other vitamins/supplements that can help to rebalance your gut. It also will give your system a “rest” which it may need after a significant procedure like this.

In addition to supplements, addressing mind/body healing is also super crucial. Lazer Tapping is really helpful because these tests can be scary for a lot of reasons – and the prep can be traumatizing. To help keep the nervous system balanced throughout, tapping can be your lifeline because as we know stress affects our bodies. And if you experience any trauma afterward, tap again!

I think this session by Jini on Guilt/Blame For Medical Issues could be enormously helpful after a scary procedure or diagnosis, as this could lead us to “blame” ourselves and our bodies. Another great one is Release Emotions in the Gut which works through any emotions that are trapped in our GI system. That alone may help relieve issues where a trapped emotion may be living. In this case, once released maybe you wouldn’t even need any procedures anyway!

And this healing meditation is awesome for any nerves you may have to help you sleep better the night before.

Following the results of his test, he decided to try any and all recommendations that I had based on my experience with GI issues. Jini’s home remedy page, Natural Remedies for Achalasia and Dysphagia, really helped a lot as well. He didn’t have that particular issue per se, but it reaffirmed what my gut had been saying – that he needed a cranial sacral/visceral manipulation treatment badly! He was having slow mobility in the stomach and a loose sphincter, which to me made perfect sense with his symptoms. And both could be helped by all these natural modalities.

This is why I was so glad I had him take all those mucosal healing agents and herbs (including bone broth) to strengthen the tight junctures, as the sphincter is a part of that. Supporting with these supplements in conjunction with manual manipulation helped bring him back into balance.

If you or a loved one are facing a procedure such as a colonoscopy or an endoscopy, I hope sharing my dad’s story with you today will help to guide you in making the best decision for you and your body – while supporting it along the way.

LTYG Team - Linsy

Linsy is Jini’s assistant. From a highly sensitive/reactive case of Ulcerative colitis, to completely drug and surgery-free using natural methods only, Linsy really understands first-hand the interplay of the mind/body/spirit in the healing journey.