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Old Sun May 5, 2013, 04:42 AM
Lulu Lulu is offline
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Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: UK
Posts: 49
GVHD

Hi Tamara

Very sorry to hear about your mother, GVHD sounds absolutely awful. I do not have direct experience of it myself but have done a lot of research as I have MDS and gut problems, and trained in nutrition.

Firstly has she been tested for Bile Acid Malabsorption? This is a little acknowledged condition which is a factor in Chrohns, IBS, and can also be a complication of BMT
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/1...11.09014.x/pdf
http://bmb.oxfordjournals.org/content/92/1/79.full
It is potentially treatable with Bile Acid Sequestrants (drugs that bind the bile acids)

Also get her checked for pancreatic insufficiency. Again, this is treatable.
http://www.nature.com/bmt/journal/v2.../1702769a.html

People with gut problems particularly if BAM is involved are likely to be deficient in many vitamins particularly the fat soluble ones A,D,E,K.
(Also see the other thread about Vitamin K/D, which may be relevant)
Is she being seen by a dietician?
I don't know about the USA but here in the UK there is precious little attention given to nutrition by the medical profession. If she can eat herself, I would as a start get her off all gluten, lactose, and anything with high fructose corn syrup in it.

I would also start on some very strong probiotics.
These http://www.vsl3.com are the strongest you can get, but are prescription only in the USA. They have been proven to cut the mortality rate from infections like C-Diff, which is a major threat to BMT patients.

Good luck x
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