Doctor's BESTPepZin GI, Zinc-L-Carnosine Complex, Non-GMO, Vegan, Gluten Free, Soy Free, Digestive Support, 120 Veggie Caps

Backstory first for context, method for improvement to follow. All supplements are Bold for convenience.Note: This is just my experience and should be taken as such. It could serve as a place to start or a place to continue with experimentation if you've already begun trying different things yourself.Backstory (feel free to skip to the 'method' portion if you've already been down this road before):I was diagnosed with SIBO about 7 years ago. Had a healthy diet, never smoked, no drugs, stayed away from NSAID's, barely ever drank, and it showed up overnight. Discovered the low FODMAP diet through my dietician a few years later and she identified my particular FODMAP that was the biggest issue (Fructans) for me and it changed my life. I also took a digestive enzyme (Digest Gold) and supplemented with a multi-vitamin, vitamin D, and Zinc. I also took a fiber supplement to help slow down digestion (Heather's Tummy Fiber) every day. These things, along with stress management, made me as normal as I could've hoped for relative to the time before having to deal with these issues. The daily bloating was pretty much always there, but given that BM's were regular, no pain, no fatigue, sleep was good, blood levels were good, etc. I figured I was doing fine for someone in my condition.I suddenly began having terrible GERD symptoms about 3 years ago out of nowhere and couldn't believe how bad it got so quickly. Horrible esophageal pain, indigestion, fatigue, you name it. I began supplementing with betaine HCl (Now Foods) and it was like a miracle. Within a week almost all pain was gone, fatigue went away immediately, could sleep through the night, everything improved. I was even able to ween myself off of them after about a year and was GERD free.Skip ahead to New Year's this year (6 1/2 months ago now) and got terribly sick from a party I attended. Tested for Covid and it was negative, but the symptoms were the same as the first time I had it last year so it could very well have been Covid again. Horrible fatigue, even passed out while walking at home at one point. Stomach became even more bloated than normal, food sat in my stomach forever and felt like concrete sitting in there, even got down to 2 meals a day. I figured it might be just my system taking its time to readjust after being so sick, but it didn't improve. Later in January I went through an incredibly stressful period of about 2 or 3 weeks which was the icing on the cake. Right after that (about mid February) I started having stomach pain in a way I haven't felt before. It was a burning that was consistent throughout the day, particularly (and curiously) mostly after drinking water usually about an hour or so after a meal. This also evolved into heartburn again. Symptoms included the usual: fatigue, upper abdominal (stomach) and esophageal pain, diarrhoea, etc... This is always scary and malnutrition becomes the first thing on my mind when anything like this happens, so I take it very seriously.I began supplementing with HCl again in an effort to mitigate the heartburn, not really knowing what the extra stomach pain was. I know that you're not supposed to take HCl if you have stomach ulcers, but never having dealt with that before and not having been tested for gastritis yet I didn't know what else to do. An important note to this is that they did in fact alleviate my heart burn, but didn't do anything for the stomach pain (no surprise). Once the heartburn was gone I gradually tapered off the HCl and relied on diet and supplements for the gastritis pain. The heartburn has not returned since.It's worth mentioning that I had a wonderful doctor, dietician, and Gastroenterologist a few years ago, but they have since all left their former jobs and started private practices. Good for them, but sucks for those of us who benefitted so much from their understanding and willingness to be open to alternative methods of medication that aren't just pharmaceuticals. I'm not interested in just going with what a doctor who just pushes drugs and has no actual experience or knowledge about an illness says at this point. Too many people suffer because of this kind of negligence and I'm disciplined enough to find methods that aren't pills that will most likely make me dependent on them or worse yet, make the initial condition worse (or give rise to a new one). I've had much success with different methods in the past and plan on continuing finding them when a new issue arises, even if it takes longer to find relief.About three months ago I decided to see my current doctor anyway since I wasn't sure how to deal with what I suspected was gastritis. We did a breath test for H. Pylori which came back negative, and other than confirming that she thought it sounded like Gastritis had nothing important to add. Nothing about diet, supplementation, or anything of the kind. Gave me a prescription for an H2 blocker which I have not touched since getting it and told me to set up an appointment with a GI doc to see about an endoscopy. I did set this up, but my initial consultation wasn't for another three months so I decided to do some research on my own and do what I always do: take action into my own hands and listen carefully to my body. That doctor's visit was back in March and the GI consultation just happened this past Friday (it's now June 19th).Method for improvement:Step 1: Diet-The first thing I did was adjust my diet again. I had heard red meat was a huge trigger for gastritis pain and sure enough, as soon as I cut it out I felt more relief. Chicken caused a little bit of an issue still but better than red meat, and I noticed fish like Salmon and Tilapia caused the least. Eggs were no issue at all. Raw nuts were good too. Certain fruits like blueberries, strawberries, kiwi's, were all good. Veggies like bell peppers and spinach were fine. I cut out grains like rice and quinoa because I felt as though I had more pain after eating those, so anything that even seemed like it could be a little bit of a trigger I cut out. Non-fat yogurt like Sigi's brand seemed to be okay too, and hard cheese like Gouda felt fine. I would have OWYN protein shakes with almond milk and peanut butter once a day too as it's a quick, easy way to get nutrients, and I noticed it didn't bother my stomach at all. I added some Manuka Honey into the rotation much more recently as well and actually felt a positive difference there too. All this, aside from the Honey (since I have to be careful with it anyway due to SIBO) was pretty much all I ate for 2 1/2 months.-As a side note about diet: I drink real loose leaf tea daily and was probably more reluctant to give up that ritual than any food. Particularly, I drink high quality Ripe Puerh tea almost daily which helps with digestion and calms my stomach. No additives, no herbs, just the tea leaves. I noticed that the thing that triggered my gastritis symptoms more than anything was drinking water after eating (I would usually wait about an hour to drink anything after a meal to give my stomach as much time to digest as I could), but this kind of tea not only didn't hurt, but it actually seemed to alleviate stomach pain after drinking it.In list form for convenience:-Eggs, Chicken, Fish, non-fat yogurt, hard cheeses-Spinach, bell peppers (steamed)-Blueberries, strawberries, kiwi-Raw nuts (walnuts, pecans), peanut butter (all natural if you can get it)-OWYN brand protein powder (Vanilla as chocolate can be triggering for gastritis)-Ripe Puerh tea (whole leaf only, not tea bag dust)Step 2: Supplementation-The first supplement I tried called Zinc L-carnosine (Doctor's Best). I had heard this helped heal the stomach lining and even showed efficacy in the eradication of H. Pylori overgrowth in some studies. Even though I didn't have an overgrowth of this kind (as far as the breath test was concerned) I figured I might as well try it. Within the first few days I noticed a change. The pain stomach pain was less intense throughout the day and I felt a had a little more energy.-The next was Mastic Gum (Horbaach). Of all the supplements I've tried this seemed to be the least noticeable as far as the difference it made is concerned, but I believe it helps for the following reason. I take two a day and, although my symptoms were steadily improving week to week the difference showed up most when I took three a day. My stomach pain was reduced to almost zero in the four days I tried three a day along with the Zinc L-carnosine. Unfortunately and curiously, even though my stomach pain was almost entirely gone, I experienced increasing bowel discomfort as well as irregular BM's. I cut it back down to two a day again and the discomfort went away, but the stomach pain increased slightly again. This seemed to suggest that three was optimal for my stomach, but less so for my bowels.-I also take a twice daily probiotic (H. Pylori fight from Supersmart). Again, not convinced this does too much but I did notice a bit more BM improvement after beginning this one.-More recently I started putting Colostrum (Happy Cow) in my protein shakes and have been astonished at the difference this has made in my bloating. I also feel like I'm digesting better and have more energy throughout the day.-It has been six months since I began having issues and just over three months since I began a more specific method of dealing with it and here's the most important thing I've learned so far: Strict consistency with diet and supplementation have been the biggest factors in improvement. Over the last month I have had a few glasses of wine on separate occasions with zero discomfort on 3 out of 4 of those occasions. I have added rice and quinoa back into my diet with no adverse effects. I even had a little beef two nights in a row and zero pain/discomfort. I sleep through the night every night now and have not woken up with any pain or discomfort for over a month. Every week is better.I expect to follow this regimen for at least a couple of more months, and will then slowly taper off supplements to see how I balance out.I've accepted that chronic health conditions are chronic precisely because Doctor's don't know what to do with them short of throwing pharmaceutical drugs or surgery at it and hoping for the best. If they knew how to cure them they wouldn't be chronic. Sure, there are people for whom those things can and do work for and some who have even had their lives saved because of their doctor's intervention, but these issues are complicated and individual and there are often no better resources than other people who have had their own experience with your condition. Yes, there are also people who don't have the patience or money to add supplements or dietary changes into their routine, but if you are able to it's worth giving a try. Please don't overuse supplements and be disciplined with diet once you find something that works for you. Yes, overnight results happen for some, but do not expect it. Be patient and follow it daily. Listen to what your body is telling you and adjust carefully based on this. I am not a woo-woo naturalist, I just have very little faith in the medical system to know what to do with chronic health conditions and accept, after having seen multiple doctor's, gastroenterologists, and dieticians (some wonderful and helpful, some not so much) over the years, that very few actually have the interest in finding out what's wrong with us and would rather throw a band-aid over a bullet hole because "that's just the method they use".Keep in mind this is only what has been working for me, not what will work for everyone. This stuff is miserable to deal with and can feel lonely, hopeless, and isolating. I'm not telling you it isn't. But if there's something you haven't tried or haven't tried for long enough to really know then try to keep an open mind. Good luck.UPDATE: About a month and a half after writing this and my diet has expanded again and I have next to zero discomfort or pain of any kind. I'm now down to 1 Mastic gum, 2 Zinc L-carnosine, and 2 H. Pylori Fight per day. The discipline for supplementation and diet has paid off it seems. I have to remain cautious, but I feel none of the worry and pain I did even at the time I wrote this original post.

I had acid reflux so bad I could not list all the problems it caused. I took Nexium for about a year until it wasn't enough and I went to 2 per day for several more years (and continued having symptoms of chronic gas and chronic nausea). My LES was (might still be) pretty much wide open and I was recommended for surgery but I felt it was crazy to have surgery when no Doctor could tell me what was causing the acid reflux in the first place! Acid reflux was making my life miserable. I sought out an Integrative Doctor and have taken several steps to rid myself of the reflux: sleeping on a wedge pillow, loosing weight, taking Yoga and exercising several times/wk, being tested for specific food allergies and avoiding certain foods, having genetic testing, changing my diet to limit processed foods and increase whole, organic foods, taking high level probiotics (50 - 80 billion) & taking several supplements to heal my intestines. I was also tested for heavy metals and underwent 24 IV chelation treatments (not for the faint of heart) because I had high levels of Lead and Mercury (among others) due to a genetic condition that keeps my body from being able to rid itself of toxins. I never could bring myself to do the GAPS diet but did add homemade bone broths and fermented vegetables to my diet. I tried the Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar treatment and it worked for about a month, then I had to quit because it was making my teeth more sensitive (had to have about 8 of them veneered because the acid from the reflux ate the enamel off). Keep in mind the above changes occurred over a period of almost 2 years. But, while all of the things I listed above helped relieve my symptoms, I never could get off the Nexium.The real irony is that Nexium keeps your body from absorbing B12 and B12 helps you rid your body of toxins. So the Nexium was like putting a band aid on a gaping wound. It was making everything worse for me.So, now to the review: Once I added this to my diet, I took if for a couple of months and was able to get down to 1 Nexium. I then took it for a couple of months and tried to come off the second Nexium. Just like when I took the ACV, it worked for about a month then my symptoms got worse. I called the Doctor to got back to 2 Nexium and (Thank God!) the prescription got hung up because insurance does not want to fill a 2/day prescription (runs around $1000). I had to just survive on OTC PPI's, DGL Licorice tablets and Gaviscon. I had one miserable week, then I noticed I started feeling better. I slowly weaned myself off those and now I am medication free (as far as acid reflux goes). I, honestly, can hardly believe it. I no longer have any acid reflux symptoms and have been medicine free for several months. The best part is that once I quit the Nexium my body became "regular" again. Nexium was adding to an already severe case of chronic constipation.I am not saying this product alone will rid you of your symptoms, but I can tell you that I literally tried everything and did not see real results until I used this product. I could probably write a book from all the information I have gathered from books & websites (and trial and error!) in my search to heal myself. I recommend, if anyone is plagued by the problems I have described, that you first find a Doctor that looks for the ROOT CAUSE of your problems and considers your diet part of your treatment. Then, be willing to spend the time and money that it takes to fully recover. Only a total lifestyle/mindset change helped me get better. And, believe me, I got lots of flak from family and friends when I started making these changes. But now they all are coming to me for advice because they see the profound change in my health.GOOD LUCK!Update: April 2015Still Nexium free!!! After this review, I continued to struggle with occasional constipation and nausea (nothing on the level of before) so I decided to try going Gluten Free. It appeared to be at the root of my troubles. The constipation almost ended over night and I am rarely nauseous. I don't know if it is the gluten or the types of food that are made from wheat, and I really don't care! I do think it is important to not just replace these foods with GF substitutes on a broad scale (many GF processed foods have a higher glycemic index). The occasional baked good is OK, but eating whole foods is so much better. Processed food is processed food, don't let the marketers fool you by saying things are healthy just because they used some healthy ingredients like quinoa, lentil, black bean, etc. If the label has more than 3 - 5 ingredients, just avoid it. I have "fallen off the wagon" on exercise a time or two and find that when I get back into working out 4 or 5 times a week, I just feel better and have more energy. I no longer take tons of supplements. I still take a high dose probiotic and I take digestive enzymes with meals. Other than that, I take OTC Methyl Guard Plus for my genetic condition (2 codes on the MTHFR gene) and zyrtec for allergies. However, my allergies are much less than they have ever been and I think it is probably because my intestines are healing. I hesitate to even share this, because it is just so weird, but another thing I have done that (to my surprise) makes me feel much better, is (brace yourself) weekly coffee enemas. It is something I had read about and avoided for years until my doctor encouraged me and I am glad I gave it a try. It is supposed to help detoxify your liver and mine had been overloaded due to my genetic deficiencies. I think they are like Drano for the intestines. I really feel more comfortable and energized on the day I do them. Hope the update helps.