Aundria Riggen
Age 37
Along with our educational pieces, we will begin a segment of this newsletter that looks at cases
from real LX Medical patients. We are so proud of our team and the great outcomes we have
had over the years such as, returning people to health from bad cases of Covid-19, changing
individuals’ lives with profound weight loss, recovery from awful injuries, and palliative care at
the end of a life. We want to be there for our clients no matter what the severity or need, and
we have compiled countless case studies to share with you.
This first one we thought we would share is Aundria Riggen’s story, and why she believes so
deeply in gut health and its implications. The following case is told from her perspective:
My story starts just under a year ago when I had impetigo from one of my kids – a bacterial skin
infection that generally requires either topical antibiotics, or occasionally oral antibiotics. I made
a very poor choice being an hour plus from any pharmacy where I could get a topical antibiotic,
and instead started an oral antibiotic that I had with me.
After a few doses, I developed abdominal discomfort, cramping, and diarrhea. I have a long
standing history of food intolerances like gluten and dairy along with flares with stress (have a
little of that in my life!). I chalked these symptoms up to my usual gut dysfunction and the
antibiotic just adding some further disruption.
A few days later, my symptoms dramatically worsened, and on the morning of July 4th
developed shaking chills, confusion, and was very weak. I then developed a 103 fever which
caused Jim (my husband) to check my vitals. My blood pressure was 70/50 (very low), and my
heart rate was 130 (very fast). We chose to go to the ER thinking it’s just the flu and I’ll be sent
home after some routine labs.
The Emergency Room ended up diagnosing me with severe septic shock caused by C Diff
(clostridium difficile) – a gut related bacterial infection that if not treated swiftly, can cause
significant intestinal infection, dehydration, and like in my case, eventually sepsis – an infection
involving multiple systems in the body. In my case it caused acute kidney failure, pancolitis, and
lactic acidosis. I ended up being hospitalized for 7 days, transferred to the cardiac ICU from
complications that caused heart failure, bilateral pulmonary edema, pneumonia and acute
respiratory failure.
It all seems like a bad dream now. As of today everything is back to normal, I’m healthy and
lucky that I have had no long term damage to my kidneys, heart or lungs.
This month we are focusing on gut health. We know how important gut health and the
microbiome is, and my case highlights just how important! C diff is a bad kind of bacteria that
we don’t want overpopulating in our gut, but we can easily come into contact with this bacteria in
hospitals, or in the community. I’ve been exposed to a lot in my 15 years of medicine. While C
Diff lives in our gut, it generally doesn’t cause any symptoms as the good bacteria out populates
the bad. Unfortunately, antibiotics wipe out whatever infection/bacteria we are taking them for,
but also wipes out our good gut bacteria/microbiome, and allows opportunistic organisms like C
Diff (resistant to most typical antibiotics) an opportunity to grow, and then wreak havoc on the
digestive system and beyond. In my case, it’s impossible to know how long I’ve had it while it lay
dormant.
After my hospitalization, our phenomenal GI specialty physician – Dr. Ganz of MNGI – advised
several things: Avoid foods that you know you don’t tolerate. Avoid antibiotics at all costs. And
it was time to get my gut microbiome as diverse and healthy as possible – which included getting
my gut lining repaired and resilient. This was done using four products:
1) A very diverse prebiotic fiber blend – this proprietary blend was created by our very own
Dr Ganz to fuel the good bacteria, and starve out the bad bacteria. This fiber product
delivers super food to the good bacteria from the upper intestines, all the way to the
lower intestines, and is one of the most diverse products available on the market. It
helps with bloating, food intolerances, maintaining good cholesterol levels, and more –
and is exclusively available through LX medical.
2) A high count probiotic. There are several options out there, Dr Ganz really likes Kefir as
a low cost option for people who tolerate dairy well. Otherwise there are several great
products, we personally recommend OrthoMolecular’s probiotic product.
3) GI Mucosal Support. A blend of nutraceuticals and minerals that help stamp out
inflammation along the digestive track and helps the lining of the gut to be more resilient,
which helps cut down on digestive symptoms like bloating, diarrhea, and cramping.
4) BPC-157. A very potent repair peptide that also helps with decreasing inflammation,
and repairing tissues throughout the body, including the gut.
Our microbiome is critical to our health. The gut affects every system in the body including
hormone health, immune system health, brain health, skin health, and more. And it’s not just
the microbiome, it’s really important to protect our gut lining, as over 70% of our immune system
is housed there. Longevity is tied to gut health, keeping the lining in good repair is critical.
I have been on the above regimen for the last year, happy that I continue to test negative for C
Diff. My digestive system has never been in better shape, and I’m experiencing little to no
digestive symptoms like bloating and diarrhea, which I had dealt with my whole life and just
thought it was the way of life. I am generally feeling more energized and resilient during the
day.
Two major takeaways:
1) Only take antibiotics when absolutely necessary. We have them for a reason, but they come
with risks, especially at the gut level.
2) Make gut health a priority. It is so important for overall health, resilience, and longevity.

If you have any questions or would like to speak with our team about how we can help, you may contact us at 651-565-9633 or visit our contact us page to submit call back form.