Hey there folks, I’m totally new to gut health and I recently came to know about the importance of it through an article i read online.

I’ve always had trouble figuring what to eat and with maintaining my weight (i’m obese now).

Couple of things I’ve recently learned to look at is glycemic index of foods and trying to build a diet around it.

Would a gut test let me know foods I must be eating ? Or is it just beneficial for people trying to finding solutions to specific disorders?

Also, what would be a really good place to conduct gut test in Canada? I’m based out in Toronto.

Can you drink beer after receiving FMTS or will it be detrimental to FMTs? My doc said something about yeast in the beer and that it will promote wrong bacteria to ferment/(grow I imagine?), but isn't a lot of beer pasteurised nowadays, hence without any bacteria/living yeast in it?

I'm not asking whether alcohol is healthy or not. It's a specific question whether it will set back/jeopardise the colonisation of FMTs in any major way.

Bought a viome test, turns out they don’t even give a list of the bacteria in ur gut, messages Thorne, turns out they don’t deliver to the UK, anybody know of any gut test in the UK or that deliver to the UK which are worth their cost.

Ideally I want a test that offers a complete breakdown of the bacteria in my gut aswell as the percentage they’re present in

35M, 187cm, 92kg

I tried all the diets. High fiber, low fiber, no fiber, meat and veggies, vegetarian, vegan, no dairy, zero surgar and carbs, no food...you name it.

History: Incomplete bowel movements, pain, indigestion, stuck gas, occasional brain fog and low energy.

Story:

Now, I went through this scenario this twice.

First I had strept troat. Doctor put me on antibiotics. (Augmentin)

For two weeks, for the first time in a decade, I had perfect stool, no gases, could digest what-ever-the-f I wanted. No problems, no pain, regular, felt most normal and energetic in as long as I remember.

Strep was gone and I got off antibiotics. My digestion became worse day by day, only to come back to how it was before a week later.

Then a tooth infection.

Again, I was put on antibiotics. (not sure which one)

Almost identical story! Became a normal human for a week once again.

It is becoming quite clear that this can't be a placebo, this has to do with gut flora. Antibiotics seem to alter whatever is controlling my digestion. But my question is - now what? What are my options here?

Antibiotics seem to be a cure for my condition. Can I take antibiotics for a longer period of time? Can I take them forever?

I am ready for anything!

I have suffered from histamine intolerance and SIBO for 3 years now. It has a tremendous impact on my quality of life. I have tried so many different strategies to get better, but never reached an acceptable level of wellbeing.
I decided to have FMTs and had 3 by now. I ended up feeling 90 % improvement for around 3 weeks. I just couldn't believe it. Then symptoms started to return and I am wondering if I should continue? Needless to say it costs me a fortune.
What are your experiences?

I did a nutraeval plasma test and one interesting result was 5-OH-indoleacetic Acid was at 22 (ref 3.8 - 12). It's a metabolite of serotonin. I am wondering if bacteria producing high levels of serotonin could play a role in the motility problems, fatigue and anhedonia I am struggling with. The cognitive and emotional issues I'm dealing with as a result of dysbiosis seem similar to SSRI side effects. Although I've read that serotonin produced in the gut doesn't pass the blood brain barrier.

35M, 187cm, 92kg

I tried all the diets. High fiber, low fiber, no fiber, meat and veggies, vegetarian, vegan, no dairy, no food...you name it.

It is all so mentally draining and life-altering that it's just a horrible way to live. I'm young and I'm fighting this thing non-stop, and just want to enjoy life!

History: Incomplete bowel movements, pain, indigestion, stuck gas, occasional brain fog and low energy.

Story:

Now, I went through this scenario this twice.

First I had strept troat. Doctor put me on antibiotics. (Augmentin)

For two weeks, for the first time in a decade, I had perfect stool, no gases, could digest what-ever-the-f I wanted. No problems, no pain, regular, felt most normal and energetic in as long as I remember.

Strep was gone and I got off antibiotics. My digestion became worse day by day, only to come back to how it was before a week later.

Then a tooth infection.

Again, I was put on antibiotics. (not sure which one)

Almost identical story! Became a normal human for a week once again.

It is becoming quite clear that this can't be a placebo, this has to do with gut flora. Antibiotics seem to alter whatever is controlling my digestion. But my question is - now what? What are my options here?

Antibiotics seem to be a cure for my condition. Can I take antibiotics for a longer period of time? Can I take them forever?

I am ready for anything!

Long story short, after two antibiotics I’ve acquired fructose and lactose malabsorption. Never had it before, used to be able to eat everything. Is there any information on the specific genus of bacteria that cause this? Or probiotics to cure this? Or has anyone cured this?

Bravo Probiotic Yogurt

I first read about Bravo Probiotics from Dr. Neil Nathan’s book Toxic. There are a few claims this probiotic makes and I’m curious to hear from any scientists or researchers as to what they think about their products and whether they believe their claims could be true.

https://www.bravo-probiotic-yogurt.com

• 300+ strains vs. high CFU of a small few that exist in conventional probiotic and yogurts
• GCMAF (Macrophage Activation Factor) that boosts immune cells and increases vitamin D absorption
• Increases absorption of calcium and other minerals
• Populates the human biome vs. just passing through

I am taking these probiotics as part of a protocol for dysbiosis and I want to know if any of these could be increasing my serotonin thus worsening my apathy and emotional numbness?

1.Biogaia Gastrus
L. reuteri ATCC PTA 6475
L. reuteri DSM 17938

2. Foods 4 Gut AZ1

L. Rhamnosus GG,
L. Paracasei,
L. Reuteri,
L. Casei, 
L. Plantarum,
L. Gasseri,
L. Salivarius,
B. Bifidum

3. Klaire Labs Saccharomyces Boulardii

I did a microbiome test a few weeks ago and need some help understanding my results. It says what I am lacking and don’t have any of is Lactobacillus and akkermansia (despite taking probiotics containing lactobacillus…) it also states that I have some bad bacteria called Ruminococcus torques. What should I make of this information as I am not feeling well… I have had some difficulties finding the right probiotics so understanding the results what kind of strains or type should I get? And how do I get rid of the bad bacteria?

I read somewhere that some people have taken either Osfortis or Gastrus from BioGaia and have had very positive affects, esp regarding testicle size. I was wondering if anyone else has taken the Gastrus kind and have seen the positive affects as far as male reproductive health is concerned? Or ANY positive effects? Most people say Osfortis is the way to go….

Two weeks before I was planning to do a gut test I was adviced to go of my probiotics (which I have been on consistently for the past eight months to relieve my gi-symptoms).

when I stopped, my symptoms came back stronger such as stomach pain, fatigue and I felt sick for a week but, after this first week without them, I started to feel better again and it felt like the body had started to get used to living without them.

When i got back on the probiotics after i did the tests my symptoms creeped up again and now after a week on them my symptoms have become a lot worse with pretty bad abdominal cramps, feeling sick and going to the toilet five times in one day (I have always only been able to go once per day) and these symptoms haven't subsided yet (a week later). Maybe should I wait a few more days (if that's how my stomach needs to adjust) or take a lower dose, or should I stop immediately? (I haven't had such strong symptoms in a very long time)

I had 90 days of doxicycline that ended about 1.5 months ago The reason I took doxicycline is because my acne flared up. My acne still has not improved 100%, which leads me to think it's a gut issue as I noticed I'm feeling more bloated and not having the best bowel movements

Did anyone else have this issue?

Noticing a strong chemical or maybe even ammonia sort of smell in my stool the past 3 days.

Any advise here would be appreciated or even if anyone else has experienced this before.

I’m just exhausted by this endless fight with my rapidly receding gums, I have severe gingivitis and my gums are in rough shape. I have gone through 3 dentists and 2 periodontists and nobody knows how to treat me, if anyone has any kind of miracle advice or insight to how to handle this I would appreciate it so much

Curious if anyone can recommend websites they had good experiences where I can use insurance or its low cost

I’m sick, basically. Supposedly an upper realities infection. I am also taking Pepcid/famotidine 40mg for my throat burning, but I really do not want to take this forever, and I don’t know if it’s the acid in my throat that spawned this flu like sickness I’m having. It’s not strep nor the flu as I’ve been tested for both today.

Recently I’ve been able to taste the stomach acid, this has never occurred before I started treating this, and my throat has been burning for over a year.

Is there som sort of hard reset I can do on my stomach, could my microbiota be imbalanced?

I was thinking of fasting for some days but as I my job involves thousands of steps each day, heavy lifting, crouching etc I just can’t bare to to do that without agony. I also might have never damage that the acid in my throat activates and causes my ears to ache and one side of my throat to burn. I think it might really be a stomach acid issue causing this as since I’ve taken the medication and I’ve been eating more, the other side of my throat started feeling the same way for the first time ever, and I could taste the stomach acid

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Does anyone have an idea what to mix with vodka if you are frutose intolerant?? Help!!

https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2022/4/21/seed-health/

These probiotics are personally the WORST I've ever used. The two capsule structure gave me severe pain, nausea, and vomiting. I didn't see any of the results I do when I use a probiotic that I know works like visibiome or some otc brands. Visibiome's released studies, plenty of patented strains have released studies.

To price gouge people and promise a clinical study backed by HARVARD and still not release the results of the study despite the study having been concluded for over a year is insane.

Where are the results??? The study is over.

As some of you know, humanmicrobes is currently being investigated by the FDA. Unfortunately many people have a poor impression of them. I am writing to give my honest experience with three of their donors.

I originally pursued FMT because I suffered from debilitating insomnia, constipation, histamine intolerance (itchiness after every meal), chronic fatigue, severe depression, and more. These symptoms primarily started after antibiotic use and a potato starch supplement I took.

Prior to humanmicrobes, I tried stool from a relative, steve baskin (a former member of this group), and microbioma. FMTs from my relative and steve baskin gave me temporary benefits but they did not last long.

After daily top down FMTs from microbioma, I began rapidly gaining weight. I was never someone who struggled with weight. I quickly ballooned up to 190lbs (at 5’11”) within several weeks, after hovering between 145-160lbs my entire life. It was uncontrollable despite monitoring my caloric intake, eating a strict whole food plant based diet, and doing the little exercise I could.

I was months from starting residency and I was in the worst health of my life and strongly considered giving up on my medical career. I began desperately seeking alternatives until humanmicrobes began offering stool. I started off with their UT1998 donor. With this donor, my insomnia improved, my mood was excellent, I was strangely much more social/outgoing, I was regular, but I still had bad histamine intolerance. Unfortunately, my symptom’s returned after 3 weeks. Shortly after, FL1997 became available. With this donor, I went from sleeping 2-3 hours with supplements to 6.5-7 hours on my own. My depression went away, I became regular, my histamine intolerance improved, and my weight went back to normal.

About a year later I tried their IA2010 donor. It helped in some ways temporarily but the effects wore off and my sleep got mildy worse (im sleeping about 6 hours a night now).

I am eternally grateful for the impact humanmicrobes had on my life and hope they may continue to impact other peoples lives.

Theres is a lot of hate towards them that I would like to address. I saw one customer complaining about a customer service dispute on reddit which became a huge issue. My personal experience with their customer service has been excellent. After purchasing from the IA2010 donor, there was an issue (it was my fault and I don’t think I should go into detail) that caused me lose my entire purchase. I was able to get a full replacement for 1/5th the price. I am extremely grateful for this.

For those of you who don’t know, the owner of humanmicrobes, Michael, created a wiki that has invaluable information relating to FMT. I, and many others, have saved so much time and headache learning from it.

They also don’t get enough credit about their transparency. They provide so much information about their donors and even recipient results. We know nothing about the donors at microbioma, taymount, etc.

There are suspicious accounts spreading hate about humanmicrobes and this is getting out of hand. This kind of drama is distracting us from our ultimate goal, regaining our health. Now that the FDA is involved we are at risk of losing our most promising source of FMT.

This post is not meant to praise humanmicrobes or bash any other company but to give my own personal experience with a company that is receiving a tremendous amount of hate.

Currently is taking Visbiome

Why could this be?

I starting 15 strain probiotics two days ago. I noticed some light tinnitus. I don't notice it as much in the morning, it's more in the night. I also had a very light headache as well. Are these symptoms that usually go away?

https://www.amazon.ca/Genuine-Health-Advanced-Probiotic-Delayed-release/dp/B01N6ZN305/ref=sr_1_5?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.g_nhACMoe4z4LsIO-FpzVkVjoY_DkvTsGFykXo_R10dbGtyGAFkmkgTDogzq_5szOy6z0rk20o3sZVj03oGQxMHE8-AgdopLa9BuP3zk4ZJwasmHC9zDPeu80JkBTTeIrj9ueo4oICC-AFlKuMmw3M-rGjUdRsuzcYnOcjWI_ea9V2JFI72gdeR7iNHQMF3l.yU9dfNEnNiceu7ZGs8MxwjXY5UmQDQg2rHln63Chhp8&dib_tag=se&keywords=Genuine%2BHealth%2BProbiotic%2BAdvanced%2BGut%2BHealth%2BExtra%2BStrength%2B50%2BBillion%2B60%2BVeggie%2BCaps&qid=1709660957&sr=8-5&th=1

This is the probiotic I took

I have sibo/imo ​and wanted to try probiotics before nuking my biome

I have severe sugar and carb intolerance. Even small amounts of fuit cause my dhiarea, i tolerate small amounts of carbs but everything over 50-100 grams cause me issues. Does this sound like SIBO or something else?

Both upset and impressed. 1 pill of JustThrive probiotics seemingly eliminated all the digestive upset issues I was having. Insane bloating relief, mood assistance, etc however I noticed some gradual joint pain throughout the day and now an increase in it. I am an active weight lifter but as this pain feels significantly different, like a crunchier, sharper joint pain. Its very different from my usual soreness. Not sure if its attributed to "die-off." I dont think is.

I imagine it will improve but I'm bummed I have to pick between joint pain or digestive help. Anybody have a similar experience?

been getting a lot of ingrown hairs recently and im not sure what happened. saw my derm and they prescribed me an antibiotic lotion to put in the affected area. while that's been going great, im a bit afraid that i'll develop other issues down the line after nuking my skin flora like this

so, any recs on serums, lotions, etc. with probiotics/healthy flora promoting ingredients?

At first I thought it was hypercalcemia, but after a while I realized it also matched the timing for when I started taking synbiotics (pre- and probiotics).

Has anyone else experienced anything similar? Let me know in the comments!

Here’s some information that I found:

Some individuals have reported experiencing brain fog and extreme thirst when using synbiotics (pre- and probiotics). Research suggests a potential link between probiotics, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), and symptoms like brain fogginess, gas, bloating, and abdominal pain.

In cases where patients demonstrated D-lactic acidosis, discontinuation of probiotics along with antibiotic use led to symptom resolution Additionally, studies have explored the gut-brain connection, indicating that probiotics may influence mental health conditions like depression by modulating neurotransmitters and brain function.

It's essential for individuals experiencing brain fog and extreme thirst on synbiotics to consult healthcare professionals for proper evaluation and guidance. Understanding the potential interactions between probiotics, gut health, and overall well-being is crucial in managing any adverse effects or symptoms related to probiotic use.

Credit: u/hclife88

How to restore gut health after taking metronidazole? I have just completed a course of 7 days on Metronidazole and want to restore my gut health before anything bad happens. Currently have no symptoms but I’m having trouble navigating all the misinformation.