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Some gut bacteria appear to communicate with the brain

bbc.com

41–50 of 196 posts

Re: Some gut bacteria appear to communicate with the brain

#41
post #18

I have to wonder what the prevalence of psychedelics and antidepressants has done at a population level to change us. A Multidisciplinary Hypothesis about Serotonergic Psychedelics. Is it Possible that a Portion of Brain Serotonin Comes From the Gut? https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36137971/ Seeking the Psilocybiome: Psychedelics meet the microbiota-gut-brain axis https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S16…

Can't speak at the population level, but on a personal, anecdotal level I very reluctantly started taking an SSRI a few years ago and my life is substantially better. YMMV.

Re: Some gut bacteria appear to communicate with the brain

#42
post #7

In the last three years, something related to my gut-brain connection got fucked. I'm not sure if it was some kind of post-viral inflammation causing stress, or stress of isolation causing inflammation. But it's definitely a two way street and mine got completely stuck in a feedback loop. The mainstream medical system failed to help me. Eventually some functional medicine doctors managed to help me improve via diet,…

I got the opposite experience. I have IBD and recently started on some potent probiotics. Suddenly my energy and focus went up 1000%. So this is how regular people healthy live wow. I used to be lethargic all the time for 30+ years.

What probiotics?

Re: Some gut bacteria appear to communicate with the brain

#43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I got the opposite experience. I have IBD and recently started on some potent probiotics. Suddenly my energy and focus went up 1000%. So this is how regular people healthy live wow. I used to be lethargic all the time for 30+ years.

Putting this out there in case it may help others: My mother suffered from GERD for years and years and about two years ago, her condition seemed to have taken a turn for the worse. We’re talking waking up in the middle of the night projectile vomiting. Constant heartburn, burping and indigestion after meals and daily constipation. The doctors were completely unable to help except to recommend antacids and possibly P…

What are the side-effects for PPIs? I've been taking them for almost 2 decades for GERD without anything too specific coming up.

I check my B12 levels from time to time and they seem ok.

My hemoglobin is always a bit low and iron supplements don't seem to help.

What other things are common with long-term PPI use?

Re: Some gut bacteria appear to communicate with the brain

#44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I got the opposite experience. I have IBD and recently started on some potent probiotics. Suddenly my energy and focus went up 1000%. So this is how regular people healthy live wow. I used to be lethargic all the time for 30+ years.

What probiotics?

vsl3. i tried some others before (all given by doctor) and had massive diarrhea. i guess each person is different.

Re: Some gut bacteria appear to communicate with the brain

#45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Putting this out there in case it may help others: My mother suffered from GERD for years and years and about two years ago, her condition seemed to have taken a turn for the worse. We’re talking waking up in the middle of the night projectile vomiting. Constant heartburn, burping and indigestion after meals and daily constipation. The doctors were completely unable to help except to recommend antacids and possibly P…

What are the side-effects for PPIs? I've been taking them for almost 2 decades for GERD without anything too specific coming up. I check my B12 levels from time to time and they seem ok. My hemoglobin is always a bit low and iron supplements don't seem to help. What other things are common with long-term PPI use?

Lowering stomach acid can throttle calcium absorption so is linked to osteoporosis but i don’t know how common that is in practice.

Re: Some gut bacteria appear to communicate with the brain

#46
post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you ever done a hydrogen methane breath test? Curious if it could be SIBO-C.

This is a bit of a vent so apologies in advance but as someone who has been though the same thing OP has I have heard this suggestion from literally everyone. Even if you do the test and it's test results are accurate it's not 100% clear what to do with that information - it's mostly the same stuff OP would have or did already try.

It's common to take a 2 week course of something like Xifaxan (an antibiotic that works in the small intestine) after a positive SIBO test, which is not something you can do without a doctor/gastroenterologist prescribing it for you.

-- someone who tested positive for a hydrogen/methane breath test and just finished a 2 week course of Xifaxan

Re: Some gut bacteria appear to communicate with the brain

#47
post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which one was it? I’ve heard about Vsl-3 as being medical grade

That one exactly. Expensive as crap and hard to find in my country but it's priceless.

Edit: Do you take the one I linked, or this prescription grade extra strength? https://www.visbiome.com/collections/all/products/visbiome-e...

($6.2/day without insurance coverage)

-----

Thanks! For anyone in Canada or USA wondering, I just searched and apparently you can buy it online now. About $2 a day: https://www.visbiome.com/collections/all/products/visbiome-c...

I had looked years ago and found it hard to get. Going to check with my doctor, might be something prescribable, which would either make it covered by insurance or at the least a tax deductible health expense.

Here's the Canadian link: https://www.visbiome.ca/collections/all

Re: Some gut bacteria appear to communicate with the brain

#49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you're experiencing an improvement, great. It seems reasonable that your gut issues (if nothing else) could be improved by addressing the gut biome. Since you've had some luck with traditional medicines, I can share my $0.02 about the traditional system I'm somewhat familiar with. In traditional Indian folk medicine, the focus for practically everything seems to revolve around improving gut health. It's a common b…

> like avoiding certain vegetables I've never heard of this. Western medicine says "all the vegetables, all the time". What are some of the vegetables people told to avoid? Genuinely curious.

I have to plead ignorance on the specifics, since it's not something I've consulted myself, so unsure if it's a universal suggestion or whether each person gets tailor made recommendations - though I think it's the latter (based on conversations with people who did consult a traditional physician). Collectively, I've heard recommendations against tomatoes, eggplants, certain pulses common in the Indian diet, some leafy vegetables, okra, colocasia (leaves and tubers), and milk. At least in some cases, the dietary restrictions were supposed to last at least while they took the traditional medications.

Re: Some gut bacteria appear to communicate with the brain

#50
Humans need a lot of nutrients for brain operation, so it makes sense that we would have a sophisticated system for working with the gut flora and fauna to support them so that they can help us digest food effectively. If this is the case, in a sense we then we invite the gut inhabitants, and ask them what they want so they can help us. I think it's reaching a bit to describe this as 'gut bacteria control the brain'.
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