I have IBD, Crohn's disease, and diverticulitis but am in remission for over 8 years after much lifestyle change, and a daily probiotic has played a significant part in that, based on my personal experience.
So inspiring to hear, Pauline! Just out of curiosity and if you are willing to share, what's your daily probiotic? I'm always curious to hear what works for people (even though I don't presume what works for one person will work for everyone).
I take a probiotic called Optibac. It's just one capsule daily. It works well for me, but as I said, along with other small lifestyle changes, Stress reduction, as we all know, is paramount to gut and brain health.
COVID-19 (March 2020) seems to have permanently changed my gut biome. Since then I have tried lots of different probiotics and a few different prebiotics. Nothing has changed (the prebiotics oddly made me even more constipated) except the money that’s dwindling in my bank account. This shite is not cheap.
After reading about an Italian study on COVID-19 which suggested that viral fragments invaded the normal gut cells in long haulers, my functional medicine doc tried the antibiotic protocol on me that the study used. For the two weeks I took the antibiotics in the summer of 2022, I had normal bowel movements. Once my course was finished, I went right back to the COVID constipation. It didn’t seem to worsen my issue, but it certainly didn’t make it better either. Now I’m on a gluten- and dairy-free diet, but nothing’s changed. I wonder if this is just my new gut now?
Fascinating, and also I'm so sorry to hear about the change. I also had a pretty fast switch into full-time constipation, and also had a two-week respite from it while I was on some crazy mix of (expensive) supplements, and it also reverted after I went off them. I am also gluten and dairy free now for a variety of reasons, mainly thyroid autoimmunity.
Personally, I don't like to think about it being "forever." The gut seems much too dynamic for this to be the permanent end state. However, I have been pretty convinced that changing a gut microbiome has to happen through lots of nudging, rather than one fell swoop, because of how resilient the current state is at any point. And what exactly to do to nudge it in the right direction is very unclear. But personally, I'm committed to trying even if it's super annoying and rarely works and is often expensive--for me that's the only way I can feel ok about it.
From everything I’ve read about the gut biome, I think you’re right. I guess 3.5 years for me just had me assuming “forever.” I will keep plugging away at it; no gluten, no dairy (which has helped my post-COVID eczema), limited sugar, tons of veggies, a bit of fruit, etc. Do let me know if you crack the code on your autoimmune constipation because I bet it’s similar to what I have going on. I’ll do the same.
This is so interesting Rae. I’ve only taken antibiotics once in my life and they definitely made me feel worse than the actual thing they were for. I’m sure they did upset by gut balance, but that could have been stress related at the time. I’d really avoid taken then again, unless it was essential.
We're in a weird moment where we understand the benefits of antibiotics and are just starting to be aware of the negative effects but don't fully understand them. In this context, it's really hard to evaluate the cost/benefit of taking antibiotics in many situations (though certainly some are black and white.) Sorry to hear you had that experience, and hopefully you won't have to make that call again anytime soon!
I’ve been listening to the Zoe podcast, and learning about the micro biome and am feeling totally won over by the idea. I really want to join their trial where you. Can have your gut biome measured, but I can’t afford it at the moment. They just did a really interesting episode about antibiotics and the gut bacteria and one of the experts (Tim Spectre) concluded that upping your increase of gut friendly foods like kimchi, kefir, etc after taking antibiotics could be as affective or more so, that taking probiotic supplements afterwards. They also said that some people are disposed to have a slower recovery. I hope I have remembered that all correctly. So interesting!! Thanks Rae!
I have IBD, Crohn's disease, and diverticulitis but am in remission for over 8 years after much lifestyle change, and a daily probiotic has played a significant part in that, based on my personal experience.
So inspiring to hear, Pauline! Just out of curiosity and if you are willing to share, what's your daily probiotic? I'm always curious to hear what works for people (even though I don't presume what works for one person will work for everyone).
I take a probiotic called Optibac. It's just one capsule daily. It works well for me, but as I said, along with other small lifestyle changes, Stress reduction, as we all know, is paramount to gut and brain health.
COVID-19 (March 2020) seems to have permanently changed my gut biome. Since then I have tried lots of different probiotics and a few different prebiotics. Nothing has changed (the prebiotics oddly made me even more constipated) except the money that’s dwindling in my bank account. This shite is not cheap.
After reading about an Italian study on COVID-19 which suggested that viral fragments invaded the normal gut cells in long haulers, my functional medicine doc tried the antibiotic protocol on me that the study used. For the two weeks I took the antibiotics in the summer of 2022, I had normal bowel movements. Once my course was finished, I went right back to the COVID constipation. It didn’t seem to worsen my issue, but it certainly didn’t make it better either. Now I’m on a gluten- and dairy-free diet, but nothing’s changed. I wonder if this is just my new gut now?
Fascinating, and also I'm so sorry to hear about the change. I also had a pretty fast switch into full-time constipation, and also had a two-week respite from it while I was on some crazy mix of (expensive) supplements, and it also reverted after I went off them. I am also gluten and dairy free now for a variety of reasons, mainly thyroid autoimmunity.
Personally, I don't like to think about it being "forever." The gut seems much too dynamic for this to be the permanent end state. However, I have been pretty convinced that changing a gut microbiome has to happen through lots of nudging, rather than one fell swoop, because of how resilient the current state is at any point. And what exactly to do to nudge it in the right direction is very unclear. But personally, I'm committed to trying even if it's super annoying and rarely works and is often expensive--for me that's the only way I can feel ok about it.
From everything I’ve read about the gut biome, I think you’re right. I guess 3.5 years for me just had me assuming “forever.” I will keep plugging away at it; no gluten, no dairy (which has helped my post-COVID eczema), limited sugar, tons of veggies, a bit of fruit, etc. Do let me know if you crack the code on your autoimmune constipation because I bet it’s similar to what I have going on. I’ll do the same.
This is so interesting Rae. I’ve only taken antibiotics once in my life and they definitely made me feel worse than the actual thing they were for. I’m sure they did upset by gut balance, but that could have been stress related at the time. I’d really avoid taken then again, unless it was essential.
We're in a weird moment where we understand the benefits of antibiotics and are just starting to be aware of the negative effects but don't fully understand them. In this context, it's really hard to evaluate the cost/benefit of taking antibiotics in many situations (though certainly some are black and white.) Sorry to hear you had that experience, and hopefully you won't have to make that call again anytime soon!
I’ve been listening to the Zoe podcast, and learning about the micro biome and am feeling totally won over by the idea. I really want to join their trial where you. Can have your gut biome measured, but I can’t afford it at the moment. They just did a really interesting episode about antibiotics and the gut bacteria and one of the experts (Tim Spectre) concluded that upping your increase of gut friendly foods like kimchi, kefir, etc after taking antibiotics could be as affective or more so, that taking probiotic supplements afterwards. They also said that some people are disposed to have a slower recovery. I hope I have remembered that all correctly. So interesting!! Thanks Rae!