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Here's what's working for me

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18K views 10 replies 5 participants last post by  acureisoutthere  
M
#1 · (Edited)
I'm on disability from severe chronic fatigue and other related things. These probiotics & dietary changes help everything.

I used to have gas + constipation and I found that the [raw] paleo diet and 80/10/10rv diet were both helpful. FODMAP foods don't correlate at all with what I've found to be effective for me over the years.

In both cases white rice, watery fruits, and sweet potatoes were really good for me. Finding one food that doesn't trigger problems, and then slowly adding others 1 by 1 to see if they cause problems is what I've found to work well.

Then I took an antibiotic called xifaxan and I'm pretty sure it's what changed my problems from constipation to diarrhea.

After that I got help from these specific probiotic strains/combo: Found some effective probiotics from a webmd article - Guide to Probiotics - Human Microbiome

I've found that many/most multi-strain probiotics, yogurt/kefir, and homemade sauerkraut seem to have anti-constipation effects, while some specific single-strain probiotics are effective for anti-diarrhea.

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Then I took this Prescript-Assist spore-forming, soil-based probiotic and it fucked me bad: Check out this Amazon review of The most dangerous probiotic supplement I've ever taken. Literally gave me arthritis.

At one point I got instant results from this zero fiber, low carb diet: Instant results from a 0 fiber, low carb diet

At another point resistant starches seemed to be helping a lot: Boost your intake of resistant starch to help your gut thrive I'm eating 100% carb, 0 fat, 80% resistant starch (beans, lentils, raw oats).

At the moment I can't handle anything that triggers bile production (fat/protein), so I'm eating only fruit, white rice, leafy greens. And for a synbiotic effect I take culturelle with a meal that has mushrooms & onions. This is, or is pretty close to the 80/10/10 diet.

Cholestyramine allowed me to add fat back into my diet.

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2022 update:
I've been pursuing FMT since that seems like the only thing close to a complete solution. I've been trying to get the community involved for years, but people seem to prefer to wallow in their misery rather than strive for a treatment/cure.
I was finally able to find a high quality donor after screening more than 25,000 applicants, and I've gotten major improvements from FMT: High quality FMT donor results in major improvements for...
 
M
#4 · (Edited by Moderator)
Ah, what an oversight
happy.png
(EDIT: oh, nvm, I did link it in the OP)

http://www.ibsgroup.org/forums/topic/207833-found-some-effective-probiotics-from-a-webmd-article/

Align, Jarrow's S. Boulardii (unknown importance), brewer's yeast, culturelle, reuteri pearls. And immodium.

I've been doing a lot of trial and error because it seems like it's not as simple as simply taking them.

1. Taking them separately with each meal seems to be more affective than taking them all together with breakfast.

2. At least in my case it is vital that I eat a low fat, low protein, vegan diet in order to reduce bile production as much as possible. Because bile acts as a bactericide. (unknown importance)
 
R
#5 ·
MaximilianKohler said:
I used to have gas + constipation and I found that the paleo diet and 80/10/10 diet were effective for me.
Click to expand...
Wait -- are you saying that you found relief from constipation/gas on both a VLC diet (very low carb, i.e. most paleo), and on a HCLF diet (high carb, low fat)?

Very interesting. I've seen people experience GI relief from paleo, and many claim GI relief from 80/10/10, but I've never seen one individual who has actually found relief from both. How long were you following each diet? Xifaxan rendered these diets no longer useful?
 
M
#8 ·
Fruit based, but I add sweet potatoes, white rice, sticky rice, malt o meal, tapioca, and oatmeal. 2 meals of fruit, and then 2 meals consisting of one of those other things, per day.
 
A
#9 ·
Interesting. Have your ever checked out the FODMAP diet and what affect it might have ?

Reluctantly, I have to add that the antibiotic you took just may have worsened your problems. Read the side affects.

Antibiotics kill bacteria. The problem is we have thousands and thousands of good, helpful bacteria in our intestinal tract. When we take antibiotics for something we also affect these helpful bacterias. It's called the human microbiome.

Please, start learning about the human microbiome on Youtube and Google.

You most likely have an imbalance or disturbed microbiome in your GI tract. For some reason or another, your good, helpful bacteria have been displaced and some bad bacteria have taken their place, and are thus causing your problems.

So, if you really, really want to fix this please start learning about the human microbiome, and microbiome transplants. They work.

If you want to learn how I fixed my IBS, you can read here : http://www.ibsgroup.org/forums/topic/243081-i-recently-fixed-my-ibs-d-its-gone/

The PowerofPoop website is also very informative.
 
M
#10 ·
Yeah, I regret taking xifaxan, but I didn't know what affect it would have.

I have looked at the FODMAP, the food it lists don't correlate with my experiences.

I know about the microbiome and fecal transplants, which is why I experiemented and talked about, in this thread, the probiotics that have had big impacts for me.

The problem with fecal transplants for me is the lack of a donor.
 
A
#11 ·
I understand Maximillian,

Finding a donor is a challenge. I was very selective here. It took me a while to decide which person to ask. Eventually, I decided on a person I knew. Then, I took the time to really share my problems with them so they could understand how this was affecting my quality of life, and how much I was unhappy about it.

The next time I seen my potential donor I sat with them and explained the human microbiome. This is important as it helps them to understand what is trying to be accomplished. Only after I was confident that they really understood my problems, and really understood the human microbiome did I then ask them to be my donor. It was a quick 'yes'.

It helped that I knew my prospective donor a little, and their lifestyle, and potential exposure to parasites, etc. In the end it was an excellent choice : good psychological profile (important here), excellent health (no health issues what-so-ever), no antibiotic usage for a long time, healthy, normal bowel movements, and a good body mass index (don't want an overweight donor as you may become overweight after FMT).

The problem with probioitics is that they give only a temporary help at best. I tried many different probiotics and never got any lasting affect, which I really wanted badly. One day I read Dr. Barody state that "probioitcs do not attach to the intestinal wall". Well, that was it for me, I realized they were never going to give me the lasting relief I was after, only an FMT would do this. So, I got more serious about FMTs.

I hope this helps you on your journey, and you eventually find relief from your symptoms. I'll be glad to help if I can.
 
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