[popotamonga]

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.

[user1029384756]

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 PPI medication which can have serious side-effects.

I put her on a prebiotic + probiotic diet (kaffir, yogurt, whole grains, dark leafy greens, etc) along with a basic probiotic supplement every night and now according to her, at least 95% of the symptoms have gone away. She’s able to sleep through the night now, better mood, better energy, better everything.

Not saying it will work for everyone, but it worked for her. I feel like so little is understood about the gut microbiome and modern medicine is letting people suffer needlessly.

Edit: just realized this sounds exactly like a paid infomercial lol

[lr4444lr]

Have you looked into sodium alginate supplements (with regard to reflux)? It's what got me back that last 5% you allude to after making all of the other lifestyle changes. An amazing product with no side effects. Also great for when regular life gets in the way of being able to adhere to the diet.

[selectodude]

I had all those symptoms and it turned out to be gallstones.

[fastball]

Do doctors not routinely recommend pre/probiotics to replenish gut microbiota these days? I've had multiple discussions with medical professionals that would indicate they are on board with the idea. To whit, I had to take strong oral antibiotics for a serious bacterial throat infection I had last year, and afterwards saw a significantly diminished ability to cope with spicy foods (I love spicy food). The doctor suggested probiotics and that seemed to help a lot.

Interestingly, the body of research around fermented foods (kefir [sic], yogurt, kimchi, etc) seems to show more robust benefits than probiotic supplements[1].

[1] https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(21)00754-6

[unsupp0rted]

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?

[rswail]

It would be interesting to know what her diet was like before you radically changed it.

In other words, changing to what appears to be a more healthy diet (fermented food, high fibre and high nutrient vegetables etc) might have worked with or without the probiotic side of things.

I definitely agree that the connection between our gut and our health/behavior is going to be a very fruitful area of reasearch over the next 5-10 years.

[voxl]

Any time GERD comes up diet is one of the very first things people are told about (by doctors) to reduce symptoms.

[ycombinete]

I think you mean Kefir. "Kaffir" is a racial slur in South Africa, derived from the Arabic "Kafir" for non-believer [0].

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaffir_(racial_term)

[aszantu]

you might want to supplement with gelatine to help rebuild anything that was damaged by the acid.

I was suffering from reflux, switched to mostly carnivore diet and only get heartburn now when I eat or drink the wrong things. Tea does that to me, or the occasional piece of bread.

Also Depression went away, haven't done any gut micro biota testing, because it's expensive and I'm not rich.

[geysersam]

Could you please point us to more information about this?

My girlfriend suffers from similar symptoms (but less severe).

[corobo]

Sounds less paid infomercial and a little closer to antivax from here if I'm honest.

Did she at least tell the doctor "hey no worries my kid fixed it"? What did they say?

[graeme]

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

[popotamonga]

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

[Tade0]

Recently, for the first time in my life, I took probiotics after a course of prescribed antibiotics.

I don't need coffee any more to function and I finally feel full after eating - strongly so even.

If it's really the probiotics, then I regret never taking them before - especially after antibiotics.

[shinryuu]

What was the probiotic you used?

[moneywoes]

What probiotics?

[popotamonga]

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