r/GutHealth

I cry almost daily because I can't eat normal foods anymore and on top of that the food I'm supposed to be eating now is causing me a lot of discomfort like pressure in my stomach so I can't eat more like 4 baby carrots of 5 tablespoons of yogurt with water or 4 cut cubes of zucchini without discomfort arising.. And just a week ago Im having some food particles get stuck to the back of my throat.. My mouth feels like it isn't producing enough saliva either(I'm a little over a week post h pylori treatment and had this issue since a week before I found out I had it)

I have had imo for 3 years. I also have pancreatic insufficiency. I take creon for that Ive had 2 colonoscopies 2 endoscopy gastric emptying study and a gall bladder study. Ive tried 4 different rounds of xifaxin and neomycin. The last time did absolutely nothing. I feel light headed have brain fog im belching loudly all day long. Every round of antibiotics made me feel worse. I had a 4 month ease of symptoms by taking antrantil w spore probiotics then it stopped working. Ive tried motegrity it gave me insomnia and headaches. I cant take the side effects i just ordered silver fern motility. Hoping it helps im starting hu58 and mega door probiotic im hoping it may help. My gi from stanford hasnt been very helpful. Just keeps prescribing xifacin and neomycin. I cant do those anymore. What should i do? How do i get my life back? Thank you for your help!

Hi. First-time poster here...

Looking for ideas to get back to a healthy weight and fix gut microbes due to Valium withdrawal.

40F, 5’4, normally 110lbs, currently at 91lbs.

I've had an extremely difficult time tapering off Valium. Since January, Benzo Belly has me in a chokehold. Lowest weight was 84lbs, and I just crawled back to 91lbs, but I plateau here. I have zero appetite; food is extremely nauseating. I push myself to eat, but it doesn't stick. I understand I have to incorporate building muscle, but my body feels fragile, and scared to push anything too hard. Benzo withdrawal is basically a central nervous system injury, so little things can send people into waves of symptoms.

Are there any peptides or protocols that have worked for folks in my position?

I'm less interested in nootropic and supplement recommendations unless it's something unique or very specific to these issues, as I've already pillaged every sub for them.

I've researched:
- BPC-157 oral for gut repair (I worry it has the potential to cause meds not to work, but still interested)
- Cerebrolysin
- Cortexin
- FMT therapy (disturbing, but interesting)
- Hyperbaric oxygen therapy
- High-dose melatonin sublingual
- Amanita muscaria microdose
- Ibogaine microdose (already done 2 floods)
- Mulungu Tea from Brazil
- Milky Oats

My current dose is 1.5mg Valium once at night, and I plan to hold it until I figure this out.

The key to recovery is getting my gut to function so I can gain weight; then I'll feel more comfortable working out. I appreciate your time and any suggestions!! 🙏🏼

Hello, i’ve been having constant stomach issues for 3 months now. It started as a thing that comes and goes, but now my stomach is constantly acting up. In the past, i would have episodes of stomach pain, usually after events like new year’s easter, family gatherings, but i had this happen once without going somewhere, just staying at home. It’s an upper stomach pain that ruins 3 days for me. And then my stomach area goes sore, then goes away after 2-3 days. Recently in late july i was at the gym, and i was working out, and it was going well, and after i had done my last exercise, my heart didnt slow down and was just beating fast. This scared me, i was shaky, nauseous, i was thinking of calling an ambulance because i was feeling so unwell. But gor back home, and i had intense cramping in my gut so i went and had a bowel movement, and the pain subsided, but my heart was still beating faster than usual. I laid down to try and sleep, and i was having these whole body shakes periodically 4 or 5 times. After about 30 minutes everything went back to fully normal. But this was the start of my gut issues. Since then, i fluctuate, feeling well, feeling unwell, having a lot of gas sometimes, sometimes not, i have inconsistent stool, ranging from constipation to diarrhea, sometimes when my stomach is bad, and i stand up from sitting or laying down, i almost pass out from a drop in blood pressure, and had palpitations/fluttering from my stomach problems, i think mostly from the gas, and when my stomach is bad, i sometimes feel an upward pressure in the stomach area, and it makes me want to take shallow breaths, my heart starts beating fast but “shallow or light” beats, and this faster heart beating subsides or get’s better if i lay or sit down. Also this upwards pressure too. It has been affecting me mentally and physically since i lost 4 kg’s of weight, and i stopped going to the gym because i am constantly fluctuating between feeling okay, and feeling bad. So i went and did some tests:

- had a stomach ultra sound, everything was okay.

- had general bloodwork, everything was in the right range.

- had a nutritive panel and celiac test, it was all negative.

- had H. Pylori test, it was negative.

- been to a gastroenterologist, which said i should take out lactose and limit milk protein, which i do since 08. 14. And to take a celiac blood test, which i did and it’s negative. Will report back to the gastroenterologist, and tell her all that’s said here.

- keep a food log of everything i eat, and write up when i have symptoms.

- dont have any specific triggers, except for one. And that’s vegan cereal which consists of rolled oats and strawberry. This makes me have a lot of gas, and frequent, or maybe quick bowel movements, multiple, usually 3 the day after eating.

- dont have acid reflux, though i once woke up to feeling unwell, gagged 3 times, and then everything went back to normal, i put a pillow under my head and went back to sleep.

I will maybe take a SIBO test in the future, and see if that’s that. I will report back to my gastroenterologist with my findings, and see what she has to say. Im posting here to find out if anyone else has or had these symptoms, and if anyone got a diagnosis from a problem similar to this. Any help is really appreciated, because i feel sad that everyone else around me is going out feeling good, going to the gym, living their lives and only have to worry about goals and money etc. while i cant really think of goals and go out and eat and have fun, because im not okay physically and that makes me not okay mentally. Thank you for reading all this.

I started to have symptoms of silent reflux in Feb 2024 and had extremely limited diet because of it. Still have them till this day, never found out what is causing them despite going to many doctors. Found out from testing that I had inactive mild chronic gastritis. I was prescribed two different PPIs for 2 months, which made reflux even worse. I suddenly developed SIBO symptoms that were causing weight loss, bloating and many other issues. Finally after a year was prescribed Rifaximine to treat SIBO in March 2025 , but didn't feel better. Suddenly got sick in May and was prescribed Augmentin. My SIBO symptoms were gone after that and I tested negative for it in June 2025. In August I got sick again (which was very unusual for me) and was prescribed Augmentin again. Late August I noticed stomach cramps and sudden sensitivity to supplements. 3 weeks after finishing Augmentin got sick again and was prescribed Suprax (completely new antibiotics for me). Found out that it was mild Covid. 12 days after finishing Suprax and covid symptoms ending - extreme health problems started (both physical and mental-irrational fears, it was from zero to hundred) . I found so many deficiencies and mineral imbalances that I'm still dealing with till this day. I started to have extremely sensitive stomach, started repeatedly reacting to more supplements (that I used to take without any problems back in 2023) with sudden nausea, gagging, stabbing pain, zero appetite..For which I was prescribed another PPIs for one month. I get nauseous SO easily and always feel full - even before eating anything. I recently contacted new clinic that is specialized in Gut microbiome and I'm currently waiting for appointment, but I was wondering if this was enough to alter my gut..I always thought that you have to have constant stomach pain to have stomach issues but I'm not so sure anymore.

30F here. I suffer from constipation and I’ve been taking a stool softener and probiotic for a month. For the past 3 days, I’ve had a dull, centered lower abdominal/pelvic heaviness with intermittent sharp pain that lasts only about 3–5 seconds, usually immediately before I pass gas. The pain eases after the gas passes.

On day 2, I had a good, easy bowel movement and felt like I had completely emptied and that all the trapped gas was gone, so I thought the episode was temporary. However, the symptoms returned today. Simethicone 80 mg has noticeably helped but it’s temporary. The pelvic heaviness and the gas pains have returned.

I’m still passing gas and don’t feel constipated at the moment. I have no fever, vomiting, blood in my urine/stool, or burning while urinating, although I feel like my bladder feels fuller relatively earlier. I’ve never experienced gas pain quite like this before.
Has anyone experienced something similar? Did it turn out to be temporary, or did it keep recurring? The pains are very random and intense for the short duration that they last.

Could I have SIBO?
63M here all my life I have had anxiety and the anxiety can bring on excruciating painful cramps and diarrhea.
Most of my life I have had daily bowel movements but recently when I go it is a struggle to go and I do not feel like I cleaned out my bowel’s .
I feel sluggish bloated and uncomfortable.
Then sometimes like tonight I finally had the horrible bad cramps that had me back to the toilet 5 or 6 times. The cramps were on and off for 1.5 hours .
I feel relief from the diarrhea and now the bloated feeling has subsided, and I feel cleaned out.
What can I do to feel like this with out the severe cramps. These cramps are so bad I felt like calling 911.
I just had this all happen tonight right now but feel so relieved after this fight with cramps.
Is there any medication that can help? I much prefer the diarrhea because I feel empty and now a little weak but at least I don’t feel like there’s poop stuck inside me.
FYI this is unusual for me most of my life I have been pretty regular and being constipated has been going on for about 6 weeks on and off. And I don’t know why.
Any advice on what to do? I am seeing my pcp in 2 weeks and will discuss it with him.Also, everything looks normal no blood or mucus just constipation and then the horrible severe cramps followed by relief. Oh, occasionally after these bad cramps and diarrhea I get rigors and there really bad.
I do drink water little by little following these cramps so I don’t dehydrate.
This is so unsettling and uncomfortable as I am not used to being constipated.
Tomorrow should be a good day as everything is out now and I can reset.
But how can I keep from getting constipated again?
I drink a lot of water every day. I’d say close to a 2-liter bottle throughout the day and some fruit juice.

So I am 43, and I have IBS. I have bloating issues whenever I eat particular foods. I have identified them and are aware of them, but once in a while, even water seems to cause bloating issues. I don't know if you have been there, but please help me with a routine.

I know kombucha, kefir, greek yogurt are great.

I know protein is required for my health. Chicken, fish, shrimp all helps.

I have to take protein powder along with fruits to help increase my protein intake.

I know fiber is required.

So all these information is there on the net. But how do you guys cure your gut health?

Did you take kefir everyday in breakfast?

Did you have to take less quantity of protein or protein powder that helped?

Did spicy food or paprika cause bloating for you? If so did you avoid it entirely?

What's your routine like?

Whatever advice you could give me, please share!

for the past week ive been feeling this pit in my stomach like i eat something bland or something small and i feel just waves of nausea and its been a week and i been having acid reflux too. nothing really triggered this like it just happened one day and then it hasnt left. i dont know when i should go see a doctor either. one friend said indigestion, one friend said food poisoning and someone else said stress. i dont know what to do cuz i have not been eating that well

I’ve (21F) struggled with these things on an off my whole life. I got on birth control a few months ago to help with heavy periods, but it hasn’t helped any of the above issues at all. I always feel like my face is puffy and I bloat after every meal. I also struggle with constipation and smelly gas. I know this is likely a gut issue, so I’m wondering if people have dealt with this combination of things before and what ended up helping. I think stress might play a factor (I work in consulting), but I’m also on lexapro and I have a pretty good de-stress routine. I’m also lactose intolerant and avoid lactose almost all of the time. Any help would be appreciated!

Male 25yo,live active life,gym 2-3x time a week,doing active job,but somehow gain in 10kg in last 1.5-2 month(approximately have connsumatory anhedonia since that time).

Before connsumatory anhedonia, my weight was 84 and I couldn't move it.Even when I overeat almost evryday.

Now with anhedonia my hunger decrease dramatically,i started eat clean but I gain weight and it seem not muscle but mainly fat.

Stomach bloating,I can wake up with seemingly normal stomach but after small portion of food, it's swelling up.Before I riche that point when I overeat like X2 of normal portion.

Does someone experience something similar?

Can it be related to anhedonia or nerve system/stomach problem?

I’m 21M and wanted to share my experience with progressively worsening GI symptoms over the last two years. I’m currently pursuing further medical evaluation, so I’m not looking for a diagnosis or individualized medical advice here. I’m mainly interested in whether others have experienced a similar pattern, what they eventually found, and what their experience was like.

Before all of this

My stomach wasn’t always like this.

Earlier in my life I did have issues with heartburn/acid reflux and used to take heartburn medication. I also previously took SSRIs for anxiety, but I’m no longer taking them.

Despite that history, I used to eat a pretty normal diet and live normally without constantly thinking about my stomach. I could go out, travel, eat different foods, drink occasionally, etc.

Over roughly the last 2 years, my entire GI baseline has changed and things have progressively gotten worse.

What I experience now

My main symptoms are frequent loose stools/diarrhea, severe urgency, abdominal cramping, bloating, lots of gurgling, and an almost acidic/sloshy sensation in my stomach/abdomen.

Mornings tend to be the worst.

I’ve also recently started noticing strange sensations while food seems to be digesting/moving through my abdomen. It’s difficult to describe, but I’m much more aware of movement, pressure, gurgling and uncomfortable sensations in different areas of my abdomen after eating. This wasn’t something I used to notice before these GI problems developed.

Another strange change is that I barely pass gas anymore. I used to fart normally throughout the day like anyone else, but nowadays I almost never do. I can still feel bloating, gurgling, pressure and movement in my abdomen, but very little gas actually seems to come out. I have no idea whether this is relevant, but it’s another noticeable change from my previous baseline.

The urgency is probably the symptom that has affected my quality of life the most. Sometimes I can feel okay and then suddenly get this intense cramping/contracting sensation where I know I need to find a bathroom.

Another major symptom is what happens if I go too long without eating. My stomach becomes EXTREMELY acidic feeling. It starts gurgling/growling and becomes very uncomfortable.

Eating can temporarily calm that sensation down, which creates a frustrating situation because eating itself can then trigger my lower-GI symptoms.

My digestive system also seems dramatically more sensitive than it used to be. Greasy/oily foods, fried foods, coffee, alcohol and heavier meals can make things substantially worse.

Just as an example of how much my baseline has changed, I used to be able to go out and drink without thinking much about my stomach. Now doing that can leave me dealing with diarrhea/urgency for much of the following day.

The elimination diet has shown me something really strange

Recently I started a very strict elimination diet.

I’m mainly using an elimination/meal-replacement shake made with rice protein that contains amino acids, vitamins and other nutrients.

The only solid foods I’m currently eating are basically chicken, salmon and white rice. Even those are extremely plain. The only things I put on them are salt, thyme, basil, parsley and the lightest amount of olive oil. No sauces, butter, spicy seasonings, dairy, etc.

The shake does NOT make everything perfect.

I can still have loose stools while drinking it, and I can still experience the acidic/gurgling sensation in my stomach.

However, overall my bowel symptoms and urgency seem considerably more manageable when most of my nutrition is coming from the shake.

The most interesting thing I’ve noticed is the difference between one and two solid meals.

Shakes + ONE solid meal: Most days I actually feel pretty good. I can have completely normal, formed bowel movements and significantly less urgency.

Shakes + TWO solid meals: This seems almost impossible for my body to tolerate right now.

It doesn’t seem to matter that I leave many hours between the meals.

For example, recently my first meal was salmon + white rice.

I felt completely fine afterward. My stomach felt good for hours and I had a normal, formed bowel movement.

I continued drinking the shake and waited approximately 6–7 hours.

My second meal was chicken + white rice with only the basic seasonings mentioned above.

Within around 3 minutes of eating, my abdomen started hurting/cramping.

Within roughly 10 minutes I developed extremely strong urgency and the feeling that my intestines were suddenly contracting very hard.

Obviously the chicken and rice I had just swallowed couldn’t have physically traveled through my entire digestive tract and become that bowel movement within 10 minutes. I found the speed of that response particularly interesting.

What I know from experimenting with my diet is that there seems to be a major difference between my body handling one solid meal versus additional solid food later in the day.

Another confusing part

My body clearly still has the ability to produce completely normal stool.

I can have a normal formed bowel movement one day — or even earlier in the same day — and later experience severe urgency and loose stool.

That’s part of what makes this so confusing.

There also seems to be this strange balance:

Go too long without eating → extremely acidic/gurgling stomach.

Eat one simple solid meal → usually feel pretty good.

Add another solid meal → potentially significant cramping/urgency.

I feel like I’m constantly trying to stay within a very narrow window where my digestive system feels comfortable.

Whey protein has caused significant bloating for me in the past, whereas this rice-protein elimination shake seems considerably easier for me to tolerate.

A few other details

I have not experienced unexplained weight loss throughout this.

I’ve always been naturally skinny and have actually struggled to put on weight throughout my life. When I do gain weight, it tends to show mostly around my stomach.

I have also never noticed blood in my stool.

So despite how severe the diarrhea, urgency and cramping can feel, unexplained weight loss and visible blood haven’t been part of the picture.

Testing I’ve had

So far I’ve had:

* CT abdomen/pelvis with oral barium + IV contrast — reported as normal

* Fecal calprotectin — normal

* Bloodwork

* Stool testing

Interestingly, drinking the oral barium for my CT caused some of the worst watery diarrhea and urgency I’ve experienced.

My bloodwork has also shown a low WBC/absolute neutrophil count. My WBC has apparently been on the lower side for a while, so I don’t know whether that has any relevance to the GI symptoms, but I’m mentioning it for completeness.

I previously saw a gastroenterologist but didn’t come away with much of an explanation for the symptoms or a clear plan for investigating them further.

I’m currently looking into further evaluation, including neurogastroenterology/GI motility, while continuing to work with healthcare professionals.

I’ve come across things like IBS-D/an exaggerated gastrocolic reflex, bile acid diarrhea, SIBO, abnormal intestinal/colonic motility, rapid gastric emptying and other functional/motility disorders.

I’m NOT saying I have any of these. I genuinely have no idea. I just want to understand what’s happening.

The quality-of-life and anxiety side

Over time this has created significant anxiety around my stomach.

I understand that anxiety and the gut-brain connection can influence GI symptoms. I also have a previous history of anxiety and previously took SSRIs, so I’m not dismissing that component.

I’ve actually started gut-directed hypnotherapy because I’m willing to address that side of things as well.

However, the current bathroom/travel anxiety became dramatically worse after repeatedly experiencing unpredictable urgency.

Long drives, being somewhere without immediate bathroom access and eating before leaving home have become increasingly difficult for me.

There are times where I genuinely don’t want to leave my house because I don’t trust what my stomach is going to do.

At 21, that has been a massive change in my quality of life.

Curious about similar experiences

Again, I’m continuing to pursue this with healthcare professionals and I’m not asking anyone here to diagnose me or provide individualized medical advice.

I’m mainly interested in whether anyone has experienced a similar pattern — particularly tolerating liquid nutrition relatively well, generally tolerating one solid meal, but developing significant cramping and urgency after additional solid meals despite leaving many hours between them.

I’d also really like to hear from anyone who has experienced the extremely acidic feeling when their stomach is empty, unusual sensations while digesting food, a major reduction in passing gas despite still feeling bloated/gurgling, chronic diarrhea/urgency despite normal initial testing, or stools that can vary dramatically from completely formed to loose.

If you’ve experienced something similar, I’d really appreciate hearing your own story — what your symptoms were like, whether you eventually found an explanation, and what your experience with GI care was like.

This has become incredibly difficult to live with, and hearing from people who recognize this pattern would mean a lot to me.

Again, I’m not looking for anyone to diagnose me. I’m just trying to find people who have experienced something similar and learn from their experiences.

A week after I finished my h pylori treatment my stomach has been hurting after eating certain foods.. (I'm on a bland diet still) I'm experiencing a sharp pain under my left rib just from drinking chicken soup broth, not sure what to do because ultra sound at the ER didn't show anything abnormal there

About 7 years ago I went to the GI doctor for some mild gut issues. They ran some tests and determined I have IBS.
Life carried on with very minor symptoms. About 6 months ago I was not eating great and drinking 1-2 Nos energy drinks per day. I was also selling my business at this time and was under a decent amount of stress. At this time my gut started to act up in a way it never had before. I was extremely bloated, mildly constipated, I was still having BMs but less frequent and not complete. I was so bloated that I could feel pressure being put on my sciatic nerves and my lower back and sides were incredibly sore. After about 2 months my symptoms died down.
Fast forward to about 2-3 weeks ago the same exact flare up has occurred. My diet went bad again and I was drinking energy drinks again, maybe one per day. When I say my diet went bad it wasn’t terrible but I wasn’t eating extremely healthy.
Has anyone had issue like this? Any advice other than the standard bullcrap that seems useless and generic?

As an aside about two years ago I went to Ecuador for two weeks. Upon returning home my gut felt amazing. So much so that I was literally walking around the kitchen telling my wife about it in disbelief. I would love to get back to this feeling.

Hi guys I'm 19f so last year I've been dealing with constant noises sometimes my stomach but mostly my intestines it's like fart noises but not fart and I can feel it in my stomach some times but mostly it just happens suddenly I can't control it especially if I sit or lay down it keeps happening maybe just once or hours and it's very embarrassing it keeps happening when I'm with family or friends and it's been my nightmare I prefer being alone cause I can't deal with it

My doctor told me I have Ibs but I don't know I suffer from stomach pain and gas a lot my stomach has always been so full even if I don't eat for two days I don't know why I also have cronic constipation I don't know what to do anymore please help how to stop those noises it's too much

I am looking for recommendations on books, podcasts, etc to learn more about gut health. I am not familiar at all with this concept and want to learn more about it. I’m hoping you all can offer some advice and insight. Thank you!

I am 33M, Indian origin, now live in US. I am 5’ 5” and 123 lbs.

In March 2025, I had dinner and the next morning I had a ton of bloating and pain. Next month I had an infection and had to take antibiotics. Soon after that, in June, I had Covid and July I had viral flu. During this period, I also had abdominal CT and ultrasound which were clean.

My gut symptoms have been relentless since. In July 2025, I had colonoscopy which showed minor TI erosions but biopsy showed no neutrophils, IELs or granulomas. And the erosions were minor. There was eosinophil infiltrate and edematous lamina propia. GI said it’s likely a sign of food intolerance.

My symptoms disappeared for a bit and came back and I had some RLQ pain and August 2025, we did FC and it was literally <5. But since I had pain GI recommended MRE and in Nov 2025 I had MRE which was clean as well.

Almost a year later in June 2026 I still had symptoms and FC this time was 10 and this month has been worst. I randomly poop 5-6 times a day and it’s only mucus and no blood. The poop can be Bristol 2 or Bristol 6.

TL:DR symptoms.
- unpredictable days. Poop can one day be constipated and one day crumbly.
- pain in RLQ, URQ and LLQ. No clue where the pain will be. Sometimes it’s under my ribcage. Sometimes behind my navel. Pressing doesn’t hurt. It’s also not constant
- bloating. Literally after taking 2 bites, I’ll fart 3-5 times.
- lately, just mucus episodes one day and normal poop one day. Then again only mucus episodes. No blood.

September test results:
FC 18
CRP <.3
ESR 5
B12 450
D3 55
CBC normal and Hb 15.6
No SIBO

GI thinks it’s IBS-M/C. I have a colonoscopy coming up, but I am concerned it might be IBD. Anyone with similar experience? It’s been 18 months on and off of this. Thank you!