(This flair was automatically preselected and I can't change it.)

I take a couple of tablespoons of chia seeds in almond milk every day or so. Within 1-1.5 hours, I have to poop. Not a huge morning one but enough that I am very uncomfortable if I am not near a bathroom. It's way too fast for it to have gone all the way through and my next day poops are great.

I don't have this extra poop unless I have the fiber. This happens with flaxseed as well but not psyllium (though I have only done that in 2 teaspoon doses, not tablespoon doses).

I'm super curious as to what is going on that my body reacts this way every single time I take my fiber. It does happen if I don't soak the seeds (like if I put them in my salad) and it doesn't happen with just the almond milk alone.

Thoughts?

The standard recommendation seems to be consistent intake of probiotic foods and supplements, but the gut has over a thousand different strains of beneficial bacteria, right? A good supplement may have thirty different strains. And from the information I was able to find, lacto fermented foods may have about the same, with the most abundant strains being universally present in all fermented foods. So how do you get a complete range of bacteria?

I developed a lot of issues after being put on doxycycline (for five years) as a young teen. The most frustrating being the food allergies that developed, as well as the psychological issues which seem to be treatment resistant.

From what I figure, entire strains were wiped out over that five year period. I've been avoiding food allergens since 2010. I've also been regularly eating fermented foods for several years now. I've tried many different supplements over that span, but to no avail.

Is there any way to repopulate the gut with the probiotic strains that were killed off? Or is it just hopeless?

*FAQS*

This is an update on the oral microbiome transplant at University of Washington in Seattle.

Please see my previous post for context and details about the trial here, as I won’t be answering questions about that - https://www.reddit.com/r/badbreath/s/cQ5nQHs1V8

1. I visited recently and took part in the trial. As I could not find a suitable donor, the scientists found one for me.

2. I mentioned that others want to take part but don’t have donors, and the scientists have said they can see if the dental students at the university could become donors.

3. They also published an article about it recently, if you want to take part you can contact them using the details in the article. *for some reason the link was removed so I’ll paste it again in the comments

*MY RESULTS*

For context, I have room filling (nasal & oral bb) and have had this for over 10 years. I have had various surgeries and tried all the different probiotics and mouthwashes etc. The only things that have been successful for me were metronidazole, but the bb returned after finishing the course, and the sodium hypochlorite rinse which gives me up to 8 hours bb free as long as I don’t eat.

I travelled to Seattle from the UK, the transplant took a few hours. I used my sodium hypochlorite rinse several hours before, to nuke my existing bacteria, and thoroughly neutralised this with water for hours before the transplant to ensure it did not kill the new bacteria - they performed a full dental cleaning, including cleaning of all soft tissue (& back of tongue) with glycine powder to dislodge any biofilm. Then I rinsed and gargled with the donor solution and they syringed (blunt needle) some into the gaps between my teeth.

The transplant initially completely removed my bb. I was able to get a 10 hour flight with no issues, despite eating and not brushing my teeth. I was totally bb free for 3 days post transplant, something which has NEVER happened before.

Unfortunately, the bb gradually started to return after day 4 - I guess my own bacteria managed to take over again. This was really devastating and destabilising for me, as I believed I had been “cured”. However, I still think this is a breakthrough as it shows that the transplant works and for some people it could be permanent.

*OTHER’S RESULTS*
A few others have also participated, and did not report an improvement. However; they did not use the rinse I used and the team also did not observe any bb from any of them when they visited so their level of odour is unclear.

I would only recommend trying this if you have exhausted all other options - dental, ent, gastro, antibiotics, surgery etc.

Abstract

Mitochondria, multifunctional organelles that regulate cellular energy metabolism and signaling pathways, play a pivotal role in maintaining the physiological functions of the gut and kidneys, as well as influencing the progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Through the gut-kidney crosstalk, gut microbiota modulate gut and renal pathophysiology and also influence mitochondrial activity in intestinal and renal cells. This review explores the regulatory roles of mitochondria in preserving epithelial barrier integrity, regulating intestinal metabolism, and maintaining gut microbiota homeostasis. It also examines the contributions of mitochondrial biogenesis, dynamics, autophagy abnormalities, and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) damage to renal pathological progression. Moreover, we highlight the bidirectional interactions between intestinal and renal mitochondria via the microbiota-mitochondria-kidney axis and mechanisms involving inflammation, oxidative stress, and ferroptosis. Therefore, targeting mitochondrial regulation through non-pharmacological interventions such as dietary adjustments, probiotic supplementation and fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) emerges as a promising therapeutic strategy for maintaining renal health by optimizing mitochondrial function. In conclusion, elucidating the mechanisms of mitochondrial involvement in the gut-kidney axis will lay the foundation for novel therapeutic approaches to CKD and other gut-kidney axis-related disorders.

I read it should be no less than 2 hours before/after meds so as not to prevent proper absorption of meds.

I tried mixing the powder with water but it's too gross for me. What foods go well with it?

Everyone have SIBO?

I spent a long time reading several posts on this sub, and it made me think: does everyone nowadays have SIBO or other digest disoxrr, but some just haven't taken the test? Nowadays, a large portion of people have some sort of digestive issue, and they never find a 'cure', only temporary treatment.

Well, a while ago I was diagnosed with SIBO and fungal dysbiosis. The treatment was a low-carb diet, 3x 20 drops of oregano extract, and 500mg 2x a day of dry garlic extract.

This helped me a lot with constipation, which is practically cured today. However, I still continue to have a lot of gas with a horrible odor, especially after meals.

Today I take 1500mg of Omega 3 after lunch, and 265mg of Magnesium before going to sleep.

Has anyone who has gone through something similar have any insight into how they managed to resolve it?

Started +30 plants diet for long covid. Also started working on getting rid of fatty liver and slowly re-introducing previously avoided foods like fodmap, histamine, oxalate.

(EDIT: I don't exclusively eat plants lol +30 plants diet is a concept where you eat diverse plants for microbiome healing.)

It's only been 1.5 months but I'm noticing I'm getting a little too obsessive about this.

I make veggie mash in a batch that lasts for several days but I think about what to buy next, when I will cook them, which items to re-introduce etc.

Reintroducing foods maybe requires the most attention because I need to start slowly and build up over time.

Also what makes things complicated is I order grocery online on 10th, 20th, 30th as these are the days I get extra store points so trying to plan things around that, be it how much and what I buy.

I try to write things down in a piece of paper so it leaves my mind but I keep looking at it and my shopping cart on the store website multiple times a day

I’ve had chronic bad breath for years and am desperate for a solution. Every treatment says to use strong antibacterial mouthwashes to kill everything, then take oral probiotics to replace them with "good" bacteria.

Here is my confusion: From what I understand, oral probiotics don’t actually permanently colonize or change the oral microbiome the way live bacteria from fermented foods do.

If a harsh mouthwash wipes out our mouth's natural defenses, and the probiotics don't stick around, aren't we just creating a vicious cycle where the fastest-growing "bad" bacteria take over again?

Questions for the community:

• There are many pieces of advice in the bad breath subreddit to use baking soda plus castile soap together to clean the tongue and mouth. If all bacteria gets killed by doing this, long term how do we bring back the good bacteria?

• Fermented Food Dilemma: We know overnight fermented foods help the gut, but pass through the mouth too fast. Is there a way to actually use fermented foods to benefit the mouth?

• Has anyone successfully fixed their oral microbiome and chronic bad breath without using harsh antibacterial rinses?

• What actually works? What are the best, scientifically backed ways to encourage beneficial, live bacteria to thrive in the oral cavity long-term?

I'd love to hear your experiences or any research you've found!

I was prescribed doxycycline 100 mg twice a day for a UTI and just finished the course today. My anxiety has gotten significantly worse while taking it, and I'm hoping it's related to the medication and temporary. I had to take it for 7 days yesterday was the last pill and today is a new day but my anxiety and thoughts are still out of control (yes I have a therapist).

Has anyone else experienced this? If so, how long after your last dose did your anxiety start improving?

(This is not for medical advice, it is to see who shared the same experience)

I’ve done all the tests and they can’t find anything wrong.

They’re pinning it down to pelvic floor dysfunction.

I’m at a loss and at my ends. Constant mucus, urgency, it’s debilitating.

The pico-prep felt like it helped ‘reset’ the stomach but then day to day made me go back to how it was before.

I’m so over it.

Brief background: I'm a mathematics researcher, and as a patient I've struggled for as long as I can remember with anxiety, OCD, and panic attacks (treated with escitalopram since I was 18, I'm now 32). For the past few years, however, I've found myself stuck in a cycle of health anxiety, largely driven by a combination of issues that I'm trying to understand in a coherent way: gastrointestinal symptoms, recurrent skin rashes, brain fog, decades of mold exposure in my parents house and so on.

Current state of my understanding (based on reading as many papers as I've been able to):

1. SIBO appears to be a fairly controversial diagnosis. The actual "constellation" of bacteria inhabiting the relevant portion of the small intestine is still poorly characterized, current diagnostic tools (such as breath tests) have substantial false-positive rates, and treatments often fail to resolve patients symptoms.
2. MCAS seems even more controversial. Biomarkers fluctuate considerably, and the diagnosis itself is largely one of exclusion, somewhat reminiscent of what unfortunately happens with IBS.
3. CIRS (Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome) is perhaps the most eclectic of the three. It relies on a collection of laboratory findings (MSH, complement C4a, TGF-β1, nasal presence of MARCoNS, ecc.) that are interpreted in the context of indoor mold exposure, and proposes a treatment protocol (e.g., the Shoemaker protocol) that, at least from my perspective, feels closer to an empirically assembled recipe than to a well-established mechanistic framework.

What strikes me is that these three diagnostic categories share an enormous overlap in symptoms. That makes me wonder whether they are all attempting (perhaps imperfectly) to describe different manifestations of the same underlying biological process. Patients across these groups commonly report gastrointestinal symptoms (often associated with food reactions), skin problems, brain fog, fatigue, nutritional deficiencies and a wide variety of other systemic symptoms.

Browsing the various Reddit communities, anecdotal reports are everywhere. Some people claim dramatic improvements from specific diets, others rely heavily on antihistamines while others again follow elaborate protocols aimed at removing mycotoxins from the body.

Taken together, and considering the much more established scientific evidence supporting bidirectional communication between the gut and the brain, help me say it "the gut-brain axis", I can't help wondering whether an important missing piece of the puzzle may not be entirely "organic" in the traditional sense. By that I don't mean "it's all psychological," but rather that higher level regulatory processes (brain-gut interactions, stress responses, autonomic regulation, perception and so on) may play a much larger role than we currently understand. Obviously this opens a much broader discussion about the relationship between mind and body, free will and similar topics, but that's not really my focus here.

So, after this rather long preamble, here's the question I'd really like to ask, ideally to people who actually study these topics professionally and approach them through the scientific method:

What is your current view (whether personal, data-driven or theory-driven) of the biological process that could underlie this remarkably broad yet surprisingly consistent spectrum of symptoms reported by patients across SIBO, MCAS and CIRS communities?

I'm not looking for diagnostic advice or treatment recommendations. Rather, I'm interested in conceptual models. If you use specialized terminology, I'd really appreciate it if you could also explain the underlying biological mechanism in accessible language instead of simply linking to highly technical papers. Given the audience I'm hoping to reach, I don't think there's much risk of oversimplifying the science behind.

Thank you very much in advance.

Has anyone else had their gut completely change after repeated antibiotics?
I keep looking back at my timeline and honestly feel heartbroken.💔

I was completely fine before 2019. Then I got food poisoning and went through an extremely stressful period and started having urinary symptoms.

I was treated multiple times for what was thought to be a UTI, but later I realized stress and pelvic floor dysfunction were probably playing a huge role. Looking back, I question whether I even needed many of those antibiotics.

Here’s what I ended up taking over the years:
Jan 2019 – O2 (Ofloxacin + Ornidazole) for 3 days
Jan 2019 – O2 for another 3 days
Feb 2019 – O2 for 5 days
Aug 2020 – Levofloxacin for 7 days
Oct 2020 – Ciprofloxacin for 7 days
Dec 2020 – Antifungal treatment
Jan 2021 – Metronidazole for 7 days
Feb 2021 – Metronidazole for 7 days
Jan 2024 – O2 for 5 days
Jan 2025 – Two rounds of rifaximin (14 days each) for SIBO
March 2024- Antimicrobial Oregano and Berberine
Before 2019, I hadn’t taken antibiotics for around 5 years.

Since then, I’ve been dealing with ongoing gut issues bloating, gas, abdominal pain, food sensitivities, and eventually SIBO. I know nobody can prove that antibiotics alone caused it, and I’m sure stress, pelvic floor dysfunction, and other factors also played a role. But it’s hard not to wonder whether repeated courses especially fluoroquinolones and combination antibiotics disrupted my gut enough to contribute.

The hardest part is realizing that the original “UTI” may not even have been an infection. If it was stress-related or pelvic floor-related, I may have taken all of those antibiotics unnecessarily.
I’m not trying to blame doctors or say antibiotics are bad they absolutely save lives when they’re truly needed. I’m just grieving how different my health feels now compared with before all of this.
Has anyone else here had a similar experience where repeated antibiotics after a suspected or misdiagnosed UTI seemed to be the beginning of your gut problems? Were you ever able to recover your microbiome or get back to feeling like yourself?
I’d really appreciate hearing your experiences because this has been a long and frustrating journey.

Key Highlights:

- A daily prebiotic fiber supplement improved memory in older adults. In a 12-week study, adults over age 60 who took certain inexpensive prebiotic fibers performed better on a memory test commonly used to detect early signs of Alzheimer’s disease.
- The study used identical twins. Researchers studied 36 pairs of twins, with one twin receiving a supplement and the other a placebo. This design helps control for differences in genetics and lifestyle, making the findings more reliable.
- The supplements were common prebiotic fibers:
Inulin
Fructooligosaccharides (FOS)
Both are inexpensive, available over the counter, and help nourish beneficial gut bacteria.

- The findings support the gut-brain connection. Researchers believe improving the health of the gut microbiome may positively influence brain function, particularly memory.
- Benefits appeared quickly. Improvements in memory were seen after just 12 weeks of daily supplementation.
- This is promising, but not definitive. The study was relatively small, so larger clinical trials are needed before these supplements can be recommended as a proven way to prevent cognitive decline or dementia.
- More research is underway. The encouraging results have led to additional clinical trials investigating whether prebiotic fibers can help slow cognitive decline in older adults.

Bottom line:
This study provides encouraging evidence that inexpensive, widely available prebiotic fibers may help support memory in adults over 60 by improving gut health. However, the research is still in its early stages, and larger studies are needed before these supplements can be considered a proven strategy for preventing Alzheimer’s disease or dementia.

So after a few weeks of a stressful trip paired with a terrible high sugar diet, I seem to have a bad case of dysbiosis. I’ve been logging my foods and symptoms and it seems like whenever I have too much fiber I suffer the couple days after with terrible gas, loose stools with urgency. It seems to help when I eat low fiber but then I don’t have any bulk to my stool and kinda feel constipated. How the heck can I bulk up my stool/dissipate constipation without overwhelming my gut with fiber?!!

I’m working out getting my microbiome back on track so if u have any tips to help with that it’s appreciated!

Now that I have your attention because you are finishing that song in your head (I see u Gen X) I have a bean question. But first, a tiny piece of my history.

I was diagnosed 2 years ago after a trip to the ER for what I thought was a busted ovary. After being shocked to learn I had Diverticulitis and nearly having surgery, I spent a week in the hospital on an arsenal of meds that will surprise nobody reading this post.

After I was released I felt like I was wandering in the desert without an oasis in sight except for Reddit. After I felt better I thought that would be the end of it but I have been back to the ER twice but luckily not for a stay.

After a flare this May I stopped eating for 4 days to clean things out and then ate a limited diet.

Back at work and It’s damned hard not to reach for convenience foods, and new research says that emulsifiers in our foods and other additives harm the microbiome. Add in being a cesarean section baby and all the antibiotics I’ve consumed and my gut is screwed.

How does one build up the ‘biome? I know pills aren’t the answer. So For those of you past a flare, are you able to eat “real” food like beans and lentils if they’ve been cooked in a pressure cooker? I have a hard time digesting them, probably due to lectins, but it’s known they contain good stuff for the microB so how am I supposed to get at that goodness? Otherwise I’m eating chicken, rice, sweet potatoes, green beans, broccoli and it gets dull. Any ideas to spice up my diet are greatly appreciated.

PS for some reason, several foods “repeat” on me (I burp up their flavor for hours) including cooked bell peppers, salmon, peanut butter, and sesame oil. I’m not sure what that means and am curious if anyone has thoughts. Thank you for reading!

I know the root cause of all my problems might come from the gut, but is it possible that a body healthy checkup would notice something else?

I feel like i have so many problems in my body and i am even scared i have cancer 😂 i honestly just want to off myself bcs i am tired

Has anyone else had their gut completely change after repeated antibiotics?
I keep looking back at my timeline and honestly feel heartbroken.💔

I was completely fine before 2019. Then I got food poisoning and went through an extremely stressful period and started having urinary symptoms.

I was treated multiple times for what was thought to be a UTI, but later I realized stress and pelvic floor dysfunction were probably playing a huge role. Looking back, I question whether I even needed many of those antibiotics.

Here’s what I ended up taking over the years:
Jan 2019 – O2 (Ofloxacin + Ornidazole) for 3 days
Jan 2019 – O2 for another 3 days
Feb 2019 – O2 for 5 days
Aug 2020 – Levofloxacin for 7 days
Oct 2020 – Ciprofloxacin for 7 days
Dec 2020 – Antifungal treatment
Jan 2021 – Metronidazole for 7 days
Feb 2021 – Metronidazole for 7 days
Jan 2024 – O2 for 5 days
Jan 2025 – Two rounds of rifaximin (14 days each) for SIBO
March 2024- Antimicrobial Oregano and Berberine
Before 2019, I hadn’t taken antibiotics for around 5 years.

Since then, I’ve been dealing with ongoing gut issues bloating, gas, abdominal pain, food sensitivities, and eventually SIBO. I know nobody can prove that antibiotics alone caused it, and I’m sure stress, pelvic floor dysfunction, and other factors also played a role. But it’s hard not to wonder whether repeated courses especially fluoroquinolones and combination antibiotics disrupted my gut enough to contribute.

The hardest part is realizing that the original “UTI” may not even have been an infection. If it was stress-related or pelvic floor-related, I may have taken all of those antibiotics unnecessarily.
I’m not trying to blame doctors or say antibiotics are bad they absolutely save lives when they’re truly needed. I’m just grieving how different my health feels now compared with before all of this.
Has anyone else here had a similar experience where repeated antibiotics after a suspected or misdiagnosed UTI seemed to be the beginning of your gut problems? Were you ever able to recover your microbiome or get back to feeling like yourself?
I’d really appreciate hearing your experiences because this has been a long and frustrating journey.