Probiotics, vitamins, and anxiety.
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Desifreckle
Posts: 110 Member
My doctor wants me to take probiotics. I've been having stomach issues and lots of gas (burping or trapped gas.)
I did have food poisoning really bad a year ago and I've has these stomach issues for awhile, I wonder if they are linked.
I am cutting out sugar and artificial sugars as well as processed foods.
I also have had anxiety and panic attacks for a little over a month. My obgyn thinks it's weight related, so I'm focusing on nutrition and weight loss. I had lost it befote, but after 2 surgferies I gained a lot fast.
I also started magnesium and zinc, she has a list of other stuff she wants me to take, but taking pills is a trigger for my anxiety so ive started slow. These other vitamins include vitamin d and something called iodoral.
Here's the thing. Probiotics freak me out, but I really want to get better. Do they cause side effects? What are the best kinds? Should I take them at a certain time or with food? Did they work for you?
Also, does anyone else take iodoral?
Any other tips or suggestions are welcome. Thank you!
I did have food poisoning really bad a year ago and I've has these stomach issues for awhile, I wonder if they are linked.
I am cutting out sugar and artificial sugars as well as processed foods.
I also have had anxiety and panic attacks for a little over a month. My obgyn thinks it's weight related, so I'm focusing on nutrition and weight loss. I had lost it befote, but after 2 surgferies I gained a lot fast.
I also started magnesium and zinc, she has a list of other stuff she wants me to take, but taking pills is a trigger for my anxiety so ive started slow. These other vitamins include vitamin d and something called iodoral.
Here's the thing. Probiotics freak me out, but I really want to get better. Do they cause side effects? What are the best kinds? Should I take them at a certain time or with food? Did they work for you?
Also, does anyone else take iodoral?
Any other tips or suggestions are welcome. Thank you!
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Replies
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I love probiotics. I have never had any side effects from them at all and I've taken several different kinds. When I'm close to a whole foods I prefer the liquid ones but I have a chewable on eat the moment that is fine.1
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If you take large doses of probiotics from the start, you may indeed suffer from some gas or diarrhea. Just go slow and ease into it. Some people are more sensitive than others and if you are tending toward having irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) they might temporarily aggravate it.
Never heard of iodoral but it looks to be an iodine supplement. Not sure why you would need that.0 -
I have suffered from GI problems for over 10 years after getting severe food poisoning (thanks Ruby Tuesday salad bar!). Don't ignore your doctor's suggestions, because the longer it goes on the more inflammation in your gut will occur and its really hard to heal it. Don't be afraid of probiotics, yes, you may notice some gas or bowel habit change at first, but continue with it if you can. What the food poisoning probably did to you was create an imbalance of "good" and "bad" bacteria, where the bad bacteria is starting to take over and causing symptoms. The probiotic will replenish the good bacteria. Sugar and starchy foods (grains, starchy vegetables and fruit) will feed the bad bacteria so I would limit those.1
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Is your obgyn prescribing the supplements for GI issues and diagnosing the eitiology of your anxiety? If so that seem a little outside her specialist scope.2
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If you don't like pills, try eating foods with probiotics. A lot of Greek yogurt has it and you can drink it in a smoothie if needed. Kimchi, kefir, sauerkraut, all have probiotic naturally.4
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Is your obgyn prescribing the supplements for GI issues and diagnosing the eitiology of your anxiety? If so that seem a little outside her specialist scope.
It's for general health and weight loss, but she (and he as i see both doctor's at thst office) thinks it will help with both those issues as well. They prescribe this stuff to a lot of their patients along with a diet guide, all typed out. They also happen to be weight loss doctors too or something, forgive me butbim forgot the technical term. I just go to them as obgyn my last appointnent, but they do both. I know the magnesium and zinc will help anxiety, already has helped me. I've already went down the effexor, prozac and lexapro route. Lol ...it wasn't pretty.
I see my gp tomorrow but she doesn't seem to think it's a big deal. I'm going to ask about seeing a gi doctor and ask for a recommendation.0 -
I have suffered from GI problems for over 10 years after getting severe food poisoning (thanks Ruby Tuesday salad bar!). Don't ignore your doctor's suggestions, because the longer it goes on the more inflammation in your gut will occur and its really hard to heal it. Don't be afraid of probiotics, yes, you may notice some gas or bowel habit change at first, but continue with it if you can. What the food poisoning probably did to you was create an imbalance of "good" and "bad" bacteria, where the bad bacteria is starting to take over and causing symptoms. The probiotic will replenish the good bacteria. Sugar and starchy foods (grains, starchy vegetables and fruit) will feed the bad bacteria so I would limit those.
Do you take anti-acids? I heard taking them too often can cause minirals deficiencies.0 -
If you take large doses of probiotics from the start, you may indeed suffer from some gas or diarrhea. Just go slow and ease into it. Some people are more sensitive than others and if you are tending toward having irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) they might temporarily aggravate it.
Never heard of iodoral but it looks to be an iodine supplement. Not sure why you would need that.
Oh jeez I already have a lot of gas and acid0 -
If you take large doses of probiotics from the start, you may indeed suffer from some gas or diarrhea. Just go slow and ease into it. Some people are more sensitive than others and if you are tending toward having irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) they might temporarily aggravate it.
Never heard of iodoral but it looks to be an iodine supplement. Not sure why you would need that.
Said most people don't get enough from food, helps your thyroid function correctly.0 -
Desifreckle wrote: »If you take large doses of probiotics from the start, you may indeed suffer from some gas or diarrhea. Just go slow and ease into it. Some people are more sensitive than others and if you are tending toward having irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) they might temporarily aggravate it.
Never heard of iodoral but it looks to be an iodine supplement. Not sure why you would need that.
Oh jeez I already have a lot of gas and acid
Just go slow. Don't take mega-doses. Honestly, I'm sensitive to things also and I often start with children's doses. You can find them formulated for children.0 -
It's pretty much impossible to cut out all sugar, that would mean cutting out a lot of fruits and veggies as well. IBS and anxiety can and often do go hand-in-hand, but for advice on treating anxiety get it from a mental health professional. Your obgyn may mean well, but anxiety disorders are way out of her scope. The only way you'll ever figure out what's triggered your anxiety and panic attacks is to see someone who specializes in that area. Not from your obgyn.
Just curious, what prompted her to prescribe you all these pills? Was there a blood test?2 -
Here's my "two cents" based on my own experience with GI issues and medical "stuff":
Probiotics have never caused a problem for me. I do think, after trying several kinds, that my body has responded best to one that has prebiotics built in as well (the one I've settled on has a dual capsule for effective delivery).
Something I strongly recommend based on your food poisoning situation, though, is to also consider getting a good digestive enzyme in your regimen, at least with every major meal. My husband had a horrid experience with staph food poisoning from a local restaurant and continued to have issues after he was "better". Only once I did a bunch of internet searching did I find someone who had a similar set of issues who presented a good solution. Based on what I read, my husband was on the digestive enzymes with every meal for about a month, and since then we've reduced to twice a day, then to once a day, and now he takes them a few times a week as a precautionary measure. I take them every day myself. I've had my gallbladder out, and in discussions with a nutritionist, my nutrient uptake was in question, so that was the route I've needed to take.
It's always a good idea to check any supplements you are considering for their quality and consistency with labeling. If nothing else, reading negative reviews on any product should shed light on anything major (so long as there is a decent-sized review set on a third-party source), but there is a lot of variance out there. If you are into detail, you might consider consulting a resource such as consumerlab.com. They have a wealth of information, but there is a subscription cost. I'm not sure if there is another quality resource like them "out there," but it'd probably be worth it to check.
I wish you the best on your journey to health!1 -
Just fyi, if you have digestive issues increasing your vegetable intake, especially raw veggies, can cause more issues. Fiber definitely can be a trigger.1
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MFP can help narrow down which foods trigger your worst gas. Enter your foods every day and keep a diary of your bloating/gas issues.
My daughter was surprised to find that some "healthy" foods triggered gas for her; especially beans. She just couldn't understand how a seemingly healthy food was the cause of her problems. Ditched the beans, digestive issues resolved themselves.
I think adding probiotics like yogurt and Greek Yogurt could be very good for you. And eating them instead of taking a pill could help with your anxiety.2 -
As someone who researches the microbiome, I would ask two things specifically...
1) What dosage? There's a huge difference between a couple million and 25, 50, and 75 million I see in stores. Taking too much can drastically change your gut flora causing the issues you describe.
2) Which strains? There's single strains like L. acidophilius and any kind of Bifidobacterium. There's also multi-strain options and brands that cater to women specifically.
Other pointers:
The initial effect you feel may be the purging of "bad" or pathogenic bacteria and the colonization of the "good" or commensal bacteria. Ask the doc for more details.
Also make sure you feed the bacteria in your gut with lots of fiber. These are also called prebiotics. Some supplements have these, most don't. If you don't feed these bacteria, they die. If they die, the "good" bacteria can be outcompeted by the bad ones. That's when bad things happen.
As @aeloine said, consider adding any of those foods to your diet. They don't have as much as you would get in a supplement, but they're good enough for most people wo/ GI issues.
Also to ensure that the desired amount of bacteria survive the stomach and reach your gut, consider refrigerated options. Some labels tell you how much bacteria will survive this transit, but again most don't.3 -
OT but curious and have a microbiome question for @bellaesprita. I have had a proctocolectomy so don't have a colon or rectum. I've heard conflicting reports about probiotics use in those without a colon. Some say it's useless because of no colon, some say it can lead to SIBO and same say it's beneficial. Are you familiar with probiotics use in the colonless?
Edited to add I have crohn's if that makes a difference.0 -
Hello @singingflutelady. I'm not familiar with the literature on the microbiome and people wo/ colons. Just be aware that most of the gut bacteria reside in your large intestine. Also most strains in probiotics are replenishing bacteria that should reside there.
For folks with Crohn's, YES! There's a huge push for more research in that field. In fact, it's one of the few conditions in which fecal pills/transplants (Google it!) has shown to be incredibly effective.
The issue with microbiome research is it is in its infancy and so we are still trying to get a census of who's there, what they're doing, and what are their health effects.0 -
bellaesprita wrote: »Hello @singingflutelady. I'm not familiar with the literature on the microbiome and people wo/ colons. Just be aware that most of the gut bacteria reside in your large intestine. Also most strains in probiotics are replenishing bacteria that should reside there.
For folks with Crohn's, YES! There's a huge push for more research in that field. In fact, it's one of the few conditions in which fecal pills/transplants (Google it!) has shown to be incredibly effective.
The issue with microbiome research is it is in its infancy and so we are still trying to get a census of who's there, what they're doing, and what are their health effects.
That's what I thought re microbiome. I have read/know people who have had fecal transplants but it was mostly for c diff. It wouldn't have saved my colon as I lost it because of multiple nasty fistulas but I have seen it help others. The IBD research going on at the moment is very promising.0 -
singingflutelady wrote: »bellaesprita wrote: »Hello @singingflutelady. I'm not familiar with the literature on the microbiome and people wo/ colons. Just be aware that most of the gut bacteria reside in your large intestine. Also most strains in probiotics are replenishing bacteria that should reside there.
For folks with Crohn's, YES! There's a huge push for more research in that field. In fact, it's one of the few conditions in which fecal pills/transplants (Google it!) has shown to be incredibly effective.
The issue with microbiome research is it is in its infancy and so we are still trying to get a census of who's there, what they're doing, and what are their health effects.
That's what I thought re microbiome. I have read/know people who have had fecal transplants but it was mostly for c diff. It wouldn't have saved my colon as I lost it because of multiple nasty fistulas but I have seen it help others. The IBD research going on at the moment is very promising.
Oops forgot to quote. Yeah, no problem. Happy to help!0 -
I took antibiotics that messed with my gut bacteria. Drinking acidophilus and eating some active culture yogurt helped immensely. I didn't have any bad reaction from using those.1
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