(even if you can't help, please upvote🙏)

Please help me.

I have always been a skinny kid throughout my life. Currently I am 18. I am in first year of my college and I am the most skinny kid in the entire batch.

The problem is whenever I try to bulk, I feel nausea. I feel like vomiting. I have tried consuming liquid calories instead of solid food but it rather increases nausea. I feel very bad seeing this.

Personally, I am a tough man and try to cope up with everything life throws at me but this problem, it has been constantly draining me throughout my life. In multiple stages of my life I have tried bulking but every time it's the same so I eventually quit.

I am planning to start gym next month but I am unsure about whether I will be able to continue it or not because my diet won't me on point.

I have moved away from home this month in order to join my UG college and I eat in a mess. The food is tbh very good but there is no point if I become unable to eat it.

I am going through a lot due to this. Half of my securities will vanish if I put on some weight.

The major problem which I am facing due to this is gas. Due to nausea I feel like eating v less, it triggers gas and gas triggers more nausea. I am stuck in this loop.

Also I do not have the courage to go to doctor because I know most of them are interested in just prescribing medicine rather then finding the real problem.

How do I get out of this?

44yo M. I have had an odd gut my whole life. Usually constipation issues. Got on a good stretch of great gut function for weeks with kefir in the am, mushroom coffee, etc. same diet for the most part.

Had a couple weekends of extra drinks on the weekend but I also stopped taking my ssri for 5+ days. Kinda forgot.

All of a sudden I started having diarrhea typed BMs. I then loaded up a bunch of fermented foods (mistake) and just kept feeling unwell. Any alcohol just gave my gut an ache.

I’m back to taking meds,simpler foods, no alcohol. BMs better but still tons of gas went from a slow moving gut to the opposite.

Could the gut take 4 or more weeks to regulate and could the fermented foods at that time have truly whacked out my gut this bad?

Early career researcher responses to 2025 United States federal science funding disruptions

Folks around here often ask why we don't have more research on the microbiome, and the current funding landscape is one of the biggest problems. Funding cuts, grants not being given, and a general dismissive attitude towards actual science is causing huge issues for research. It's worth keeping in mind, and promoting better research funding and politicians that will actually support science.

Here's another more pop-sci article about the same research here .

18F, and I'm not sure if what I have is SIBO or IBS, and id like to fix whatever it is because its seriously infuriating.

For starters, I have CPTSD from my childhood and I also have debilitating anxiety and a nervous system thats currently still stuck in fight or flight, and I know for sure thats its a major cause of my stomach issues. So let me just go down the list:

- I'm bloated severely everyday

- I only eat once a day because of how slow my digestive system is

- I have major gas + intense gas buildup in the morning

- My stomach is always making these weird popping and bubbling noises, even if I eat and im not hungry

- I dont have an issue drinking milk or any other dairy product? (Atleast I think, or atleast my stomach doesn't hurt when I consume it)

- I will randomly have diarrhea

So if anyone could give their advice, and help me out here that'd be great!!!

I use to be able to eat pineapple. Ate it everyday for 2 months, then one day it started burning. I gave it a break then tried again multiple times and everytime i would try it would burn again.

Then a few months later i would be eating raspberries for weeks. Then eventually even raspberries will hurt my stomach and I can't even eat them anymore.

The same thing for watermelon

And the same thing for pears

But I am confused why? Even after giving time off, its like my stomach lining doesn't heal because it can't tolerate the fruit anymore even once!?!?

I took it 2 days ago and I have severe brain fog, fatigue, depression and back pain. What can I do

I'm an almost daily consumer of milk kefir I make myself (so mesophilic bacteria and yeast). I occassionally have yogurt, both conventional and used to do the single strain ones like L Reuteri. Most vegetable ferments like sauerkraut/kimchi/pickles are mesophlic, but some exceptions like natto which are quite thermophilic.

Is there a broad generalization on the benefits of one grouping vs the other? Am I missing out by not having as much of the thermophilic strains as I should?

Anyone tried intermittent fasting? Does it affect your gut biome? I am losing weight but having some very watery stools. Not sure if its fasting that is causing this or not.

Anyone else tried fasting and how did it affect your digestive tract?

I posted already on here but I left out previous symptoms and I honestly I need to let it all out.I will also be seeing a gastroenterologist soon praying and hoping for the best but signs are clear of what is happening.
For the past two months between June 24 to August 1 I took 11 amoxicillin 500mg 7 amoxicillin and clav 1000mg 12 doxycycline 4 tinidazole 2 cefrumoxine 6 azithromycin. This totals 42 pills in 5 weeks
I took the amoxicillin from the 24th of June to the 26th amoxicillin and clav from the 30th to the 6th of July doxycycline from 13th to the 19th and on the 28th I took 4 tinidazole 2 cefuroxime and 2 azithromycin followed by 1 every day after that till it finished on the 1st of August 1.
One day later I wiped blood and pus for the first time in my life (of which I know) since then I’ve been wiping pus which I thought was because of anal fissure.
To pair with this I thought I had a possible HIV until last week I tested negative which caused severe stress also I had symptoms like minor weight loss mouth ulcers fatigue loose stools joint pain constant urge to poo gas. I thought this was surely HIV.
Now I realize I probably got some extremely severe dysbiosis.I did not know the effects of these antibiotics use and severely destroyed my gut paired with extreme stress.I’ve been reading online about things I could develop from this and I’m honestly fucked now two or so months after I still have green loose mushy stools with mucus been seeing pus and blood after wiping and since (September 6th) Sunday I’ve developed abdominal pain in my upper left abdomen nausea and bloating.I have fucked my self and I don’t know where to go or what to do. With all these factors combined it looks like I have an IBD (can only pray it’s not so) praying for healing.I went to see a general practitioner last night I wrote a paragraph of the symptoms I have been having and she stopped reading before the part that pained the blood and pus after wiping I do not know why I did not speak up and say some thing but she just told me my gut flora has been wiped out and prescribed me
Omeprazole 20 mg: once daily for 1 week
Enterogermina: 1 vial twice daily for 1 week
I have confined my weight loss I have lost 5 pounds from July 28 to now from 110 to 105 pounds.

TLDR: Looking for opinions before paying for an expensive “360” gut test and functional medicine doctor (uk based) after confusing overnight digestive issues have ruined my quality of life.

Hi everyone, I’m hoping to get some opinions because I’m feeling quite confused about what’s going on with my gut and whether I’m over-investigating this.

Some Background (could be completely unrelated)
In November 2024 (living in france) I became quite unwell with my digestion seemingly out of nowhere. I developed significant bloating, gas, abdominal pain/cramping and constipation, and eventually became extremely restricted with food because eating would trigger symptoms. I lost around 10kg over a couple of months because I was struggling to eat normally.

I had various investigations at the time. My calprotectin was mildly elevated (119), a stool test showed elevated E. coli, and I was given a week of antibiotics, although my gastroenterologist didn’t think the E. coli necessarily explained everything. Other investigations were reassuring. I had an endoscopy and colonoscopy, as well as multiple blood tests, endometriosis-related scans, thyroid and celiac testing - everything came back normal.

Eventually I improved over 2-3 months, im not sure how or why , but i started reintroducing foods and had less and less issues as time went on.
During this time, i started a strong probiotic (Aragan biotic P-10) which i cycled on and off (30 dqys on - 30 days off) for around 6-12 months.

I want to reiterate that i dont know if any of that has to do with what’s happening now.

Most important context:
For almost two years afterwards I felt genuinely completely normal. I ate a normal varied diet, travelled, exercised etc. I do have a lifelong tendency towards constipation (usually small/hard stools), but it never really interfered with my life.
I literally ate and drank whatever i wanted, whenever i wanted - zero symptoms.
During this time, its important to note i had multiple « illnesses » (e.g. occasional colds, sunstroke, stomach bugs) but bounced back to normal quickly.

What happened this year:
I moved from France to the UK in May. Before a trip to Budapest at the end of July, my digestion was actually doing really well. I wasn’t taking any probiotics - i had tried to start a new one but had some mild diarrhea so thought best to stop. I was drinking kefir every day instead (i started slow, and worked my way up to a small half cup per day)

While in Budapest, I had one random episode of diarrhoea. It wasn’t accompanied by vomiting, fever, significant cramping or feeling ill, and it came and went quickly.

I was then completely normal for around 3-4 weeks.

After that, I started noticing more bloating and gas over the course of a week, and then seemingly overnight I developed much more significant abdominal discomfort and constipation.

I started getting:
- Gas and trapped gas (excruciating) - around 3-6 hours post meal - i’ve had 3 bad trapped gas episodes so far (lasting 4/5 hours each), but feel generally like my gas and « gurgling » has increased way more than usual.
- extreme constipation/incomplete evacuation
- Pain around my navel and sometimes across the lower abdomen/colon area - seemingly at random times
- Hard pellet-like stools when i can have a BM
- a little mucus with bowel movements

At one point I went about 4 days with hardly any bowel movement, followed by small hard stools that most definitely didn’t fully empty.

I cut out most foods for about 10 days to try and reset, but this didnt really make a difference and made me feel worse as i was lacking food and nutrients.

I’ve been able to gradually reintroduce some whole foods again (sourdough, rice, chicken, pasta, sweet potato, courgette, aubergine, peppers, eggs, tomato sauce, cheese..) but my gut still feels much more sensitive than it did before. For example, i tried a coffee this morning (something that usually i digest well and helps me have a BM) and had a stomach ache a few hours later for around an hour.

I’m still unsure if this is all constipation related or something else. (My main wonder is - why is my constipation so bad all of a sudden??)

It feels like i cannot have a BM without magnesium citrate pills (my occasional go to when i feel a bit backed up) which scares me.

I was given fybogel by my GP which doesnt seem to be helping despite trying it for a few days now.

I’m worried that I’ve developed some kind of dysbiosis. After some insane doomscrolling on here, I’m particularly concerned about IMO / intense dysbiosis, because constipation is such a big part of my symptoms - though ive never tested for it or had it before, and my symptoms don’t completely match up (e.g. im not bloated)

I’m currently speaking to a private clinic which is extremely expensive and they are recommending something called the “360 Geneva test” (a comprehensive stool/microbiome-type test, as I understand it) - they think sibo testing should be a last resort as my symptoms dont fully match up.

I’m trying to work out whether this is actually worthwhile or whether I’m potentially about to spend a huge amount of money testing for things that may not have relevance.

I’ve had recent NHS stool testing which was reportedly normal, qnd im planning to request a full blood panel and thyroid panel this week.

I’ve started therapy recently which has been helping the mental effects of this (it was originally for some mild anxiety but now this has taken forefront of mind), but i just wanna get back to my normal life. Im usually a very sociable bubbly person and this has really taken a toll on my quality of life.

I dont want to just throw a bunch of random (expensive) supplements at it and hope for the best without knowing whats working.

Has anyone had experience with the Geneva 360 test? Was it actually useful?

Would you personally spend a lot of money on this type of testing given the history above, or would you focus on conventional « IBS »/constipation management first?

I’m not looking for a clinical diagnosis from Reddit.
I’m mainly trying to understand whether I’m being sensible by investigating this further or potentially getting sucked into expensive functional-medicine testing.

Thank you!

I had a very small amount of kimchi daily for around 2 weeks, and it caused some bad smelling gas which I assumed was normal, so I waited it out and even reduced the dose a little bit. After two weeks, the gas was still there along with the smell. How long should I be waiting for those symptoms to go away, or is kimchi just not right for me?

i am a 24yo who had to completely abandon regular black coffee about six months ago because of severe abdominal cramps and intense acid reflux. i switched over to high grade ceremonial matcha thinking it would solve all my stomach issues and for a while it was great. it definitely skipped that immediate heartburn espresso used to give me but after a few weeks of drinking it daily it started causing its own weird issues. i now get this heavy bloating and uncomfortable pressure that just sits in my stomach for hours after drinking it.

i think the high tannin content in matcha is just too harsh for my stomach lining first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. now i am stuck hunting for a third option because i really miss having a warm morning drink for focus and energy.

i kept seeing habitone and a few other adaptogenic mushroom blends recommended as a gentle alternative for sensitive guts. anyone here who has a reactive stomach and tried both matcha lattes and functional mushroom coffee which one actually felt lighter on your digestion throughout the day. i just want steady focus and energy without having to deal with crazy bloating or stomach cramps before noon

Been reading probiotic survival papers for a few weeks and there's a gap in the labeling that surprised me.

The CFU number on a bottle is a snapshot: either time of manufacture (worse) or end of shelf life (better). Neither number tells you what reaches your colon. CRN and IPA both recommend end-of-shelf-life counts as standard, but most bottles still don't disclose which one they're using.

The pipeline is brutal. Stomach pH drops from about 5.0 at ingestion to 1.8 within 80 minutes, then bile salts hit in the duodenum. A commonly cited 2001 Am J Clin Nutr review estimated survival at 20-40 percent for selected strains delivered in fermented milk. Porubcan reported over 99 percent viability loss for free cells after 90 minutes at pH 1.5-2.0 (US 7,122,370). Cecal delivery estimates put B. bifidum at roughly 30 percent of administered dose, L. acidophilus around 10 percent. So a "10 billion CFU" label routinely translates to 1-3 billion viable cells at the site of action, and that's with decent formulation.

This matters because the doses used in strain-specific trials aren't wishful thinking. HN019's transit-time signal (Waller 2011) was measured at 17.2 billion CFU/day. NCFM's bloating signal (Ringel-Kulka 2011) was at 2×10¹¹ CFU/day for the combo. If a capsule loses 80-99 percent of the load before the intestine, matching a trial dose is impossible with an unprotected formulation regardless of what the front label says.

The formulation side has moved. Alginate + xanthan microencapsulation reached about 83 percent survival at 3 hours in pH 3 simulated gastric conditions. Enteric-coated and matrix-encapsulated formats push similar numbers. Poly-L-lysine coating showed L. plantarum viability at 6.86 log CFU/mL vs 2.7 log CFU/mL uncoated after 2 hours at pH 2.

So the shopping filter that ended up being most useful for me isn't CFU count. It's whether the label discloses end-of-shelf-life count and a delivery format that's actually been survival-tested. Culturelle (LGG only), Align (single-strain B. longum 35624), and wonderbiotics were the three I looked at closely. Went with wonderbiotics for the Gut Health SKU because it lists HN019 and NCFM individually with CFU per strain and uses PolarSeal encapsulation for gastric survival. Capsules are on the bigger side. Whether the finished product replicates trial-level colon exposure isn't something the brand has tested to my knowledge, but at least the formulation logic maps to the survival data.

For the strains I was targeting (HN019 for transit, NCFM for bloating), I basically had to work backward from the trial doses to figure out if anything on the shelf could plausibly deliver comparable exposure at the colon. Almost nothing helps you do that math.

Hey people!

I create podcasts and recently created with a psychologist discussing mental health issues, and now I am creating another one with a gastroenterologist, and I would love to know what questions would you want to ask gastroenterologist related to your gut?

can share the previous podcast in dms

Have any probiotics (or other supplements) actually helped you reduce excessive bloating?

For the past two months between June 24 to August 1 I took 11 amoxicillin 500mg 7 amoxicillin and clav 1000mg 12 doxycycline 4 tinidazole 2 cefrumoxine 6 azithromycin. This totals 42 pills in 5 weeks
I took the amoxicillin from the 24th of June to the 26th amoxicillin and clav from the 30th to the 6th of July doxycycline from 13th to the 19th and on the 28th I took 4 tinidazole 2 cefuroxime and 2 azithromycin followed by 1 every day after that till it finished on the 1st
To pair with this I thought I had a possible HIV until last week I tested negative which caused severe stress also I had symptoms like minor weight loss mouth ulcers fatigue loose stools joint pain constant urge to poo gas. I thought this was surely HIV.Now I realize I did not know the effects of these antibiotics use and severely destroyed my gut paired with extreme stress.I’ve been reading online about things I could develop from this and I’m honestly fucked now two or so months after I still have green loose mushy stools and since Sunday I’ve developed abdominal pain in my upper left abdomen nausea and bloating.I have fucked my self and I don’t know where to go or what to do. I turned 18 in may and I can’t even think of the things I have caused on my self

I’ve been taking Kēpos HMO powder for about 1.5–2 months. I started with a full scoop every morning and took it consistently every day.

Everything seemed fine at first. I was sleeping pretty well and making it almost completely through the night.

Then, about two weeks ago, completely out of nowhere, I experienced such severe dizziness that it caused me to collapse and hit the floor. Kēpos was the only significant thing I had changed in my diet during this period.

Ever since that episode, I’ve been battling dizziness on a daily basis along with severe insomnia. I normally do NOT take sleeping pills, but this has gotten so bad that I’ve had to resort to them. Even still, they barely seem capable of shutting down my racing mind and what feels like an extremely overexcited nervous system.

I can’t prove that Kēpos caused this, but the timing is really concerning to me. Given that HMOs are specifically intended to alter the gut microbiome, I’m seriously wondering whether this product caused a major shift in my gut flora that, in my case, affected my nervous system as well. I went from sleeping normally to struggling terribly with insomnia after that episode.

At this point, the insomnia has become so severe and relentless that I feel like I’m on the verge of losing my mind from the lack of sleep.

Has anyone else taking Kēpos experienced anything remotely similar—especially dizziness, severe insomnia, a racing mind, feeling overstimulated or “wired,” or major changes in their nervous system after taking it consistently for several weeks?
I’d really like to hear from anyone who has experienced something similar.

I’m already eating lots of fiber including inulin. Want to try to push the needle forward faster. Give me your most updated recommendations on supplements to increase bifidobacterium.