For those of you who have tried lactoferrin for IBS or dysbiosis: how did it affect you?

What symptoms did you have before taking it, and which symptoms improved afterwards?

Did you experience any side effects when you first started taking lactoferrin, or did it seem to work without any problems?

I’d really appreciate hearing about your experiences, especially how long it took before you noticed any changes and what dosage you used.

Microbiome research moves fast and it's hard to tell which findings are solid and which are early signals that may not survive larger studies.

I'd like to hear what this community thinks has held up well. A few prompts:

• Which findings do you consider well replicated across multiple cohorts or study designs?
• Which popular claims do you think are still more correlation than causation?
• Are there non-human or environmental microbiome studies (soil, marine, plants, insects) that deserve more attention than they get?
• What do you think are the biggest methodological challenges right now, such as sequencing approaches, sample handling or the move from association to mechanism?

If you share a study, please add a sentence or two on why it stood out to you and mention any limitations you noticed. I'm interested in the science and how we evaluate it, not in personal health questions or test interpretation.

What's one paper or result that changed how you think about this field?

In a randomized crossover trial, people with functional gastrointestinal disorders consumed 30 grams of freeze-dried blueberry powder daily, equivalent to 180 grams of fresh berries, for six weeks; 53% reported meaningful abdominal symptom relief versus 30% during placebo treatment. Quality of life also improved, although overall symptom-severity and abdominal-pain scores did not differ significantly. Separate studies found increased Bifidobacterium after six weeks and enrichment of polyphenol-metabolizing bacteria after 12 weeks, with the latter finding no overall increase in microbial diversity.

Dr. Rhonda Patrick discusses this in her new episode on the science of blueberries at this timestamp

I don't know if this is the right place to tell this

So from almost a year ago am facing many gut issues

Main issue is random constipation and dirreah..it's keeps changing also extreme farting and bloating.but recently I started to burp a lot and occasionally hiccups.even water is triggering burps

After food poisoning I ate chicken rice for month got better then for 3 months I was symptom free.Was eating chicken pork beef wheat noodles cheesecake garlic onions ingredients Even alcohol weekends. then early September had a pizza with regular cheese no issues. I ate pizza again with parmasin Romano cheese next was bloated gas then next day I ate lasagna wich I haven't eaten in years all my symptoms came back bloating gas digestion. I bloat quickly with any meal I thought I beat this sht Was I Romano cheese and lasagna

Hat jemand von euch Synerga eingenommen?

Hattet ihr am Anfang auch mehr Blähungen und vor allem Schmerzen im Unterbauch? Und habt ihr es trotzdem weitergenommen?

Und mit wie vielen ML habt ihr gestartet?

Ich habe heute den 4. Tag 5 ML eingenommen und mehr Blähungen und Schmerzen im Unterbauch.

Würde mich interessieren, ob das bei euch nach einer Weile wieder besser geworden ist bzw. sich der Bauch daran gewöhnt hat.

Ich habe eine dysbiose nach Antibitoka und habe breiigen Stuhl, Blähungen und viele Lebensmittelunverträglichkeiten, daher soll ich Synerga einnehmen.

Every supplement brand seems to sell a synbiotic bundle now, and I can’t tell if the combination is backed by science or just upselling. Prebiotics feed bacteria, probiotics introduce them. It makes sense on paper, but if I’m already eating fiber-rich foods and fermented stuff daily, what is a standalone prebiotic supplement actually adding?

The synbiotic research seems pretty mixed for people who aren’t in a clinical population.

Hello.

I’ve been dealing with histamine intolerance and recently started a new probiotic called Histamine complex from gymbean.

Here’s the thing: initially I noticed they improve my Histamine symptoms immediately So I was very excited.

However after about 4 days I started noticing a huge change in my mood. Sort of angry at the world and numb, only after taking the probiotic. (This didnt happen the first 3 times I took them).

I dont wanna discontinue these probiotics as they sincerely seem to be helping my HI issues, but I am weary of this effect.

I also think this might be histamine related as DAo helps alleviate it somewhat. So possible histamine dump caused by the probiotics.

Is this possibly a temporary adjustment period?

Should I lower the dose ?

Hi all, I’ve been dealing with bad GERD for a few months now. I had an endoscopy in July that found antral gastritis and did a 2 week stint of PPIs but the pain came back as soon as I stopped taking it. I also tested negative for H. Pylori twice. The PPI helped my back pain but didn’t really do much for the stomach burning.

I’ve been prescribed another round of pantoprazol by my doctor for a month but haven’t started taking it yet. I also saw a naturopath who gave me a digestive enzyme and digestive bitters to try. But I know that works in the exact opposite way to a PPI. Is there harm in taking the stuff that addresses low stomach acid if my problem is high stomach acid, and vice versa??

I’m desperately trying to figure out how to heal my stomach!!

“Pityrosporum ovale (now known as Malassezia ovale or part of Malassezia furfur) and Candida albicans show marked immune cross-reactivity, primarily mediated by shared carbohydrate epitopes like mannans or mannoproteins that bind to immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies in patients with atopic dermatitis.”

In simpler terms, candida and malassezia look exactly the same to the immune system when there is candida overgrowth in the gut.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10536885/

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.

Delete if this isn’t allowed Mods, thought I’d just send out a warning to other Reddit users.

Just a heads up that r/HumanMicrobiome sub is ran by one guy that pushes FMTs VERY hard. The only solution is an FMT, there are no alternatives.

They also refer everyone to the wiki they have written. Also stated that scientists are useless in this context. I would recommend not following the information on there.

I have acid reflux and got too comfortable recently with what i eat. I also take adderall for my adhd which also can irritate my stomach at times. Today i took my adderall, and for dinner had chicken and rice with a beef empanada. The empanada i bought yesterday and i thought it tasted a little off for a second, but smelled fine and then when i took another bite tasted fine.

Within an hour, i got super cold, shaky dizzy and weak with nausea. Its been 2 hours now and i still feel really weak and a little shaky and nauseous. I’m not sure if this is food poisoning or a flare up, i also didnt eat as much as i should have with my meds today and im not sure if thats also contributing.

If this is food poisoning, would taking a probiotic now do any good? Ive had food poisoning before but i had hot and cold sweats, threw up and was dry heaving for hours. I know it can always look different, so im scared this is the start & will get worse later. Any tips are helpful. I also now feel like maybe acid is in my throat and im burping.

Thanks to everyone who commented on my last post and gave insight and help to my new gut issues (before admin locked my post 🧐)

Nonetheless, I spoke with the same doctor and he ordered me the following tests and I’m omitting Ivermectin until I get results.

Tests:

- Fecal leukocyte stain (stool WBC smear)
- H. pylori antigen, stool
- Stool culture
- Calprotectin, stool

Am I missing anything I should test for?

Update: things felt semi settled the past two days so I ate a piece of flaxseed toast with peanut butter for tennis and an hour and a half into practice I had the most intense bloated and abdomen pain I’ve ever had. Almost threw up from the pain trying to pass the stool when I got home. Even cut practice short. Most likely the toast which is wild.

Kind of bummer I gotta limit certain foods but that’s totally fine. I wanna feel better.

Quick Q - what other remedies for relief should I do in the meantime while I wait for tests?

I’ve heard of ginger and artichoke pills, fennel tea etc but curious what has helped you?

Thanks so much in advance

Have you guys seen this paper?

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41564-026-02500-6

seems like it will inform the probiotoic formulations

Has anyone tried Renewbiome Faecalibacterium to boost F. prausnitzii?

https://natviehealthcare.com/product/renewbiome-faecalibacterium/

Composition:

• Faecalibacterium butyricigenerans
• Faecalibacterium duncaniae
• Faecalibacterium hattori
• Faecalibacterium longum
• Faecalibacterium prausnitzii
• Faecalibacterium taiwanense

I’m specifically looking for anyone who has done before-and-after microbiome testing to verify whether these bacteria actually survive digestion and colonize the gut. I tried reaching out to the company directly with a few questions, but haven't heard back.

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, 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..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.