Interesting - Gut bacteria and anxiety

Hey MissGigi,

You know what, I was actually just thinking about how it seems my anxiety always increases after I take antibiotics. Strangely a couple weeks after I have finished the course. However, you never really know what is paranoia and what is the real deal when it comes to anxiety disorders . But, it is an interesting concept and it is cool to see the research being done on it.

Park- I would start a probiotic and a PREbiotic to get your gut flora back in balance. They are wrecked after all those antibiotics.

I just read a good study from John Hopkins on IBS and there was much talk on anxiety. Another is Leaky Gut Syndrome. The more you read the more you understand just how much is not understood in the gut, which is basically the 2nd brain. Probioticx can be a big help, but the flora not need be out of whack for the gut to cause anxiety. Numerous disease of the gastrointestinal tract can cause nerves to send unstable signals back to the brain via the vagus nerve, among others. I am hoping 2015 sees a huge increase in funding for gastro disorders, as I think everything from the common cold to cancer will benefit.

You guys, how amazing! My symptoms have really turned to my gut as of lately! So strange to be chatting about this at just the "right" time. I even had a run to the ER last week because of severe abdominal pains (like a stabbing knife) for two hours straight!

But ever since February of last year, I have had a terribly hard time digesting food. Which is good for the scale, but not so good for my belly or my anxiety. Hmmmmmm..... This must all be connected somehow!! Thanks so much for sharing this link!

My belly is really feeling icky today too. Not sure what's up!

I constantly read about IBS,because I think thats 100% of where my problem with anxiety, and now occassional heart skips, originate from. This morning my stomach pain was unreal. Doc says its stomach, but it honestly feels like colon pain. about 10 minutes later I get the urge for a bowel movement. I go, and instantly feel my heart pounding, no skips no fast heart rate, just pounding. It went away 15 minutes later, but that got my mind in investigative mode again.

So I been reading all day. I finally got tired of reading studies so I went to druqs(dot)com and looked up IBS. After reading reviews for traditional drugs, I clicked on the off label generic drugs used for IBS. One that stands out, with overwhelming success, is Amitriptyline. Personally I have never tried this drug, and since my BP is prehypertensive(most likely due to anxiety) I am leary of trying it. I HAVE tried a couple SSRI's but my body doesnt handle them at all, instantly lethargic and sleep 16-20 hours a day. But for those that can handle SSRI's they can be a big help for IBS.

Point being, there is just so much evidence pointing to the correlation between stomach and brain that I personally, as a sufferer of both, am completely convinced most of our problems start in the stomach and not the brain. We NEED greater scientific intervention as im sure a cure is out there. If only our issues were more important than the all might dollar!

I have also wondered about a connection with these things. I've noticed that a large poration of people who have anxiety have at least one type of stomach issue. I have personally noticed that my anxiety has been much worse since my stomach started giving me trouble in 2013.

The very worst of my anxiety happened last year after a huge diet change (huge amount of beef products) in an attempt to save money by eating things my husband eats (he's allergic to poultry, shellfish. Doesn't like pork, fish, fruits or veggies). After two weeks of eating a husband friendly diet I started to feel extremely fatuiged. I had horrible nausea, loss of appetite and tons of other symtpoms. Within a week my anxiety was in overdrive and it took anti anxiety meds to calm me down. I've never needed them prior to that episode.

Even now I still deal with reflux, stomach discomfort, dizziness and fatuige after eating anything but healthy meals. I really think there's some kind of link!