![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 2 of 2. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Lao Tzu on January 31, 2011, at 13:00:34
Probiotics may affect tryptophan levels over time, I read somewhere. Not that I really care about tryptophan levels. I'm already taking an SSRI and I still have social anxiety. I did read somewhere about someone who used specific brands of Probiotics to cure his social anxiety. I can't find any other source to back it up, but I have been investigating the link between health of the digestive system and its impact on the mind. So far, it seems rather vague to me, not a lot of scientific proof or clinical trials. I do in fact believe that the mind and gut are closely tied together because I have had digestive problems ever since I've had the bipolar disorder/schizophrenia. A long time ago it started off as sluggish bowel with a lot of severe constipation, bloating, gas, etc. More recently, it's been a very severe case of GERD. The sluggish bowel is nearly gone due to the medications I'm on. In other words, the doctor treated the depression, so the bowel problem resolved itself. Similarly, if you treat a gastrointestinal problem with a drug, it likely will have some impact on the brain due to a sharing of similar neurotransmitters. Whether Probiotics will have a significant impact on mental health is debatable, but it is in the realm of possibility. To what degree, I don't know. Could it cure a mental illness completely? I'm skeptical. I just haven't seen the proof yet. However, I have begun taking a probiotic everyday to see if it helps with anxiety over the long-term. I will post my results in a couple months if I stay with the treatment.
Lao
Posted by Lao Tzu on February 2, 2011, at 16:53:05
In reply to Probiotics lessen Anxiety??, posted by Lao Tzu on January 31, 2011, at 13:00:34
I think the probiotics might possibly be causing nausea so I stopped taking them. Has anyone had this experience? I was probably falsely thinking that probiotics would help mental illness, but I'm very skeptical unless you have dysbiosis or some other severe gastrointestinal problems like candida infection. Probably, if your bowels are working okay, you don't need probiotics. I used to have sluggish bowel, but it resolved when I was on the psych meds for a few years, so it is true that the gut uses neurotransmitters that your brain uses, particularly serotonin receptors. That's why my peristalsis is working normally. The key is to find the right antidepressant to effect a change in the bowels. Prozac and amitryptiline have been used for bowel problems. I am taking Zoloft and that works fine for me. I had used Effexor XR and that didn't work for my sluggish bowel at all. I think that years ago when I was on Provigil that might have helped somewhat since it is a stimulant medication. Now I am on a high dose of Risperdal and Zoloft and I think the combination has helped a lot. It could be that if you treat the depression in your brain you are also treating the gut as well. Medication does have its advantages.
Lao
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Alternative | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.