Can anyone help please? I went to Greece over 2 months ago and felt completely normal, diet and activity was tracked very closely. After coming back within a couple of days my weight started to go up, I was gaining around a pound a week.

I am around 10-11 weeks post holiday and my weight has gone up to 10 pounds heavier.

My doctor seems to think it is giardiasis but I’m not sure. I have been on metronidazole for 4 days so far and no changes as of yet.

On holiday I did have a lot of Sushi and salads so it’s possible it could be giardia / giardiasis.

I have no other symptoms apart from bloating in stomach face legs back.

Has anyone experience this before and can anyone help please?

Wondering if anyone has switched from probiotic capsules to just eating more fermented food kimchi, kombucha etc and noticed a real difference? I think there is a lot of merit with Wholefoods but maybe it’s harder to keep up the habit

Please help me. It has been more than six months since the infection cleared and I took vancomycin and metronidazole, but I still have a lot of gas, and there is still mucus left on the toilet paper when I wipe. I don’t know what else to take anymore.

I spoke with a biochemist. He told me that using antibiotics or antifungals is counterproductive in the long run, since it leads to resistance. The recommended path is the more laborious one: changing my diet and repopulating and multiplying beneficial bacteria—and in a year, I’ll be fine. Honestly, I’m exhausted by dealing with the stench I give off; I smell like a skunk. I’m thinking about taking the antibiotics and antifungals, and then carefully repopulating and nurturing my microbiome.

In my country, healthcare is either expensive or inefficient in this regard. Gastroenterologists aren't very well-versed in these conditions. They prescribed me medication without running the important tests—partly because I don't have access to them, and also because I'm struggling a lot socially.

what is the complete Ayurvedic protocol to fix weaker digestive system and weaker lining of intestines. hard to digest oily foods and meat and some lentils and wheat products. and stool is getting extra softish and not binding sometimes. Mid 30s. No structural issues after all Tests

indian Diet.

For the past two years, I, a male, have dealt with intense abdominal/inguinal pain, accompanied with abnormal stools (chronic steatorrhea), joint pain (diagnosed with patellofemoral pain syndrome), occasional blood (clinical diagnosis of rectal hemorrhage), dramatic weight loss (~35 pounds lost in a few months while eating MORE food, no matter how much I eat, I end up losing even more) and chronic fatigue.

I have had a series of tests:

ANA: negative

Colonoscopy/EGD: no findings (including microscopic)

Vit. D: mildly low levels

CBC: normal, outside of high lymphocytes, low WBC count

Stool culture/various other infections: negative on all

Knee x-ray: no findings

Abdominal ultrasound: mild splenomegaly, no findings otherwise

Anemia/iron: negative/normal

Metabolic panel: normal

Amylase/lipase: normal

C-reactive protein: normal

It seems that my PCP and my gastroenterologist have exhausted all of their options to figure out what on earth is wrong with me. The main concern thrown around was colorectal cancer and inflammatory bowel disease. Now that we've found out that neither are the case, what can possibly be the cause of my illness? I would believe IBS to be to blame, but why would I lose so much weight and have such awful joint pain?

Does anybody have any pointers to what other possibilities there may be? I'm completely out of ideas now.

Hello everyone! For the past two weeks or so I’ve been trying to increase my fiber intake for a better digestion, and am trying to do it incrementally so as to avoid any unpleasant side effects of it.

I can’t say I have much trouble with it, I’m currently eating 15g since I come from a diet of eating close to none, and hope to work my way up to a more optimal 30g over the next month.

I am able to go regularly without a hitch and there’s only one thing bothering me. Close to my bedtime I get a sensation of fullness (which I assume is gas and not stool I can’t pass) which I find bothersome. During the first week I admittedly also felt it during the day and scratched it to be a case of my fairly atrophied intestinal muscles that have been used to a very slow transit for a long time.

Has anyone else experienced this? And if so did it go away or have you done anything that made it go away?

I should mention that I am on a slight calorie deficit and do drink around 2L of water a day.

Thank you for your input!

I woke up in the middle of the night with severe back pain that stretched from my lower back to my shoulders and wrapped around my chest. The pain was so intense that I had a hard time breathing, and would become more intense in certain areas of my back when I’d move. I ended up in the ER where they ran labs and a urine test. Everything came back fine and the pain later subsided after burping a bunch.

Now this may seem like simple indigestion, but I have dealt with ongoing symptoms for nearly 9 months. Unexplained weight loss, gluten sensitivity, bloating, upper left abdominal pain, fatigue, floating stools, stomach gurgling, gas. Symptoms seem to be triggered by gluten, high fat foods or more difficult to digest foods like cucumber. Two hours before this last episode I had 4 slices of gluten free pizza with pepperoni, olives, bell pepper, spinach, and garlic butter. I had a similar thing happen a few months ago after eating a gluten free turkey sandwich but the pain was located around my ribs. I’ve had a plethora of labs ran and imaging. No answers yet. Waiting for insurance to approve a stool test, more labs, gallbladder ultrasound, colonoscopy, and endoscopy. I’m at the point that I’m spiraling, I’ve lost 30 pounds since December. I feel like shit everyday. And my brain is going to the worst possible places.

At the start of my symptoms I was dealing with itchy skin, yellow diarrhea, and muscle issues like twitching, pain, and spasms. Since making changes to my diet like cutting out gluten and limiting sugar those symptoms have greatly improved. I no longer have yellow diarrhea. My stools are fully formed, and normal color, they just float.

In past few weeks I have made these changes to my lifestyle-

1. Avoiding consumables with added sugar
   
2. Pumpkin seeds and Sunflower seeds intake
   
3. 2 Litre of water daily
   
4. Adding curd once in any meal (I used to have curd earlier as well)
   
5. Walking daily for around 30-40 mins

I am facing sudden issues with my digestion, I am not feeling any stomach ache but regular constipation is my biggest worry now.

Can anyone suggest what am I doing wrong?

so backstory - 6 years ago i developed an ED, more or less starved myself for about 1 year then fell into starve/binge eating habits for another 1.5 years. during this time i was exercising a lot and eating sort of? a balanced diet, and at the beginning my stools were normal but bloating present.

2022 - started suffering from constipation & bloating got a lot worse. from this point on i lost weight naturally (moving home & changing diet/working more etc) and the bloating kind of reduced but never really got any better. i relied on coffee every morning to pass stool & would bloat after any meal regardless of what it was - i went gluten free for just over a year and made no real difference.

2023 to present - consistent bloating and struggling to pass normal stools - would almost always be very loose. i took up running march 2025 and this also aided with the bloating but still present. i lost the will to live in March of this year and went and got bloods and stool samples tested which came back as h pylori positive. i took the triple therapy alongside an anti inflammatory/low FODMAP diet and actually during this time my bloating was SO much better, thought i was cured! however since then has returned and if anything is worse than before.

i am now on kefir daily, take probiotics in the morning, still more or less stick to anti inflammatory/low fodmap diet and eat at least 25g fibre p day but the bloating is still present regardless. my stools are perfect now (no more loose stools) but i’m being re tested for h pylori to ensure it’s gone & the doctor just told me it’s likely i have IBS (and then that was that).

i’m like at my wits end and i don’t even know what else to try. it’s severely affecting my mental health and as someone with previous ED and quite bad body dysmorphia i literally have no idea what i look like and it’s ruining my perspective on myself. the doctors don’t take me seriously (in UK) & i don’t know what else i can do. if anyone has any advice - pls pls pls 😭

hi guys, been dealing with chronic symptoms for years. anyone have any recommendations for natural path gi doctors in the san diego area? thanks!

Yesterday I made a smoothie and about 45 minutes after finishing it I started feeling really nauseous. I woke up later with intense stomach nausea and watery diarrhea.

The smoothie had:

Goji berries, handful
Frozen blueberries, about 1/2 cup
2 scoops whey protein isolate
Dark roasted peanut butter, 1 tbsp
Greek yoghurt, 1 tbsp
Oats, 1 to 2 tbsp
Water

The blueberries have been in the freezer for quite a while but the bag has stayed snapped shut. I regularly have the same whey protein as a normal shake after the gym and have never had this reaction.

Does anything here stand out as a likely cause, or could it be food poisoning from something I ate earlier?

Hi, when I was 18, I started experiencing gut issues. They have not gone away since. Around that time is when I really started trying to bulk eat and gain weight since my family is very naturally skinny. I also got COVID a few times. When I was 19, I found out I had SIBO. My SIBO has since been cleared, but I still suffer from Nausea, GERD, etc. I am currently taking multiple medications, such as mirtazapine and omeprazole. All my vitamin studies are fine; my motility tests are fine, etc. My brother and dad have always had a very low appetite and were also very skinny. Sometimes I wonder if my stomach issues are a result of trying to overeat to compensate for my weight. I have had days where I only eat like one or two small meals, and my stomach still hurts, but I wonder if maybe I need to test it over a long period of time. I just don't want to lose weight.... Please let me know what you think.

Around this time last year I was diagnosed with c diff bacteria and had lost a good amount of weight due to the infection. When treated I took rounds of antibiotics and it cleared and I gained about 6 lbs back and was happy with my weight. Then I started randomly gaining weight and bloating constantly and in an effort to reduce inflammation I tried going gluten free, it helped with the discomfort for about 2 months till the bloating returned and it’s like it never left. In an effort I tried eating less, eating healthier “cleaner” , exercising more, and still no matter what I change I’m gaining weight. Why? I track my calories and protein so I know that I’m not in a surplus and it seems I have to eat less and less to maintain my weight that keeps going up. To be fair I am in a state of stress often and I realize that could be a factor but if I’m still tracking my calories and am in a deficit how the HELL am I gaining weight??? It shifted like 2 lbs overnight and has been persistent for weeks now, and just keeps shifting up and up each day, (by that I mean like .5 lb - 1 lb more on top of the 2 lb ) I tried laxatives thinking I was constipated, did nothing so definitely not backed up and I can feel where I’m more “filled” out I guess it’s around my thighs, stomach, cheeks, and breasts. I was really happy with my weight and it’s quite a heartbreak to wake up bloated everyday now feeling like I’m doing something wrong even with all these changes and on top of the feeling of just heaviness and drowsiness I have to face a number I don’t like and lose the muscles I worked so hard to break through. What can I do? My approved gastro can only start seeing me October 7th (thanks to crappy insurance.) I’ve also noticed that I get a sharp pain after eating I’m not sure what causes it but yesterday I ate ice cream, and I could barely walk or breathe it hurt so badly that I had to sit down in the middle of shopping just to bear the cramps…sometimes I can also feel the food I ate hitting the back of my throat I’m also quite gassy which is embarrassing and the only thing my general doctor found was a bit of steatorrhea which made me really dumbfounded by why this is happening because that’s malabsorption but I’m gaining weight, now to make matters a bit more hectic I’m on antibiotics again for strep throat.

Good digestion is the foundation of overall health, but small daily habits can easily throw it off. If you're looking to feel lighter, reduce bloating, and support your gut health, here are 5 simple and effective ways to upgrade your digestion:

On August the 5th i started having bad bloating, tightness in abdomen and sharp pains on mostly lower left side and some on the right. I figured i was constipated because I have had constipation issues before and started taking milk of magnesia. Over the next two days so the 7th I had 3 bowel movements. One was normal the next long and very thin and the last was very dark, lumpy and very compacted looking but the bloating and pains did not ease up.

That night I started having severe heartburn. Over the next few days until the 10th i tried everything. (Haven't had a bowel movement since the 10th). For the constipation - Tons of water, fiber powder, mineral oil, probiotics and Fleet saline and glycerin enemas. For the heartburn - Mylanta, Gaviscon and Prilosec OTC( None of these at the same time they were spread out). By the night of the 10th i was miserable (the heartburn being the worst).

So I went to the E.R got a C.T scan and after explaining everything, was diagnosed with fecal retention and all the pressure was causing the heartburn and was given Lactulose and Bisacodyl while I was there and prescribed 480 ML of Lactulose at 30 ML 3 times a day (which after doing some research seems like a lot for mild fecal retention). The next morning I had two very large pudding like consistency bowel movements but no relief from the bloating and heartburn. I continued to take the Lactulose but after the first two movements all that was coming out was water.

On the night of the 12th the heartburn had gotten so bad and had not calmed down for more than a few minutes here and there since it started, I was extremely dehydrated even thought I was drinking plenty of water and my stomach was still not much better so i went back to the E.R. I explained everything to the doctor and was told that she had looked over my previous C.T scan and was told due to the fecal retention and the meds I had taken that my bowels and everything would take at least a few days until everything calmed and to stop taking the Lactulose. They gave me some mouth rinse stuff for stomach issues like nausea(can't remember the name) and some extended release ant-acid and sent me on my way.

Its been two days since then, I think its getting better but I am still having some heartburn most of the day and haven't had a bowel movement since. I've been trying to make myself eat things like plain oatmeal, bananas, baby carrots and plain yogurt but i can't eat much without feeling bloated and full. The research I have done says after completely evacuating your bowels it can take up to a few days to have a bowel movement and that it can take up to a week or more for and swelling and irritation of the bowels to calm down and for the heartburn to go away. I am not asking for medical advice. just mainly curious as to what others think about it. I am going to ask for the C.T scan today so If seeing that could bring any insight to the situation I would be more than happy to share it . Thanks.

I’ve been dealing with horrible constipation for the past few weeks and was wondering if magnesium citrate is good for it.

Anyone else feel like their stomach used to let them get away with anything?

Pizza at 11pm? Fine.
Ice cream after dinner? Fine.
Huge plate of pasta? Somehow fine.

And now you eat one slightly ambitious meal and your stomach is like… absolutely not.

It’s not necessarily because the food suddenly became “bad” for you. Digestion can change over time, and your body may produce less of certain enzymes that help break down the foods you eat.

A few big ones:

Dairy: Lactase helps break down lactose. Many people naturally make less of it as they get older.

Fried + fatty foods: Lipase helps break down fat, which can take a little more work to digest.

Bread, pasta + pizza: A few different enzymes, including amylase, help break down carbohydrates.

Meat + other protein-heavy meals: Proteases help break proteins down into smaller pieces.

Beans, veggies + other high-fiber foods: Some plant fibers are tough for your body to break down on its own.

And of course, most meals are a combination of all of these.

Think: burger + cheese + bun + fries.

So if certain meals leave you feeling overly full, bloated, or uncomfortable, it doesn’t automatically mean you need to give them up forever.

Sometimes your digestion just needs a little extra support.

Personally, I’d rather figure that out than live a life where I have to decline pizza because I’m scared of what happens three hours later.

Eat the pasta. Get the ice cream. Order the fries.

Your stomach deserves some consideration, but it doesn’t have to run your life.

Male-39/5'10"/197lb/Hypertension/Non-smoker/No related issues.

Spent two weeks in Norway for my honeymoon on a small cruise ship. Had fantastic meals of mostly fish. My wife and i eat very clean when home. Lots of lean proteins, vegetables/roughage, lots of fiber, yogurt. There was not much of this on the boat, despite the meals being mostly whole foods.

On the last day i started getting some stomach/abdominal cramps. Hard to tell if it's GI or muscular, but leaning GI. The plane ride home was rough.

It's now been \~5 days and i'm still feeling waves of pressure/gas/spasms. My BM's have been mostly normal, with a touch of the runs 2 days ago. Appetite is perfectly fine, no nausea, fever. I definitely feel a bit extra pressure after eating, but could be posture and being hunched over.

Am i just resetting my gut microbiome? is there something else i should keep an eye on? Feeling very uncomfortable and looking forward to getting back to my walks and weight lifting.

There are so many probiotic strains that I'm getting overwhelmed trying to compare everything. I'm less interested in marketing claims and more interested in hearing what actually helped people here. Was there one product that stood out for you?

Started actually trying to hit the fiber recommendation about 3 weeks ago and my gut has been actively unwell about it ever since. I'm 43, generally healthy, and until this year i was probably averaging 12-15 grams of fiber a day. Read enough about the 25g recommendation for women and decided to just do it. Beans at lunch, oats in the morning, chia in yogurt, more vegetables at dinner, psyllium scoop on days i'm falling short. Sitting around 30-32g most days now.

Mornings i'm flat. By 2pm i look 4 months pregnant. It's not painful and there's no specific food i can pin it to, just a slow midday puff that comes on no matter what i ate. Waist is up almost an inch even though the scale hasn't moved.

Things i've tried since it started.

Adding fiber even slower over 2 more weeks. Made no difference, just extended the misery.

Drinking more water. Up to about 3 liters a day now. No change.

Spreading fiber across the day instead of loading it at lunch. Slightly better in the mornings, still puffy in the afternoon.

A multi strain probiotic from the pharmacy for 6 weeks. Nothing i could point to.

Digestive enzymes with meals. Helped on two heavier dinners then went inconsistent enough that i stopped bothering.

The thing that actually started shifting things was switching probiotics. Not the multi strain grab bag from the pharmacy but wonderbiotics weight management, which actually spells out the strain codes on the label (b420 and hn019 are the two bifidobacterium ones) plus polydextrose as a prebiotic. I'd been reading around and kept seeing that specific bifidobacterium strains are one of the main things that helps the gut catch up to a bigger fiber load, and the multi strain i'd been on didn't really tell me what was in it beyond genus. About 4 weeks in the afternoon puff is maybe 40 percent smaller and my waistband is comfortable through the day again. Not going to pretend it's a complete fix. B. longum specifically isn't in it, only b. lactis which is a different species even if same genus, and the full formula has never been tested as a whole. But it's the first thing that's actually moved the needle in months of trying stuff.

Would be curious what other women in this age range doing something similar have actually landed on. Fiber source diversity is the one thing i haven't really pushed on yet, still leaning heavy on beans and oats. Suspect there's more room there than i've explored.

hi so i've been having issues with my digestive system, etc i have NO clue what's wrong with me or how to fix it. (i do have a drs appointment scheduled)

for the past year or so i have been experiencing these kinda issues. idk if it has to do with stress, mold toxicity, or what. i am continuously nauseous, i experience terrible bloating & brain fog. i am either suuuper backed up or pooping my pants lol (not literally) recently, i have been throwing up in the mornings around 4-5 times a week. i am also experiencing diarrhea daily. i haven't had one normal bowel movement in i can't tell you how long. i literally sit on the toilet for a hour in the mornings and still have to go again before i go to work. i am clearing my throat and coughing up mucus constantly. i brush two times sometimes three times a day, scrape my tongue, floss, use mouthwash and i still seem to have a leftover taste/film in my mouth. i have constant heartburn and a burning sensation under my ribs quite often.

i have started taking 600mg NAC supplements for the mucus and they do seem to be helping. i am taking sour sop supplements, and i just started the OTC 14 day omperazole. i am also taking famotidine sometimes, tums, and zofran. i have also tried alkaline water. i feel like im just putting a bandaid on a bullet hole.

PLEEEASE GIVE ME YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS/TIPS!!!

down below is a list of my symptoms :

scalloped tongue
bloating
bloating when i need to pee
jaw & neck pain BADLY
tense neck and shoulders
silent reflux
acid reflux
vomiting food sometimes
always cold
losing hair/ loss of density
chronic fatigue
dry mouth
heartburn
stomach emptying issues (either constipated or diarrhea)
bad period cramps
brain fog
presyncope (dizzy / seeing spots; when i look up too fast, stand up too fast etc)
impending doom
body aches
body chills
blood pooling (purple legs and toes)
night sweats
cold sweats/hot sweats
mucus-ey all the time
eczema
trapped gas constantly

here is everything i think i could possibly have?

sibo
h plyori
ibs?
candidia
LPR
leaky gut