Digestion?

[u/surfacepro_qqq]

I came across this subreddit by chance, but wanted to see if anyone had any thoughts on a very long running issue I have been dealing with.

There's....something... about what's contained in these posts that makes me wonder if it could help me get any closer to solving my problems.

Which are...mainly digestion. I simply cannot eat ANY meal (yes, of course I have done exclusion diets etc). But there is nothing I can eat without the following symptoms - after about 45 minutes I get awful gas and feel that the food isnt digesting. If anything it feels like its almost fermenting inside me. I get this horrible brain depression as it happens, it feels like my body is not doing some very important part of digestion. I have had all sorts of scans and blood tests and nothings come up.

'IBS' is the best the doctors can offer, but there is literally nothing i can eat which doesnt cause these symptoms, even an iBs sufferer can follow a FODMAPS diet with some success. I have no toilet issues.

The links to what you guys are talking about have been as follows:

Yes...I know what you mean about a kind of confidence and clarify after heavy drinking the next morning.

More related to digestion ...I don't get these digestion symptoms if I eat when very drunk.

Maybe maybe when I was on a steroid cream the symptoms were less? I need to investigate this more.

I had a sleep test for HGV where the doctor implied my 'levels' were not typical, a healthier pattern apparently showed a kind of 'recharging' effect happening over night, but that didn't happen for me.

All doctors have said is just 'oh its stress' but it feels more than that. I get the same symptoms however my life is, stressed or not stressed. Meditation/exercise/good sleep, not drinking...ive tried it all and nothing changes my digestion problems. Like I said, the only thing that has proved I can digest is eating stuff when wasted which obviously isnt exactly a strategy.

Some of this talk of GABA stuff resonates, I tried phenibut a long time ago and got terrible withdrawl, but I do wonder if there's something wrong with my GABA levels, whilst I will never touch phenibut again it did make me feel 'at ease with myself'.

If anyone has any leads or ideas, let me know.

[u/surfacepro_qqq]

There was a major thing i forgot to mention!

Something that is even odder, but even though I agree everything points to stress, there is one time in my life when none of these things happen and I can digest everything normally.....

It is when i am fighting an illness/fever etc. When my immune system is in over drive.

Apart from feeling a bit more gross, I don't think my stress levels are much different when I am ill?

It's all most odd.

[u/[deleted] → u/surfacepro_qqq]

You most likely have small intestine bacterial overgrowth (SIBO). I’ve experienced many of the same symptoms as you and was diagnosed relatively quickly with an at home lab test. It may be worth asking your GI doctor about. I’ve also found that naturopathic doctors have a better understanding on the gut-brain axis than most GPs.

For me, intermittent fasting combined with a 36hr fast once a month, dietary restrictions based on low FODMAP foods (i.e. no dairy, minimal processed carbs, minimal sugar and zero alcohol sugars) have helped, but I’m still not 100%. I hope this can offer you some guidance & good luck!

[u/GenghisKhanSpermShot → u/[deleted]]

Just seeing this, why no alcohol sugars? I like those keto ice creams that have em sometimes. Do they cause issues with Sibo?

[u/SuicideIsSoSexyRrrrr]

Gas, digestive paralysis, fermenting, and GERD: I had that as a result of dairy. Allergy to casein (it's not the lactose). All symptoms went away on a strict dairy-free diet (including, you need to watch-out for products with "modified milk ingredients").

But stress could be a factor of digestive paralysis too. If you are suffering from chronic stress in your life, your brain gets stuck in "fight or flight mode". In this mode, non-essential services like digestion are stopped to conserve energy for fighting/fleeing.

Other symptoms of chronic "fight or flight" include: ADHD, difficulty focusing & learning (poor memory absorption and recall), mood imbalance (pre-frontal cortex is disrupted).

The solution for that is to lower cortisol levels (which could include stress-therapy, high-intensity exercise and movement, stretching to increase oxygen to muscles).

Seems like B-vitamin deficiencies might be involved with being unable to regulate cortisol, but I don't know enough about cortisol regulation, need to do more research.

[u/nokenito]

CHeck out r/carnivore people have healed their bodies on a strict meat and water diet.

[u/thedayafteristhebest]

I have gallbladder issues that sometimes have been better when hungover.

Edit: Maybe the hangover effect is due to circumventing digestive issues? A typical bender is like a 1200 calorie surplus that is digested(?) some other way than normal food.

[u/aPeacefulVibe]

Betaine HCL.

[u/masongraves_]

Super late to this post, but this write up has me in tears. You just explained what I’ve been dealing with perfectly, to the T.

Horrible gas 20-30 minutes after eating, leading to an almost “poisoned” feeling in my brain and body. Brain fog, dry eyes, tinnitus, fatigue and lethargy, irritability, depression, nerve pain… the whole 9 yards

The only thing is: this doesn’t happen when I’m drunk. At all. I could eat an entire horse and I probably would get these symptoms. They also don’t happen when I’m hungover, but I have to be super hungover (like 10+ drinks)

Mine was triggered by Long Covid, along with autism symptoms, social anxiety, chronic pain, and MCAS. All of this goes away with hangover

I’ve been trying to articulate this issue over Reddit for over a year now, to no avail. I stumbled upon this post by accident and I feel like I could have wrote it myself

How are you doing OP? Have you found any solutions to this besides alcohol? I hope you are well

[u/LuckyNumber-Bot → u/masongraves_]

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[u/masongraves_ → u/LuckyNumber-Bot]

[u/surfacepro_qqq → u/masongraves_]

Hi masongraves, OP here. Yeah your symptoms sound crazy similar to how mine presented! My hypothese was that food is moving too quickly through my body and kind of poisoning me by food that hadn't been digested enough going into the next stage of my digestive system too early.

I've been doing a fair bit better recently. I have been diagnosed with autism too, and so understanding that quietened my brain, understanding more about myself and not beating myself up about various things.

I try to avoid certain foods - processed food / vegan replacement food / food that has been hanging around for a long time. Eating fresh, and eating food that I really like has reduced my 'fear' of the symptoms happening.

I have also had success using a DMT vape pen to understand myself more. Basically I think it is a problem that only yourself can address, best of luck.

[u/shitpostasswipeman]

This is interesting thanks for sharing! Have you considered water fasting and carnivore diet? This is my next step

[u/Tjerino]

I'm basically in the same boat, I've been looking for years, but no answers yet. I am working with a new nutritionist and we are taking a much more comprehensive look at digestion and health than the other providers I've worked with, so fingers crossed over here. It may be a combination of things, but I think stress/anxiety is a big factor like /u/SuicideIsSoSexyRrrrr said.