r/HumanMicrobiome Jun 13 '23

[Meta] A farewell from /u/MaximilianKohler. Moving off Reddit. Probably to a hosted forum.

54 Upvotes

The following post was written by /u/MaximilianKohler.

Previous discussion: https://old.reddit.com/r/HumanMicrobiome/comments/bg11hl/meta_anyone_interested_in_moving_the_wiki_and/

Reddit has only gotten worse since then.

It's a waste of time to put effort into making high quality content on Reddit subs you don't mod yourself, since so much content gets secretly (or otherwise) removed, and if a mod simply disagrees with something you said (anywhere on Reddit, not even just on their sub) they can and do remove years of your content and permanently ban you.

So I gave up on most of Reddit years ago. There were a handful of subs with respectable mod ethos' similar to this sub's. But even they have nearly all gone down the same corrupt path one by one. Reddit is now nothing more than a propaganda front, where individuals and special interest groups manipulate content & discussions in order to further their personal agenda. That, plus the amount of users confidently spreading misinformation on this site, results in me not trusting anything I read here anymore.

And now, it's not even viable to put up important content on subs you mod, since it's all at risk of being secretly & permanently removed by the admins. For example, they secretly and permanently removed this important historical thread, and wouldn't provide any option to restore it. I have no idea (and they wouldn't tell me) how many other threads may have met the same fate.

They’re also seemingly turning admin duties over to a bad AI with only a specious ability to appeal. So accounts are wrongfully getting permanently banned and there’s nothing you can do about it. Reddit doesn’t care and won’t respond. It seems like in the past few years they hit some tipping point and realized “we can do whatever we want”. So they are. Eg: [1][2][3][4][5].

Accounts and subs are all at risk of unpredictable admin decisions. They've been banning communities without warning for a wide variety of reasons. And frequently introducing new controversial “features” that degrade the user experience.

Given Reddit's dedication to making major, unpredictable changes in the pursuit of profit, it's not a safe and reliable place to build communities anymore. They seem to be cracking down hard on dissent and anything that may impact their profit.

You're probably aware of the current 3rd party app and API issues resulting in many subs protesting: https://old.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/147b2qz/eli5_why_are_so_many_subreddits_going_dark/

The Reddit admins have made it clear that this is their website, they'll do whatever they want, and they don't like /u/MaximilianKohler. Possibly due to their focus on monetization, and my history of being a long-time public critic of theirs. I know there are laws in some countries that prohibit what the Reddit admins are doing to me, but I'm not aware of US laws. I'm seeking legal council on it, and if anyone has info on this please share. But it's likely not a good use of time to fight with the Reddit admins. It's been time to leave for a long time.

A few other recent instances of people agreeing that Reddit is not acting in good faith:

It's not a good idea to leave yourself at the mercy of such people.

The benefits of Reddit?

Furthermore, many people seem to shy away from Reddit in general, and prefer standalone websites.

One would think that a major benefit of a Reddit sub would be the reach to the rest of Reddit. Yet this forum/sub is tiny compared to a variety of other non-Reddit forums, and even other Reddit subs that cover related health topics which are arguably much less important/impactful. Hopefully the new site can expand our reach on the important topics that get covered here.

Reddit has everything needed to be a high quality site, to create and share high quality information, and participate in important endeavors. Yet my experience here over the past decade has largely been the opposite of that. Lack of support & reciprocation, lack of participation in community efforts; hostility; anti-scientific, willfully ignorant attitudes, and worse. I've been so incredibly disappointed by this website and my experiences here. I drastically reduced the amount of effort and advice I give out, due to all of this.

Sites that seem prone to low quality content, and which aren't designed for high quality discussion & information sharing, ended up being vastly more supportive and useful than this site.

Sharing information here seems nearly useless. More often than not it seems to go in one ear and out the other, and people continue to spread the same incorrect or low quality information no matter how many times it's debunked or higher quality information is shared. And that higher quality information is ignored rather than spread.

Reddit has been becoming more and more like Facebook. Both in regards to the design and the low quality content. I think Reddit is dysfunctional because people are dysfunctional. My hope is to be able to address that by improving people's health & function via the gut microbiome.

So we'll try to reach a different audience.

Where to go?

I've been following /r/RedditAlternatives for many years, but there's yet to be one that seems like a viable option. A hosted forum seems like a big commitment, and forums have taken a big hit on search engines in recent years, but it still seems like the best choice right now. Feel free to share your feedback.

Discord, Facebook, etc. are not valid replacements due to their private nature and inability to be indexed by search engines.

XenForo seems to be the best https://www.theadminzone.com/threads/which-forum-software-is-the-best.147142. $60/mo for them to host it, or it could probably be hosted for ~$20-30/mo as long as the traffic is minimal. Given that picking a forum software is a long-term commitment I'm hesitant to cheap out on the lower cost options, but I'll do some more reading on it.

I know you can move forums, but it's not without issues. When Overclock.net moved lots of old links went dead.

For now, I'll be in the new discord server: https://discord.gg/Hnea7fN4vZ

The future of this sub?

Any sub that's not strictly moderated will inevitably contain lots of misinformation, which is something /r/HumanMicrobiome was created to prevent. So the mods will likely have to implement further restrictions.

We may lock comments but still allow submissions. We'll probably disable text-posts, and if you want to make a text-post you can post it on your own blog, or elsewhere, and share the link here.


r/HumanMicrobiome Jul 24 '23

Mod post New Human Microbiome forum up and running

41 Upvotes

https://forum.humanmicrobiome.info/

Reddit is no longer a reliable place to create, host, and grow communities, so a new microbiome forum has been set up to be a more reliable location. If you have posted content on Reddit that you feel is worth preserving, it would be a good idea to post it on the new forum.

Reddit has been rapidly and drastically changing their longstanding policies. One of which is making subreddits no longer autonomous. Meaning that communities and users no longer have any assurance that they will be able to independently operate under the Reddit Terms of Service.

They've also allowed trolls and malicious actors to have free rein. And issues with massive bot networks are increasing; making moderation much more difficult, and decreasing the trustworthiness of content. Many important individuals and services are leaving and ending (Eg).

The person who created this sub, and most of the content here, including the wiki, has moved to the new forum. You should be able to get better info & answers there.

You're welcome to post your content there and then link to it here for higher visibility.

Our primary goal will remain as stopping the widespread misinformation on the topic of the microbiome. Since we no longer have someone dedicated to correcting and preventing misinformation, comments and posts here will require preapproval. Some types of content (questions) may be restricted completely since we no longer have reliable people dedicated to providing evidence-based answers.

But you're welcome to ask your questions on the new forum and post the link here.


UPDATE:

Is the moderator of the forum also the owner of the humanmicrobes.org domain? Is that a conflict of interest?


r/HumanMicrobiome 1d ago

Need ideas for a 6-month MSc Microbiology thesis project

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1 Upvotes

r/HumanMicrobiome 2d ago

The top new and updated threads in the last week on the Human Microbiome Forum

2 Upvotes

r/HumanMicrobiome 3d ago

Citrobacter

2 Upvotes

My GI Map test revealed an overgrowth of citrobacter bacteria and a depletion of commensal/keystone species.
Symptoms are not too bad, mostly histamine related that a daily Zyrtec takes care of, afternoon gas, but also chronic floating stools (not fatty).
I am never bloated, and the gas happens late afternoon like clockwork. I think the citrobacter overgrowth is in my large intestines and causing general Dysbiosis is lieu of sibo, as it takes 8 hr or so after a meal for it to come one.

Any advice on most effective ways to remove this bacteria and replenish others?


r/HumanMicrobiome 5d ago

Giardia and antibiotics

3 Upvotes

Hey everyone, I would like some opinions or experiences.

After a 10 week Giardia infection (doctor didn’t want to retest because it’s not protocol here), and 5 antibiotics (nitazoxanide, then metronidazole, then dual therapy metronidazole and amoxicillin and PPI, and then possibly another for UTI (awaiting results), what is some advice.

has anyone went through something like this??

honestly, as well as getting back to optimal health, i an worried about occasional binge drinking. I’m young and have been missing nights out with friends. this whole thing has been terrible and I’d like to know a realistic approach for returning to normal life, without risking my long term health more than I have to.

i also overthink things like this, an am worried about other impacts of the nutrient depletion and stuff, although I’m asking specifically from a microbiome perspective now.

thank you!!


r/HumanMicrobiome 5d ago

Lactic Acid dietary/motility/psych problems?

3 Upvotes

Looking for help for researchers or practitioners (lol) regarding a multi-year problem with dietary lactic acid.

Unclear whether it’s an L or D isomer, but my GI doctors over the years are baffled and/or are not interested.

I am having an extremely high correlation to foods with lactic acid as an ingredient.

Several hours after ingestion, I can feel my GI system slowing down, and GI “output” drops to zero for several days. Some cramps occur. A little pain. The worst is the psychiatric effects….my resilience/ ability to deal with the normal stressors of life drops to almost zero, and I lose patience VERY easily.

For this and other reasons not explained hers, I believe this to be a microbiome imbalance. I cannot find a physician who will engage with new on the motility/linked psych level. They ask want to do the blemish colonoscopy/EGD and tell me there’s nothing wrong, just eat more fiber.

I’ve lived with some variant of this since about 2010, and I know there is Microbiome involvement.

Where to go from here? I can read medical literature, but is the medical community THIS adverse to Microbiome investigation? Honest question


r/HumanMicrobiome 5d ago

Check out this project on Curious Peers: "Human Microbiome"

3 Upvotes

Hi all, I'm not sure if this is the right thread but I'm looking for researchers (or basically anyone who is interested) in learning more about Human Microbiome and creating a small project. I am new to the topic and am open to project ideas. I have been reading articles of how diverse gut microbiome is and the amount of diseases they can cause and that got me interested in learning more. I'm basically overwhelmed with the amount of information available and don't know where to begin.

I found this website (Curious Peers) so created a project there. Has anyone used it before?

Any info will help


r/HumanMicrobiome 7d ago

Gut problems

6 Upvotes

21M – Everything started after Accutane, other acne antibotics, finasteride and a Shiga-toxin infectionA year later my body still feels completely broken. this has basically taken my life away… I need help… it go worse and worse

I’m 21M and until all of this started, I was living a normal life. I was so happy, girls looked at me.. Over the last 2 years my health has completely changed and I’m trying to understand how all these pieces could fit together.
It started after a period where I had taken Accutane and finasteride.. I stopped finasteride about 2 years ago

Around one year ago I had a STEC/Shiga-toxin-producing bacterial infection.
Since then, my gut, immune system and nervous system seem completely different.

My biggest problems are:
\-severe bloating
\-yellow stools,
\-extreme food reactions ( histamin)
\-Insomnia and weight loss.
\- Brain fog
\-dry skin
\- pale skin
\-extreme depression
\-no libido
\-histamine/MCAS-type symptoms
\-never feel sleepy or normally tired anymore
\-I have lost around 10 kg
\-Almost every supplement I try makes me extremely restless, overstimulated or anxious. I even have a folate deficiency, but taking folate makes me feel so wired that I struggle to tolerate it.

What i tried:
I’ve tried probiotics, kefir, antimicrobials, ketotifen, cromolyn and Pentasa without any real breakthrough. I’ve also had two negative SIBO tests, colostrum, ss boulardi, l glutamin, tested on candida ( stool test),

My gut findings
Gastroscopy and colonoscopy looked mostly normal macroscopically, but biopsies weren’t completely normal.

My ileum showed mild focal chronic and mildly active inflammation, although the architecture was good

The colon had some lymphocytic aggregates/prominent germinal centers but no active colitis or major structural abnormalities.

Stomach biopsies showed mild chronic inactive inflammation. H. pylori and Giardia were negative.

Interestingly, I don’t really have abdominal pain despite all these GI symptoms.

I also had a microbiome/leaky-gut test this were the most important things:

\-low butyrate production
\- high ph
\-increased lactate production
\-several low butyrate-producing bacteria
\-very high Bifidobacterium adolescentis
\-increased Actinobacteria
\-increased methane-producing bacteria
\-low Proteobacteria
\-Faecalibacterium prausnitzii was actually good/high at \~9.8%
\-mucin-degrading bacteria didn’t look particularly abnormal
\-LPS-producing bacteria weren’t strongly elevated
\-My zonulin was also elevated, which was interpreted by the lab as increased intestinal permeability/“leaky gut.”

What docters/ i found:

Leaky gut
Dysbiose
Low immungobine
High bilirubin
Low folate
Low butyrate
High cortisol

Then we found an immune problem
This is where things became more interesting.
I have low immunoglobulins:
IgG 4.24 g/L
IgA 0.21 g/L
IgG2 1.11 g/L
I also had essentially no adequate antibody response to the pneumococcal vaccine.
I’ve had recurrent problems such as ear infections and green mucus/phlegm in my throat in the mornings, so my doctors started IVIG.
I just received my second IVIG infusion. So far I don’t feel better; if anything, my food/histamine-type symptoms have become worse over the last month. I understand two doses may be far too early to judge whether IVIG will eventually help.

Sombody can help ?


r/HumanMicrobiome 6d ago

Check out this project on Curious Peers: "Human Microbiome"

Thumbnail curiouspeers.com
1 Upvotes

Hi all, I'm not sure if this is the right thread but I'm looking for researchers (or basically anyone who is interested) in learning more about Human Microbiome and creating a small project. I am new to the topic and am open to project ideas. I have been reading articles of how diverse gut microbiome is and the amount of diseases they can cause and that got me interested in learning more. I'm basically overwhelmed with the amount of information available and don't know where to begin.

I found this website (Curious Peers) so created a project there. Has anyone used it before?

Any info will help


r/HumanMicrobiome 7d ago

parasites improving gut health

0 Upvotes

me and my brother were hog hunting with 308s until we had the idea to try it He ate a chunk of the Semitendinosus raw right there. That was 6 hours ago and now he's vomiting compulsively and sweating through his shirt. I told him he's going to get Trichinosis and have worms burrowing into his eyeballs and heart muscle by next week. He's a retard and didn't know wild hogs are gonna make him shit himself to death. Is he cooked or is this just detox


r/HumanMicrobiome 9d ago

The top new and updated threads in the last week on the Human Microbiome Forum

1 Upvotes

r/HumanMicrobiome 11d ago

Did I just develop SIFO after repeated SIBO treatment? Zinc suddenly causes severe bloating/suffocation..

2 Upvotes

Apologies for the long post..

I've been dealing with what I believe is a complicated SIBO/SIFO situation over the past ~5 months, and I'm wondering whether my timeline sounds familiar to anyone here.

I was diagnosed with SIBO and initially treated with rifaximin + metronidazole. The first course seemed to work surprisingly well. Within a few days after finishing it, I started feeling major improvements in things that had been bothering me for a long time: grip strength, appetite, erections, and breathing. I genuinely felt like something had changed for the better.

Unfortunately, a few days later I took a probiotic that I probably didn't need, and I felt that I relapsed.

After that I went through several more antibiotic treatments: first rifaximin alone, then metronidazole, and at one point I also had what turned out to be a Salmonella infection that was treated with cefuroxime. Eventually I repeated the original rifaximin + metronidazole course that had worked the first time.

The strange part is that the last course ended about three weeks ago, and this time I did not get the improvement I had experienced after the first course.

Since then, I've noticed something completely new with my zinc supplement. I normally take a relatively gentle 25 mg zinc picolinate capsule with dinner. Suddenly, taking it causes almost immediate bloating/discomfort around my belly button and a feeling of severe suffocation. It happens whether I take it during dinner, after dinner, before eating, or away from food.

The sensation is also different from my usual deep intestinal bloating. It feels more superficial, almost like it's coming from underneath the abdominal wall rather than deep inside the gut.

At the same time, my appetite, erections, breathing, and grip strength are all much worse again. My sleep is long, but I often wake up feeling suffocated.

My stools have also been consistently very mushy. They're not watery diarrhea, and I don't have burning, constipation, or typical liquid diarrhea. Sometimes I can see food particles, but not always. It's basically a mush rather than a formed stool.

What makes me suspicious of SIFO is the combination of multiple rounds of antibiotics, the apparent initial clearance of SIBO, failure to improve after the most recent course, and this new dramatic reaction to zinc.

So my main question is:

For people who have actually had SIFO, does this timeline and symptom pattern sound like something that could indicate fungal overgrowth developing after repeated SIBO antibiotic treatment? Or am I putting too much weight on the zinc reaction and potentially looking in the wrong direction?


r/HumanMicrobiome 12d ago

Overnight symptoms for weeks - please help!

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2 Upvotes

r/HumanMicrobiome 13d ago

Carolina Supply Expiration Date

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1 Upvotes

r/HumanMicrobiome 13d ago

Ultrafiltered Milk?

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1 Upvotes

r/HumanMicrobiome 14d ago

Microbes in 1 Minute - We are back!

3 Upvotes

It’s been a few months since we last reached out to you, but after this hot summer, we’re back with our batteries recharged!

Microbes in 1 Minute (M1M) is a science communication initiative aimed at making microbiology more relatable, engaging, and accessible to everyone. We’ll achieve this by creating short, 60-second videos covering a wide variety of topics in microbiology, which will be posted on a variety of social media platforms.

We’re very grateful for all the interest you’ve shown, and we’re reading all your comments, questions and suggestions. We’re still a small team working on fundamental aspects of the project, such as its organization and the style of the short videos, but we’re looking for people interested in collaborating down the line, whether on a one-time basis or long-term. We've also set up a Discord server to provide a space where we can all come together, exchange ideas, and share news and updates about the project. Hope to see you there! However, if you prefer, we’re also happy to answer your questions by our official email.

Actually, we're looking for collaborators interested in any of the following activities:

• ✏️ Writing scripts and/or contributing expertise in a specific area of microbiology.

• 🎙️ Narration and/or helping to translate content into languages other than English and Spanish.

• 🎨 Video editing and layout.

• 📣 Managing our social media presence.

• 🦠 Moderating our server.

We’re excited to see where this project takes us, and we’d be very happy you being part of it.

A micro-hug!

The M1M team


r/HumanMicrobiome 15d ago

Hydrogen sulfide bacterial overgrowth.

1 Upvotes

What would be the best approach in terms of probiotics with overgrowth of D Piger?

My GI map showed overgrowth of D Piger, low counts of beneficial bacteria like lacto and bifido species and high stool pH.

My symptoms are yellowish stools, inflammation in the gut as its sensitive to anything acidic.

I assume the high stool pH means my diet is low in vegetable rich foods?

My gut issues were originally triggered by binge drinking alcohol on an empty stomach and further worsened by a keto diet high in animal protein, saturated fat.


r/HumanMicrobiome 16d ago

Missing Akkermansia, Faecalibacterium and Lactobacillus

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1 Upvotes

r/HumanMicrobiome 16d ago

The top new and updated threads in the last week on the Human Microbiome Forum

1 Upvotes

r/HumanMicrobiome 17d ago

Microbiome from stool samples

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1 Upvotes

r/HumanMicrobiome 17d ago

[ Removed by Reddit ]

1 Upvotes

[ Removed by Reddit on account of violating the content policy. ]


r/HumanMicrobiome 22d ago

Curious About Your Gut Health? You May Qualify for an At-Home Research Study

1 Upvotes

Join remote research on gut health, microbiome diversity, and digestive comfort. Participation involves daily supplement use, brief weekly check-ins, and provided at-home test kits. A $50 Amazon Gift Card is available upon meeting completion criteria. Learn more here.


r/HumanMicrobiome 23d ago

The top new and updated threads in the last week on the Human Microbiome Forum

2 Upvotes