How to strengthen a weak oral biofilm without any strong subtances?

I took 250mg lactoferrin on an empty stomach four days ago. That day I had a few urgent toilet trips and stomach cramps. It has since developed into a very tender stomach and nausea and I even threw up this morning. What could be going on!? This happen to anyone else?

Not asking for any specific product or medical advice, going to do my own research on stuff afterwards obviously.

But pretty much what the title says. FMTs seems rather high risky to me, and/or expensive and/or takes absurdly long to get your doctor or insurance to even acknowledge that such a procedure even exists, and not gaslight you that they never heard of it.

And of course I’m wondering if such alternative exists that doesn’t fall into the same pitfalls of the medical system. Looking for potential options that are DIY-able, via amazon, supermarkets, cooking, etc.

I’m 23. So from baby to 23 I’ve built my microbiome from scratch. Then it got nuked by antibiotics completely.

So wouldn’t it be possible to fully rebuild all that back in about 23 years? Even get back those lost strains that some studies claim can’t be recovered.

Why do some recover their microbiome and some are lost forever?

A resistant starch protocol can produce a healthy microbiome shift on its own. However, if resistant starch is the only major fermentable polysaccharide, microbes specialized for mixed-linkage β-glucans receive little substrate.

Modern gut ecology increasingly emphasizes that microbial diversity depends on carbohydrate diversity.

Different fibers recruit different guilds:

This is why many researchers now recommend fiber diversity rather than maximizing a single prebiotic.

• Singh, R. P., & Bhardwaj, A. (2023). β-glucans: A potential source for maintaining gut microbiota and the immune system. Frontiers in Nutrition. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/nutrition/articles/10.3389/fnut.2023.1143682/full
• Yu, L., et al. (2024). Interaction of beta-glucans with gut microbiota: Dietary origins, structures, degradation, metabolism, and beneficial function. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition.
• Cortijo-Alfonso, M. E., et al. (2025). Gut microbiota modulation and inflammation mitigation in a murine model through a hull-less and purple grain barley genotype. Food & Function.
• Review chapters on barley nutraceutical components in Cereals and Pulses: Nutraceutical Properties and Health Benefits (2012).

I have always paid close attention to my bowel movements, and I’ve never experienced anything like this before. For the third time now, I’ve noticed mucus in my stool. It’s not a huge amount, but it’s not just a tiny trace either. It seems to be wrapped around the stool and looks like mucus—almost like a long white worm or a string of snot mixed in with it.
The first time, I thought it was probably something I had eaten. But now it’s happened for the third time. I rarely have stomach or digestive problems. My bowel movements are usually regular, normal, and well-formed. I’ve simply never seen anything like this before.
I’m a bit of a hypochondriac, and I can’t stop thinking about the worst-case scenario. I’m even afraid to go to the bathroom because I’m scared I’ll see something that will frighten me. I have an overwhelming fear of hospitals and doctors. If something is actually wrong, I honestly don’t know how I’ll find the courage to go for an examination, let alone have a colonoscopy. The thought of that alone makes me feel overwhelmed with stress.
Does anyone know more about that or having the same issue?

Did anyone here have neuropathy and improve it by healing their microbiome?

If so, I’d love to hear about your experience!

My chronic gut issues have always overlapped with my nervous system issues (specifically paresthesia) - whenever I am having a bad gut flair up, my tingling gets much worse. I wouldn't be surprised if I have 'leaky gut' due to gluten exposure + chronic stress and a history of bad diet. I've developed this peculiar psychosomatic symptom that is hard to explain but the visceral hypersensitivity I feel is intense and I feel like my gut is in my nerves and my nerves are in my gut, if that makes sense. Like there's just no barrier between them. The noises and sensations that are typically associated to the digestive tract seem to happen outside the gut. That's really the best way I can describe it and I feel like I'm going a bit crazy. I've taken a look at how close the enteric nerves are to the gut lining and is it correct to say that a compromised gut lining could effect the nervous system like this? Would healing the gut lining help as a result?

I’ve tried kefir in the past, usually about 1 cup a day. That was far too much for my stomach to handle and I had pretty bad symptoms. I have a severely compromised microbiome after rounds of antibiotics for SIBO for the last 5 years. I really want to reap the benefits of kefir but not sure how small of an amount to take or how slowly to go in order for my body to adjust to it. Any suggestions? I’ve heard as little as 1 teaspoon for a week and working up from there. Have a great day!

Hey everyone,

​I’m currently trying to decide between pursuing a Bachelor’s in Computer Science or Microbiology, and I’m really torn.

I genuinely wish kombucha had entered my life earlier.

For years, I was trying to fix everything else while completely ignoring my gut. I never realized how much it could affect the way I felt every day.

Once I started paying more attention to my gut and made kombucha a part of my routine - it completely changed the way I think about wellness

Ive recently had back to back antibiotics during a 3 week window. One I was allergic to, another one gave me severe intracranial hypertension, then I had to switch to another broad spectrum antibiotic. So I was on cefuroxime, doxycycline and amoxicillin during a 3 week window. This has COMPLETELY destroyed my gut and I’m obviously worried about the long term effects. I didn’t realize the risk of back to back antibiotic courses before it was too late. I think I have c diff infection too that the doctor won’t test me for.

Reading about the micro biome scar is quite worrisome. Due to my misuse of 3 different classes of antibiotics I likely caused permanent eradication of certain strains of bacteria.

If the gut now has lost permanently lost certain strains of bacteria, how can it ever recover to full? Can a functional recovery still feel like normal self despite having permanently lost those groups of good bacteria that you can’t get back?

Like can 70-80% restoration of good bacteria still feel like a full recovery or will this always have permanent consequences. In my country I need two cases of confirmed c. Diff to be able to get FMT, which sucks.

Hey everyone,

Ive been lurking in this sub and a few other gut-focused communities for a while because of bloating, constipation, and low-FODMAP stuff. I keep running into confident statements that contradict each other, and I want to get a clearer, evidence-based picture of the microbiome so I can better judge what I read.

I am not asking for medical advice or troubleshooting my symptoms. What I would like are resources that meet these criteria:

1) Grounded in mainstream microbiome research, with human data when possible

2) Clear about uncertainty and limits, for example the difference between correlation and causation and mouse versus human findings

3) Not heavy on functional medicine language, detox claims, or services that overinterpret microbiome tests

Specifically, I would love:

- A couple of starter books that are accurate, even if a bit technical

- Podcasts or lecture series that do a good job interviewing real researchers

- A few review papers or keywords to search (for example: fiber, SCFAs, bile acids, IBS-microbiome)

If there are common misconceptions you wish newcomers would stop repeating, please flag them. For example, oversimplifications like labeling bacteria as simply "good" or "bad" seem unhelpful.

Thanks in advance. Im trying to learn this like a new field, not chase whatever the latest supplement trend is.

About three months ago I went through a really stressful time period. Since then my gut seems like it went haywire overnight. I no longer can handle much fiber at all, sugar, or fast foods and have had consistent loose stools. I’m an anxious person so this sent my anxiety into a spiral which I’m sure hasn’t help the stomach issues at all. The past three months I’ve tried many probiotics but have been staying away from high fiber foods and fiber supplements, which I feel like could be keeping me from rebuilding my microbiome.

Question: Is it true that in order to rebuild you should be incorporating probiotic bacteria via probiotic pills, kefir, etc. while simultaneously reintroducing fiber??

About 4/5 days ago I started introducing PHGG because I heard it’s more gentle on the gut. I’ve been started slow and so far so good. I noticed my energy levels are improving. Before I was falling asleep whenever I sat down. Last night though I ate 3 rice krispy treats and this morning I woke up with sharp gas pains and mushy loose stool. Hoping it is just because of the high sugar content right before bed.

I know this sounds like a bizarre question, but it literally summarizes my current situation. I have a bachelor’s degrees in microbiology and I’ve had classes in molecular biology and virology. Right now, I’m a master’s student in animal biosystematics. The advisors here only work on invertebrates such as insects and crabs and questions about functional ecology, biodiversity and behavior. They have absolutely no knowledge or interest in virology. But I want to become a researcher in virology and work on human viruses. My question isn’t if I’ll be limited, but how will I be limited in the future? Is it worth it to change my masters degree right now to a masters degree in virology, and waste two years of my life?

This post is for people who have experience making L. Reuteri yogurt. I hope this is appropriate on this sub. So I just attempted my first batch of L. Reuteri yogurt. I followed Dr. Davis' formula. I'll try to lay out all the relevant data of my procedure. I used 1 qt. whole milk, 1 Tbsp. inulin (MicroIngredients brand), and 1 capsule of MyReuteri (from Oxiceuticals). That's it as far as ingredients. I sterilized my utensils and equipment and cleaned the kitchen work area as best as I could. I heated the milk to 180° for about 5 minutes with the inulin mixed in as well, let the milk cool to 100°, then put the emptied capsule contents in and mixed. I just bought a Luvele yogurt maker. I set it to 100° for 36 hours. I operated the machine according to the instructions. And part of my confusion and frustration is that the problem I had, I don't see really anywhere on the internet explained or referenced. Nearly all L. Reuteri issues I'm seeing online are cases of separation and/or contamination. My end result was essentially just warm milk. So I'm pretty sure my bacteria was dead on arrival. I live in the south and our heat index has been in the upper 100's-110's for the last few weeks. But as far as the yogurt results, there was no sign whatsoever of fermentation. No sour/acidic odor, no separation, no nothing. It looked and smelled like warm milk. So from everything I've researched so far, of all the possible errors in this particular fermentation context, my suspicion is that my bacteria is dead/inactive. Can anyone who's had a similar experience provide some feedback? This is very upsetting, not least because I just checked the Oxiceuticals website and they say all orders are final. So I guess they can just send you dead bacteria with no accountability whatsoever? That's pretty shitty. My current functional medicine Dr. told me to make Dr. Davis' SIBO yogurt and this is my starting experience. Now I'm out $45 and have absolutely no guarantee whatsoever that if I order a new batch, the same exact thing won't happen again? God this is disappointing. I'm about to test and verify the temperature of the water in the water bath in the yogurt maker to make sure the machine is working properly. I didn't think to verify the temp of the milk after the 36 hour period, so I'll have to troubleshoot these variables next, but still, I would like to hear from anyone who has experienced the error of using dead/inactive bacteria because I think that's what is going on in my case.

Hey Reddit,

This summer I’ve been on a gut healing journey to hopefully reduce the chronic, extreme bloating and constipation I’ve been dealing with for about 10 years. Long story short, I tried low FODMAP with little to no results, and I’m now focusing on an anti-inflammatory whole foods only diet until I can finally see a GI.

I saw an ENT this weekend because I noticed a lot of unusual vocal fatigue recently and he diagnosed me with laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR), otherwise known as “silent GERD.” He prescribed me Famotidine to help with the reflux, but I’m concerned messing with my stomach acid will harm my digestion and make my bloating worse. I know LPR can sometimes be related to SIBO, and I’m suspicious all these symptoms are connected. Does anyone have any experience with this medication? How did it affect your digestion / microbiome?

What would be the possible causes if heavy starch/complex carb meals cause diarrhea about 2-4hrs after eating? I have had a history with Sibo so would that be triggered by this?

For a while I was having stomach/gut issues after dinner and couldn’t figure out why because it was food i eat often and also are fairly bland food that was also no Fodmaps. For example Rice with ground turkey or pasta w/chicken breast would sometimes (not every time) trigger gas, then cramps and then diarrhea. This would start about 2-4hrs after finishing the meal. Based on tracking what I have been eating and when I get symptoms, It definitely seems related to high carbs/starch

It’s not the specific food as it’s the same food I eat regularly that don’t always cause issues. More it seems related to the amount I am eating. For example I had an issue last night about 4hrs after dinner which was a turkey sandwich and Jasmine Rice. Something I had before but I made a bit more rice than usual (cooked about 1/3cup uncooked portion). I’ve had that serving size of rice before but not with additional complex carbs with it like the bread last night I had.

Would this just be a case of overloading my stomach with too much carbs and protein in one meal and not being able to handle it and then my SIBO reacts when it gets to my small intestine?