I had reconciled myself, reluctantly, to a life on a very limited diet.
After reading about a link between IBS and intestinal flora, I decided to experiment with probiotics. I treated myself by taking a wide spectrum of beneficial bugs:
- L. casei Shirota — Several packs of Yakult (Lactobacillus casei Shirota)
- L. rhamnosus GG — I use a special yoghurt that contains Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, or "LGG", which is famous for combating Clostridium difficile infections (which often occur after multiple courses of antibiotics) as well as reducing intestinal permeability in irritable bowel syndrome patients, and treating Bacterial Vaginosis in women. You can get Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG capsules too.
- L. gasseri — Daily capsules of Swanson's Lactobacillus gasseri (also good for weight control) that can subdue Clostridium difficile
- Daily amounts of KEFIR ("keh-fear"), a fermented milk drink
I theorize that because of the many courses of antibiotics I've taken during my life, right from being a teenager (for my skin) through to my early and mid adulthood (for recurrent sinusitis and later CPPS), I had a smouldering Clostridium difficile ("C. diff") infection of the bowel. C. diff can present in a variety of ways. From the CDD:
C diff infections are known to promote intestinal permeability (e.g. C. difficile toxin A increases intestinal permeability), and this permeability, which leads to food antigens entering the bloodstream, is heavily implicated in food intolerances.Some [people infected with C Diff] may have recurrent mild to moderate diarrhoea resembling Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and may not be at all concerned with these symptoms. In fact they may consider themselves to be perhaps part of the normal spectrum of bowel behaviour. Still others may have recurrent bouts of severe cramps, diarrhoea with or without 'wind' and other symptoms. Unless C. diff infection is diagnosed, such patients could well be labelled with a diagnosis of IBS
The other possibility is that I had a candidal bowel overgrowth (also a result of antibiotic overuse). The only thing that makes me suspect this is that for the first week of following my treatment protocol I had headaches that could have been part of a "Jarisch–Herxheimer reaction" that usually follows candida die-off. Not sure, no way of finding out.
But no matter whether the problem was C diff or Candida albicans, probiotics have fixed the problem and stopped the intestinal permeability.
If you have taken multiple courses of antibiotics, and you have IBS or reactions to foods, you could follow the treatment I outline above. I could go further and suggest that if you have taken ANY antibiotics, follow the treatment, because a number of studies show that even a single dose of antibiotics can permanently alter the gut flora.
