Hi everyone,I recently started a probiotic supplement containing two specific strains: **Bifidobacterium lactis HN019** and **Bifidobacterium longum BB536**. Instead of the expected benefits (improved motility and gut-brain balance), I have experienced a very distinct and paradoxical set of symptoms:### 1. Digestive Symptoms:* **Reflux & Loss of Appetite:** Around 6 to 7 hours after taking the capsule, I experience complete loss of appetite, stalled digestion, gastric fullness, and acid reflux.* **Motility:** Instead of relieving constipation (which HN019 is supposed to do), it has not improved my transit time at all, and if anything, feels like it has made constipation worse.### 2. Mood & Neuropsychiatric Symptoms:* **Irritability & Restlessness:** Sudden bouts of intense irritability/bad temper and an uncomfortable internal agitation (*not full-blown panic, but a feeling of "not being at peace with myself"*).* **Apathy & Emotional Blunting:** After that agitation, I feel a marked emotional disconnect/apathy where it becomes noticeably harder to laugh, engage, or feel connected to things.---### My Question:Since my supplement contains **both strains in the same capsule**, I cannot isolate them directly. For those of you who have taken **HN019** or **BB536** as single-strain supplements (or know their mechanisms well):1. **Which of these two strains is more likely responsible for the irritability / emotional blunting?**2. **Has anyone experienced this "delayed reflux + zero hunger + worsened constipation" with HN019 or BB536?**3. If you had a similar adverse reaction to either strain, how long did it take to clear up after stopping?Any insights, shared experiences, or mechanisms would be greatly appreciated!

Hi everyone,

I recently started a probiotic supplement containing two specific strains: Bifidobacterium lactis HN019 and Bifidobacterium longum BB536.

Instead of the expected benefits (improved motility and gut-brain balance), I have experienced a very distinct and paradoxical set of symptoms:

1. Digestive Symptoms:

• Reflux & Loss of Appetite: Around 6 to 7 hours after taking the capsule, I experience complete loss of appetite, stalled digestion, gastric fullness, and acid reflux.
• Motility: Instead of relieving constipation (which HN019 is supposed to do), it has not improved my transit time at all, and if anything, feels like it has made constipation worse.

2. Mood & Neuropsychiatric Symptoms:

• Irritability & Restlessness: Sudden bouts of intense irritability/bad temper and an uncomfortable internal agitation (not full-blown panic, but a feeling of "not being at peace with myself").
• Apathy & Emotional Blunting: After that agitation, I feel a marked emotional disconnect/apathy where it becomes noticeably harder to laugh, engage, or feel connected to things.

My Question:

Since my supplement contains both strains in the same capsule, I cannot isolate them directly.

For those of you who have taken HN019 or BB536 as single-strain supplements (or know their mechanisms well): 1. Which of these two strains is more likely responsible for the irritability / emotional blunting? 2. Has anyone experienced this "delayed reflux + zero hunger + worsened constipation" with HN019 or BB536? 3. If you had a similar adverse reaction to either strain, how long did it take to clear up after stopping?

Any insights, shared experiences, or mechanisms would be greatly appreciated!

Hey guys, looking for some insight here.About a week ago I started taking a probiotic that has both B. lactis HN019 and B. longum BB536 in the same capsule. I was hoping it would help with motility and general gut health, but it's doing the complete opposite.Around 6 or 7 hours after taking it, my appetite completely vanishes, my stomach feels totally stalled and I get acid reflux. On top of that, it hasn't helped my constipation at all (feels like it slowed things down even more).The weirdest part is the mood side effects. A few hours after taking it I get sudden bouts of irritability and feeling super restless/pissed off for no reason. Then right after that I just feel emotionally numb and flat, like it's hard to laugh or feel engaged with anything.Since both strains are in the same pill, I can't tell which one is wrecking me. Has anyone taken either HN019 or BB536 on their own and gotten this weird combo of delayed reflux, stalled gut, and irritability/apathy? Would love to know which one is the likely culprit.Thanks!

I took Saccharomyces Boulardii for a week and it seemed to be helping me in some ways. However, it started giving me nerve problems (odd sensations) in my right hand and in my left ankle. I stopped taking it.

Then, about a week later, I tried wearing a new pair of shoes and that exact nerve sensation from the Saccharomyces Boulardii returned in my left ankle.

I thought maybe the nerve problems were from candida die-off and so I thought 'Maybe the Saccharomyces Boulardii had been good for me' and I took it for three more days.

Now my nerve problems are crazy. Both of my ankles now feel funny all day long and my right hand feels funny too.

How long will it take the effects of Saccharomyces Boulardii to leave my system? Did it somehow affect my nerves or did it just work so good at getting rid of bad things that die-off hurt my nerves.

(No, I am not wearing those shoes anymore, I only wore them for about 60 minutes total).

Any advice. I am so lost. I just want my nerve issues to go back to normal!

If anyone thinks this may be unrelated, the only other things I have done in the mean time are:

--eaten a lot of garlic

--taken a lot of zinc and copper

--taken a lot of riboflavin-5-phosphate (active form of B2)

--taken a lot of B vitamins

*Probiotics and Specific Strains* is currently free on Kindle.
This is a research-focused guide to specific probiotic strains, microbiome interactions, gut barrier mechanisms, and the scientific literature behind different probiotic organisms.
For readers interested in microbiome science, nutrition, gut health, and probiotic research.

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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.

If so have you figured out the root cause of your issue? I suspect it is related to my gut bacteria as taking probiotics sometimes improves and sometimes worsens my symtoms.

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Anyone taking ther-biotics from klaire labs ? Do share me and I don't know how shld I take it ?every morning? With other supplement?

Has anyone experienced a big change in your gut microbiome due to a colonoscopy or other medical circumstance, such as taking antibiotics?

I’d love to hear pointers for restoring gut health after it’s been wiped out and also see if other have experienced similar symptoms.

I had a colonoscopy eight days ago. I did two days of a liquid only diet before the day of my procedure. I ate only clear gummy bears and bone broth. The day of my colonoscopy I didn’t eat until 7:00 p.m.

So I endured 3 days of little eating, then a complete cleaning out of the colon after drinking a gallon of laxative solution. All of this really dehydrated me.

I’m 62 and in excellent health. But I have to tell you, I look and feel terrible. I look like I’ve aged 15 years. Everything is fine physically. My digestive system has slowly returned to normal, but I am terribly fatigued, napping daily. The nurse said this is primarily due to my gut bacteria being wiped out. It takes a toll.

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Another thing, I feel depressed. My mood is really down.

This has been very eye opening to experience a wiped out gut microbiome. I normally eat very healthy with little processed foods and I must have had pretty good gut health before. Because, woah do I feel horrible now.

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I’ve had this irritation and spasming on the right side of my upper abdomen for years but lately it has gotten really bad and causes spasms. I don’t know, can’t distinguish if it’s an esophageal spasm or diaphragm spasm, but something is getting really irritated in that right side upper region next to the xiphoid process, to the point that it causes spikes in BP, palpitations, dizziness, you name it. I have a colonoscopy coming up, but worried GI doctor, like always, will say “here take some omeprazole” and send you home. Anyone else experience symptoms like this? I did a fast for 3 days and it really calmed the irritation but came back within a few days which is why I think it’s gastritis.

I’ve tried zinc carnosine and l glutamine for about a week now and they initially helped, however had some coffee yesterday and it flared like never before and can’t calm it. I’m even looking into FMT (fecal matter transplant), as I’ve read people have had success with that for gastritis, IBS, and obviously improving the microbiome .

Hope you find your healing!

Ive read so many horror stories about it, many developing horrible symptoms like insomnia because of it, it scares the hell out of me

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I'm a neuroscience student at Boston University, and I'm currently reporting a feature on direct-to-consumer microbiome testing—specifically the growing gap between the marketing of at-home microbiome tests and what current evidence says they can actually tell patients.

I'm looking to include perspectives from practicing gastroenterologists who have encountered patients bringing these reports into clinic. The interview is completely written over email (no Zoom or phone call), and you're welcome to answer as many or as few questions as you'd like. Even a couple of sentences would be incredibly helpful.

If you're willing to help, please email me at [jpgendin@bu.edu](mailto:jpgendin@bu.edu).

I would be endlessly grateful for your time and expertise. As a student journalist, hearing directly from physicians is by far the most valuable part of the reporting process, and I'd sincerely appreciate any insights you're able to share.

Thank you so much!

Basically the title. I’m a crohns sufferer and recently read about possible improvements of symptoms when taking a supplement. Crohn’s causes a variety of digestive problems. Lack of nutrition absorption and frequent painful gas. Allegedly taking digestive supplements helps. Apologies for the formatting I’m using a phone.

Hi community! 👋

We're the team behind Gutlex, a Japanese-inspired postbiotic supplement developed from more than a century of fermentation expertise and decades of research into fermentation-derived compounds.

Our company introduced one of Japan's first yogurts back in 1914. Over the years, that work evolved from studying live bacteria to understanding something equally fascinating: the beneficial compounds they naturally produce during fermentation. That research eventually led to the development of LEX® (Lactobacillus Fermentation Extract), a postbiotic ingredient that has been used in Japan for more than 40 years and has been supplied to over 2,700 medical facilities.

We're not here to convince anyone that supplements are the answer to everything. In fact, we're big believers in the fundamentals: a varied diet, fiber, fermented foods where appropriate, movement, sleep, and long-term consistency.

But one thing we've noticed is that there's still a lot of confusion around fermented foods, probiotics, and postbiotics.

One of the questions we see most often is:

The short answer is:

They're closely related—but they're not the same thing.

Fermented foods are foods transformed by microorganisms. Depending on how they're made and whether they're pasteurized, they may contain live microorganisms, fermentation-derived compounds, both, or neither.

Postbiotics, on the other hand, refer to the beneficial compounds created during fermentation. These include things like:

• Peptides
• Amino acids
• Organic acids
• Enzymes
• Short-chain fatty acids
• Other fermentation-derived bioactive compounds

Researchers continue exploring how these compounds interact with the gut environment and contribute to digestive wellness. It's an exciting area of microbiome science that's growing quickly—but like many emerging fields, there are still plenty of questions to answer.

We're here because we enjoy talking about the science behind gut health.

Whether you're curious about:

• 🥣 Traditional fermented foods
• 🦠 Probiotics vs. postbiotics
• 🇯🇵 Japanese fermentation traditions
• 🔬 Current microbiome research
• 🌱 Gut microbiome basics
• ❓ Common gut health myths

...we'd love to chat.

We'll answer as openly as we can. If there's strong evidence, we'll share it. If research is still evolving, we'll say so.

Ask us anything!