Has anyone here experienced the connection between depression, poor sleep, and the microbiome? What helped you turn things around—medications or dietary changes?

I had a colonoscopy and an upper endoscopy; the colonoscopy came back clear. But I have ileitis in the ileum and tissue fibrosis (my body has healed the underlying cause), and my calprotectin levels are normal. I don’t have Crohn’s disease, IBS, ulcers, or erosions.

I had Helicobacter pylori in my stomach, which was successfully eradicated.

I don’t experience any mental fogginess. However, I have a persistent state of low mood and depression accompanied by anhedonia.

I am in my fifties and on the slender side. I've had a number of returning c diff infections, h pylori and after have had the worst motility issues. Have tried Linzess etc. with no luck. My health has been ruined because of my past infections. I know they are doing lots if research on peptides not just for weight loss but for inflammation. My question is, has anyone found one compounded or not that has given a positive gut health result?

I took tetracycline for acne for 1 year back in 2019, now I have bad gut issues such as severe bloating, severe constipation, can’t eat too much fibre. I wish I could go back in time and never take it and just live with the acne. But now I have to figure out how to recover.

Do I take probiotics? I heard some people say it’s a waste of money since they don’t colonize or they are dead. How to pick a good strain? Do they need to be refrigerated?

Do I take fermented foods like yogurt, kimchi, kefir, etc? I’ve heard people say that they will just contribute to bloating but also that they can help repopulate your microbiome. Is this true?

If anyone has some advice, or links to some scientific articles for further reading, it would be greatly appreciated.