[manmal]

I had anxiety years ago, with panic attacks whenever I was on a train for more than a few minutes. I was also constantly afraid of having contracted fatal diseases.

No more. I did a lot of different probiotics (Mutaflor, some generic L-bacillus stuff, homemade kefir, Kombucha,...) in the last years, and anxiety has completely gone away. Here is some possible explanation: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/reading-between-the-head...

I know such comments are often downvoted, so please drop a comment if you do, and contribute.

[throwaway_217]

Not sure if related, but my severe social anxiety started after I had a flu (as a kid, 2 weeks in bed) and was probably treated with antibiotics. I've just recently realized that there could be a connection. Haven't got rid of it.

Edit: Just found this: http://www.scribd.com/doc/28819342/Experimental-Treatment-fo... I'm going to try it and report back.

[manmal]

Sure - I had antibiotics treatment early in life and had chronic diarrhea at age 3. Later, I was an outsider as a kid, and had difficulty making eye contact. There might be a connection.

[hga]

Definitely experiment with various probiotics. I ended up with this http://www.vrp.com/biopro-240-caps which seems to help my iffy digestion, and don't seem to hurt my anxiety and depression.

Your gut bacteria are important, why we e.g. don't need Vitamin K supplements, so I at least am not surprised by hints they also have effects on mood and the like.

[monch]

It would be great if you can provide a shopping list. I'd like to try it.

[manmal]

Sure! Mutaflor is quite expensive, and it has to be kept in the fridge. I ordered it in Germany, but it should be available internationally, perhaps with other brand names. It's one of the few bacterial strains that is proven to help Ulverative Colitis (http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutaflor).

Homemade Kefir and Water Kefir are made by fermenting milk or sugarwater. It's a wild ferment, so it's critical that the culture you get on eBay or craigslist is in a good state. So it's advisable to have a hard look and smell at the kefir you are producing. Keeping the kefir acidic is crucial so the good strains (L-Bacilli and certain funghi) can outcrowd the strains you don't want in there. Kombucha works similarly, but I haven't used if for long.

While I tried lots of things, milk and Water Kefir worked best by far. I can't remember what L-Bacilli supplements I tested, but I got the impression that they did not do as much as Mutaflor or the Kefir. But the number of bacteria in Kefir is ridiculously higher than in most supplements, so that might be the reason.

Almost forgot.. I have low stomach acid, so I regularly drink (unpasteurized, unfiltered) apple cider vinegar. This might prevent "bad" strains from getting a grip, but I can only speculate.

[slinkyavenger]

Would you go into more detail about this? I recently developed an annoying level of anxiety (complete with panic attacks) after a pretty long course of antibiotics.

[manmal]

Depending on where you are coming from (sceptic, or a more "relaxed" view of unscientific proceeds), you can try several things. Over at ubiome.com you can order a microbiome test and see what strains you are missing or deficient, and then go and take exactly those strains. They might be hard or impossible to come by, but this might be the more targeted approach.

What I did was just throwing lots of different (valid!) bacterial strains in, and see what comes of it (ubiome wasn't available back then, and regular lab tests are quite expensive). Kefir did the most for me, and it has different L.bacillus strains and some yeasts in it (http://ntur.lib.ntu.edu.tw/bitstream/246246/177589/1/04.pdf). Kefir is reported to kill off or starve strains that don't belong in its ecosystem, but it's quite possible that this is not true or that there is point beyond which the L.bacilli will die off and the unbeneficial strains take over. Smell and look are reportedly good indicators for that, but I didn't find any studies for that. One would have to send it into a lab to make sure.