Severe Brain Fog after using Probiotics

[Viking]

Two months ago I was using a combination of probiotics. I had used both before, but never together.
I noticed after a few weeks I was becoming more and more foggy mentally. And would have slight headaches.
I stopped taking the probiotics, but even after two months the effects have only partially tapered off.

I have read several plausible reasons for brain fog with probiotics., including histamine production, glutamate production, and D Lactate production by some strains. Perhaps even folate being produced internally by the microbes. But at this point I am not sure how to narrow the list, or how to undo the effect.

Any ideas on how to determine what exactly is going on, and correct it?

Regards,
Viking

 

[Shoshana]

I have only recently been hearing about this type of issue.

I wonder if the moderators would mind it being copied onto the other topic list,

up in Members only/ CFS/ME General discussion.

I almost missed it. We don't usually post same thing in 2 places,
but I am glad I noticed this here. I usually wouldn't.

I have no idea the answers to your questions.
I wish I did! Would like to see others' ideas on it.
Sorry you are having this confusing difficulty.

 

[TigerLilea]

@Viking - Which probiotics were you using? It could be that you were using the wrong ones for your gut microbiome.

 

[Viking]

I used a combination of two multi strain probiotics., both are reputable brands. . I don't want to say anything negative about products that were each helpful when taken separately.

Whatever happened might have been some sort of odd combination effect, but since ive heard a few reports now of brain fog from probiotics.. maybe this is worth figuring out.

 

[Shoshana]

Were you taking them at same time, both together?

Or separately, on alternating days?

 

[Shoshana]

Just a wild thought....I wonder if taking some kind of enzymes would offset, now?

 

[ljimbo423]

I used a combination of PB8 and Repleniss

I looked at the ingredients in Repleniss and it looks like there is a high amount of inulin in it. It said 50 billion cfu's of probiotics and the only other ingredient is inulin. 50 billion cfu's of probiotics shouldn't weigh more than a gram or less and each packet weighs 10 grams.

That leaves about 9 grams inulin per packet. If you have dysbiosis, which is very likely with cfs, inulin could feed pathogenic bacteria, causing brain fog. Lowering the carbs in your diet, would help starve out the pathogenic bacteria and hopefully reduce your brain fog.

Antibiotic herbs like olive leaf extract, oil of oregano etc. should help too. The only problem with killing off the pathogenic bacteria is the die off, which can feel worse than the brain fog. After many years, I have found that treating dysbiosis, has been more helpful than anything I have done, by far and it continues to be!

 

[TigerLilea]

I used a combination of two multi strain probiotics., both are reputable brands. . I don't want to say anything negative about products that were each helpful when taken separately.

Whatever happened might have been some sort of odd combination effect, but since ive heard a few reports now of brain fog from probiotics.. maybe this is worth figuring out.

It's not the brands I was asking about, but which strains of probiotics were you taking?

 

[Viking]

This was a mix of acidophilus, and bifidus species.

First probiotic....
Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidobacterium
lactis, Lacotbacillus plantarum, inulin, magnesium stearate, silica,
Lactobacillus salivarius, Bifidobacterium bifidum, Bifidobacterium
longum, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Lactobacillus casei

Second probitotic.. ( also had Inulin as prebiotic )
L Acidphilus
L Salivarun
B Longum

 

[TigerLilea]

@Viking According to Ken Lassesen over at CFSRemission, people with CFS should probably not use probiotics containing L Acidophilus. In fact he thinks that it could be harmful to our health.

https://cfsremission.com/2013/07/04/should-cfs-patients-use-lactobacillus-acidophilus-probably-not/

 

[Shoshana]

Fascinating.... what about the acidophilus in yogurt? What is the current thinking on that?

Plus, that was a good idea about limiting carbs, and definitely as little sweets and sugars as possible.
Those organisms feed on it.

 

[Viking]

Would testing be useful.. Stool testing to see whats really growing? Are there relevant tests for histamine, D lactate, glutamate etc?

 

[helperofearth123]

I felt worse after making my own kefir (a source of probiotics) so i stopped and went back to normal. Maybe it would be worth trying a course of Rifaximin to "reset" things. It's an antibiotic that only acts on gut bacteria.

 

[rebar]

read up on Ken Lassesen's site, our gut biom is way out of wack, there is a balance that needs to be addressed. You should be careful with selection when choosing probiotics, Probiotics can cause herxing, which is not necessarily a bad thing. It could mean a good type is displacing a less desirable one.

 

[TigerLilea]

I felt worse after making my own kefir (a source of probiotics) so i stopped and went back to normal. Maybe it would be worth trying a course of Rifaximin to "reset" things. It's an antibiotic that only acts on gut bacteria.

You can't reset your gut bacteria by taking an antibiotic. The problem with antibiotics is that they don't just kill the "bad" bacteria, but also the "good" bacteria. In some cases when good bacteria are killed, it is permanent and they don't return again.