Need help / Severe SIBO, anxiety, hypothyroidism
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@StephanO said in Need help / Severe SIBO, anxiety, hypothyroidism:
I've tried everything, including Ray Peat's methods. I can't take it anymore and just can't stand it. I have anxiety attacks all day long, especially around other people, I blush and have hot flashes.
By the way, I'm male and 22 years old
You have youth
you can healRay Peats methods?
What is that?Please also let us know:
-what you are eating
-Supplements?
-Past dietary history
-waking temperature with your temperature in a relaxed state after breakfast -
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Hi,
I realized my preceding posts were not clear enough. So I've changed with the help ChatGPT to choose a more appropriate form.SIBO/SIFO – First Steps before Doing too Much
When your system is too weak to handle supplements or most foods, the first goal is to stabilize and preserve energy.
Trying many things at once only adds confusion and stress. Instead, we start small — with what’s easiest and most tolerable — to rebuild a minimum ground.
1. Understanding What’s Going On
SIBO (or SIFO) is an overgrowth of bacteria or fungi in the small intestine.
It causes bloating, pain, fatigue, anxiety, and food intolerance — sometimes leading to “leaky gut.”
When gas and waste stagnate, pressure builds up, and digestion slows. That’s why improving motility (intestinal movement) is a first key step.
2. Focus on Simple, Energy-Saving Measures
Before adding supplements:
• Eat light and attractive foods that feel safe — don’t force strict diets at first.
• Avoid grazing: leave 4–5 hours between meals to let your gut clean itself naturally (MMC cycle).
• A short overnight fast (≈12h) helps the system reset.
• Gentle prokinetic support (like low-dose Resolor) may help, under supervision.
• Manage stress, rest, and protect energy before trying to “fix” everything.
3. Learning and Choosing a Clear Direction
Many protocols exist, but the goal is to avoid getting lost.
You can start by exploring reliable, structured approaches — especially Dr. Antonello d’Oro’s work, which explains how to understand and gradually manage SIBO/SIFO.
For Further Guidance – Dr. Antonello d’Oro
Dr. d’Oro offers a clear, step-by-step protocol on SIBO and SIFO (in French).
His articles explain:
• How to recognize SIBO and its different forms.
• How to manage treatment without exhausting yourself.
• How to prevent relapses and rebuild tolerance.
Key links (in French)
• Le SIBO, comprendre et diagnostiquer – Part 1 (Understanding & Diagnossing)
https://www.lanutrition-sante.ch/le-sibo-quand-vos-problemes-de-sante-viennent-de-lintestin-grele-partie-1-comprendre-et-diagnostiquer/
• Le SIBO, la prise en charge – Part 2 (management)
https://www.lanutrition-sante.ch/le-sibo-quand-vos-problemes-de-sante-viennent-de-lintestin-grele-partie-2-la-prise-en-charge/
• Empêcher la récidive – Part 3 (Preventing recurrence, the often forgotten part)
https://www.lanutrition-sante.ch/partie-3-empecher-la-recidive-du-sibo-la-partie-souvent-oubliee/
• Intolérance à l’histamine – Part 4 (main symptoms : headaches, hives, and flushing, as well as gastrointestinal issues like diarrhea and bloating)
https://www.lanutrition-sante.ch/le-sibo-partie-4-intolerance-a-lhistamine/
• SIBO et candidose, une association fréquente (When SIBO and candidiasis go hand in hand).
https://www.lanutrition-sante.ch/sibo-et-candidose-de-lintestin-grele-une-association-frequente-a-connaitre/Additional references for background learning:
Dr. Marc Pimentel*, Dr. Bella Lindemans, and Dr. Nirala Jacobi also offer valuable insights — but keep Dr. d’Oro as your main reference for now to stay focused.
Note that before supplementing or optimizing the nutrients, avoid several ways / tracks, if you dn’t want to lose energy, required to recover. This is what often makes the difference in recovering and gaining the upper hand.
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@StephanO, I second what Peatful asked, but until you figure out the root cause of the hypothyroidism, you may find it helpful to carry a bottle of sugar & salt water (or sugar & salt in coconut water) with you to lower your adrenaline when you get an attack. I used to get daily adrenaline attacks that resulted in convulsions and syncope and the sugar & salt water worked within 15 minutes without fail so hopefully it helps you, too.
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SIBO and/or candida are just normal when you are hypothyroid. Do not try to fix those if you haven't resolved the hypothyroidism!
You are likely to cause significant damage in the attempt. Killing bacteria releases significant toxins and they will regrow in like a week. If they don't they are gonna be replaced by even worse bacteria. No way to win.
To fix hypothyroidism change your diet to mostly milk and fruit. Takes about 2 years, don't be impatient. Your gut will probably improve by itself afterwards, if not then you can experiment. NDT or synthetic thyroid are just for managing symptoms.
Anxiety: Reduce your serotonin levels.
To do that:
- L-Theanine - Increases GABA and Dopamine levels in the brain, Dopamine reduces Serotonin,
- L-Glycine - Affects your nervous system so that it doesn't signal Serotonin increase.
- L-Taurine - Lowers serotonin release directly.
- Ginger - Lowers the synthesis of serotonin.
In combination incredibly potent. They all dissolve in hot water, steep some ginger in hot water and add like half a tea spoon Theanine, half a tea spoon Taurine and one tea spoon of Glycine. Sugar to taste. Anxiety should go away basically instantly.
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I’ve tried to understand the interaction from several natural substances proposed by pittybitty.
In a situation of prolonged stress, the body releases too much cortisol. This hormone, useful in the short term, becomes harmful when it remains high. It then disrupts the production of serotonin and reduces the sensitivity of its receptors in the brain. Neural plasticity can decrease when this situation is repeated a little too often. Result: emotional balance crumbles, anxiety increases and motivation declines. Restoring good communication between soothing neurotransmitters (serotonin, GABA, dopamine) becomes essential to regain calm and mental clarity.
Receptor disruption: Cortisol secreted during chronic stress can block neuronal serotonin receptors, which interferes with the transmission of information between neurons and can cause mood disorders such as anxiety and depression.
Synergy of calming neurotransmitters
There is complementarity between:
GABA (L-theanine, taurine, glycine) → inhibition, calming, neuronal stabilization.
Serotonin → regulation of mood, anxiety, sleep.
Dopamine → motivation, pleasure, alertness.
There is a balance to find.Several natural substances can act in a complementary manner, as specified by pittybitty
L-Theanine
L-Glycine
L-Taurine
Ginger
Detailed explanation on my forum (In French, translator needed):
https://mirzoune-ciboulette.forumactif.org/t2140-reduire-lanxiete-en-modulant-la-serotonine#30405 -
You are over-relying on Chat-GPT here. It's misunderstanding what Serotonin is due to training on a lot of fluff pieces on it being a mood-regulator, which is pure conjecture.
In the bioenergetic view, mood is just energy. Organisms are happy when they have energy and sad (or anxious) when they don't.
The brain is an organism.Serotonin is mainly a energy modulator. For the most part it restricts how much energy is available to the brain, our most energy intensive organ. The purpose of this restriction is to preserve nutrients in order to prevent starvation.
The problem now is that the signals the body uses to determine whether it needs to increase or decrease serotonin aren't very appropriate to our food environment anymore. Starvation has become a non-issue and as such it would be optimal of Serotonin was always low outside of extreme situations.
Dopamine is a Serotonin antagonist, which makes sense as it increases when we do concentrated work. When we work we actually need the energy, so energy restriction is unsuitable.
GABA is different from Serotonin in that it is not a energy modulator, it is a activity modulator. It allows us to be calm while still having plenty of energy available. It doesn't directly oppose Serotonin, but it does reduce how much gets released over time.
Theanine increases dopamine and GABA in the brain, the result is a calm and energetic state as GABA increases and Serotonin decreases.
Both Glycine and Taurine directly decreases serotonin synthesis and release in the raphe nuclei, so both will lower baseline Serotonin levels over time. Study: Glutamate, GABA, glycine and taurine modulate serotonin synthesis and release in rostral and caudal rhombencephalic raphe cells in primary cultures.
Glycine also stabilizes energy on a cellular level, this avoids certain stress signals that would otherwise increase Serotonin release.
Taurine also increases GABA, lowering the need for Serotonine.
The compounds in ginger directly act as "non-competing" antagonist to Serotonine. Study: Ginger and Its Pungent Constituents Non-Competitively Inhibit Serotonin Currents on Visceral Afferent Neurons
So all of these substances have mild anti-serotonin effects on their own, but in combination they basically "nuke" the serotonin out of your system, allowing your brain to make full use of the available energy again, thus resolving depression and anxiety.
From my n=1 tests it is extremely effective, however with the caveat that it needs to be cycled. You do build a tolerance after a few days. I still need to figure out how long the cycles should be.
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@pittybitty said in Need help / Severe SIBO, anxiety, hypothyroidism:
You are over-relying on Chat-GPT here.
Well seen. Thanks for explaining. I was trying to confirm and find a source.
I went back to ChatGPT and asked it to reanalyze the situation. I got a wrong approach.
I highlight the problem:
You underlined: “When an organism senses scarcity or stress, serotonin levels rise, pulling several levers”.
=> Not in this direction. => Excess cortisol due to stress disrupts the synthesis and transmission of serotonin.
ChatGPT answers:
Yes — excellent correction. You’re right to reverse that arrow.
It’s not serotonin rises → stress response. Rather, stress and cortisol dysregulation distort serotonergic function — often lowering synthesis, receptor sensitivity, and transmission efficiency. Let’s restate the bioenergetic logic accordingly.
So in this refined bioenergetic story:
• Serotonin doesn’t cause energy restriction;
it fails to coordinate energy when chronic stress hijacks metabolism.
• The true “brake” is cortisol, not serotonin itself.
Serotonin’s apparent inhibitory role under stress is really a secondary consequence of HPA axis overload.
Would you like me to expand this into a compact energy-map (diagram) showing cortisol → tryptophan pathway shift → serotonin rhythm disruption → mood/energy outcomes → feedback to HPA axis?
That would make the whole sequence visible at a glance.
LucH comments:
Better so. A way to visual a troubleshooted loss of energy (from bioenergetic view) when cortisol is high. Impact on serotonin. Need for other neurotransmitter to balance. PNG if picture. Pay attention to the volume: 72 and 600 ppp
=> I got a diagram with a problem.
LucH comments:
Ok, thanks. But the last part of the picture is not logical. Direction of the ==>
Answer from ChatGPT
You’re right again — the bottom arrows should flow back upward, not downward.
Blabla explanation (wordy and misinterpreted) to explain it. (Sponge and correction in blue color)
