I posted this thread in the Ray Peat forum asking for help with my chronic constipation issues, but a member there recommended that I post it here to get some additional perspective. I've copy and pasted the first post below, and you can read the rest of the thread here: Need Help For Chronic Constipation And Digestion Problems In the rest of the thread I'm responding to a range of different questions so that also provides extra information which I didn't mention in the original post:
I've been suffering from IBS related symptoms since early 2008. I had developed autoimmune hyperthyroidism (Grave's disease) at the beginning of 2008 and the IBS symptoms began more or less around the same time. Originally it was mainly lots of flatulence with alternating diarrhea and constipation , and then around September/October 2009 I went to a Chinese Herbalist/Acupuncturist and the symptoms became mainly lots of flatulence with 1 - 2 bowel movements/day. Around mid-2011 it became simply constipation in addition to the ongoing farting. This may have been due to the amount of medication I was taking for the hyperthyroidism that may have been keeping me in a slightly hypothyroid state (I know that T3 and T4 numbers should be in the top part of the range, whereas mine were at the lower end, indicating a chronic slightly hypothyroid state) , or it could have been an unrelated worsening of digestive issues.
At the beginning of February 2014 I made some dietary changes and took out all gluten and most grains from my diet for a period of 6 months. At the same time I also stopped eating any raw fruits/vegetables for 2-3 months (I ate only stews/soups and boiled fruits like in a compote), except for 200g of grated carrot with apple cider vinegar, olive oil and salt before breakfast (I've been eating this on and off since February 2014). And I also began drinking 1-2 cups of bone broth per day for a few months. Within 2-3 weeks I began to have proper comfortable bowel movements around 3-4 times/day (once before breakfast, and then once after breakfast and lunch, and usually after dinner). However, I could only get several hours' sleep at most (probably due to the lack of starches in my diet) and my hairline began to recede a lot quicker at around this time too. This state of health continued until early 2016 (even after I had started adding in small amounts of grains/starches to my diet). I should just mention that throughout this period I could still not go more than 1-2 days in a row eating meals that consisted of starches (e.g. rice (be it jasmine or whatever else), buckwheat, potato) without the constipation symptoms returning. This was strange because when in February 2014 I suddenly began to have normal bowel movements, I was still eating grains for lunch and dinner, but had only switched out raw vegetables for boiled vegetables. Even now, adding only a quarter of a non-starchy potato to a bowl of soup will prevent me from having a normal BM that morning or throughout the day.
Another thing I noticed was that my thyroid autoimmune antibodies started falling significantly beginning early - mid 2014 until early- mid 2015. The Graves disease antibodies (TRAB) disappeared completely, but the Hashimoto's antibodies (TPO Ab) went down but did not disappear completely. The TPO Ab stayed at that low level from early-mid 2015 till mid-2016 when they shot up again. They actually shot up again right after I tried the advanced SIBO-C protocol recommended by Brisson on Fix Your Gut. However, I also started practicing the Wim Hof method at the same time, so it may have either been one or the other that caused this reaction, or it may have been something else entirely. Anyway, the TPO and Thyroglobulin Ab have stayed up for the past year. So basically since the beginning of 2014 I have had Hashimoto's antibodies present, with my thyroid results showing that I'm slightly hypothyroid (my T3 and T4 were in the lower part of the normal range). However, as I mentioned before, I was having normal bowel movements throughout this time.
As an aside, my constipation is more of a problem of peristalsis than it is with small pebbly stool. I occasionally will get that small stool, but almost all the time its a soft stool (sometimes formed, sometimes unformed) and it feels like the peristaltic motion is not working properly and I just have stool that won't move. Usually when I do get a formed stool, then its usually accompanied by straining and its not like I used to pass formed stools in prior years, when everything would be comfortable. Also, usually when I do get these constipation symptoms its accompanied by pain in the upper back (around the ribcage) and underneath my right/left rib. I think this may be a form of fibromyalgia. For example, when I do a liver cleanse along with taking the necessary supplements, the constipation will remain but at least the pain goes away.
After September 2016 my constipation symptoms began to slowly return (at the same time as my antibody numbers began to slowly worsen). I was having around 2-3 bowel movements per day, but was only completely evacuating after breakfast, and then felt like I still had to go after lunch and dinner. I also had to start up again on laxatives, taking senna once per week and high-dose vitamin c twice per week in the mornings. Prior to this I would only take senna/high dose vitamin c maybe once or twice a month at most. Also, it was at around the same time that my constant farting symptoms started to disappear (I forgot to mention that the flatulence issue did not go away at all until around about September 2016). This was something that I had noticed earlier, that if my flatulence symptoms improved (usually after a FODMAP-style diet) then my constipation would usually worsen.
As of writing, I can only have an incomplete BM in the morning right after eating my carrot salad, and usually again after breakfast. However, it's not a complete evacuation and I'll still have that feeling throughout the day like I need to go. And I'm no longer getting any BM after lunch or dinner. It just feels like the food is sitting there in my stomach and not digesting/moving down towards my intestines.
I've also had a thick coated tongue throughout this entire period that only went away during March - April 2014 (a few weeks after I suddenly began to have normal bowel movements). I've no idea why this happened. I know that for 1-2 weeks prior to developing a normal-looking tongue I had stopped eating fruits, however after I had started up again, my tongue still remained clear. In subsequent years I have again tried going 2-3 weeks without fruit but have seen absolutely zero noticeable change. The only supplement/substance that seems to have any effect on my coated tongue is licorice. It doesn't remove the white coating completely, but I would say that 75% is removed. This is something that I can't find an explanation for, but I'm hoping that someone here would be able to come up with a reason why out of all the supplements I've tried, licorice (at a 2.5mg/day dose) is the only one that mostly clears up my tongue for the day.
Throughout 2016 and 2017 I've tried redoing some of the dietary changes that I made in February 2014 when I suddenly began to experience a relief in all my symptoms (except the insomnia) but nothing has worked. I've tried drinking 2-3 cups of bone broth/day for 1-2 months and that had no effect. The low-starch stew and soup diet is not really working as well (although the soup that I eat for breakfast is probably the only thing that helps me), and the main symptoms its giving me are just worsened sleep. I've tried going gluten-free again for several months and have seen no improvement in IBS symptoms or antibody numbers. Similar results with dairy-free for 1-2 months, and sugar-free for 1-2 months.
As for my blood test results, they usually show the following: I have low protein markers. This is probably due to my inability to properly digest the food that I'm eating - whether it be protein, starches, or lactose (I'm lactose intolerant) - rather than eating a low-protein meal. I've tried adding HCL, digestive enzymes (from a range of brands, including Enzymedica Gold) and taking bitters before meals (in doses from small to large) but that hasn't helped me in raising my blood protein count or alleviating the constipation symptoms.
For the past several years I've had a chronically low RBC (slightly below range) and WBC (always border-line at the bottom of the range). My estrogen is high, and my testosterone fluctuates from test to test between low and normal. I'm neither Th1 nor Th2 dominant but a mix of both, and my Th17 is fine. According to a saliva test taken late last year my cortisol is slightly high and my DHEA is low. My iodine is also always low, but after supplementing iodine (with selenium) for several months I didn't see any improvement in any of my symptoms.
My stool tests show a low amount of the good bacteria (lacto, bifido, the good E.coli) and a low amount of the unhelpful bacteria as well (including the negative E.coli). As I may have mentioned, I've tried both prebiotics and probiotics for a long period of time and saw no improvement (in huge doses as well). They also show that I don't have any yeast overgrowth (so the coated tongue is not due to a yeast overgrowth but something else) and that I don't have any parasites or H Pylori.
From February 2014 to 2017 I had been eating mostly gluten free. Nowadays I will usually go several weeks without eating bread, and if I do eat bread then its usually no more than a few slices a week and mostly one of the ancient grains like organic kamut or organic spelt. Otherwise, wheat has the exact same effect on my digestion as any other type of grain. That's why I limit it, and not so much because of the gluten.
My diet since February 2014 has been mostly as follows:
- Before Breakfast: 200g of grated carrot with one tablespoon of olive oil, apple cider vinegar, and sprinkle of salt (I will take a one week break from this every 4-8 weeks).
- Breakfast: A vegetable soup which consists of grated beets, carrots, cabbage, and chopped onions, turnips, capsicums, chillies, tomato paste, and occasionally mushrooms (around 5 days a week, and then twice I'll have either omelette/organic oatmeal/bircher muesli/corn flakes with almond milk or 1-2 cups of unhomogynized organic milk or raw goats milk ). If I add potatoes/sweet potatoes or taros to this soup then it'll constipate me for that day. A small slice of bread won't have that effect. However, anything more than a small slice, will. The oatmeal, muesli, omelette, and cereal all have a constipating effect but I need to vary my breakfast and cannot be on soups 7 days/week.
- Lunch: Boiled vegetable stew consisting of turnips/pumpkins/rutabaga/onions/celery/carrot/broccoli/(pretty much any root vegetable and any bulky vegetable that can be stewed). I'll add 2-3 tablespoons of millet/buckwheat/rice to my plate in addition to this and mix it all together. For meat I eat beef, chicken, lamb, pork. For seafood I eat mostly sardines, calamari, tuna, sockeye salmon. I may eat around 5 eggs a week, but mostly that is when I don't have access to other protein sources, and I always eat them with the yolk still runny. I may also have a cucumber or tomato on the side. Sometimes some slices of avocado. I'll usually eat around 60g of cheese after lunch on most days. This cheese can be of any type e.g feta/cheddar/parmesan/gouda/etc.
- Dinner: The same as lunch but in a smaller portion and usually without cheese.
Around once or twice a week I'll do a vegan diet, where I eat everything as above, but replace the proteins with tofu/lentils/mushrooms.
- Snacks: Once between breakfast and lunch and once between lunch and dinner. The snacks usually consist of any type of fruit which is available, usually bananas, apples, melons, cherries, grapes, or oranges. Around once a week I'll have canned or smoked sardines as a snack. Most days of the week I'll also snack on some sunflower seed/sesame seed brittle cookies or nut-based cookies with some dark chocolate and dried fruit (dates/apricots/prunes) during that long break between lunch and dinner.
I drink water throughout the day and will have lemongrass/chamomile tea with meals. I'll drink coffee a few times a week in the morning just for the boost in energy and mood. I may be completely off-base here but I have a sneaking suspicion that coffee does worsen my constipation by perhaps aggravating my stomach. That's why whenever I do drink it, it's usually after breakfast when I've already had my BM or sometime during mid-afternoon.
I'm male, 32 years old with a mixed Russian/miscellaneous East European/Ashkenazi ethnic background, and I work from home. Lifestyle-wise, I would say that I am pretty fit. I work out with weights at the gym twice per week, jog once per week, and exercise regularly throughout the other days. I lived by the beach for around a year and I was getting at least an hour of sun everyday (mostly mid-morning), in addition to being in the ocean for around 15-20 minutes, but that did absolutely nothing for my bowel problems. If anything I find that my constipation symptoms became worse after I'd been out in the sun for anything longer than 20-30 minutes. Other than that, I still get around 30 minutes a day of sun and my vitamin d levels are more or less fine. That is, they're in range and just below the middle of the range. However, I should not that my face has a chronic yellowy complexion, even if the rest of my body is more tanned. I've heard that that is probably due to a large amount of toxins in the body.
P.S.
In addition to the above, I can also say that I've tried almost every diet/supplement under the sun and haven't had any positive long-term results. I've tried taking T3 (in doses up to 25 - 40mcg in the mornings with no serious effect on constipation symptoms however I still take it most days at around 25mcg during the morning before breakfast because I suspect it may be doing something helpful). The T3/T4 combo didn't help that much and neither did the natural thyroid.
I've tried the following and had no positive results in terms of my constipation symptoms: Amino acids(BCAA), MSM organic sulfur crystals, systemic enzymes (serrapepatase and wobenzym), oregano oil, colloidal silver, berberine, atrantil, lactoferrin, curcumin, zinc, vitamin a, vitamin b complex, triphala, NAC, l-glutamine, n acetyl glucosamine, glutathione (liposomal and other forms), haritaki, grape seed extract, olive leaf extract, 5htp, glycine, d-limonene, vitamin k2, tudca, vitamin b6, vitamin b9. I've also tried different liver cleanses, in addition to herbs and supplments from both Ayurveda and TCM practitioners but neither provided me with any tangible benefits in terms of digestion. Although, as I may have mentioned before, the TUDCA did seem to help in alleviating the pain that I would get with my constipation symptoms, however other supplements may have helped in this respect as well, such as the systemic enzymes and perhaps the bone broth too.
I realize this post is quite long but I wanted to start off as thorough as I could possibly be (on a forum of this nature) in regards to the history of my health. I would greatly appreciate any suggestions as to what my issue could be, because as I've mentioned, I've tried almost everything, and what worked for me 4 years ago for around a year is no longer working. In fact I suspect it simply may have been a cortisol stress response to suddenly taking out all starches from my diet. This could explain why I was hardly sleeping when I was having normal bowel movements and now that I'm sleeping better again, my bowel movements are worse. I know that @tyw has helped some on this board and there are some other users whose names I can't recall now who've also been able to help others. I'm hoping that someone out there will be able to help me out of this rut that I've been in for all these years.
I've been suffering from IBS related symptoms since early 2008. I had developed autoimmune hyperthyroidism (Grave's disease) at the beginning of 2008 and the IBS symptoms began more or less around the same time. Originally it was mainly lots of flatulence with alternating diarrhea and constipation , and then around September/October 2009 I went to a Chinese Herbalist/Acupuncturist and the symptoms became mainly lots of flatulence with 1 - 2 bowel movements/day. Around mid-2011 it became simply constipation in addition to the ongoing farting. This may have been due to the amount of medication I was taking for the hyperthyroidism that may have been keeping me in a slightly hypothyroid state (I know that T3 and T4 numbers should be in the top part of the range, whereas mine were at the lower end, indicating a chronic slightly hypothyroid state) , or it could have been an unrelated worsening of digestive issues.
At the beginning of February 2014 I made some dietary changes and took out all gluten and most grains from my diet for a period of 6 months. At the same time I also stopped eating any raw fruits/vegetables for 2-3 months (I ate only stews/soups and boiled fruits like in a compote), except for 200g of grated carrot with apple cider vinegar, olive oil and salt before breakfast (I've been eating this on and off since February 2014). And I also began drinking 1-2 cups of bone broth per day for a few months. Within 2-3 weeks I began to have proper comfortable bowel movements around 3-4 times/day (once before breakfast, and then once after breakfast and lunch, and usually after dinner). However, I could only get several hours' sleep at most (probably due to the lack of starches in my diet) and my hairline began to recede a lot quicker at around this time too. This state of health continued until early 2016 (even after I had started adding in small amounts of grains/starches to my diet). I should just mention that throughout this period I could still not go more than 1-2 days in a row eating meals that consisted of starches (e.g. rice (be it jasmine or whatever else), buckwheat, potato) without the constipation symptoms returning. This was strange because when in February 2014 I suddenly began to have normal bowel movements, I was still eating grains for lunch and dinner, but had only switched out raw vegetables for boiled vegetables. Even now, adding only a quarter of a non-starchy potato to a bowl of soup will prevent me from having a normal BM that morning or throughout the day.
Another thing I noticed was that my thyroid autoimmune antibodies started falling significantly beginning early - mid 2014 until early- mid 2015. The Graves disease antibodies (TRAB) disappeared completely, but the Hashimoto's antibodies (TPO Ab) went down but did not disappear completely. The TPO Ab stayed at that low level from early-mid 2015 till mid-2016 when they shot up again. They actually shot up again right after I tried the advanced SIBO-C protocol recommended by Brisson on Fix Your Gut. However, I also started practicing the Wim Hof method at the same time, so it may have either been one or the other that caused this reaction, or it may have been something else entirely. Anyway, the TPO and Thyroglobulin Ab have stayed up for the past year. So basically since the beginning of 2014 I have had Hashimoto's antibodies present, with my thyroid results showing that I'm slightly hypothyroid (my T3 and T4 were in the lower part of the normal range). However, as I mentioned before, I was having normal bowel movements throughout this time.
As an aside, my constipation is more of a problem of peristalsis than it is with small pebbly stool. I occasionally will get that small stool, but almost all the time its a soft stool (sometimes formed, sometimes unformed) and it feels like the peristaltic motion is not working properly and I just have stool that won't move. Usually when I do get a formed stool, then its usually accompanied by straining and its not like I used to pass formed stools in prior years, when everything would be comfortable. Also, usually when I do get these constipation symptoms its accompanied by pain in the upper back (around the ribcage) and underneath my right/left rib. I think this may be a form of fibromyalgia. For example, when I do a liver cleanse along with taking the necessary supplements, the constipation will remain but at least the pain goes away.
After September 2016 my constipation symptoms began to slowly return (at the same time as my antibody numbers began to slowly worsen). I was having around 2-3 bowel movements per day, but was only completely evacuating after breakfast, and then felt like I still had to go after lunch and dinner. I also had to start up again on laxatives, taking senna once per week and high-dose vitamin c twice per week in the mornings. Prior to this I would only take senna/high dose vitamin c maybe once or twice a month at most. Also, it was at around the same time that my constant farting symptoms started to disappear (I forgot to mention that the flatulence issue did not go away at all until around about September 2016). This was something that I had noticed earlier, that if my flatulence symptoms improved (usually after a FODMAP-style diet) then my constipation would usually worsen.
As of writing, I can only have an incomplete BM in the morning right after eating my carrot salad, and usually again after breakfast. However, it's not a complete evacuation and I'll still have that feeling throughout the day like I need to go. And I'm no longer getting any BM after lunch or dinner. It just feels like the food is sitting there in my stomach and not digesting/moving down towards my intestines.
I've also had a thick coated tongue throughout this entire period that only went away during March - April 2014 (a few weeks after I suddenly began to have normal bowel movements). I've no idea why this happened. I know that for 1-2 weeks prior to developing a normal-looking tongue I had stopped eating fruits, however after I had started up again, my tongue still remained clear. In subsequent years I have again tried going 2-3 weeks without fruit but have seen absolutely zero noticeable change. The only supplement/substance that seems to have any effect on my coated tongue is licorice. It doesn't remove the white coating completely, but I would say that 75% is removed. This is something that I can't find an explanation for, but I'm hoping that someone here would be able to come up with a reason why out of all the supplements I've tried, licorice (at a 2.5mg/day dose) is the only one that mostly clears up my tongue for the day.
Throughout 2016 and 2017 I've tried redoing some of the dietary changes that I made in February 2014 when I suddenly began to experience a relief in all my symptoms (except the insomnia) but nothing has worked. I've tried drinking 2-3 cups of bone broth/day for 1-2 months and that had no effect. The low-starch stew and soup diet is not really working as well (although the soup that I eat for breakfast is probably the only thing that helps me), and the main symptoms its giving me are just worsened sleep. I've tried going gluten-free again for several months and have seen no improvement in IBS symptoms or antibody numbers. Similar results with dairy-free for 1-2 months, and sugar-free for 1-2 months.
As for my blood test results, they usually show the following: I have low protein markers. This is probably due to my inability to properly digest the food that I'm eating - whether it be protein, starches, or lactose (I'm lactose intolerant) - rather than eating a low-protein meal. I've tried adding HCL, digestive enzymes (from a range of brands, including Enzymedica Gold) and taking bitters before meals (in doses from small to large) but that hasn't helped me in raising my blood protein count or alleviating the constipation symptoms.
For the past several years I've had a chronically low RBC (slightly below range) and WBC (always border-line at the bottom of the range). My estrogen is high, and my testosterone fluctuates from test to test between low and normal. I'm neither Th1 nor Th2 dominant but a mix of both, and my Th17 is fine. According to a saliva test taken late last year my cortisol is slightly high and my DHEA is low. My iodine is also always low, but after supplementing iodine (with selenium) for several months I didn't see any improvement in any of my symptoms.
My stool tests show a low amount of the good bacteria (lacto, bifido, the good E.coli) and a low amount of the unhelpful bacteria as well (including the negative E.coli). As I may have mentioned, I've tried both prebiotics and probiotics for a long period of time and saw no improvement (in huge doses as well). They also show that I don't have any yeast overgrowth (so the coated tongue is not due to a yeast overgrowth but something else) and that I don't have any parasites or H Pylori.
From February 2014 to 2017 I had been eating mostly gluten free. Nowadays I will usually go several weeks without eating bread, and if I do eat bread then its usually no more than a few slices a week and mostly one of the ancient grains like organic kamut or organic spelt. Otherwise, wheat has the exact same effect on my digestion as any other type of grain. That's why I limit it, and not so much because of the gluten.
My diet since February 2014 has been mostly as follows:
- Before Breakfast: 200g of grated carrot with one tablespoon of olive oil, apple cider vinegar, and sprinkle of salt (I will take a one week break from this every 4-8 weeks).
- Breakfast: A vegetable soup which consists of grated beets, carrots, cabbage, and chopped onions, turnips, capsicums, chillies, tomato paste, and occasionally mushrooms (around 5 days a week, and then twice I'll have either omelette/organic oatmeal/bircher muesli/corn flakes with almond milk or 1-2 cups of unhomogynized organic milk or raw goats milk ). If I add potatoes/sweet potatoes or taros to this soup then it'll constipate me for that day. A small slice of bread won't have that effect. However, anything more than a small slice, will. The oatmeal, muesli, omelette, and cereal all have a constipating effect but I need to vary my breakfast and cannot be on soups 7 days/week.
- Lunch: Boiled vegetable stew consisting of turnips/pumpkins/rutabaga/onions/celery/carrot/broccoli/(pretty much any root vegetable and any bulky vegetable that can be stewed). I'll add 2-3 tablespoons of millet/buckwheat/rice to my plate in addition to this and mix it all together. For meat I eat beef, chicken, lamb, pork. For seafood I eat mostly sardines, calamari, tuna, sockeye salmon. I may eat around 5 eggs a week, but mostly that is when I don't have access to other protein sources, and I always eat them with the yolk still runny. I may also have a cucumber or tomato on the side. Sometimes some slices of avocado. I'll usually eat around 60g of cheese after lunch on most days. This cheese can be of any type e.g feta/cheddar/parmesan/gouda/etc.
- Dinner: The same as lunch but in a smaller portion and usually without cheese.
Around once or twice a week I'll do a vegan diet, where I eat everything as above, but replace the proteins with tofu/lentils/mushrooms.
- Snacks: Once between breakfast and lunch and once between lunch and dinner. The snacks usually consist of any type of fruit which is available, usually bananas, apples, melons, cherries, grapes, or oranges. Around once a week I'll have canned or smoked sardines as a snack. Most days of the week I'll also snack on some sunflower seed/sesame seed brittle cookies or nut-based cookies with some dark chocolate and dried fruit (dates/apricots/prunes) during that long break between lunch and dinner.
I drink water throughout the day and will have lemongrass/chamomile tea with meals. I'll drink coffee a few times a week in the morning just for the boost in energy and mood. I may be completely off-base here but I have a sneaking suspicion that coffee does worsen my constipation by perhaps aggravating my stomach. That's why whenever I do drink it, it's usually after breakfast when I've already had my BM or sometime during mid-afternoon.
I'm male, 32 years old with a mixed Russian/miscellaneous East European/Ashkenazi ethnic background, and I work from home. Lifestyle-wise, I would say that I am pretty fit. I work out with weights at the gym twice per week, jog once per week, and exercise regularly throughout the other days. I lived by the beach for around a year and I was getting at least an hour of sun everyday (mostly mid-morning), in addition to being in the ocean for around 15-20 minutes, but that did absolutely nothing for my bowel problems. If anything I find that my constipation symptoms became worse after I'd been out in the sun for anything longer than 20-30 minutes. Other than that, I still get around 30 minutes a day of sun and my vitamin d levels are more or less fine. That is, they're in range and just below the middle of the range. However, I should not that my face has a chronic yellowy complexion, even if the rest of my body is more tanned. I've heard that that is probably due to a large amount of toxins in the body.
P.S.
In addition to the above, I can also say that I've tried almost every diet/supplement under the sun and haven't had any positive long-term results. I've tried taking T3 (in doses up to 25 - 40mcg in the mornings with no serious effect on constipation symptoms however I still take it most days at around 25mcg during the morning before breakfast because I suspect it may be doing something helpful). The T3/T4 combo didn't help that much and neither did the natural thyroid.
I've tried the following and had no positive results in terms of my constipation symptoms: Amino acids(BCAA), MSM organic sulfur crystals, systemic enzymes (serrapepatase and wobenzym), oregano oil, colloidal silver, berberine, atrantil, lactoferrin, curcumin, zinc, vitamin a, vitamin b complex, triphala, NAC, l-glutamine, n acetyl glucosamine, glutathione (liposomal and other forms), haritaki, grape seed extract, olive leaf extract, 5htp, glycine, d-limonene, vitamin k2, tudca, vitamin b6, vitamin b9. I've also tried different liver cleanses, in addition to herbs and supplments from both Ayurveda and TCM practitioners but neither provided me with any tangible benefits in terms of digestion. Although, as I may have mentioned before, the TUDCA did seem to help in alleviating the pain that I would get with my constipation symptoms, however other supplements may have helped in this respect as well, such as the systemic enzymes and perhaps the bone broth too.
I realize this post is quite long but I wanted to start off as thorough as I could possibly be (on a forum of this nature) in regards to the history of my health. I would greatly appreciate any suggestions as to what my issue could be, because as I've mentioned, I've tried almost everything, and what worked for me 4 years ago for around a year is no longer working. In fact I suspect it simply may have been a cortisol stress response to suddenly taking out all starches from my diet. This could explain why I was hardly sleeping when I was having normal bowel movements and now that I'm sleeping better again, my bowel movements are worse. I know that @tyw has helped some on this board and there are some other users whose names I can't recall now who've also been able to help others. I'm hoping that someone out there will be able to help me out of this rut that I've been in for all these years.
