Eva: struggling after 20+ years Prozac and now without.

[eva]

Thanks Sunnydays, Meimeiquest and Rhi! It really helps to hear from you. Also to know that there are other mums out there, that struggle as i do. I try to be there for my children, i hug them, and support them as much as i can. But I think i am not a 'fun' mum. But I do what I can and i hope they will turn out all right.

Meimeiquest, I had already orderen probiotics and the iherb package came in today, so i will be starting those today.

Rhi, your words give me hope. I will have to hang in there, at least for another year or so. I hope the windows will last longer, and the waves will get less ugly. In a wave, it is so hard to remember that I felt good the week before, or even the day before...it really seems that al les has dissappeared, only the pain and desperation is left.

Today I do feel somewhat better. The sun is shining and it is warm, over here in the netherlands. I have been doing some work in the garden, plating seeds and lettuce and that always lifts my spirits sa little. Now very tired. i tire so easily, after an hour of working in the garden, i'm really rally tired. Hope that will get better too, some day in the future... babysteps, one at a time, i guess.

[Fitby50]

Ditto on being a mom and dealing with the withdrawl and bad waves.  I have been tapering for a year and often have negative thoughts about how I have lost a year of my life with my children, usually when I am in a bad wave.  Then during the better days, I realize that I have not really lost anything.  I have been there with them everyday, seeing them, making memories.  Maybe I did not feel normal or happy at the time, but I was there.  I think about the days to come when I will feel happy or normal again and focus on trying to stay positive.  I know some days being positive is unattainable, so those days I just hang on the best I can.   I think the hardest for me is the lack of motivation too.  I have to force myself to get anything done.  I know I will feel better if I do it, but getting started is so difficult.  And being tired happens to me too.  I get brain drain so easy and it makes my whole body fatigued.  So pretty much what you are feeling Eva, is very common for most of us.  If you read enough of the posts here, you will realize it is the AD's and not you having a relapse.  We all want a miracle supplement to heal us and make it go away, and many, myself included, have tried several in hopes this one will be the one because it got good reviews and worked for others.  But unfortunately the only real supplement that seems to work for many, is time.  And patience, and maybe faith, keeping faith during those long bad waves.  I wish there were more success stories posted to help give us hope, but like Alto said, when people feel better they are not on the sites anymore, they are too busy getting on with their lives.  So hang in there Eva, and keep using this site to give you hope.

[eva]

Thanks Fitby50, and everyone else, it's good to know that I am not alone in this.

But I don't know if I can take this much linger. there are some good days but many more bad days. I find myself thinking of death so much, seeing death and decay everywhere. And so afraid that i have/will have a disease like cancer and will die young. I keep feeling nauseous and have trouble with my intestines and stomach and getting obsessed by those physical sensations.

Ansd if I were alone it would be bad but i could endure it, but now I feel like i am somehow harming my kids. My youngest (7 years) is somber and sad at times without a reason and i feel he is picking up my feelings.

I just feel like i am loosing it and hurting my family with it.

[Addax]

Hi Eva.

 

I'm currently tapering after 25 years on Prozac. In the past I had stomach stuff while taking Prozac. A lot of it, and was pretty sure I had IBS. It went away at lower doses, but upon stopping cropped up again for a little while. Serotonin primarily hangs out not only in the central nervous system, but also in the gastrointestinal track. It's been my assumption that that is why the stomach issues occur while on Prozac, and maybe particularly during withdrawal. Serotonin has also been implicated in immune system functioning. I spent several months where it seemed like I was getting sick constantly. It was the craziest thing for someone who hadn't even had a cold in probably 5 years. I also developed psoriasis after my last attempt to quit, and auto-immune disorder. I'm not a doctor or an expert, but an alteration in serotonin and our body's work to adjust to it is what's making us so uncomfortable in multiple ways. I will say, that it does get better. I haven't been sick in a while now, and the psoriasis hasn't come back in a very long time. Do I know for sure that my physical maladies are related to Prozac or it's absence? No. But I highly suspect they are. That being said, there have been major improvements on all those fronts. So time is healing.

 

I also thought about death a lot during my last, much too fast, withdrawal. I was sure I was going crazy. I am so sorry you are going through this. I have no idea on how to advise you about reinstating or not to. But what has worked for me is physical exercise during my most difficult time, and I can't recommend yoga enough. I had stopped going for awhile, and didn't really realize the benefits until I went back again. I actually FELT my mind and body relax. I have a yoga app that is wonderful, but YOUTUBE.COM has plenty of yoga "classes" as well if you don't want to go or have time for an in person class.

 

Have you talked to your kids about how you feel and how you're feeling? Have you entertained family therapy sessions? Individual sessions?

 

We've been taking this drug for a very long time... As I tapper off this beast I also have moments when I struggle with which is the more difficult journey; Staying on it, or leaving it behind, and sometimes I get scared. But it's gotten, and continued to get better... Slowly... And I ask that question less often and the fear is fading.

[eva]

Hi Adelsax,

Thank you for your kind reply. I also get sick all the time now, flu, stomach flu, shoulderpain... While still on Prozac I was hardly ever ill, except for the occasional cold. And I suppose serotonine does a lot in the body, and all my maladies could be a result of quitting prozac. I wish i knew how long this misery lasts, that would make it eadier to bear. It's been almost a year now since i quit, and I don't really want to reinstate as it would seem that i've suffered all I have for nothing, but this can't go on fot much longer either.

You are rght about the phisycal exercise, it really helps, but I am physically ill much of the time and then it's difficult to do any kind of exercise. Even yoga...What kind of app do you use?

 

I haven't talked to my kids about any of this. They don't know I have been on prozac and I don't want to burden them with all this grown-up stuff. I am seeing a therapist, once every two weeks. i feel better after I've seen her, but that fades in a day or two.

Maybe i should try some gentle exercise, even if i am nauseous or sick. Otherwise i feel i really get stuck, stuck in my anxious thoughts and in being sick all the time.

But today I really wanted to take prozac again, just to stop worriying for a while and to not feel like everything is so heavy and so hard and such a struggle.

Yes, we have been taking this drug really long... I don't know many others that have been on it for such a long time. I did taper, but not slow enough i guess. It sounds like you are doing it really well, not too fast so your body and mind have the time to adjust.

I just keep wondering what is better, reinstating, or hanging in there and wait till it gets better.

[btdt]

LDN Eve could you tell me if your still on this and how it felt when you started it ... at this point is it worth it?

[eva]

Hi btdt,

Yes, I am still on ldn but thinking of quitting. I fibd it hard to tell if it is helping me. i am better now then before I strated ldn but I started it quite soon after stopping the prozac, so it might as well be time that is helping me and not the ldn. And i still have very rough times, like at this moment.

[Addax]

Hi Eva.

The app is called Yoga Studio. It has a number of different levels and intensities. I prefer the low-key relaxing and stretching stuff.

 

As far as talking to your children and not wanting to burden them, I get that. And I guess on so e level I assumed they knew something was wrong. But given that I'm an expert at hiding how I'm feeling when I'm struggling, I shouldn't assume. . I don't have kids, my a good friend of mine had MDD and she explained to her zone that some days she just feels very tired and doesn't fell like herself. She used some other word for it that I can't remember. He had questions about it afterward and it seemed to open up a line of communication about her mood that hadn't been there before.

 

I am doing pretty okay right now, BUT I have my days and moments. They are better now than before. Anxiety seems to be the worst part of it for me. I'd never had anxiety or panic attacks until attempting to withdraw. I have waves of it now along with body tension, but it hasn't knocked me on my butt like it did last time. It was so bad the last time it scared the hell out of me. That memory and some of the other people here helped to remind me to keep it slow. Oh yeah... And irritability. That makes it's rounds as well. Waves and windows.

 

I hope you'll try the yoga. Let me know what you think if you do.

[btdt]

How did you get on LDN was it suggested by a doctor?

[eva]

Ever since I've had a stomach bug at the end of february, I keep feeling sick, nauseous, have intestinal cramping and feel weak and all of this makes me housebound and depressed. Feels like a vicious circle i can't get out of. Now i know that there is a link between your gut and serotonine in the brain. I quit prozac almost a year ago and have had gut troubles on and of since then. But now it is really bad and I don't know what to do anymore. I feel bad about starting the prozac again but don't know how long i can stand this. I just feel sick all the time and can't function really. I have a family to take care of (as a housewife) with three kids... Anyone else had gut problems and have advice? I already tried ginger and liquorice and only eating easy digestible food but it doens't help. I take probiotics as well.

[btdt]

Do you have diarrhea?

I am sorry if this hurts your sensibilities but a specific symptoms may need a specific answer.

Does it seem you digestive system is just not working?

 

This takes me back a long time. I still have digest issues off and on but don't know how it may be related to long long battle I had with food and my gut after quitting E.

Withdrawal often presents as the flu not sure if you knew this or not. I had a bad case of this.  I will give you the things I tried what was helpful and what was not.

 

As it has been such a long time since you took prozac I will skip the early bits which were the most extreme.

There is a drug out there for kids who nauseated in Canada it is called gravol it comes in chewable cherry at a reduced dose of 15 mg... an adult dose is 50mg.  I used this sometimes at 1/4 of a child dose as my system was very sensitive.  I think it is a type of antihistamine and don't suggest you use it all the time as it can affect your brain.  There were days I used more as I needed relief... you must start with a very low dose as it will affect you brain too. I am being hyper safe here... I know it but you can't be too careful in withdrawal when it comes to taking drugs.  I generally saved this for days I had to leave the house and do things like see doctors it helped with dizziness too if you have that .. at times I took it for dizziness as I had trouble walking and again could not get out of the house because of it.

 

For home I ate a lot of candied ginger and some tums yes good old tums and water with soda mixed in... I also tried water with a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar seemed to help at times.

 

Domparidon this is a drug I was given when my  digestive system seemed to be stalled... again I am not sure this is part of you problem... I do NOT recommend it... horrid anxiety reaction followed the only pill I ever took and was with me a long time. 

 

For the motility I did two things that were helpful... I ate bran even if I felt I could not put a thing in my mouth that day I would eat a table spoon of bran.  I have this idea there are things in my gut that needed to be absorbed and taken out bran is good for that.  Not sure if my idea was right or not but it did help... I used the original bran the stick kind not the buds.  

 

When I was at my worst water therapy.  

I got this from a relative she found it and passed it on to me... it may have been one of the best I ideas I found. 

On waking drink 4 glasses of water... yes 4 

in 15 minutes brush you teeth really well 

within the hour of the water eat yes after you brush you teeth... 

for me that was bran time...

 

this is what started my gut healing water therapy....

 

I once had the runs that looked exactly like green jello 

For this the doc at the clinic gave me this program which I did for a month or more it worked...

Three probiotics opened and dumped into a small single serve cup of apple sauce I used the unsweetened variety 

I did this three times a day 

it worked if it had not worked a stool transplant was the next idea she had.... glad it worked. 

 

Constipation has been an issue for me too I know one would not think so but it was. 

I would suggest the bran and the water for this tho I have used other things and had a longer more serious battle with this... if you can find things that are natural and functional use them first. 

 

I have also made ginger tea from fresh ginger not bad but it did not always work.  

A lot of an answer depends on how extreme the symptoms are. 

 

If you have times where you feel like you have a dreadful hangover from drinking the night before ... I did and think they were related to digestive issues... pedialite for babies... nothing else worked as well not the adult version not gatore aid nothing ...

 

To this day if I feel i have a hang over type feeling I will get myself some pedialite ...it is a fluid replacement to give to babies... I can't handle the adult version. 

 

I hope some of this helps you.  

peace

[eva]

Hello btdt, thanks for your reply. I don't have diarrhoea. What the worst is the nausea and cramping.

Do you think it is a symptom of withdrawal?

I can't take Domperidom, took it once and I had a rare side effect, Parkinson-like spasms. Gravol can't be bought here in europe.

I could try bran, and maybe more probiotics then i am already taking.

I think my digestive system is working but somehow oversensitive? How long did it take before your gut issues got better?

[btdt]

I think I was an extreme case and I quit cold turkey... I had surgery this year too ... so hard call on that one. 

 

If I were you I would do the water therapy it is the safest thing in the world anyone can drink water.   and the bran. 

Get moving too even if it is just walking I think movement is a good thing.  

 

Have you tried stopping the probiotic ... maybe you have had enough?  It is just a thought. 

[btdt]

I walked every night for a long long time after the evening meal.. stopping only when I broke my foot in hmm can't recall what year... 2011 and 2013 I seem to keep breaking the same foot. 

[eva]

I will try the water therapy and the bran. Thanks. And will try to go for a walk but find it hard as i am so nauseous.

[btdt]

Walk in your house then if you really have to sit down sit down walking is walking it does not have to be outside but of course you would likely walk longer outside I know all to well how we have to modify our lives and activities to bow down to the powers that control our bodies during withdrawal do what works... think outside the box 

peace 

[cymbaltawithdrawal5600]

I would start eliminating (or reducing) the supplements first. Fish oil may be causing it. An so will not eating plain old food. If you are relying on supplements for good nutrition, your body may be rebelling.

 

What is the ashwagonda doing for you?

[btdt]

I did not consider the supplements the only supplement I took with any regularity and success was fish oil... I started it before I went off Effexor when being investigated for MS it was suggested by the health food store operator ... for the MS like symptoms I was having. I do not have experience with supplements... tried many short term they were not my answer. 

peace

[Altostrata]

Do your symptoms have any daily pattern? Keep notes on paper to track them.

[eva]

Hi everybody,

I still have all the gut symptoms and the nausea. Blood work came back perfect. I feel very depressed and ill, and this can't go on much longer as it is hurting my family. I have to do something. So either i will start taking st. johnwort again, to see if it helps with the intestinal symptoms and the depression, or I will go back on a low dose of prozac, keep that up for a while and then start a really slow taper.

I have been feeling really bad and sick since two months now, and that on top of a year on and of struggling and before that other health and emotional problems is just too much. I can't go on like this and my husband and kids are suffering too.

[Meimeiquest]

I have found keeping a strict wake-sleep schedule helps my mood, actually, the more you can structure the better. Gentle exercise....studies have found exercise as effective as an AD. You could also search this site for info on "changing the channel", making a plan for what you will think or do when dark thoughts come. I need to do that!

[Addax]

Oh Eva, I'm so sorry to read that you're feeling so badly. I am in no way qualified to advise you (or anyone) on what to do, but it was my own experience that re-introducing Prozac after 4 or 5 months Prozac free, then tapering MUCH more slowly made a huge difference for me in regard to my withdrawal symptoms. Of course that doesn't mean it will do the same for others.

 

I have had my share of stomach issues along the way and through trial and error removed some things from my diet which provided a great deal of relief. Eating ginger is supposed to be extremely helpful. I can't stand the taste, so I have not tried it. A friend of mine painted her dining room a certain shade of yellow because the color is said to help with digestion (she's a D.O.). I always forget to ask her if she feels it's been helpful. I hope I'm not being patronizing in talking about the food stuff. I just wanted to mention some things that other people have mentioned to me.

 

One of the ways I think of depression is like this: you know how some people are described as seeing things through rose colored glasses when they see things as great and happy, even if things aren't? Depression is like wearing grey colored glasses with blinders on the side (like horses sometimes wear). Depression has a way of filtering out the good stuff, the positives, and even our accomplishments... But those things are all still there. They exists even when the grey glasses are dimming your view of them.

You will get through this, as will your family. You've already proven that possible.

[eva]

I feel like I've tried just too many things, struggled so hard, did 'all the right things'. I have been taking daily walks, am taking ginger, looked up all the things i can do for my digestion but I am still sick, depressed, worried. I know there are many good things, and it's not that I can't see them at all, just that i feel too ill and tired and weary to do anything about it.

If I were alone I would maybe just give in and stay in bed for as long as it takes to feel a little better but i can't do that, I have three boys to take care of together with my husband.

I just feel I've reached the limit of what i can take. Feeling mentally bad is hard, but feeling physically sick all the time as well, makes it (for me) unbearable.

And whatever I try, the digestive pains and nausea only seem te get worse, and with it, the home boundness, the depression, the worry etc. I can't hang in there anymore, just can't. I know when i have reached my limit. So the question is, what to do now. Go back on prozac after almost a yeat being off, or take st. johnswort. Both with the intention of tapering if I have felt stable for a while and my digestive issues are resolved. I think the gut issues sarted with a stomch bug and a antibiotics cure, and they don't heal because i am stressed and depressed. It's a negative spiral and i can't seem to work my way out of it, however hard I try. And believe me, i try.

[Jemima]

Hello Eva,

 

I was just skimming your posts and took particular interest in your drug history. You're taking a lot of supplements that may be causing you to feel worse than necessary. The only ones we recommend are fish oil (2000-3000 EPA & DHA a day) and up to 400 mg. of magnesium depending on what you can tolerate. (Stop and back up if you get diarrhea.) With magnesium, it's best to start out with a small dose and gradually work up to a full dose.  (I found that I can't tolerate magnesium at all because it's a calcium channel blocker and so is my blood pressure medication.)

 

The rest of the supplements are probably doing more harm than good.  If I were you, I'd eliminate them one by one starting with the Ashwaganda.  It's similar to St. John's Wort and while that may be okay for people who've never taken antidepressants, it can be very bad indeed for someone who's in withdrawal.  Decrease it as gradually as you can and wait maybe a week to see if you feel a bit better. Then eliminate another one the same way.

 

Lots of people have stomach problems and develop food sensitivities during antidepressant withdrawal.  Don't try to force yourself to get over this.  Listen to your body and don't eat things that upset your system.

 

As for reinstatement, it's very risky this far out from discontinuing an SSRI. If you do decide to try that, take only a tiny dose.  This may make you feel better or worse or may have no effect at all.  After being off your antidepressant for a year, it's a real crap shoot.

 

What are you taking naltrexone for?  That's supposed to be for alcoholism and drug addiction, but I don't see that in your posts, unless I skimmed over it.

[eva]

Hello Jemina,

Thanks for your reaction. The past few weeks I have eliminated my supplements, except for the magnesium and the fishoil.  it doesn't seem to make any difference as to how i feel. I was never sensitive to drugs or supplements and don't feel like I am very sensitive to them now.

What i read on this forum about why st. johnswort and rhodiola etc. are not good for people in withdrawal, is that it can cause anxiety and trouble with sleeping. But I don't have problems with anxiety or sleep. I sleep A LOT! Are there other reasons that st. Johnswort could be harmful? I am training to be a herbalist (in my first year) and as far as I know, St. Johnswort is much less harmful then ssri's, and also has a positve effect on the digestive system. So I would prefer to try the SJW to reinstating the prozac, I would feel like i was taking a huge step backward if i would take prozac again.

 

The Naltrexone is not the regular use of Naltrexone, but Low Dose Naltrexone, 3 mg instead of 50 mg. It's supposed to boost your exorfines and immune system. But it doesn't seem to help much. So I might as well quit it too.

 

I understand that there could be changes for the better if i found out what kind of food is good for me etc. But that could take a lot of time. And I just can't take anymore right now. It is not that I have indigestion a few times a week, but that i have real bad nausea every day and it is  making everyday life very hard. I just can't go on like this, as I have a family to run. So yes, in a way i am trying to force myself out of this, because I have to.

[Jemima]

The problem with St. John's Wort is that it's an herbal antidepressant with the same, although perhaps milder, effects as an SSRI. You may not feel sensitized, but you are indeed and I wouldn't be at all surprised if it gave you a setback.

 

Time is the only thing that truly resolves antidepressant withdrawal.  I'm sorry to say there is no way you can force yourself to get better, faster.

[Meimeiquest]

Can you imagine what you would do if you had to have extensive cancer therapy? We moms just sort of muddle through as best we can. I have two daughters and I work, with a long commute, seven days per two weeks. And I start most days with telling my husband how I just cannot bear to do this anymore--love those cortisol mornings. Hopefully we leave a legacy of perseverance...and children who will never take psychoactive drugs. I have been to the "this is impossible" edge once (frightened and overwhelmed on.a regular basis), and I have read of it here. I got a breakthrough soon after and many others have too. I have never regretted hanging on...I have spent and will spend a lot of time tapering the drugs I started to deal with WD symptoms. I believe St. John's Wort is a mild MAO inhibitor, possibly the most dangerous type of AD, which indirectly raises serotonin. But in the end...we respect your decision.

[eva]

Thanks Meimequest and Jemina. I don't know how you all do it, to keep hanging in there. I could do it for the past year, while it was 'only' the emotional and mental symptoms. But now with the enduring physical symptoms I am at my wits end. I get angry with my boys all the time, I cry alot  in front of them, and my husband can hardly take anymore.

I guess it is true that time is the only thing that will work. But maybe at this moment in my life, i just cannot do it, can not take the time that is needed. I understand your advice but am afraid i cannot follow it.

So i guess i have to make up my mind which would be the lesser evil: reinstate prozac, or start sjw.

[Altostrata]

Do your symptoms have any daily pattern? Keep notes on paper to track them.

[eva]

Hello Alto, sorry i forgot to reply to that. I have been keeping a 'diary' of my symptoms the past month. They seem to come and go as they please. For instance, one day i eat a banana and i am fine, next day i eat one and I get bad nausea and cramps. I cannot detact a pattern. Sometimes a lttle rice will make me sick, on my birthday i had applepie with whipped cream and was fine.

Only regularity is that the symptoms are less bad in the evening then they are in the day.

[Fitby50]

Eva, if you are at the end of your rope and barely hanging on, then it can only be your decision what to do next.  I think this is a good support site and would support what ever choice you make.  No one will know if the Prozac or SJW will help, because it seems like most things are a trial and error and each of us responds differently.  You mentioned that you are not having any anxiety, so what mental symptoms do you experience?  I think anxiety/nerves can really mess up the gut and digestive system.  Just being under stress from not feeling well mentally and physically can cause stomach issues. I know if I get super stressed it flairs up my stomach.  Kind of like you said,, it is a vicious cycle.  You also mentioned that you have shoulder pain.  I have been dealing with it too, for the past year.  Diagnosed with Frozen Shoulder.  It is better than it was, but will not seem to go away completely and it is a daily pain.  I think because I am in withdrawl, my body cannot heal its self.  Like what you said, if you could start feeling better with your stomach, then you could deal better with your mental WD.

The best of luck with what you choose to do and I hope your stomach will heal up.

[Altostrata]

eva, is it possible you've developed a sensitivity to wheat or something else you eat every day?

[btdt]

Eva, if you are at the end of your rope and barely hanging on, then it can only be your decision what to do next.  I think this is a good support site and would support what ever choice you make.  No one will know if the Prozac or SJW will help, because it seems like most things are a trial and error and each of us responds differently.  You mentioned that you are not having any anxiety, so what mental symptoms do you experience?  I think anxiety/nerves can really mess up the gut and digestive system.  Just being under stress from not feeling well mentally and physically can cause stomach issues. I know if I get super stressed it flairs up my stomach.  Kind of like you said,, it is a vicious cycle.  You also mentioned that you have shoulder pain.  I have been dealing with it too, for the past year.  Diagnosed with Frozen Shoulder.  It is better than it was, but will not seem to go away completely and it is a daily pain.  I think because I am in withdrawl, my body cannot heal its self.  Like what you said, if you could start feeling better with your stomach, then you could deal better with your mental WD.

The best of luck with what you choose to do and I hope your stomach will heal up.

I have a frozen shoulder too. Mine is the right one.

[btdt]

Hello Jemina,

Thanks for your reaction. The past few weeks I have eliminated my supplements, except for the magnesium and the fishoil.  it doesn't seem to make any difference as to how i feel. I was never sensitive to drugs or supplements and don't feel like I am very sensitive to them now.

What i read on this forum about why st. johnswort and rhodiola etc. are not good for people in withdrawal, is that it can cause anxiety and trouble with sleeping. But I don't have problems with anxiety or sleep. I sleep A LOT! Are there other reasons that st. Johnswort could be harmful? I am training to be a herbalist (in my first year) and as far as I know, St. Johnswort is much less harmful then ssri's, and also has a positve effect on the digestive system. So I would prefer to try the SJW to reinstating the prozac, I would feel like i was taking a huge step backward if i would take prozac again.

 

The Naltrexone is not the regular use of Naltrexone, but Low Dose Naltrexone, 3 mg instead of 50 mg. It's supposed to boost your exorfines and immune system. But it doesn't seem to help much. So I might as well quit it too.

 

I understand that there could be changes for the better if i found out what kind of food is good for me etc. But that could take a lot of time. And I just can't take anymore right now. It is not that I have indigestion a few times a week, but that i have real bad nausea every day and it is  making everyday life very hard. I just can't go on like this, as I have a family to run. So yes, in a way i am trying to force myself out of this, because I have to.

please what is this word

" exorfines"

I searched it came up a different language.

[eva]

Btdt, sorry, I meant endorfines!

Fitby50, thanks for your kind and understanding words. Yes, it could be the stress of feeling mentally and physically ill, but it's a vicious circle in that case... feeling ill makes me stressed and being stressed makes me ill. I try meditating and yoga but I still feel sick. So I lean towrads seeing if sjw will help.

Alto, I hardly eat wheat, and i tried not eating dairy, or not eating any grains. Nothing seems to make a difference. So it might be stress that keeps me ill, after it started with a stomach bug and an antibiotics/antiparasite medicine.

[Altostrata]

Are you still taking the antibiotics/antiparasite medicine?

 

What is your symptom pattern relative to any drugs you take?

 

It sounds like your gut flora might not be balanced, perhaps a different, gentler probiotic?