

Among Trillions of Microbes in the Gut, a Few Are Special - nols
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/among-trillions-of-microbes-in-the-gut-a-few-are-special/

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junto
I notice that quite a few of IBS/Gastro problem related articles pop up on HN.

As a UC sufferer I'm interested to know if these types of diseases are more
prevalent in our community or simply a statistical average.

Do our work environments and habits affect our prevalence to such diseases? Do
we have bad diets? Too much caffeine or stress? More prevalence to colds and
other ailments that result in antibiotic treatments?

Any thoughts?

~~~
JimmyM
I've encountered a high number of IBS sufferers who've been exceptional
academically. I think that there may be something about the syndrome that
encourages academic & similar study, although attempting to speculate what
that might be from the outside is beyond me.

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dghughes
I'm tempted to believe in this, I have had GERD for years only diagnosed about
three years ago I have heartburn every day unless I eat bland food and small
amounts of it.

I've tried ppi medication but it made me feel bad and never did anything to
prevent it coming up my throat acidic or not and seems to have caused more
problems than it solved I feel worse after having taken the ppi meds even a
year after stopping them.

But for about the last week I've had a head cold and my heartburn disappeared
completely. I didn't take any cold medication during my cold only one single
regular Aspirin when I was at my worst (not good on my GERD ravaged guts).

I have no clue what fixed my GERD either it was just drainage from my cold
(gross!) keeping my throat coated but I don't think so, maybe some part of my
immune system revved up or overworked, microbes in my gut killed or good one
flourished.

Although sadly my heartburn is coming back bit by bit each day, coughing, and
a bit at night. I really would like to know if GERD is simply some immune
response or microbe imbalance and why a cold caused the changes to it.

~~~
haily
Have you tried drinking kefi daily? I find it helps.

~~~
dghughes
Do you mean Kefir the fermented yogurt drink?

I have had some, it's like sour cake batter or egg nog, it's OK but it didn't
do anything for me but I didn't drink it for that purpose I was just curious
what it was like.

