[Store-bought Kefir/Yogurt] Improve Authenticity and Effectiveness of Probiotic Products

My background: I'm too mentally exhausted for the full recap. I'm the type of girl you see on the street and think 'I want to be her'. I kind of look like I have it all. Yet I have suffered inside for years, dealing with the every in's and out's of IBS-C, abdominal discomfort, gas, distension, bloating and pain, almost every GI upset symptom you can think of, food sensitivities, and resulting food/eating disorders too. I feel it at the level of disability and chronic pain. What have I tried? Maxing out my insurance limits, my credit card, sooooo sooo soo so many embarassing trips to the laxative aisle at nearby Walgreens. I've tried GI docs, naturopathic doctors, accupuncturist, advanced stool tests, SIBO herbal & pharmaceutical antibiotics, pelvic floor doc... you name it. I've tried low-fiber, low-Fodmap, veganism, only-meat (yes, you read that right. only meat for eight months!!!), high-fiber, going to europe for months at a time (lol), all of the things. Recently, though, I came to a BIG discovery. (Well, many, but here's what I want to share now...) \--> have you tried a **Dulcolax suppository**? Buy some. One day, when you're having one of those flare-ups that's taking over your whole day, the kind that feels like ughhhhh sluggish, I know something is in there but it just won't come out of me! - On one of those days, try the suppository. IDK why it's one of the laxative methods I never truly gave a full go, but oh my god, the amount of relief I felt the first time I tried it (and tbh I've only tried it the one time! Because then I discovered... \--> While you're at the pharmacy, pick up a box of **Nitrile Gloves** and Coconut Oil. Get ready to get intimate. Maybe this is on the same suppository day, maybe it's on another (yet another...) constipation day. One of those moments where you feel the urge of fullness inside of you, but nothing is coming out of you. ... Get comfy, feet on squatty potty or on the toilet seat (knees high!), get the gloves on (and wipes nearby), dab your fingers in a good amount of coconut oil, lube, whatever, and talk gently to yourself while you insert a finger up your rectum. Go in with an open mind, a mind of curiosity of what is there. Feel around. Have a photo of rectum anatomy up while you do this if it helps. Understand what's there. I'd also say it's worth it to gently push the limits of how far you think your finger can go (ofc be gentle with yourself, you want to be very safe and careful to not tear or overbear anything or introduce outside bacteria there). If you're familiar with mindfulness/meditation work, now may be a time to also thank your body for what it does, ask permission, be kind to yourself. This is how I found out I have a **RECTOCELE**. A prolapse in my rectum that has contributed to my constipation problems. (And is also probably a result of my underlying constipation problems, my beautiful chicken and egg tale). When gloved up and feeling around in there, I discovered I had a whole other rectal pocket nestled near/under my vaginal wall that was a different 'tunnel' from my actual colon-rectum. And poop was getting stuck there too. Trust me, you would never know whether you have this or not until you take the time to **digitally stimulate** yourself (please refer to[ **this PDF** for superior instructions**)**](https://www.uhn.ca/TorontoRehab/Spinal-Cord-Rehab/Spinal-Cord-Essentials/Documents/Self-Care/SCE2-Sb1-Digital-Stimulation-Rectal-Touches.pdf)**.** The magic of my first self-digital stimulation really taught me so much about my colon and what's going on (and I'm the level of neurotic that has bought medical school textbooks on the A&P of the digestive system). I believe I have a severe case of **dyssynergic defecation**, a term common in the world of those with spinal cord injuries and less applied outside of that context. Do your research. I would have never known this without having digitally stimulated myself and learning more about what all that means. I always thought my constipation was because... well, IDK, but not that! So it helped clarify a lot for me about what my root causes of GI disharmony. My pelvic floor therapist \*missed all of this\*. In fact, no doctor has ever mentioned any of these concepts or terms to me. I hope I am a flame that can help light other candles. \--> The magic of **magnesium citrate** is real. It's always been recommended to me, but after so many try's and fail's of other forms of magnesium, I sort of dismissed the entire category of magnesium altogether. Please don't make my mistake. I would argue indeed that all other forms of magnesium rec's are ineffective and unhelpful, but I really, really recommend giving magnesium citrate powder a try. (I can't speak on capsules... this is [what I use)](https://www.vitaminshoppe.com/p/magnesium-citrate-powder-250-mg-108-g-powder/sl-15041). I take the recommended dose of 1/2 tspn in AM. Magnesium citrate is an osmotic laxative... sometimes it immediately produces a BM, sometimes it is a more gentle daily support for me. if you are familiar with the concepts of 'hard dry stools' 'Bristol 1' 'slow transit time' 'your colon absorbs too much water', I implore you to give it a shot. As always, stay hydrated, drink your electrolytes (natural is best... salt, coco water, fruit juice..). It's normal to be tired and dehydrated after relieving your bowels so fully. Docs have always recommended Miralax to me, and I want to kindly give them all a middle finger because I hate Miralax and think it's disappointing how often it's written as "the solution". It has only caused me more GI upset and emotional frustration. YMMV \--> The power of herbs. I don't think they are doing most of the grunt work here... but I would like to transition one day to plant-based/natural medicine only, before hopefully, ideally, healing to a place where my body has its own rhythm without much need for supplements. In any case, here's what I might recommend as supplementary herbal tools: \-Triaphala at night (it's a mix of 3 Ayurvedic herbs. I can't tell how much power it has in my routine, but I'm in a good place rn and don't want to mess that up by experimenting with taking it out of the routine!) \-Ginger shots in the AM and before other meal times where I think my stomach might need an extra help or push with strong peristalisis/stomach emptying. (I'm too lazy to make them myself... I buy mine from Pressed.) (I find ginger shots and ginger extract (like tincture, syrup) >> ginger tea, eating raw ginger, candied ginger). Sometimes I trade off with ACV shots. \-Digestive bitters. There are many on the market. I'd avoid anything that has added sugar in it. Your digestion begins in your mouth. Digestive bitters (bitter plant extracts) enter immeditately into your bloodstream via your tongue and cheeks and all your lovely mouth tissue. The bitterness signals to your body, ok, time to release enzymes... time to digest this food... It may help you if you feel like your digestion is sluggish. It also helps me personally be mindful about my meal times, and being mindful of food choices, and all that stuff. The ritualism of a pre-meal support herbal tincture thing. \--> **Thanking my body and my gut,** my stomach, and my pancreas, my liver, and my colon, my microbiome and my bacteria for existing with me, being me, and working to help me process my food. I am alive because of my organs and what they are constantly working in the background to do for me. What if you tried to view the parts of your body (i.e. GI) that bring you pain with instead a radical sense of interconectedness, forgiveness, and compassion? "I am sorry I have been so hard on you. I will try to make decisions that make you feel better. Let's work together. You help me, and I'll help you. Thank you for working and digesting my food." Pivoting my feelings from anger to an image of two broken souls (me & my gut) trying to help each other has been really healing for me. I don't want to have a toxic relationship with my GI system where I bombard it with laxatives and medicines, or bad thoughts and feelings, and moaning in frustration all the time. What if I treated that part of my body better? More controversial / less of my main point footnotes: \-I'd consider dropping all other digestive assistants. Of course, I am not a doctor and can only speak from my own experience, but I'm not sure throwing a bunch of things at the wall (your body) and seeing what will stick is the best choice, esp when many GI-related medicines are severe and strong in their effect (senna, laxatives, enzymes, acid control stuff, pharmaceutical motility agents like linzess, fiber powders, etc.). I know it can be really hard in times of flare ups and desparation. Yes, some of my recomendations are strong. I am just giving my POV and what worked for me after so many years of sadness money time energy anger and desperation. I think many of our issues are not what the doctors typecast them as. (i.e. the over-prescription of antacids and PPI's). Try creating a routine for you and sticking to it. If it's been 4 days without a proper BM or sense of relief, maybe then that's a sign that the routine isn't working and you might want to re-eevaluate the routine. On multi-factor approach, 'comorbidism', and the routine - Every system in your body is interconnected. The chronic fatigue you feel, or the other chronic pain symptom you have, or your hair thinning, or abnormal menstruation, or how you get sick so often, or the depression, or you name it... it's worthwile to give serious meditation and thought that maybe all these things are related to each other. Western medicine calls it comorbidity - I personally choose frameworks of thinking that see our systems as one whole, and that symptoms are messages from our body. Naming clusters of symptoms as a 'disorder' can be helpful, but this can also lead you to believe that your clusters of symptoms are separate and distinct clusters from one another. A seed for thought. On multi-factor approach... I think my GI issues are at many levels of the system (I have low pancreatic enzymes, poor colon water absorption balance, poor muscle coordination, a weakened self-attacking immune system, weakened gut lining, a retrocele...) - a complete dysharmony and imbalance - so my routine is formulated to gently (and harmoniously!!!) support each mechanism I suspect needs help right now. There are days when I skip the ginger, or enzymes, or probiotic-rich foods, or the super fiborous foods because I don't think that's what my body needs that day. You have the power to heal you and to listen to your body! I believe in you and in your intuition about your body. \-Try laying low on the ibuprofen. I've developed something of a severe dependence due to all the pain that IBS symptoms gave me (taking 1000mg+ day for weeks on end). I think I dug myself in a deeper health hole bc it's simply not safe to take that much ibuprofen. It can create issues with your stomach lining. \-I think the stool test is worth it simply for the peace of mind. Same with getting comprehensive bloodwork done (check inflammatory markers... it is common if you have digestive upset that your immune system may be in overdrive mode and reacting abnormally). Did my naturopathic doc or tests "solve me"? No but they did lead me in new directions I might not otherwise have thought about without the trials and errors and research. My naturopathic doc is the one who ordered the stool test for me. I did the Advanced Biotek one, and paid like $295 out of pocket or something like that. Naturopathic doctor is also almost always out of pocket too, but it is a priority for me to take health in my own hands. Playing within the insurance game for so long before this put a big stall on my healing journey perhaps. If you can afford it, try seeking your own healthcare providers outside the strict (and almost cow-herd-like mechanical bedside manner) confines of insurance network. \-I've never felt that probiotics, store-bought kefir or yogurt have ever done anything for me and my microbiome. When I made the switch to raw milk, raw milk and yeast-made kefir, and homemade yogurt, I instantly felt a difference. The store-bought kefir stuff is not even real kefir, it is just probiotics pumped into super processed milk yogurt. Blegh. The more I read about the microbiome, the more I understand how truly important eating unprocessed foods is. Modern society has sterilized and taken away so much for sake of capitalism, ease of distirbution, yadda yadda. Do what feels good for you, and don't be afraid to live 'outside of the system'. This is how our ancestors lived up until less than 100 years ago. We are looking at 10000+ years of existence vs a modern 90 years. Btw, making homemade yofurt is not hard at all! If you think my raw milk suggestion is crazy, it still might be worthwhile to try [making yogurt at home](https://culturesforhealth.com/products/traditional-flavored-yogurt-starter?currency=USD&variant=22910001905728&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Google+Shopping&stkn=e7aaeddba827&srsltid=AfmBOoqoPIK01tGYBMB00cFP19yK0fhUTbQcBwVh-PlT5Wx2fQ-URS2FINk) with regular milk, which is how I started learning it anyways. It tastes, feels so much better for my system and body. It just clicks... naturally. For raw dairy [resources](https://farmmatch.com/) look here. For a great book about understanding microbiome.. Cultured by Katherine Harmon Courage. \--> Diet. TBH, I am still figuring this one out. As mentioned in my intro, I've experimented with all sorts of elimination diets. Right now, I am finding a balance with my historical 'safe foods' like bone broth, oatmeal, sweet potatoes, prunes, figs, berries; and trying to incorrporate morre dieversity like other fibers and veggies that I developed a fear of (things like chia seeds, hemp seeds, animal products, pears, high-fiber, grains). I haven't had a bean or a lentil (outside of mushed peas and edamame) in over two years. Fear has suchhhh a huge hold on me still. One thing I have found very valuable from my dabbling with acupuncture is the concept of yang (warm, nourishing, stimulating, cozy foods) and yin foods (raw, cold, dampening foods). It might be worth a shot to consider your daily palate consumption -- are you eating majority salads, raw veggies, milk, yogurt, eggs, sushi? Perhaps a balance of cooked, warmed, roasted foods will intuitively help you. Dampening cold foods may need a counterbalance of warmer, soup-y, stimulating foods to help keep everything flowing in a healthy-for-you way. \-Have I mentioned the magic of bone broth?? I've always been a bit meat averse (part Western modern culture, part ickiness of my awareness of most meat production, part laziness/fear of consuming meat before spoilage, etc etc) but when I went on an 8 month journey of cutting out all carbs (no vegetables, fruits, grains, anything. nothing for bacteria to ferment on!), I forced myself to be on a meat-only diet. It is then I discovered bone broth... how to make it... how healing and nurturing it is for the soul. How good it felt intuitively. How gentle it is to consume on a digestive system that I've subjected so much to. How many nutrients are in the parts of the animals we societally discard and throw away. You can try eating liver and heart if you want to, but I really think bone broth is such a gentle way to nourish yourself for us in our healing journeys. I'd try to source your bones [from a farm](https://farmmatch.com/), ideally organic and grass-finished! If I live in a city and have a busy life, you can do it too. Best of luck my friends. <3