For Context: 24M, have had gut issues my entire life. I have consistent loose, green and greasy bowel movements which end with completely unformed stools (Bristol type 6), and have had tinnitus for as long as I can remember.
Here's what I've tried (I'm probably forgetting things):
- Thyroid (T4 and T3 together, I still take this but it hasn't fixed my gut issues)
- Antibiotics (Rifaximin, Erythromycin, Azithromycin, Doxycycline, Pencillin). They sometimes make my stool brown, but don't fix the other issues.
- Serotonin-antagonists - Cyproheptadine, Ondansetron, Metergoline. I've taken up to 20mg of cyproheptadine in a day and not noticed much difference. It does provide a small improvement in terms of keeping bowel movements shorter than without them, same with ondansetron. Metergoline gave me loose stools.
- Prolactin antagonists (prolactin was around 16ng, even while on cypro). Bromocriptine had some positive effects but they didn't last. Also gave me side effects (acne, nausea, made me fat/bloated). Lisuride didn't do much.
- DHT, Exemestane
- Bacillus Subtilis
- Progesterone, niacinamide, aspirin, thiamine, magnesium, taurine, glycine, gelatine etc.
The worst thing is, if I take too much of a fat-soluble supplement, I get crazy diarrhea which basically wipes everything out and leaves me worse off. This type of thing will often remove my milk tolerance, and I'll have to slowly build it back up.
First, I thought it was an overgrowth issue, so I tried all of the antibiotics. Some improved my bowel movements (brown stool, more well-formed) but the improvements were still small and didn't last.
Then, I thought it was an estrogen (and also prolactin) problem. Exemestane, bromocriptine, etc had the same benefits but also didn't last.
Now, I'm not really sure what to think. I clearly have a gut infection, and you could argue that the antibiotics I've used don't really do much in the colon. That makes me think that something like neomycin could be worth trying. The problem is that it has some nasty side effects (like tinnitus, which I already have). It's not meant to enter circulation, but it can if your gut lining is compromised. I don't think I have a Crohn's level compromised intestine, but it's fairly close.
What would you try in my situation? Am I missing something obvious?
