Thanks for the link.

Duane

it seems like there would be a way to empty the gut and administer healthy bacteria in some other way???

in any case, I was not grossed out…I think gut talk in extremely important.

When the problems start is unclear. The high dose of psychiatric drugs that the seriously mentally receive while in an institution typically makes them constipated. It is common knowledge we have helpful bacteria in our stomach and intestine and lower intestine that help us break down and absorb the food we eat. “They make up three to five pounds of your total body weight,”

The drugs or/and the enviroment or/and the mental illness destroys good bowel functioning. A good digestion IMO is critical factor to mental health as one feels terrible with a painful, or constand dull low pain of a bad stomach and bowel.

If you feel terrible (from the stomach) how does one react? If the mental patient is coheriently verbal, it might be discussed, the seriously mentally ill typically are not verbal. I think a large percentage have aspergers/autism and are cognitive in their own world.
When mental patients get angry from the constant discomfort, and misbehave its just another way psychiatry scapegoats mental illness behaviour to the mentally ill.

If you want a gross out…
In the severe illness of C. difficile , sometimes there is no time to regrow the start colony of helpful bacteria, and a Fecal transplant is neccessary to save the life of the person.
http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2007/11/13/fecal-transplant.html

http://turnthecorner.org
http://underourskin.com

I send big hugs…

As far as feeling awkward about talking about the gut — I understand—but it’s so essential to good health I unapologetically dove in.

And yes….the serotonin link…you know there is a book on the gut called “the second brain.” I haven’t read it but saw it somewhere…I think it was on The Colbert Report—you can imagine how funny it was! But the book is serious of course.

You know Primal Defense Ultra come in capsules. I imagine it would be fine to open them. And I assume crushing the digestive enzyme I take would be an option too.

Thanks for that link…I will make use of that…this is also something I’ve thought about a lot…the brain in your gut. There’s more seratonin receptors in the gut than the brain, and once I heard that, I realized what a brain/gut connection there is…

My, um toilet habits, have improved greatly over the last few months…I too used to have chronic diarreah…for so many years that it was just “normal” for me…it felt connected to my antidepressants…now that I’m on less medication, things have firmed up quite a bit…and to me that is a sign that my mental health is getting better too…I definitely think there’s a link.

I wish it weren’t so awkward to talk about the toilet stuff. But it’s very weird, really, that we have so much shame around that. I actually think that area could hold a lot of clues about our health, and it needs be discussed…yes, in detail.

I don’t really like swallowing pills, and I’ve found a digestive enzyme I like that are these tiny little pearls that dissolve in your mouth…but darnit I through away the outer packaging months ago, so I can’t remember what they are called…I got them at Whole Foods.

I also think eating lots of vegetables helps with gut health, for me anyway…berries too.

Leave it to you to find just the right site to point readers to. I think I posted the video on the treatments page a long time ago…it’s a great video about the gut and kids with autism healing once it’s healed.

Also I noticed this website uses the same products I used. Two of them anyway. I didn’t go as far with treatment as they do.

Anyway, thanks, great resource.

http://www.gutandmentalillness.com