I'm taking an herbal remedy called Biocidin and I'm concerned about side effects. I'm also taking 5000 mcg of Vitamin B12 a day and from some information I've gotten on the web I think that might be more than I need. I don't have pernicious (sp) anemia. Anyway, I've been taking the biocidin for 5 days, and the B12 for three weeks and now I'm having tingling in my feet, my achilles tendons are very stiff, my pulse rate is 67 bpm, which I think is good, but it feels weak. Is anyone familiar with Biocidin?
my first thought is that taking something that kills bacteria (and antibiotic) can lead to dysbiosis in the first place. So the best idea is to make sure you always have a high quality multi-strain probiotic as well.
tingling in your feet could be a nerve problem, in which case I recommend consulting with a good chiropractor (who really understands the nervous system). if it is a nerve problem, fixing that could fix many other problems, including digestive issues.
I'm not a medical doctor, just someone who has researched GI disorders and experienced IBS, now recovered.
Hi, Thank you for your input. It could indeed be a nerve issue. I saw my chiropractor (who happens to be my doctor of Functional Medicine and gave me the biocidin) on Tuesday. I've had three bad nights since I started the biocidin and think I maybe started to strong. I warned her that I'm sensitive to meds. I'll give her a call and back off on it for now. It has also occurred to me that waking up with the sick feelings probably caused me some anxiety.
I take a probiotic for Seniors, but think I will upgrade it based on your comment. I've been dealing with hiatus hernia and diverticulosis and was on the Divi Diners forum for a while. I got some good ideas there and the vitamin D and probiotic, and eating lots of fiber, has really helped. Now, I guess, I'm full of yeast, bacteria and parasites from probably taking prilosec for several months? I read that somewhere in this forum I think. Do you know anything about that?
I'd like to know what helped you with your recovery from the GI issues, if you're willing to tell me - please.
hi
I'm also taking this. Other than stomach upsets from taking on an empty tum, not much effect. Am curious about other responses you get
steve in California
Hi Steve,
How long have you been taking it?
I hope I get some more responses, but I think I should have started this topic in the GI forum rather than the alternative medicine forum. They do use a lot of alternative treatments. I wonder if there's any way to copy this over rather than starting all over again there.
Carol in Massachusetts
I hope you have a good chiropractor, its difficult to know for sure, but they can vary so much in quality (like all doctors). Any truly excellent doctor is going to pursue problems until the root causes are found.
My path to healing I i wish was more straight forward... but I can tell you what is working now and a little bit about how I got here. First in short summary I've been using high quality multi-vitamins (liquid or liquid gels of course), high quality probiotic supplements with multiple strains, natural probiotic foods, bananas and L-Glutamine.
So my problems were constipation, gut inflammation, and some bouts of diarrhea at first. The gut inflammation turned into leaky gut that was giving me systemic damage and weakness in the body. Eventually the gut got more irritated and gave me a lot of pain in the intestines and felt like the lining was being scraped away keeping me up at night. I was eating fruits and vegetables so I did not understand why they were not still effective (dysbiosis it turns out).
I did some reading and found out that probiotics are the key to fixing this. The end goal is to have soft and "effortless" bowel movements, a sign that things are working well, something I had not been having for many years but I didn't think it was a big deal. Probiotics keep bowel movements moving, help nutrients absorb, help to kill bad bacteria, etc.
I started with a single strain 1Billion L.Longum pill which did virtually nothing. I tried commercial yogurts which stopped my guts from painful scraping but did not repopulate the flora. Finally I found homemade saurkraut, which immediately showed improvements consistently in my digestion. This was it, I thought. But relying on that everyday wasn't possible, because it eventually started giving me irritation from overuse (and from I think a pre-existing ulcerative condition). So I needed something else. I tried homemade Kefir which was great for a while, and provided a lot of energy via great nutrient absorption. I started gaining weight and my muscles become stronger. I also noticed that my lower abdominal pain was gone. But eventually (through negligence I believe) my Kefir went bad and then drinking it gave me more problems with dysbiosis... some people say Kefir can't go bad like that but my stomach and nose says otherwise.
So with my Kefir gone bad I was feeling in a desperate space, I decided to shell out the money for some overpriced probiotics at the mall (twice the price online but I wanted instant relief). These probiotics were 25Billion per capsule. These are said to be colonizing strains, and they seemed to colonize better than all the other probiotics I was using before (the Kefir didn't seem to colonize, I was addicted to it). Using these high quality supplements things have been consistent day after day. That shows me things are going to be ok. I can even take a day off and the effects are still there.
Concurrent with these probiotics I also got in the habit of eating a high quality multi vitamin daily (the low quality gave me headaches) and a twice daily Zinc supplement before meals (I would chew it up to make sure its absorbing well). Zinc has helped protect my blood brain barrier from leaky gut, and also has anti-pathogen properties (though its not an antibiotic perse). I recommend Zinc that has some Manganese in there, since Manganese is using by friendly gut bacteria.
For gut irritation during this time I would eat bananas and L-Glutamine (in small amounts). Near the end I noticed I had developed a small ulcer and this helped heal it (I think this ulcer was present for some time but hard to distinguish from the other gut pains).
So combining all this together, the good vitamin supplements, the probiotics, also the bananas and L-Glutamine I was able to get myself back to the point where I can eat a bowel of beef noodles without getting a major headache or GI discomfort. I'd still rather not eat such food (organic is the way to help preserve good bacteria), but that food it most readily available where I'm living.
I hope that is helpful and isn't too long or off topic.
Emis Moderator comment: I have removed product/company names as we do not allow repeated posting of these in the forums. If users wish to exchange these details please use the Private Message service.
http://patient.uservoice.com/knowledgebase/articles/398331-private-messages
and I should add that 5 years ago I had tried single strain L Bacillus probiotics (before I had a bad problem) and some other single strain types, which produced such a bad stink on exiting the body that I stopped using them thinking this couldn't possibly be healthy!
using the multi-strains or the homemade probiotics does not produce unusual odors yet still provides motility and "effortlessness".
oh speaking of effortlessness you mentioned diverticulosis! I hope you are transitioning to the natural squatting posture, or at the least using a "squatty botty" type device. the modern toilet creates much greater pressure on the intestinal walls.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! Not too much, not too long. I have questions and comments - and an appointment with my chiro that I have to get to so I have to go. I'll be back in an hour or so. By the way, she has been providing me with all kinds of supplements, all with good intention, but the biocidin made me feel like I was taking a black listed antibiotic.. Back soon.
Hi Carol
I've been taking it for 30 days. This is the 2nd round for me(took it three mos ago)
I am using a protocol for SIBO. It does seem to help. As far as probiotics I am taking VSL(250 billion)
Hi, I have some questions about homemade probiotics and the "squatty botty" ("double double toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble" - sorry for the quote but it seems to apply to both of the above 
, and I don't usually like emoticons). Also, specific products which aren't allowed to be mentioned here. Would you be comfortable using the Private Message service? Not sure what that entails. Also, Steve might benefit from this info - page down to see his comment. He's in CA so he's probably up by now.
oh please don't stop this amazing discussion!!!!!!!!
especially the cliff hangers where we are left awaiting your return from the chiro. i am absolutely here for you...going through dysbiosis too so mutual hand holding most welcome. i'd like to share some resources but don't want to go thro this moderation thing.
i appreciate being protected from advertisingbut this is so clearly about sharing resources, maybe someone needs to moderate the moderator!!!!!!!!!?
can we be allowed one mention in each thread of a useful product? mr moderator?
No cliff hangers, only time zones. I'm sorry to hear that you are dealing with this dysbiosis, which I'd never heard of til about three weeks ago, but glad to have you reaching out a hand. Together we will prevail.
My chiro thought that I might have progressed too quickly with the herbal remedy (i did what she had prescribed) and that some of my discomfort (maybe all) was due to my body getting rid of the yeast, bacteria and parasites that the remedy is intended to do. So, after four or five days to recover I'm going to start again very slowly. That means 1 drop twice a day for several days, then increasing to 2 drops twice a day for several days. I may never top out at the 20 drops twice a day - for six weeks - that she initially scheduled me for. Are you familiar with the remedy I'm talking about? It includes 18 different herbs, three of them taken from two parts of the plant (hull and leaf from black walnut, for instance). Anyway, time will tell. Can you give me an indication of what you've been taking, or doing, to get through this? Have you had this dysbiosis for a long time? I think we can share a lot as long as we are generic as opposed to specific, and I think capital letters might be a trigger, so I'm going to de-capitalize my 'black walnut' above.
TeacheRand 21 (TR21) has provided a lot of very useful information and I hope he/she checks back in at some point. I'm wondering if organic sauerkraut from a health food store is as good as home made, but I'm going to give it a try, being mindful of overuse. I'm currently taking a 10 strain probiotic with 30 billion live cultures per cap and delayed release so it doesn't get decimated by stomach acid before it reaches the gut. I'm also taking a lot (don't know if I can say how much) of Vitamin D3. I'm relatively free from abdominal pain and I think I can ascribe the lack of pain to the probiotic, the D3 and fiber. But, I have bloating and my stomach feels full after not very much food. It's obvious to me that I'm limping along day to day keeping discomfort at bay, but I have to get rid of the condition. The remedy that I was taking is a cleanse, and if I can tolerate it it may do the job.
I can't imagine what a 'squatty botty' (name altered to satisfy the moderators?) is, but an image comes to my mind of my knees somewhere up by my ears. I'll have to ask my chiro if she has a clue.
Do keep in touch, please.
I don't mind using the private message to share specific product information. I can also give a general description. For the probiotic I use a Multi Strain (10 Strain), with 25Billion, there is also a 50Billion might be good to try different strengths and see the difference.
Yes for the squatty toilet there are different options, but there is one popular option that you mentioned which provides a semi-squatting position that people say helps. I use the full squatting position now, and do this using two small stools. I don't recommend that to anyone, as it could be dangerous in certain bathroom conditions. Also not recommended to stand directly on the seat itself, I've been warned that some have suffered serious injury from this.
sorry I should say 25 Billion CFUs, and 50 Billion CFUs. Make sure to refigerate to maintain the potency.
Now I'll be up all night Googling squatty toilets. I don't know whether to laugh or cry.
What are CRUs?
I mean CFUs.
I would bet your chiro has at least hear mention of the "squatty", I've just read so much about squatting, it makes sense, and I've been using the full squat it and can say it works as advertised. Though it still does require good digestive health for full benefit, and if things are not going well straining is still possible just less likely and less intense in my experience.
well I'm glad you are making sure to get a probiotic with your cleanse, I think you are on the right track good job to your Chiro.
You did mention still having a lot of bloating, so about the fiber.... some people find they do better on a low to moderate fiber diet, that might be something to consider (I know it flies in the face of conventional wisdom).
For me I started getting terrible pain and discomfort from eating evening even fairly soft fibers (though not much bloating) and cutting back helped. and / or you might just need to find the right kind of fiber for you and the right dose (for now).
This stuff sure does get complicated quickly.
And I do worry about giving advice, I can't say I'm 100% recovered, but I am feeling so close to normal now. I'm able to exercise again, and eat meat without any major discomfort and my headaches are more rare.
I'm still sticking with my supplements though and I am sure that without them, I'd be in trouble. Especially zinc has been helpful. Its probably that its helping my blood brain barrier, which seemed to have been compromised during that time (and cell phone usage during that time DID NOT HELP which further indicates the blood brain barrier hypothesis).
But interestingly enough, I just read that exercise is one of the best things to help the BBB, so now that I can do that again, I will try to do 30-45mins each day (though when it is severely compromised, like it was before, strenuous exercise is not and option).
oh sorry, about the "squatty" it is a modified squat, so it actually allows one to sit on the toilet but the legs to raise up somewhat. It only stands at 7in (or optionally 9in) so the knees won't be nearly as high as the method I use, but still it seems sufficient based on testimonials I've read. Ultimately I would recommend working up to the squat, I know its a tough sell for most people, but when you get sick enough, it becomes much more appealing.
I sent one of the "squatties" to my father and he has been using it, but I'm yet to here a full progress report. Though he tells me he is regularly now.
and speaking of time zones I currently live (and teach) in Bangkok, so this explains the long time delays for me! I teach science here (and now medicine? lol).