Probiotics to help depression

[Beetlebum1981]

Has anyone tried taking probiotics to see if it helped with their mental health? It's keeps cropping up in the news that there might be a link between gut bacteria and depression. The link would make sense for me as I've suffered with depression for the past twenty years since having meningitis as a teenager- I had massive doses of antibiotics at the time and several courses following the illness as my immune system was so low. I've reached a point where I don't want to feel like this for the rest of my life - I want to be free of it. I take anti-depressants and while they work to a certain extent I feel like they stop me feeling my 'proper' self.
I'd also be interested in hearing if anything else has worked for people.

I'm interested in this too - anyone?

Not sure I can help, but I have a DS12 who also had a lot of antibiotics he was very low and depressed. He had some bowel problems as well (bloating occasional virus-like diarrhea and was diagnosed with SIBO). in the case if SIBO probiotics may work but may make the problem worse. You may also consider Candida a cause of depression? Selenium and Vitamin D3/K2 and magnesium would help. Have you ever had them tested? Are your B vitamins normal? Some people find folate helps with depression but you have to carefully monitor dosage.

@Smith888 thanks for that. I've had bloods tested as I was under the perinatal mental health team earlier this year and they all came back fine.
Hope your son is doing better.

@Parkmama I guess we'll have to keep doing more research! My biggest thing is knowing what kind of probiotics to try, how about you?

@beetlebum1981 I really hope you can find something! I feel for you as I have been moving further into depression lately. I do not know if its hormones. I have had all bloods done also and normal. I worry about my son a lot because he talks about killing himself and I don't feel I'm in the best mind to be supportive. We did take him off gluten and he said he felt a lot happier. He was off for two months then doc said to go back on last week " jut to see reaction" and his mood has changed for the worse, he is more confused. He asked to go gluten free again!! Have you thought about that?

Have you heard of Ashwagandha (winter cherry)? It is an ayurvedic herb that works a an adaptogen. Very good for the adrenals and for normalising hormones and especially good for women.

Based on my personal experience I couldn't say probiotics have ever made a dint in my depressions. And I might be alone in saying this but I suspect taking them numerous times over the years has made me more susceptible to disease. I know many people rave about them and it might be rare to read accounts of people who suspect they've done more harm than good (not sure because I've never googled it) but I'm very wary of them nowadays.

However, removing gluten from the diet helps some people with mood disorders, and I'm experimenting with that at the moment. I'm also dairy free, which has helped with migraines but not entirely. Counselling and therapy have helped me at times, as has reading about Psychotherapy theory and spiritual insights (but not woo). Nature helps me, walking and swimming when I'm up to it. Writing my dreams down (when I can remember them) and learning to follow patterns and themes in them has been enormously helpful over the years. And perhaps most of all, learning about the ways I put conditions and criticism on myself and slowly getting off my own case.

Over the years various SSRIs and the like have been prescribed to me, but for one reason or another I've never got on with any of them for very long. I recently started taking amitriptyline for chronic pain and although it's a low dose in terms of its use for depression, it has taken the edge off at times.

@interminablehellishwhatever I'm with you re the probiotics. Prior to my son being diagnosed SIBO (which basically means too much bacteria in the small intestine) he had a long-term reaction to a Strep A infection, and before that I tried him on probiotics and I noticed the reactions (tics, strange behaviours etc) became far worse. They stopped when I took him off them. I learnt that some probiotics enhance the immune system which should be avoided if your body is already having an autoimmune reaction. Others calm it. You do need to be very careful which specific probiotics and research then. Also, I believe some probiotics strains are not natural and created by the manufacturer so I am not convinced what is being put in the body is going to help.
OP I do know some people, including my son (who is depressed), have a gene variation (called FUT2) that means he cannot make bifidobacteria. The docs actually suggested prebiotics and I think you can get this via bananas, apple cider vinegar etc. It make be a safer choice for you?

Also fyi there is another gene called MAO-B which is linked to depression but I don't recall what the advice is on that? Anything to do with genes is a bit scetchy tbh and all trial and error. Still, it might be worth looking into that?

One other thing! Have you heard of high histamine? This is another thing my doc mentioned to me and there is a product called SAMe that can help. It did not help for me but does seem to have helped for many others....

The Michael Mosely clever guts diet book is an interesting read. You can also get your poop tested ... but I think the jury is still out about how much it is linked to depression and how much the poop test can really tell you.

But increasing gut flora is probably generally a good idea - fermented foods like yoghurt and saurkraut and lots of veg.

Thanks for all the replies, it's given me some really interesting information.