# Improved by solving gut issues. Dysbiosis-derealization connection



## realness

Hi everyone.

From my recent experience I can confirm that for SOME people (like me), there probably is a link between gut health and derealization symptoms.

Having strongly suspected having some kind of gut or gut-brain axis imbalance/overgrowth/dysregulation,
I have tried many, many medicines, probiotics, antibiotics, herbals and who knows what.

Now...
I have been taking nystatin orally for past few days (anti-fungal agent, in the form of gastro-resistant capsules) and I can already say that my symptoms are so improved that I have hard time believing that I could survive in so bleak, faded, dull experience of reality. My vision has improved unbelievably, colors are vivid again, my unbearable muscle tension is at least 50% improved, 2D vision is gone, I can "feel connection" with objects again, I just feel so much better.

I am going to continue with treatment and see if it can be even better or if it remains like this.

TL;DR: took antifungal medication and improved very noticeably


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## MichiganMade

Extremely interesting. May give it a try. Let us know how you proceed via days and weeks and stat updates


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## DerealizedDutchie

Hi @realness

Very interesting post, because i'm searching for a cure in that area as well. I've been taking some natural supplements which supposedly will kill bad bacteria in the gut.

But everytime i start taking the supplements my body reacts in a strange way. I get flu-ish symptoms after taking it and my head feels extremely warm but it's not a fever.

Although it makes my physical symptoms worse i can feel it making a difference to my mental symptoms. Sadly, i can't take them longer than 2 days because my physical symptoms will get worse..

Long story short, can you tell me where you bought your supplements so that i can check them out. And did you need a doctor's receipt for it?

I looked it up, but i can only find nystatin sprays..

And please do keep us up to date with your progress!


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## Phantasm

Yep, let us know how you get on 

After reading your post I did a spit test for candida. I don't know how reliable it is, but it indicated I have candida overgrowth. While I don't think it caused my DP originally I think it's pretty likely it became a part of it as long term stress and poor lifestyle affected my gut health.

I've been taking garlic and iodine as they are anti-fungal and I do feel better, but I would like to get hold of some nystatin. I'll have to ask my GP as it's only available on prescription in the the UK.


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## realness

so, meanwhile, I had a difficulty getting hold of nystatin so I couldn't proceed as I wanted and went back to feeling horrible

anyways, I am back to taking it now - for last 5 days and at much larger dosage than before:

2 days ago I went through feeling very weird, had weird feelings and noises in my belly, headaches, my whole "consciousness" was fluctuating, it was like some kind of "travelling through dimensions" or what and after few hours....I FELT LIKE HUMAN, I felt connected to the world guys, I felt PRESENT, I hear my voice normally, I can communicate with people, my horrible mush in head improved, I can literally feel how my mind process and chatter cleared up, unbearable tension in my mind and body is reduced, existential thoughts are decreased.

since then, it still fluctuates, but it is NOWHERE as bad as it was before, it just never gets as bad as before,

I am planning to try nystatin enemas as some people are recommending. Regardless, I am gonna continue with taking nystatin tablets and doing anti-candida diet.

@derealizeddutchie I obtained nystatin from online pharmacy in Germany where it is available without prescription. In my country (Slovakia), you need a prescription from doctor, but...even if you had it, nystatin tablets are not available here (only cream etc., similarly to what you say) and you need to get it from abroad. When I asked my doctor, she couldn't prescribe it just based on my words, so that could be quite problematic. But as I say, it depends on country (and doctor).


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## Broken

I am glad you have found something that helps!

Can I ask a personal question? Do you have fungal nail at all? (sorry lol at least we are anonymous here). I have had fungal nail for about 16 years and hadn't treated it but have been trimming the nails and putting bleach on it every day for the last month. They are looking better and less yellow

I have also been taking vitamin d3, bulletproof coffee (coconut oil + butter) and medicinal mushrooms supplements with my coffee. These things are all good for immunity and coconut oil especially helps with candida. I am unsure what caused the shift, but I have a lot more energy and am sleeping far better recently. The mushroom supplement has the following:

Chaga - Cordyceps - Shiitake - Reishi - Lions mane - Maitake

They all have polysaccharides which the gut bacteria metabolise and this then improves immunity and they release small chain fatty acids. For me fat is your friend, MASSIVELY! Don't eat too many carbs or sugar, but fat and fibre are hugely important

I would also add that I have made a lot of progress in therapy. I feel that has helped as well as the supplements


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## realness

@Broken No, I don't have fungal nail. Don't remember ever having it either.

Nice to hear you made a progress. Btw, I too am experimenting with coconut oil. And Ive been taking some adaptogens intermittently (like SIberian and Ginseng) too, along with vitamin D. Trying to support my body after this horrible stress, regardless of what exactly is wrong.


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## DerealizedDutchie

hi realness,

how are you holding up as of now? still making progress?


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## DerealizedDutchie

Realness please update 

I started pro-biotics last week and after that i will try to get rid of all the bad bacteria again with a natural cocktail containing black walnut and more. Last time i tried it i got a lot of reaction from my body.


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## Phantasm

Just bought some Pau d'arco tea, which is meant to be good for all this sort of thing. I do notice a difference depending on what I'm consuming. Often I live on sandwiches, which is not good.


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## pinggvin

Then you people has no real depersonalisation-derealisation. You might have physical condition that emits similar symptoms, but as someone who suffered from very chronic dp/dr , i can surely say it has nothing to do with bactery or fungal infection. There are many conditions that can be mistaken to dp/dr


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## DerealizedDutchie

Lol, please don't tell me what i suffer from. I'm not saying i got mine from gut related problems, it's just that i'm experiencing very severe problems in that area. If it can only improve my situation by 5% i'll take it.

And besides that, gut problems CAN cause dpdr, just saying. If you dont know anything about the connection between the gut and mental health you should definitely read more about it. It's real.


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## pinggvin

Yea lets trust everything we "read" on internet. Then people who took weed and develop panic attacks/depersonalization probably has issues related to stomach right? Or people that get exposed to traumas/prolonged stress.. Millions of people eating junk food daily and getting all different kind of toxins in their system on daily basis , and how many of them has dp/dr? 
Everyone has opinion, what im saying that even thyroid dysfunction can be mistaken for dp/dr because there are similar symptoms.
You all know that there were people who blamed mercury toxicity and praised chelation process as definitive cure line to dp/dr, while 90% of people that did the same chelation process went desperate because it had no any improvement?
Also why do you put "mental health problems" and depersonalization/derealisation in the same line, isnt it broad term ??
If you have stomach problems, maybe try stomach related forums


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## Phantasm

I believe we were discussing candida as a contributing factor and not necessarily causal. I thought that was quite clear. We can't just avoid topics because they might not apply to everyone, in which case we would not be able to discuss anything at all.


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## Broken

I don't think we can make any certain statements with dp/dr or even depression and other mental illness. Depression has been linked to diet - fatty acids, sugar, fibre and minerals/vitamins. It has been linked to inflammation which is then linked to diet. Also it has been linked to gut bacteria with anxiety in particular, which relates back to inflammation and back to diet. That's without even starting on hormones and neurotransmitters.

The point is that if someone has come here they are suffering/have suffered from symptoms of DP/DR which is a hellish experience. They are just trying to help others by sharing their story of this. I too find it frustrating at times when someone has it for a month and claims to have the cure by living your life as normal. But they are still trying to help, try not to vent that frustration on them


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## Chip1021

Part of the problem has to do with the broad and vague (not to mention entirely subjective) meaning of these terms. For example, when some study says that dietary factors contribute to depression, what do they mean by "depression"? 
- the phenomenon one experiences when a loved one dies?
- a vague sort of "sickness behavior" like not wanting to go to school or go out with friends?
- an existential lack of meaning or dullness from life's demands and monotony?
- a lack of interest in things that generally give all humans some degree of pleasure (food, sex, etc)?
- being worn down by overwhelming stress and feeling hopeless and insecure about one's ability to care for oneself and/or family?
- feeling generally zombie-like, sometimes to the point of something resembling dementia?

All of these experiences (and more) are referred to as "depression", and I find it highly unlikely that a change of diet or exercise will benefit all these individuals, assuming it helps any of them. Same with any given medication.

This is true with DP/DR as well, judging from the variety of claims I hear on this forum (blank mind vs incessant mind chatter is a major one). "Mental health problems" are not unitary phenomena. There are as many "types" of depression as there are persons who experience depression. It can help to be as specific as possible about your experience, and try to find others whose experience is similar to yours and see what has helped them, though that can also be misleading.


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## Broken

Yeh I agree, once the medical field pulls their finger out of their arse and realise we need an objective measure and individualised medicine we won't get far with depression or other mental illness. Although there have been some brain studies of DPD there aren't many. But they did show there are certain structural changes. I don't know what criteria the patients had to meet though, was it just symptoms of DP/DR?

I know my illness is 'primary depersonalization disorder'. In that it appeared primarily without other complaints. Although I did have some anxiety but I was functional. It was brought on by a panic attack on weed, although I did faint immediately prior to this and woke up with blue lips, a drooping eyelid and the symptoms. Even my own diagnosis is quite messy. I think because of this I could potentially have TBI (traumatic brain injury) that just wasn't investigated by my incompetent GP. Many veterans present with symptoms of PTSD but it can often be TBI, the symptoms of each overlap quite a lot.

Anyway I digress. I think the best thing here is to read as many things that have helped others. Medications, diet, vitamins/minerals... I would recommend always be on some kind of medication and trying new ones if there is no improvement after 3 months. I have been doing that for a while, trying multiple things, and Imipramine seems to be helping me at the moment. Still only 3 weeks in, but I'm hopeful


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## realness

pinggvin said:


> Then you people has no real depersonalisation-derealisation. You might have physical condition that emits similar symptoms, but as someone who suffered from very chronic dp/dr , i can surely say it has nothing to do with bactery or fungal infection. There are many conditions that can be mistaken to dp/dr


i dont even understand how you can dismiss other people's experiences just like that.



pinggvin said:


> Yea lets trust everything we "read" on internet. Then people who took weed and develop panic attacks/depersonalization probably has issues related to stomach right? Or people that get exposed to traumas/prolonged stress.. Millions of people eating junk food daily and getting all different kind of toxins in their system on daily basis , and how many of them has dp/dr?
> Everyone has opinion, what im saying that even thyroid dysfunction can be mistaken for dp/dr because there are similar symptoms.
> You all know that there were people who blamed mercury toxicity and praised chelation process as definitive cure line to dp/dr, while 90% of people that did the same chelation process went desperate because it had no any improvement?
> Also why do you put "mental health problems" and depersonalization/derealisation in the same line, isnt it broad term ??
> If you have stomach problems, maybe try stomach related forums


Nobody says you should trust everything you read on internet.
I understand what you are trying to say, however, please educate yourself on gut-brain axis, in last few years there has been quite a lot of research and debate about it (not to mention that people within "alternative medicine" circles have been more or less aware of it for some decades...


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## Trith

I am interested, but apparently this is an antibiotic and I suppose you cannot get it without a prescription. I am interested to know how it goes for you, and if someone else can try, please let us know the result, even if negative.


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