Did I Inadvertently Sterilize My Gut?

[GreenEyedBlonde]

For the past two weeks I have been taking Amoxicillin 500mg TID for a sinus infection, tooth abcess, and subsequent root canal. It dawned on me that I have been sleeping 8-10 hours a night for the past 10 days. I assumed the amoxicillin was making me tired but perhaps it is my gut? This is amazing because I have suffered from chronic insomnia for the past 20 years! I was lucky to sleep 4 hours then awake for two then possibly back to sleep for another hour.

Today I take my last Amoxicillin dose and I do not want to go back to my old sleep habits. I try to eat somewhat 'Peaty' but I have problems with dairy and collagen (both cause terrible bloating). Perhaps this will change to after the Amoxicillin? Any suggestions short of regular antibiotic use to keep this wonderful sleep going?

 

[Stilgar]

If it were me, I would purchase more amoxicillin online and experiment. You might not need as much as you were on.

I’m a chronic insomniac too, and eating more food at night made it so much worse. Antibiotics and potato juice and tonnes of mushrooms have helped the most. Carrots are also good.

 

[mosaic01]

Amoxicillin is definitely one of the strongest antibiotics. It eradicates gut bacteria in contrast to bacteriostatic agents like docycycline.

 

[Tarmander]

Do you eat a lot of rice and grains?

 

[theLaw]

Cut out starch if you can or replace with sat fat.

You can eat carrot salad with a cup of sugared milk before bed to keep your gut sterile + give you fuel through the night.

 

[GreenEyedBlonde]

Do you eat a lot of rice and grains?

No I don't. Maybe 1/2 cup rice/week, 1 cup cooked oats/week and no other grains. I try to be gluten-free. I came from a near vegetarian existence to help with weight control. I have Hashimoto's and have been on levothyroxine for 25 years and have struggled with edema and difficulty losing weight. I'm 5'3" and weigh 135# which is 30 lbs more than before I started the levothyroxine. Also notably estrogen dominant probably due to the levo. My main concern at this point is insomnia which was totally eliminated with the Amoxicillin. But....I can't take that forever.

 

[Tarmander]

No I don't. Maybe 1/2 cup rice/week, 1 cup cooked oats/week and no other grains. I try to be gluten-free. I came from a near vegetarian existence to help with weight control. I have Hashimoto's and have been on levothyroxine for 25 years and have struggled with edema and difficulty losing weight. I'm 5'3" and weigh 135# which is 30 lbs more than before I started the levothyroxine. Also notably estrogen dominant probably due to the levo. My main concern at this point is insomnia which was totally eliminated with the Amoxicillin. But....I can't take that forever.

I struggled quite a bit with insomnia as well. It can be a tough nut to crack. I think amox solving your issues should definitely point you towards trying other solutions with your gut. Maybe Charcoal, a different Thyroid that is not just T4, and maybe checking to see the EMF status of your house?

 

[GreenEyedBlonde]

I struggled quite a bit with insomnia as well. It can be a tough nut to crack. I think amox solving your issues should definitely point you towards trying other solutions with your gut. Maybe Charcoal, a different Thyroid that is not just T4, and maybe checking to see the EMF status of your house?

My endo absolutely refuses to consider a tx other than T4. We do have smart meters for electricity but have the RF disabled so the company has to manually read the meter. We also had some gadget installed to decrease dirty electricity. I am in Michigan and we are fighting for the right to opt out of smart meters but it is not going well. I guess you are right about the insomnia being a 'tough nut to crack' because there are so many variables. That's why I was so excited about the Amoxicillin. I did not have insomnia issues for the first 10 years on T4.

 

[Tarmander]

My endo absolutely refuses to consider a tx other than T4. We do have smart meters for electricity but have the RF disabled so the company has to manually read the meter. We also had some gadget installed to decrease dirty electricity. I am in Michigan and we are fighting for the right to opt out of smart meters but it is not going well. I guess you are right about the insomnia being a 'tough nut to crack' because there are so many variables. That's why I was so excited about the Amoxicillin. I did not have insomnia issues for the first 10 years on T4.

I have heard of Endos like that. I would consider switching to a doctor who is open to it, or going out on your own and experimenting a bit. Of course do your due diligence, but Peat has written extensively about the anti-thyroid campaigns since the 1950s, and the damage to women who take t4 only meds. If you are only sleeping 4 hours a night, I cannot imagine your quality of life is all that great, and you have plenty of first hand accounts on this forum of people tackling their sleep issues.

Personally I used to have excruciating sleep problems...always getting a random number of hours, or no hours at all. Never being able to plan too far ahead because I did not know how I would sleep that night. I cannot even imagine living like that anymore. For me, EMF was a big component; I had to move multiple times, a lot of money and a breaking of a signed lease. Taking thyroid and avoiding brown rice was also crucial for me. I have some leeway with grains but not much. Other small things were involved. But it could all be different for you. Could be that just adding some raw garlic and carrot, and some charcoal could be a fix? Worth a shot.

 

[Lurker]

If you have estrogen issues and the t4 isn’t working that points to liver function. Peat has recommended at least some active t3 and some fiber (specifically raw carrot, bamboo shoots, or cooked mushrooms) to help the liver. I strongly agree with activated charcoal recommendation as well to reduce endotoxin burden which will also help the liver. Also whatever it takes to lower stress (life choices, attitude, pace, glycine, magnesium, pregnenalone/progesterone) and increase metabolism (niacinamide, aspirin, adequate sugar and other nutrients) will obviously help as well.

There is an upside the the new world order. You don’t need a scribble note from a white coat or some back alley dealings to get what you need these days.

 

[GreenEyedBlonde]

Unfotunately, I never responded to the 3 weeks of amoxicillin for tooth abcess/root canal. Now on clindamycin. I'm freaked out over the possibility of developing C. Diff. and taking yogurt with each dose of clindamycin. Just took my 3rd dose and have nausea and loose stools. What else will help prevent C. Diff.? I do have autoimmune Hashimoto's so not sure I should be taking probiotics in pill form. Any help is truly appreciated!!!

 

[Lurker]

You could try bacteriophage which have a dual action with targeted antibacterial against specific strains of E. Coli as well as a prebiotic feeding more beneficial strains. Peat recently suggested these as helpful. They seemed to have helped me with some bloating I’ve had forever. I bought the Nutrivee brand on Amazon based on recommendation at toxinless.com. Depending on your current gut situation pretty much anything could cause disruption and distress so take it slow and pair with activated charcoal. I just did one per day at most.

 

[GreenEyedBlonde]

You could try bacteriophage which have a dual action with targeted antibacterial against specific strains of E. Coli as well as a prebiotic feeding more beneficial strains. Peat recently suggested these as helpful. They seemed to have helped me with some bloating I’ve had forever. I bought the Nutrivee brand on Amazon based on recommendation at toxinless.com. Depending on your current gut situation pretty much anything could cause disruption and distress so take it slow and pair with activated charcoal. I just did one per day at most.

Thanks for the help. I will check it out. For now I skipped my last dose and not sure I will take the Clindamycin again. But no matter which antibiotic the dentist changes me to I'm sure I will have similar problems after the 3 weeks on Amoxicillin.