YOU ARE NOT ALONE - A companion online community discussion board for The Mental Illness Happy Hour podcast with Paul Gilmartin

I've been having bad gut problems for several weeks now. Just when I think we're done, I get another bout. I'm going to try eliminating dairy tomorrow and see if I do better - right now it's the prime suspect.

As a result I've had to eat many more net carbs than usual since a lot of my regular food puts me off. That plays havoc with blood sugar of course.

The word for the last few days? LABILE.

If you've listened to Paul's latest episode he mentions the gut-mood connection. I listened last night and BAM - WOW. I'd heard about gut health and mood stability before of course, but it's not something you necessarily think applies to you until you're in it.

I see the doctor on Thursday. And as of tomorrow I'm taking measures to cut down on the net carbs in my diet as well. There are some good-sounding and truly low-carb cracker recipes out there, so I can make little cracker-protein sandwiches that won't screw with my mood (or my weight) too much.

take care, Techchick, my mom has terrible IBS and it has a massive effect on her mood, obviously.

On my post-gastric surgery diet, my doctor has me avoiding carbs as well. I did keto 6 years ago and it was really hard because there weren't many products or easy recipes. So I ate the same things over and over until I fell off the wagon and went to Dairy Queen.

Thankfully there seem to be a lot more options now and support for low carb lifestyles. I know it's still a challenge to stick to it though. Best of luck to you!