About me: Tobias, 15 years with IBS

I'm 33, I live in Odense in Denmark, and I trained as a software developer. I'm also a new dad to a little girl. And I have had IBS and stomach problems for 15 years. That is why Probiotikaguiden exists.

Why I started the site

I started the site because I have had IBS and stomach problems myself for many years. Along the way I have read a lot about the gut, gut bacteria and probiotics. Here I gather what the trials actually show, with the sources, so you can look them up yourself.

My story

I have struggled with IBS and stomach problems for 15 years. What affects me most is bloating and what I experience as inflammation in my stomach and the rest of my body. I also have osteoarthritis in my back and lower back.

I have been in and out of the health service for many years. Among other things, I have:

seen a neurologist, a rheumatologist, a dietitian and a chiropractor
had MRI scans and X-rays of my lungs, heart and lower back
had countless blood tests
been a patient at an outpatient clinic for gastrointestinal diseases
had several endoscopies, which are some of the least pleasant things I have been through

No explanation other than IBS has ever come out of it. IBS is a diagnosis a doctor makes from the symptoms when the tests find no other disease. For me it has mostly been a name for the fact that nothing else was found. My story is still going on.

What I do today

I have found out which foods I don't tolerate, and I stay away from them.
I train with a personal trainer because of my osteoarthritis. The training, and moving in general, also helps my stomach. That matters a lot when I have a desk job.
I take probiotics and prebiotics every day.

I don't write about what the supplements do for me. One person's experience is not evidence that a product works, and the rules on marketing food supplements do not allow a site with affiliate links to use that kind of experience. What the trials show is in the articles.

What I think about probiotics

If you are healthy and don't have significant stomach problems, I don't think you have much to gain from probiotics. If you have persistent symptoms, your doctor is where to start. The British and Canadian guidelines for IBS say it is reasonable to try probiotics for a limited period if you want to.

What the trials show, and how to try it sensibly, is in the article on probiotics and IBS.

What I am, and what I am not

I am not a doctor, a dietitian or a researcher, and I have no professional training in health. I am a software developer and a patient who has read a lot.

Among the things that have shaped me are Emeran Mayer's book on the gut and the immune system, Sunde tarme, stærkt immunforsvar (read in Danish), and articles by the Danish nutrition writer Morten Elsøe.

That is why the articles are based on the research and the guidelines, not on my stomach. Where I have personal experience, it has a section of its own, so you can tell what I have been through from what the trials show.

I use AI to help me write. How is described on the page about the site.

Money and interests

The site earns a commission when you buy through some of the links to shops. That includes the NDS products, and I use NDS Classic 10 myself. You should know that when you read about them. The commission does not decide what the articles say.

See your doctor

If you have persistent stomach problems, talk to your doctor. My story is my own, and what suits me does not necessarily suit you.