Question: I am a 28 year old male, otherwise in good health. About 6 months ago I was prescribed clindamycin for a skin infection, since then I have developed IBS. I got tested for cdiff twice (4 samples in all) and it was negative each time. To deal with the IBS, I have started probiotics which seemed to have helped a bit. About a month back, I took a multi-strain probiotic for about two weeks, it contained ( L. rhamnosus, L. helveticus, Bifidobacteria Longum, L. Casei, L. Plantarum, Lactococcus Lactis, B. Breve, Pediococcus acidilactici, 5Billion CFU in all). Since then I have been occasionally experiencing what can be described as brain fog. I also feel a slight heaviness at the top of my head and a slight fatigue. It makes it difficult to concentrate on mentally challenging work, but not to the point where I am forgetting stuff. Also it seems to be present some days or some times of the day. It tends to be more severe on days when I have slept less. I stopped the probiotic about two weeks ago but the condition persists. I have had a CBC and thyroid (T4 and TSH) testing done in relation to the IBS about a week back and that was completely normal. Since this started after taking the probiotic and some people have mentioned such side effects from probiotics, I am quite sure that this is due to the probiotic. What should I do at this point, should I get tested for electrolytes, vitamin D, B folic acid deficiencies or should I simply wait it out? I am also wondering whether this could be due to excess lactic acid present in the body introduced by the bacteria? If so what are the tests treatments for that? Also, I am quite sure that this is not Candida or yeast overgrowth because I don't have any skin symptoms. Please Advise.

Thanks,

I did get tested for Reticulin Abs and Endomysial Abs (probably for celiac), S.Cerevisae Ab Ig A, S.Cerevisae Ab Ig B, NSA Inflamm bowel Disease, S (probably for IBDs) and Giladin Ab IgA, Giladin Ab IgG, TTransAbIgA.S, TTransABIgG.S during my IBS diagnosis, everything came back negative. I had a metabolic profile also(6 months back) which was normal. I am planning to undergo a colonoscopy to confirm IBS and rule out other possible causes.

However, my IBS has been present since 6 months and I have been taking probiotics and consuming yogurt daily for about 4 months. But right now I am more concerned with the brain fog issues that I am experiencing since a month and seem to have commenced after starting a particular multi-strain probiotic supplement. All the previous probiotics that I tried were single strain (L. acidophilus, B. Infantis(Align) and S. Boulardi(Florastor/Jarrows)). Hence I am concerned that I developed Brain Fog from one or more of these strains ( L. rhamnosus, L. helveticus, L. Casei, L. Plantarum, B. Longum, B. Breve, Lactococcus Lactis, Pediococcus acidilactici). I will have the metabolic profile again. Any specific advice on dealing the barin fog and related issues?

I stopped the probiotic about two weeks ago but the brain fog persists, I can't say if it has improved since then. Thanks for your suggestions regarding walking and relaxation, I will try them out.