Hacker News Reader

Comment by e40 | Hacker News Reader

What’s the idea for why it helps your sister’s back problem?

My answer would be trash because I don’t quite understand it, except to say it seems to regulate some common chemical pathways in the body. The way it was explained to me is that it clears up a bad signal between the brain and nerves, particularly in the gut. My gut was just overreacting to any food put in it and the pill helps restore normal “talk” between the brain and the gut. Every other doc was trying to treat my gut to make it better which is logical - this other specialist used my brain to fix it.

I know the back thing isn’t gut brain axis but I just figured I’d mention it.

The gut also has a nervous system, it's like a second brain. So the drug might have targeted just the "brain cells" of the gut, and your recovery might have nothing to do with an "axis" between gut and real brain. Note, IANAMD.

Do you need to take that chronically or have you reached any sort of remission where you don't need to take it forever?

I cannot speak for OP's sister, but I personally feel gut problems in my back. There is no medical explanation for that, that I am aware of. But when I eat certain foods, I have intense back pain the next day.

The only reason I think it is related to gut problems is because the back pain is perfectly correlated with certain foods (e.g. large amounts of gluten, smoked meat) and has 0 correlation with normal reasons for back pain.

It could be inflammation making the joints unhappy. You could do worse than get some blood tests done for CRP.

Nortriptyline is used for neuropathic pain.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com