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Posted 11/20/2008 5:56 AM (GMT 0)
Did you try them?
Have they helped?
Which strains are you taking and how many daily?
Taking pre-biotics?
Do you think your condition has anything to do with gut flora?

I have UC but I would still like your feedback - Thanks!
Posted 11/20/2008 6:01 AM (GMT 0)
I am taking Florastor 3x daily. I am on 1550 mg daily Venco. Doc says that I will need to continue even after remission. Currently seeking Remicade treatment.
Posted 11/20/2008 6:37 AM (GMT 0)
I'm having success with Primadophilus Reuteri made by natures way, I use the cap form but it also comes in powder and pearls (the pearls have less strain in them I think than the powder or pill but I'm not 100% on that.

I only have to take one/day so this makes a 90 cap bottle at 29.00 CDN very affordable and it doesn't matter if you take with or without food *not from my experiance with it at least*....and research has shown that our unbalanced gut flora definitely exacerbates and is connected to IBD in general (either CD or UC), its why VSL3 is the number 1 recommended probiotic for IBDers, it's very expensive.

It's good to see that you already take VSL3 and another probiotic and that you seem to be symptom free as a result, I think the fact that you've cut sugar out of your diet also plays a huge role, afterall I think everyone knows that sugar = bacterial overgrowth.

Are you just curious to see how others do on probiotics in comparison to yourself?

:)
Posted 11/20/2008 6:48 AM (GMT 0)
primadophiluis reuteri and primarophilus bifidus by natures way. Originally went with bifidus but read a few other posts by pb4 and decided to try reuteri as well. My husband has crohn's and this seems to make a huge difference. Still experimenting to see if one is better than the other, but both have helped!
Posted 11/20/2008 6:49 AM (GMT 0)
Hey emrose, I'm happy to hear that your hubby has noticed a huge difference with the primadophilus...wishing him continued success!!!

:)
Posted 11/20/2008 1:26 PM (GMT 0)
I used Garden of Life Primal Defense. It's has at least 12 different organisms that are intestinal/immune beneficial. It helps.
Posted 11/20/2008 2:05 PM (GMT 0)
I was interested in which strains people take since it seems like it can make the difference between successand failure. This may be just my speculation, but those people that take a wide variety of strains seem to be doing well.

I've heard people talk about Primadophilus Reuteri. This is one strain Ive never found I will look for it.
Primal Defense seems to be one of the most varied probiotics out there.

I have just started VSL#3,although that one has 8 strains the quantity is very large. Here is some info I found about different strains:

Bifidobacterium lactis - Immune stimulation
Lactobacillus acidophilus - prevents bacterial overgrowth in small intestine <- I can see why this is important
Lactobacillus casei - immune stimulation, reduction of duration of winter infections, H. pylori eradication
Lactobacillus plantarum - IBS, used post-operative, immune stimulation <- this one is important for UC included in 299V preparation
Lactobacillus rhamnosus - Immune stimulation, prevents diarrhoea
Lactobacillus salivarius - positive effects with intestinal ulcers and inflammation <-Good
Streptococcus thermophilus - positive effects with intestinal ulcers and inflammation <- very good (included in VSL#3 preparation)
Posted 11/20/2008 2:10 PM (GMT 0)
We use Theralac which you can google if you wish to check out the strains. There are many good brands on the market, though. Someone here uses Udo's and I've also purchased Dr.Murray's and VSL#3 in the past.

Probably the most common prebiotic is FOS. Elaine Gottschall is opposed to those with Crohn's or UC using the prebiotic FOS. If you want to know why, you can read this explanation:

http://www.breakingtheviciouscycle.info/knowledge_base/kb/fos_fructooligosaccharides.htm

FOS occurs naturally in foods like bananas, so you can get FOS naturally!

Although this next article is ultimately selling a specific brand of probiotics (which I'd never heard of before finding the article), the information in the article is well presented, explaining why probiotics are so good for everyone. Under the section, "Probiotics--What to look for in a good supplement...", check out the second paragraph:

http://www.gonando.com/probiotics.html

As for your question, "do you think your condition has anything to do with gut flora?", all I can say is our pediatric GI believes beyond a shadow of a doubt that gut flora is involved. His words to me were something like, "massive gut-flora imbalance". He wouldn't speculate on what he believes the culprit is and further stated, "everyone has their theory", but he believes it to be the case, nonetheless. It definitely made me decide probiotics are well worth the investment!
Posted 11/20/2008 2:32 PM (GMT 0)
I use a Lactobacillus form. It works well for me. I went from having 4-5 loose stools a day to 1-2 more normal stools. Really helped me in my opinion.
Posted 11/20/2008 5:51 PM (GMT 0)

EMom said...
We use Theralac which you can google if you wish to check out the strains. There are many good brands on the market, though. Someone here uses Udo's and I've also purchased Dr.Murray's and VSL#3 in the past.

Probably the most common prebiotic is FOS. Elaine Gottschall is opposed to those with Crohn's or UC using the prebiotic FOS. If you want to know why, you can read this explanation:

http://www.breakingtheviciouscycle.info/knowledge_base/kb/fos_fructooligosaccharides.htm

FOS occurs naturally in foods like bananas, so you can get FOS naturally!

Although this next article is ultimately selling a specific brand of probiotics (which I'd never heard of before finding the article), the information in the article is well presented, explaining why probiotics are so good for everyone. Under the section, "Probiotics--What to look for in a good supplement...", check out the second paragraph:

http://www.gonando.com/probiotics.html

As for your question, "do you think your condition has anything to do with gut flora?", all I can say is our pediatric GI believes beyond a shadow of a doubt that gut flora is involved. His words to me were something like, "massive gut-flora imbalance". He wouldn't speculate on what he believes the culprit is and further stated, "everyone has their theory", but he believes it to be the case, nonetheless. It definitely made me decide probiotics are well worth the investment!

I can see why youre trusitng Theralac. They talk about more than just probiotics but also the actual delivery of live bacteria.
I am starting to doubt if VSL#3 is really all it claims to be. If there really is 450 bil per packet and if they are alive and if they make it it to where they're supposed to be going. However as for the effects they claim its one of the few with a double-blind, placebo-controlled study backing.
Posted 11/20/2008 6:13 PM (GMT 0)

crazytrain411 said...
I can see why youre trusitng Theralac. They talk about more than just probiotics but also the actual delivery of live bacteria.
I am starting to doubt if VSL#3 is really all it claims to be. If there really is 450 bil per packet and if they are alive and if they make it it to where they're supposed to be going. However as for the effects they claim its one of the few with a double-blind, placebo-controlled study backing.

I tend to agree with your suspicions about VSL. Another thing about VSL, the sachets with the 450 billion have cornstarch added.shocked Not good for CD!!! You can purchase the capsules instead, which have 250 billion each with no corn starch.

Another way to get beneficial probiotics--of which you are probably aware--is to make home made yogurt. We make it the SCD legal way (24 hour fermentation=no lactose), which supposedly has 700 billion beneficial bacteria in one cup!
Posted 11/21/2008 1:14 AM (GMT 0)

EMom said...

crazytrain411 said...
I can see why youre trusitng Theralac. They talk about more than just probiotics but also the actual delivery of live bacteria.
I am starting to doubt if VSL#3 is really all it claims to be. If there really is 450 bil per packet and if they are alive and if they make it it to where they're supposed to be going. However as for the effects they claim its one of the few with a double-blind, placebo-controlled study backing.

I tend to agree with your suspicions about VSL. Another thing about VSL, the sachets with the 450 billion have cornstarch added.shocked Not good for CD!!! You can purchase the capsules instead, which have 250 billion each with no corn starch.

Another way to get beneficial probiotics--of which you are probably aware--is to make home made yogurt. We make it the SCD legal way (24 hour fermentation=no lactose), which supposedly has 700 billion beneficial bacteria in one cup!

Where did you get VSl#3 capsules? I didnt see it selling on their webpage selling.
Posted 11/21/2008 3:10 AM (GMT 0)
Unless they've changed something (it was last Feb. when I got mine) the capsules were available on the website. However, I didn't order from there, but rather called my local Walgreens and had them order it in for me.
Posted 11/21/2008 6:27 AM (GMT 0)
thanks pb4!!

It seems that, since everybody is different, experimenting with different probiotics is a good idea. I also think mixing it up and using different kinds is smart. Right now we are sticking with the two from natures way, but may experiment more later...

Crazytrain- thanks for the info on the different strains!
Posted 11/21/2008 6:44 AM (GMT 0)

emrose said...
thanks pb4!!

It seems that, since everybody is different, experimenting with different probiotics is a good idea. I also think mixing it up and using different kinds is smart. Right now we are sticking with the two from natures way, but may experiment more later...

Crazytrain- thanks for the info on the different strains!

Just remember the rule of thumb "if it aint broke, don't fix it", unless he starts to have issues I would leave well enough alone, especially based on the info in this thread...there are sooo many different kinds of probiotics out there.

:)

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