probiotics and water retention

I was wondering if anyone has ever had trouble with water retention in their legs when taking probiotics. I tried taking probiotics a few years ago right before my official diagnosis. I was horribly sick for 8 months and gone thru a million tests trying to find out why. I began taking probiotics and the flora whatever to feed the probiotics as well as fish oil at the same time. Within a week my legs began swelling, it would go between my feet knees and lower legs. It hung around for about 2 months. The Dr. ran more tests heart liver kidney etc. and didn't come up with anything. I suspected maybe it could be caused by the fish oil or probiotics but I wasn't sure if it was because of that or just a nother symptom of my miserable disease. I quit taking them both at the same time and within a week or two the swelling went away and never came back. That was 2 years ago. I have not tried probiotics or fish oil since and never knew whether one was the cause or just a coincidence. This week I decided to take the activia two week challenge. Even though my problem is far from slow transit, I figured it was worth a shot. Any how with in 2 hours of eating the first cup I noticed swelling in my legs. It went away by the next morning but came back again after eating it on the second day. Today is day three and again I have swelling after eating it. This time it is much less severe than before, probably because it is a much lower dose.

Has anyone else had this or heard of this?  Also has anyone had success with activia or am I just wasting my time and money on something else. So far the only thing I have noticed besides the swelling is some gas and bloating.

My mother [who has UC] decided to add protein powder to her diet. Someone had sold her on trying hemp based protein powder. she developed severe swelling in her lower extremeties within 2 days. Her legs were so swollen that the skin was leaking fluid. I think that something in the product was likely interfering with her blood pressure meds and her kidney function.

While most doctors likely would not take your observations to heart, I think we know our own bodies best.

Thanks for your quick responses. Gross, boiled scale insects. I have been hearing about probiotics for years and the ones I tried the first time were an inexpensive one. I've looked into them several times but I get too confused about what ones I should try, and the prices. They seem to range anywhere from $10 to over $50 a month. And I have read that many of them don't actually have anything live in them by the time you take them or digest them. I asked my GI about them a few years ago and he said not to waste my money that nothing was proven. But even the crohn's colitis foundation says they have shown promise in studies.

Any helpful information in finding a good one?

I use primadophilus reuteri made by natures way, very affordable (I pay 29.00 in Canada for 90 caps) and only one/day is needed, many require you take up to 4/day and that gets expensive too...google primadophilus reuteri made by natures way for more info. I've been using it for about 4 yrs now with some success.

:)

Nanners,
Where do you find a Pearl probiotic for that price? I am in the natural products industry and pay more than that for my probiotics with pearl technology. In the industry, and in some more formal training we are often taught that most people can restore healthy guy flora from a single strain enteric product like the one you describe, except for a few long term flares and illnesses/treatments that require more intensive probiotic theropy. I fear the new products available at the grocery store because some companys have modified strains so they can patient them. I'm not sure that is not one of the things that contributed to this DD to begin with. I hope everyone is feeling well this weekend.

Sorry guys I get them in Mexico at a little inexpensive pharmacy. They work great for me. I was going 4-5 times+ D a day and now I go once or twice a day more normal stools. I found them by a fluke. My husband takes a Omega 3,6,9 and a Aminoacid type supplement from there and has had good luck with those too. I can't take his Omega 3,6,9 because his is derived from flax seed oil and doesn't agree with me, I am looking for one made more from fish oils than the flax seed.

First time poster. Started a good quality probiotic a month ago, and began gaining weight. I take a diuretic, but I seemed to be puffing up again. Some in the legs, but mostly in the abdomen. I had not changed anything else. And to answer the original question, I had been taking Omega 3 for years with no side effects. I noticed that I wasn't going to the bathroom very often either, So I finally decided to stop the probiotic, and now I'm back to "normal". I'd never heard of this before. I do remember that my face always used to feel puffy when I ate yogurt. Guess I'm allergic to bacteria, too!
Just glad to know I'm not crazy.

Be sure to read the list of probiotic species on the package. One of the other posts is right. Buy only live, active flora without sugar, corn, dairy, gluten, preservatives, etc. I wouldn't use anything that didn't contain at least 10 species and a total of 40 billion per day and you won't find those in a pharmacy or supermarket. Probiotics haven't been know to cause side effects other than the beneficial effect, unless they are combined with flavors, fillers and other ingredients we can't pronounce. There are a host of companies that sell high quality probiotics, but you need to do the homework. How long have they been in business? Are they sourced in the U.S.? Is there a satisfaction guarantee? And there's the cost. Mine are very high quality and one capsule costs me .47 a day, including shipping.