Probiotics..Mixed Messages

My mom has done a lot of research and I've been told by people that a probiotic is really good for someone with Crohn's, but I've also been told my GI doctor that there has been studies that has shown that people with Crohn's should be careful with probiotics because sometimes the bacteria found in the probiotics can cause problems because of our compromised immune system and all.

I was just wondering if anyone else have heard of it and what others have found about probiotics.

Any information is greatly appreciated, I love to hear what others have learned.

i take them but am in a flare and they are useless as I feel.

Forgive me spookyh, but my brain is having an off day and is having a hard time processing what you posted haha, an off day for me.

but is she saying its good or bad??

Well I do not follow the SCD diet and can tell you that probiotics have been beneficial to me both in a flare and out. I used to have 6-8 rounds of diarrhea a day, now I go 1-2 times more formed stools. Probiotics have also helped me to avoid bacterial overgrowth. Especially since I went onto a probiotic with more bacteria in them. You are supposed to use probiotics with at least 10 billion in them. JMHO

I used to take a lot of probiotics and I thought they were helpful at the time. I've since stopped taking them and I can't say I feel any different. I am thankful to not have to spend the money on them every month. They are expensive.

Probiotics are crucial for maintaining my remission. Here is some research indicating that my experience may not be entirely placebo:

One of the most studied probiotics is lactobacillus GG. Children (median age, 14.5 years) with mildly to moderately active Crohn's disease despite therapy with prednisone and immunomodulatory drugs (such as 6-mercaptopurine, azathioprine, or methotrexate) were given Lactobacillus GG twice a day for six months. The median pediatric Crohn's disease activity index score at four weeks was 73% lower (better) than at baseline, and three patients had a score of less than 10, indicating inactive disease. In some patients it was possible to taper the dose of prednisone by an average of 50% after 12 weeks of Lactobacillus GG treatment. Intestinal permeability, measured by a double sugar permeability test, improved in an almost parallel fashion. The researchers concluded that Lactobacillus GG may improve gut barrier function and clinical status in children with mildly to moderately active Crohn's disease.

A study published in the February 2005 issue of the journal Gut found that administration of a probiotic and a prebiotic to patients with ulcerative colitis improved inflammatory symptoms and helped regenerate epithelial tissue. Researchers from Ninewells Hospital Medical School in Dundee, Scotland gave the freeze-dried probiotic Bifidobacterium longum combined with a prebiotic consisting of a mixture of fructo-oligosaccharides and inulin to 8 patients with ulcerative colitis, while 8 patients with the disease received a placebo. Sigmoidoscopic examinations were conducted and rectal biopsies were obtained before and after the one month treatment period.

It was found that consuming the probiotic/prebiotic combination was associated with a reduction in mucosal inflammation ascertained via sigmoidoscopy, while the placebo group worsened. Inflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor alpha and interleukin-1 alpha were significantly reduced in the treatment group. The biopsies also revealed regeneration of epithelial tissue in those who received the probiotic.

E.coli (Nissle strain 1917) was as effective as mesalazine in preventing relapse of ulcerative colitis for 116 patients and again in 120 patients via two double- blind studies.

Thirty-two patients with Crohn's disease in clinical remission were randomly assigned to receive one of the following for 6 months: 1) mesalamine (1 g 3 times per day) or 2) mesalamine (1 g 2 times per day) plus Saccharomyces boulardii (1 g in the morning). Clinical relapse, defined as a Crohn's disease activity index greater than 150 with an increase of 100 points over the baseline value for more than 2 weeks, occurred in 6 of 16 patients (37.5%) receiving mesalamine alone and in 1 of 16 patients (6.25%) receiving combination therapy (p=0.04).