Probiotics and Intestinal Cramping

As an experiment this summer since I work PT for a school district and I was off work, I went off my probiotics. And I've had some really nice normal stretches of formed stool. No D. No dumping. I should add that I take cholestyramine each night since I no longer have my gall bladder and this med helps absorb the bile that may get dumped into my GI tract.

A few times I thought I needed the probiotic so I would take it and then I'd experience symptoms as you've described.

The way I've felt for weeks now, minimal IBS like symptoms, has prompted me to ask myself - why again did I go on probiotics?

If it bothers you this much ease back or go off complete. See if your symptoms improve.

I need to add that I had a major colon resection 14 years ago due to cancer, I'm missing the bottom 1/3 of my GI tract. Hence, why I have multiple bm's per day, for life. Internally I have nowhere for stool to back up, collect through out my day. My symptoms match IBS at times, that's why I've found this forum and a few others here at HW to be a safe haven.

I saw many posts about the probiotics I was taking - Renew Life Ultimate Flora - and thought they may help me regulate my colon better. Initially I thought they did! But this summer has been quiet, very relaxing, very little stress and a few days I forgot to take them. You see if I'm home and all you know what breaks loose, it's no big deal, I just take care of it and go on my way. So forgetting the probiotics wasn't a big deal. Then a few days later I began to notice, hey I feel better! Funny how these things work out.

And for the record Renew Life products are wonderful, this I do know but maybe they were giving me more D and inducing the dumping episodes. It's possible. I've noticed that people who struggle with constipation take them, than those who have D. I should have been more careful when I started on that path! And they are not cheap either, $1 a pill! The money I've spent on them.......well, I can't go back in time. I went on them in 2010. But once they saved my husband from going to a dermatologist (who could not see him for 6 weeks), he had a nasty rash all over his arms, legs, groin area. In the past the doctor would say it was a topical yeast infection. He was miserable and couldn't even the doctor to write a prescription. One night I sat down to reread the Renew Life products' reviews and many said they cleared up yeast infections (usually for women) in a day. I told him, here take one of these pills, then another 12 hours later. Guess what! The rash went completely away. We cancelled the doctor's appt. So probiotics are not harmful and do a lot of good. But maybe they were not MY particular resource to go to.

Tell your daughter to ask her doctor to prescribe cholestyramine powder, comes in a can, you mix it with juice and drink it. Followed by a tall glass of water. Make sure she brushes her teeth immediately, the medication can erode dental enamel if left on the teeth. I think it helps me greatly. I also was once given a different manufacturer's medication at refill time and it was like a placebo effect with me, so now I know to ask for cholestyramine made by Sandoz. The one I avoid is PAR Pharmaceuticals (even though the ingredients are the same on the can the Pharmacist told me I'm not the first patient to notice a generic medication can vary manufacturer to manufacturer).

Good luck to you and your daughter.

*edit* Just remembered the Pharmacist had samples of Cholestyramine for when I was waiting for my Rx to be filled by Sandoz and not PAR Pharmaceuticals. Perhaps you can ask your Pharmacist or her doctor to provide her with samples, possibly from both manufacturers and she can see which one helps her the most.

Post Edited (Marsky) : 8/10/2013 8:58:04 AM (GMT-6)

One more suggestion - when I get like this, I can get on a roll! I was experiencing severe D, so many bm's, dumping episodes just after my temporary colostomy was reversed. I could not leave my home. I was having 3 bm's during 1 meal. I joked I was just going to take my meals on a pop up table in the bathroom from now on.

I went online and found a colon cancer survivor forum. Several members there were having my exact symptoms from having to take chemo (I was Stage 1, didn't need it). They all were advised to go on a Low Residue Diet. They claimed it helped them immensely. When I googled LRD the foods on it made complete sense to me. At the time I was trying to eat such nutritious meals, fresh fruit, fresh vegetables, whole wheat products, even bran cereal! All this fiber was too much my now touchy newly created lower colon. Without even asking my doctor, I went on the diet. And within 48 hours, I had formed stool, normal output even if in high counts (back then 12 or more bm's per day). I could leave home, if I knew where a bathroom was at all times. In case you are wondering if this diet would work for you, these foods zip thru the GI tract causing very little upset (I'm guessing the walls of your colon are very irritated from D like mine were, these foods are very soothing to an irritated GI tract):

white rice
white breads, english muffins, bagels
cottage cheese
plain or vanilla flavored yogurt
applesauce
bananas (the only fresh fruit)
instant mashed potatoes, not from scratch
baked potatoes
roasted chicken
white fish
saltines
cereals like puffed rice or corn flakes, also cooked cream of wheat

You can google it and see if there's more on the diet than I listed. One side note, we have a sweet Labrador mix dog and when he eats things he shouldn't (rabbit or deer droppings), he can get D. When I first took him to the Vet he said - next time, pull his dog food, replace that amount with cooked white rice in chicken stock, and cottage cheese. Sure enough, when I do this for 3 or 4 of his meals, his stool returns to normal again. You have no idea how many times I've now done this, I often joke - if it can work for the dog, maybe it'll work for me. My gut seems to thank me for this too. So sometimes all I have is the rice cooked in chicken stock and cottage cheese. Of course I don't mix mine together like I do for the dog. I sometimes add a tablespoon of Greek Plain Yogurt to his meals too - the Vet said that's very soothing to a touchy gut. You might want to buy one or two individual servings of this type of yogurt. It certainly could not make things worse for you.

My wife turned me on to Garden of Life products. I use their raw meal replacer and love it. They have a great line of probiotics, Primal Defense comes to mind: www.mygardenoflifeprobiotics.com

Jo1952 said...
Thank you so much for your input on this subject. It is nice to talk to people that you can relate to. I am still not sure on the probiotic but will experiment with other brands to see what happens. It is rough to be a prisoner in your own home. I am going to a concert in September and quite worried about going. Ha!! Again thank you for replying! Have a good day! [img]/community/emoticons/smile.gif[/img]

Your welcome Jo1952, I hope it helps.

Fifismom - thanks for the feedback, I'm sure it will greatly help Jo.

One food item that seemed to help turn around D for me are Pepperidge Farms Bordeaux cookies (they have ginger in them, might be why they are soothing to an irritate GI tract. Reason I mention them is your mention of Lorna Dunes reminded me that those simple cookies, have worked for me. Haven't bought them in a long time though.

Fifismom~ Thank you so much for the special diet info. I am going out shopping today and find Lorna Dunes or Bordeaux as Marsky stated. I have been off of the probiotics for a week now and don't have major problems. I also can't eat lettuce or I am sick with intestinal cramping for a week. I do eat tomatoes. Sometimes I think your system does not need all of that roughage.
All of you have a super relaxing week!! Thank you so much!

Oh the fruit thing. I love fresh fruit but my system cannot handle it.
And why plain cookies work, I am not sure. I should check the fat content because of course any fat is miserable for most people with IBS. I only eat one or two, but they are convenient to carry in a purse or carryon. I am glued to my dietary needs. The pain of IBS just causes me deep depression.