VSL#3 hope?

Are there any more probiotics that are a little more affordable that have been known to have good results for some? Before I break the bank on VSL, I wouldn't mind exploring other options.

fargman -

Take a look at people's signatures. Most of the time people list what meds and supplements they are taking. That includes the name of their probiotic. You could also do a site search, there have been numerous discussions on probiotics. Keep in mind that different people do better on some probiotics than on others. If one doesn't work for you, try another, and another, until you find what does the trick for you.

VSL 3 has been great for me. I only recently got my UC...symptoms first came on in late May '08. I got myself into remission by early August with prednisone. Once I was in remission I quit the prednisone and started taking 1 sachet of VSL 3 daily. All is well so far.

I learned about VSL 3 DS (the prescription strength stuff) from healingwell forums. I went online to check the drug formulary for my insurance company & couldn't find VSL 3 DS. I was sad. I called my insurance to ask if there might be any way to get it covered. They told me it was already on the formulary, but even they couldn't find it on their own website. My doctor had never even heard of VSL 3 DS, but I got him to write a prescription for me. Now I get the stuff for cheap. I love it. If your insurance doesn't cover it, keep asking and pushing for it. Compared to a lot of drugs, it's actually really cheap (check out the actual price of Asacol, for instance). It's really not such a bad deal for the insurance company.

VSL 3 did cause me to have some gas initially. I'm really immature, and therefore I'm highly entertained by having lots of stinky gas, so that wasn't even a bad side effect in my book. Unfortunately, the gasiness cleared up, and now I have to find other forms of entertainment. I even thought it was a little bit funny when I pooped my pants. Granted, it's not as funny as when someone else poops his pants, but I can still appreciate the humor. Although, I am quite happy to be done with that.

What does everyone dring their sachets with? I drink it with Gaterade. I tried it with just water. VERY BAD!
Just curious what others have tried.

Mitzo said...
I drink my VSL#3 - 3 days now - with only water and have no problem. I am used to drinking psyllium with water and have no gag reaction to that kind of thing. For me, so far, the VSL#3 has seemed to have slowed down my bowel - less urgency and yuckiness, but the consistency of the stool is the unfortunate same as before. Time, time, let the days pass and see how it goes...

Mitzo, i can tell you something interesting. When I started pro-biotics the consistency of my stool actually became a lot looser than before. When I complained about this to my advisor they told me that the consistency was actually normal that way. Apparantly passing out rigid rocks was not normal - your still may be wrong though. Anyway, keep me posted Im very interesd in how it goes for you.

Probiotic said...
I just received a shipment of VSL-3 capsules and will start one at bed-time tonight. I am currently taking a bunch of different probiotics (have been for years) and also have been on the spinach / sunflower (butter in my case) diet for a week for what it's worth but am curious to see if VSL-3 has any more punch than the other heavy hitters I regularly take. You can never know which strain might be best for one's individual case, as our gut ecologies, not to mention our genes, are all unique.

I have been checking all the probiotic supplements available and they all claim strain X is good, strain X helps achieve balance, strain X helps colonize. Once I did a complete survey of products including natural factors, trophic, primal defence, reuteri, VSL#3 and a few other multi-strain probiotics it seems there is a total of about 30 strains at most. I would say - take them all - they have all been researched and identified as healthy bacteria found in the human colon among the other 500 that we havent identified or are unable to take as supplements (like E coli). When you bet on all horses you have the best chance and no particular strain can hurt you.

beartooth said...
crazytrain411 -

I agree that each probiotic brand claims theirs is the best, but I disagree about taking them all. Many of us have financial constraints to think about, and it simply is not realistic to purchase that many probiotics. That is why it is recommended to find the one or two that help and stick with them. True, I have never heard of any negative reactions to probiotics, I can't help but think that like antibiotics, we shouldn't take more than necessary. There might come a time when a person could benefit from a different strain than what they are taking. It would be a pity if probiotics failed to help due to a tolerance. Highly unlikely, but back when antiobiotics were first discovered, they didn't think it possible that bacteria would adapt as quickly as they have. Better to hedge your bets than to go all in on the first hand.

I spend about 40 dollars a month to get 16 strains from 2 low dosage probiotics and also I purchased VSL#3. The cost is almost negligible compared to the benefits I'm getting. Some people spend more in a month on cigarettes, snacks or beauty products. For me to get all strains available is not only financially feasible but also something Im not afraid to experiment with - and so far not a single negative effect except a bt of foul smelling gas.

Speaking of non-pathogenic e.coli, even that is available as an OTC probiotic- the German probiotic Mutaflor which has the Nissle 1917 strain of (non-pathogenic) E.coli which apparently crowds out and displaces the pathogenic type of e.coli.  Like VSL-3 it is sold specifically as therapy for UC, and at least one pharmacy in the Midwest somewhere sells it- it's VERY expensive, even more pricey than VSL-3 by far.  It is OTC in Germany but it has to be kept refrigerated and I don't get the impression that warming to ambient temperature in air freight would allow it to survive- plus, I believe probiotics may be subject to customs delays on top of that.  I did try it once for a couple months but it didn't seem to give me any benefit... but I am not certain it was kept cool enough during the journey over by my "mule."

After now 13 days on VSL#3 I am getting worse D and feeling stomach yuckiness. This is just my system adapting and it will pass and all will be better right? This is not just disappointing, but scary.

Mitzo,

Initially, almost any probiotic will cause some distress while your body adjusts to the new bugs you are putting into it. This should go away after a week or so. When I started VSL#3, I took a low dose in hopes that as ballyhooed a probiotic as VSL#3 is, it would work in small amounts. It didn't.  After a couple of weeks I increased my dose, and started to notice some benefit, but not what I was hoping for. So I increased it again, and now I'm doing fairly well. You might consider increasing your dosage of VSL#3. Not sure if you use the sachets or caps, but I use caps, and I started at 1 cap 2x day, increased to 2 caps 2x day, and am now at 2 caps 3x day. If you use the sachets, maybe take one in the morning and one at night.  That way you are putting the good stuff in regularly.  Hopefully things will turn around for you soon.

I see you have pancolitis too...aren't we lucky : (   

Anyway from your signature it appears you are no longer taking rx meds...how long has it been and what degree of pancolitis did you have?

Thanks

Probiotic said...
I just received a shipment of VSL-3 capsules and will start one at bed-time tonight. I am currently taking a bunch of different probiotics (have been for years) and also have been on the spinach / sunflower (butter in my case) diet for a week for what it's worth but am curious to see if VSL-3 has any more punch than the other heavy hitters I regularly take. You can never know which strain might be best for one's individual case, as our gut ecologies, not to mention our genes, are all unique.

17 days on VSL#3 and it isn't really doing any good. Maybe I should up the dosage or ask for my 200$ back or just jump under a bus.

Mitzo dont give up, but sorry to hear its still not doing anything. In the worst case you can up it to 4 packs/day as they say. I have been ok on 2 packs per day and lowered to 1 as of now and doing great - but I also added Florastore and Reuteri.
You might also want to consider some threads that were started here about sugar/fructose/carbs.

Hang in there and good luck.