Well, yes and no. Just recently I ordered and bought a 60 count bottle of VSL #3. I know that is the best probiotic out there by reports I've read here. I took it every other day, at bedtime, because I was afraid to take it daily, I don't want constipation (my sigmoid is gone and my new reservoir/sigmoid is my upper colon pulled down and attached to my rectum, it's quite narrow and I can't hold stool longer than 30 minutes). I didn't see improvement (ie, formed stool) from VSL and I have a busy summer so I went back on Renew Life. I really need to update my sig, I took Renew Life 80 Billion once a day, at bedtime, for over 2 years. And then I noticed 50 Billion count has the same exact probiotics/ingredients, so I thought maybe my gut needs these products spaced out over 12 hours. It does.
My gut is so touchy now, my surgeon saved my life and my cancer has never come back, but my GI tract isn't normal. Far from it. A nurse once told me they remove all of your intestines when they are working on you, laying them aside to work on your resection, then when they put you back together, it's not the way nature intended. In other words, the new me isn't the old me, minus the missing 1/3 of my sigmoid/colon. I've never had an obstruction though - knock on wood - so things have always flowed thru fine, in 13 years, but I just feel better to allow my tract multiple bm's per day. Not to back them up, I have such intense pressure when they're backed up (from taking imodium for example).
My entire goal in 13 years is to achieve as formed stool as possible and to always know where bathrooms are located.
These Renew Life products just seem to quiet my gut, and keep things consistent.
I double up on the 50 billion count sometimes, so in a 24 hour time period I may take 200.
Before I close, don't buy these products at Walgreens. My local Walgreens carries them now and they have them on the room temp shelf, next to vitamins. They're best chilled. I nicely pointed this out to the pharmacist one day, she said for the next shipment they'd keep them in the fridge. I hope she meant that. I explained that the ones sitting right there at room temp were probably not as effective now (in other words, lady you ruined that batch!). I buy mine at a local health food store. They seem to know how to ensure these products are their height of potency.
Renew Life has so many strengths, some as little as 15 billion count. You can really tailer make their products to fit your specific needs.
Good luck.
Post Edited (Marsky) : 7/15/2012 9:07:14 AM (GMT-6)