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Can a probiotic actually upset your colon?

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Posted 8/20/2012 3:58 PM (GMT 0)

I started taking Culturelle last Thursday (had been using Nature’s Bounty probiotic) and Saturday night had horrible diarrhea. No blood or mucous though.  I actually felt pretty good all day long Saturday, no rumblings in my tummy or anything.  But Saturday night out of the blue had diarrhea I haven’t had since I started my flare-up back in January.  I stopped taking the Culturelle that night and my BMs went back to normal Sunday night. 

 

Has anybody else ever had a probiotic actually make them feel worse?  I’m hoping that was what did it and I’m not starting to flare again. I did reduce Prednisone to 10mg last Wed and had my BMs screwed up for a day or two but they were back to being formed by Friday morning (luckily!).   I'm thinking maybe its best just to not try anything new while I'm tapering the Prednisone!

Posted 8/20/2012 4:36 PM (GMT 0)
I remember some people posting that probiotics do make them feel worse. I think its trial and error what works well for you. All I'm taking right now is just CVS brand acidolpholus. I was taking phillips colon health too but honestly I don't feel any different since I ran out of them.
Posted 8/20/2012 4:41 PM (GMT 0)
Ultimate Flora did that to me. I take Align now for over a year.
Posted 8/20/2012 4:49 PM (GMT 0)
florastor increased my BM's from 7x a day to about 20x a day. i will never take that again. i am thinking it's because it's a yeast based probiotic.

but definitely avoid it if it causes any worsening of symptoms. the renew life i'm on now causes no nasty side effects.
Posted 8/20/2012 5:04 PM (GMT 0)
Culturelle was one of my favorite probiotics because it was "clean" and very effective. But recently they added hypromellose and titanium dioxide into the capsules

Another factor is no matter what they advertise, they will lose potency unless refrigerated. It can be on store shelves months before purchased.
Posted 8/20/2012 5:26 PM (GMT 0)
I found an initial effect of some increased GI distress from VSL. Common wisdom is that this is lke a die-off effect as the probiotics compete with any overproduced bad biotics.

Ongoing, I sometimes get a little extra gas from VSL. Also, while it does help to produce more fully-formed stools, any remaining liquid is sometimes thickened and slightly-slippery.
Posted 8/20/2012 6:31 PM (GMT 0)

BabeintheWoods said...
Culturelle was one of my favorite probiotics because it was "clean" and very effective. But recently they added hypromellose and titanium dioxide into the capsules

Another factor is no matter what they advertise, they will lose potency unless refrigerated. It can be on store shelves months before purchased.

When you say that they lose potency if not refrigerated, does that mean that a yogurt with probiotics in it would be better for you than a pill form? I'm just starting to learn about all of this stuff.
Posted 8/20/2012 6:41 PM (GMT 0)
I think it's trial and error for probiotics. Maybe some create a stimulating effect which can cause a quicker acting digestive tract.

I know that if I double the Primadophilus, it slows things a bit. I don't experience that with the UFCC.

It could have something to do with the fact that you lowered the pred dosage.

You should try them again, however...maybe do them at night and not during the day.

q
Posted 8/20/2012 6:43 PM (GMT 0)
bclark...there are more probiotics in capsules than would be in yogurt. A few of us cannot take yogurt based on the discomfort level.

If yogurt agrees with you, then go for it. But I would still take a capsule form or powder form to get more of a variety.

q
Posted 8/20/2012 6:51 PM (GMT 0)
Quincy - I actually was taking the Culterelle at night, right before bed.  I'm hoping the pred taper is done affecting me as my BMs had went back to normal on Friday (I started the culterelle thursday night).  I've got some cramping again today, I'm really hoping I'm not having some delayed Pred taper effects.  BM was mostly normal this morning thing.  Not this afternoon, but it never seems to be quite normal after I take the enema in the morning. Trying to reduce that (I took 1/2 enema this morning). 

I think I'll wait a bit to try them again - maybe a few more days of normal BMs.  Let things even out (hopefully they will) before I change something in my routine again.

Posted 8/20/2012 7:02 PM (GMT 0)
I agree. but it's a frustrating process.

q
Posted 8/20/2012 9:00 PM (GMT 0)
I think if you are going to take probiotics then you really need to take a high dose. In the beginning I was told to find high dose probiotics, like with about 5 billion. After further research I learned that 5 billion really isn't crapola. I found some things which had about 50 billion and am now taking VSL, which has 225 billion per dose. It's expensive but I really believe that has made me a lot better. Eating yogurt only gives you one main type of probiotic in a very low dose. If it is going to work you need an extremely high dose, containing several different kinds of probiotics, like the VSL or Ultimate Flora type things. Lets face it, it would be hard to eat 50 servings of yogurt per day.
Posted 8/21/2012 5:27 AM (GMT 0)
I had the same reaction to Culturelle, I think it may be because it has Inulin in it (I've read online of others who've also had a bad reaction to it).
Posted 8/21/2012 3:15 PM (GMT 0)
Maybe I will try Align, although I'm hesitant to buy anything after spending money on Culterelle only to have to toss it after 2 doses.  I'm definitely not spending $80+ on VSL - that's just way too much for a 30 day supply.  I could just keep taking my regular old Nature's Bounty probiotic although I don't think it will help improve things but maybe just keep me at the state I'm at now.  Was hoping to find something to calm my gut down a bit. After reducing the Prednisone to 10mg I'm noticing I'm just getting increasingly more gassy and irritated each day.
Posted 8/21/2012 8:32 PM (GMT 0)
My daughter has had a good experience with VSL. Also, I looked again at the insert and it said for an active flare you could use up to 8 packets (or equivalent with capsules) so we went for it, and she hasn't had trouble. However she hardly ever has formed stools lately so who knows. She's never had gas or stomach upset.

Once early on I made her a smoothie with VSL and there was some left over so I drank it. BIG mistake! I looked like I was pregnant--blew up like a balloon--worst gas I have ever had. I don't know if that's good news for me or bad :) But I know SOMETHING is in there at least.
Posted 8/28/2012 8:26 PM (GMT 0)
I started a new probiotic recently and have read that it can cause bloating, etc the first few days. I'm on day 3 and so far seems better. Fingers crossed, evenings have been the worst time of day.
Posted 8/28/2012 11:17 PM (GMT 0)
I will add that last Christmas I started taking Garden of Life Probiotic and it gave me feverish symptoms and really disturbed my colon.

After starting VSL, I can't even feel it working, but I know that it must be, and its designed for those with IBD, and both my medical GI doc from down south and naturopath up north have recommended it! So thats a big plus.
Posted 8/28/2012 11:28 PM (GMT 0)
Oh yes. I've tried two (one refrigerated kind many years ago and then a generic version of Align) and both disagreed with me. I stuck with the Align for two weeks to see if symptoms abated, but I had horrible D (much worse than normal) every day I took it, within about 30 minutes of taking it each morning.

As everyone else has said, probiotics seem very much trial & error.
Posted 8/29/2012 12:43 AM (GMT 0)
Culturelle made me flare too!!!! I would say stay away from it! I only took a few of them and it immediately made me have symptoms. I've tried other brands and never had that problem.
Posted 8/29/2012 1:19 AM (GMT 0)
You have to do research to learn which strain of probiotics is used for what...some strains will actually cause D or C in some people...knowing the kind of strains you need is key. You should also avoid any that have junky preservatives in them, especially any with sugar alcohols (anything ending in "tol", sorbitol, xylitol, ect).
Posted 8/29/2012 1:23 AM (GMT 0)
When I first started taking VSL#3 capsules x2 daily (4 days ago) my colitis got more upset and I was going even more. I was getting ready to stop the probiotic, but decided to keep going. Since yesterday I've gotten much better! My days are starting to get really really good. I still go 7 or 8 times a day, but that's compared to 15-20 just before I started this probiotic. I was on align (x2 daily) before this and it just wasn't potent enough to keep me well.

I'm not on any other medications (thanks to my doctor neglecting me after Humira was rejected by my insurance).
Posted 8/29/2012 3:01 AM (GMT 0)
EASE into it. There is always an adjustment period. Start with half a capsule, and slowly build up.
Posted 8/29/2012 5:13 AM (GMT 0)
Just out of curiosity, along the same lines, have any of you tried fermented stuff like kefir?
any experiences to share?

I ask, cuz I'm going to try to ease in to it slowly after the home brew is ready tomorrow...

I've never tried any of the commercially available probiotics
Posted 8/29/2012 1:21 PM (GMT 0)
Well, I decided to try Align a week ago and since then my BM's have went back to normal and I hear fewer noises in my abdomen.  Things seem a little noisy this morning but I've had alot of stress at work the past few days.  Overall I seem to be doing a bit better. I also stopped the Imuran a week ago as it seemed to be causing issues with my pancreas. Not sure that would make me feel better so I'm assuming its the Align. Either way, I hope it stays this way!
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