newbie

Hello

I have been lurking on this sight for some time now. Now its time to introduce myself. I am a 52 year old mother of 3 grown children and gma to 2 beautiful girls. I was dx in July of this year with UC. Thou I can remember having lots of stomach problems for years. I had rectal bleeding for 3 months that kept getting worse (thought it was hemmorids), had the colonostpy and a tear which turned into a absess which landed me in the hospital for a week. Also anemia which I still have problems with. I am wondering what this probiotic is and where it can be found. Iam so glad I found this sight it has been very helpful!

Taking asacol 2pills3Xdaily, Iron 2- 2xdaily,  vitamins, paxal 20mil

GmaSusie - Welcome to Healingwell! Sorry that you had to find us, but glad that you decided to join us :)

Probiotics are the beneficial bateria (good bugs) in your guts. Usually those who have had frequent D or who have taken antibiotics have an inbalance of bacteria.

There are many good probiotics out there. You can search online and through old posts. Some that people have had luck with are: VSL3, Pro-Bio, and primadophilus reuteri (sp?). I suggest you start with a smaller dose and work your way up. Be aware that you may have some gas when you start one, but as your body adjusts, the gas will go away.

This site has been a great help to me too!

Hope to see you around!

gmasusie, the probiotics are over the counter at the drugstore or at health food stores. VSL#3 is one that has been shown through research to have benefit for some; it's pretty expensive and I had to order it over the internet. Others will be available locally for you and may work just as well. The probiotics never made much difference for me, but they do help a lot of us. I'm sure some of those folks will be around to give you more specific information as the day goes on.

If you have more information about your condition, it can be helpful to post it so others can be of more help. For instance, where in the colon is your disease located, and what medications are you on?

Welcome to the community. I hope it is as helpful to you as it has been to me!