Has anyone tried Pro-Bio?

Hey everyone hope all is well.   I was just wondering if anyones had success with Pro-Bio?  I emailed the company and asked for information on there product and they sent me a free 30 day supply.  Ive had so many probs with meds im kinda scared to try it. I started bleeding after i took acidophylis pearls.  Could have been coinsidence may have had a flare comming on. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

uc x 20 years

Thanks for your response Probiotic. Im confused as to what to do since im in a flare right now and bleeding and my insides feel totally raw. Its so hard to decide what to do.

uc x 20yrs

What??? You got a free sample?? Now that just ain't fair! I emailed them too and the said they were out.......hmph! lol

Pro-Bio was just recently discussed here, you can try looking at the older posts a few pages back. But I've been on Pro-Bio for about a month and I noticed a great improvement in my bm's. I'm still bleeding but I now have formed bms once in the morning. Or I did until my recent flare. I didn't have gas in the beginning either which for me was great because I have tried numerous probiotics in the past but couldn't take them because of the gas factor.

Butterfly1,

So sorry about your having to endure the stupid flare. The other thing about probiotics is that heavy doses can sometimes do more harm than good in flares, even though that is when we are tempted to really chow them down out of desperation. However, some do need a little acclimitizing to and then you can gradually up the dosage. If flaring, I'd consider trying them at first in low doses, and if it seems to be ok, gradually step them up each day. Unless you really react very badly to a probiotic, a little discomfort doesn't necessarily mean it is not going to be helpful over time. The bottom line is that you have to do some trial and error and keep a log. It usually takes at least 2-3 tries, spaced apart by a few days, to really be sure a particular probiotic is tolerated or not, or helpful or not, in my experience. Oh, remember to use mineral or distilled water when taking probiotics so as not to kill them off with the chlorine in tap or filtered water.

By the way, there is another "rescue remedy" that I have found can take a little bit off flares within minutes- DMSO used topically on ones skin- I spread it on my belly on top of inflamed gut areas. Google "DMSO colitis" and you will get some hits. I definitely find it gives some temporary relief- I use the gel that is 70% DMSO to 30% water (or 70% DMSO / 30% aloe vera). I haven;t found it to be powerful as a long term aid but it does take theb edge of pain for a few hours. Absolutely no "evidence based medicine" supporting it though other than some Iraqi (!) medical studies published in the late 90s.

Christopher

I've had good results with probio as well.

If one gets gas, you should wonder where it comes from. Microbes digest and "outgas", but often times other microbes use this gas... similar to how we breath in oxygen (and other things) and breath out carbon dioxide, while plants take in carbon dioxide but produce oxygen. A good food source for probiotics (and less likely for the harmful type, if at all) are insoluble fiber sources, such as FOS, insulin, lactoferrin, pectin, and others. No surprise that beans give us gas, but I've come to realize even that can be adjusted to, because the balance of microflora are also adjusting and with the high fiber content in beans, it is not surprising this is what is occurring. So I'll take some discomfort in the short term for better long term results. Recently I have upped my fiber intake and just dealing with the gas, as of about 3 or 4 days ago, and it seems to be lightening up and I am feeling better so far. I was also taking large and frequent amounts of probiotics ahead of time, which may have helped. So gradually increasing the probiotics and then gradually increasing the insoluble fiber (or fiber in general) is probably best.

There should be no great risk in taking probiotics, but it is still possible that a negative reaction would occur, more because the immune system confuses the good bacteria for a bad bacteria because it looks so similar to the former (e.g. there is both a pathogenic [bad] form of E. coli and there are also good strains, but I don't think it is commercially available). I think AIDS patients are at a higher risk with negative reactions. With IBD patients, the studies indicate that it is rare to have a negative reaction and it may just be that in those cases the dose was too high or particular allergies to the other substances in the capsule.

That's my two or three cents on the matter.

**Edit note: It dawned on me several hours later that I wrote insoluble instead of soluble fiber.  Sorry.