Probiotics

After reading so many posts about them, I think I should start taking a probiotic. I just don't know which one. What are your recommendations??

I take Acidophilus Pearls. I give my toddler (does not have UC) Culturelle when he has an upset tummy.

I use primodophilus reuterie made by natures way everyday (it should be taken while in remission as well), glad you're looking into this, it's basically a must since IBDers tend to have bacterial overgrowth which exacerbates our symptoms. Even researchers are now aware of the benefits of regular use of probiotics.

:)

Hi Maureen;

I am glad you posted this one cause I am interested in the same... I just started eating one Activia yogurt 100g/day which contains probiotics.  I checked their site online and they say I should get results after about 2 weeks.  I have just started this 1.5 weeks ago, so I am keeping my fingers crossed.  Especially that I never liked any yogurt in the first place ...lol.  I will give it another week and if you want, I will come back in here and let you know.

I just started taking CVS brand "Probiotic Acidophilus" 32 days ago. I noticed a difference within 2 weeks. Don't know if it's just a coincidence, but I'm sticking to them. They do need to be refrigerated after the bottle has been opened.

I took this from the Probiotic Revolution, specific to IBD:

Significant number of clinical and research studies
Genus	Species	Strain	(one) manuf.
Lactobacillus	casei	Shirota	Yakult (food)
Lactobacillus	plantarum	299v
Lactobacillus	rhamnosus	GG	Culturelle
Saccharomyces	boulardii	lyo	Florastor
VSL#3
Very promising clinical and research studies
Bifideobacterium	infantis	35624
Lactobacillus	salivarius	UCC118
Lactobacillus	salivarius	433118

Getting the right species might be sufficient, but the right strain is better odds of success.  VSL#3 wasn't obviously a big help to me compared to other brands, though it has some of the best documented research.  If you try it, be ready to spend a fair amount of money and I think it hasn't worked as well for some of us because we didn't have the "medical dose" of it, to mimic the research, which is about 1 trillion microbes per day (about $360/month). 

For me it has been a lot of trial and error and the results have even impressed my GI.  Hey even my sinuses have cleared up, and not short term either.  Getting a diversity seems good to me, because different bacteria have different functions in digestion, communication with the immune system, keeping other microbes in check, acting as an antimicrobial to others, etc.  If you are able to eat yogurt and/or kefir, I highly recommend it as another good source--look for a quality brand w/ "live and active" and with various strains being contain--even add your probiotics to it by opening up the capsules (unless it is enteric coating).  I could go on and on... and I have before :)  Just take it one step at a time to see what works. 

Matt

Hello Im new here, Can anyone advise on how many strains it is beneficial to take? My probiotic has 30B active cells and 4 strains... I'm afraid that maybe I should be taking one with more strains. Is there a certain strain that helps... or is it the more the better? Thanks.

Meaning, probiotics should be taken indefinitely, in remission or not, incase anyone was thinking they'd stop taking them once they reach remission, it's a better idea to stick with them indefinitely...IBDers tend to have bacterial over-growth which is why a good probiotic can be very beneficial...starting a good probiotic anytime is fine whether you're in a flare or remission.



:)

I just got my mail order of VSL#3DS. The 3 month supply cost me $65. Each packet contains 900 billion live active cultures and I had my doctor write a prescription for me to take 2 packets per day.

My compound pharmacist said VSL#3 is the best value probiotic by far. He doesn’t sell it but most pharmacies do. He likes the fact that is stays refrigerated up until the time you take it. I asked him about enteric coatings and he said it’s not necessary. He gave reasons for refrigeration and enteric coatings which I looked up and agreed with. You can do the same. I just started the DS (double strength, prescription required) this week. My sister says VSL#3 (480 billion bacteria per packet) keeps her from bleeding and has convinced me to try it again. She said she takes one packet a day and if she misses a few doses (several days’ worth) she will begin to see mucous or blood.

I was in a bad flare once and bought some VSL#3 but, because it was so expensive, I did not take what the studies recommended. Instead I bought $75 worth of VSL#3 then several bottles of another brand. By comparison, however, you would spend several hundred times more money on anything else to get the same effect from VSL#3 because the other brands usually don’t have more than 20 billion cultures per dose.

Anyway, I am trying it this time now that I’m getting the cheaper mail order version. My sister buys her VSL#3 at Costco for about $80/month.

Bottom line, look at the number of active live cultures you’re getting per dollar, try to get refrigerated versions, don’t worry about enteric coatings and, if you’re in a flare, you need to consume at least 1-2 trillion live bacteria per day to see results.

I have had two GIs tell me that the most helpful probiotics contain bifidum - there has been some research saying bifidum helps UC. In regard to yogurt, one of those GIs said, "Acidophilus is great but you need more strains than that!"
I've done well with the Ultimate Flora Critical Care (50 billion per capsule) - I take one morning and night. of, if my bm's are "iffy" or I'm in big stress, I take two morning and two at night. Then every day I also take one VSL packet midday.
I have repeatedly tried to have my GI prescribe VSLD but somehow between the doc and the mail-order pharmacy it keeps getting screwed up and a message coming back "not a prescription item." After the holidays I'll {sigh} try again.
I had tried PB8, also recommended by a GI, and Digestive Advantage, neither of which did anything for me. Which calls for a chorus of our well-rehearsed refrain, "We are all different and respond differently...." (sorry, I'm up to me ears in much this season.)

The package of VSL#3DS states it has 8 strains so I guess that's a good thing. They freeze dry the bateria and keep it cold which I can't see many others doing but must be important if they found they had to do it.

The bad thing for me is I took my first dose on Monday (wife brought it while I was still at the hospital). I have been improving but I was on IV steriods in the hospital, I added Rowasa enemas the day before, I changed my Imuran dose before and after and had a Remicade infusion Friday. I'll not possibly be able to know what the VSL did for me.

Hello there!

I had GREAT success with probiotics. They brought me back from the flare I was in. The results were dramatic. I now feel like I never had a problem and I have never taken the sulfasalazine prescribed to me.

I took about 227 billion organisms each day, half in the morning with porridge, half at night with dinner.

At first if I ate too little it felt like I was brewing beer in my tummy. But it fixed my problem within 2 days. I have not looked back since.

I took 4 different refrigerated brands from the chemist to get as many different strains and types as I could.

I took 1 capsule morning and night, with food, of:

Polybac 8 - 8 strains:
Streptococcus thermophilus (1.5 billion)
Bifidobacterium lactis (4.5 billion) and longum (4.5 billion)
Lactobacillus acidophilus (7.5 billion), casei (7.5 billion), plantarum (7.5 billion), rhamnosus (9 billion), salivarius ssp salivarius (3 billion)

Nourishing flora - 8 strains:
Bifidobacterium bifidum (333,000)
Lactobacillus acidophilus (3 billion), plantarum (1.66 billion), casei (333 million), delbrueckii (333,000), rhamnosus (333,000), brevis (333,000), kefir (333,000)

IBS Supprt
Lactobacillus plantarum (20 billion)

UltraBiotic 45 - 9 strains
Streptococcus thermophilus (2.25 billion)
Bifidobacterium bifidum (450 million), breve (1.35 billion), lactis (4.05 billion)
Lactobacillus acidophilus (7.4 billion), casei (9.45 billion), fermentum (1.35 billion), plantarum (3.35 billion), Rhamnosus (15.55 billion)

Yakult fermented milk drink
Lactobacilus Casei - shirota strain. Unknown amount of live culture - 2 small drinks per day.


TOTAL PER DAY: (bear with my maths):

Streptococcus thermophilus: 7.5 billion (2 brands)

Bifidobacterium lactis: 17.1 billion (2 brands)
Bifidobacterium longum: 9 billion

Lactobacilli:
Acidophilus: 35.8 billion (3 brands)
Casei: 34.566 billion + shirota strain ??? (5 bands all up)
Plantarum: 65.02 billion (4 brands)
Rhamnosus: 49.1 billion (3 brands)
Salivarius ssp salivarius: 6 billion
delbrueckii: 666,000
brevis: 666,000
Kefir: 666,000
fermentum: 2.7 billion

Or: 13 different types of organisms for a total of 226.788 billion organisms each day.