# Probiotics without a colon -Need advice



## hopefulalways (Aug 17, 2007)

I had my entire colon removed but have a lot of problems with trapped gas, constipation, pressure and severe pain. I know I need a good probiotic but most of the probiotics come with the bifa bacteria which is for the large intestine. What would happen if I take a multi probiotic with the bifa strains? Apparently the Lacto strains are for the small intestine. How does one go about choosing a probiotic?


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## EarnestAccord (Dec 11, 2001)

Lactobacilli are supposedy found in large concentrations in the small intestine and will colonize there. And you're right most bifidobacteria are large intestine colonizers. Apart from that there are others; sacharomycis, streptococci and Enterococcus which I'm not sure if they are Small or large specific. I wouldn't think that ingesting Large intestine specific probiotics would do any harm. They'd most likely just pass right through your GI. Hope that helps. Trial and error are usualy the only way to see if they'll help.


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Although when the colon is removed there does seem to be some colonization of the end of the small intestine by normal colonic bacteria.Unfortunately a lot of the conventional wisdom about probiotics doesn't always have a lot of evidence to back it up so I don't know how good it will be for predicting what will work for you.I would try for a few weeks at a time any of the brands with a good reputation around here (as they are dietary supplements and not well regulated so the labels aren't always the truth about what is in them).You might find ones with inulin or FOS might increase gas at first. Even though the idea is probiotic bacteria eat these more than regular bacteria, regular bacteria still eat them until you have enough probiotic bacteria around to get to it first.It is hard to know how much of the problems you are having would be do solely to gas. Gas is the main thing probiotics help with. There can be adhesions and other problems after a surgery like you have that may be part of the problem. So a probiotic alone might not be enough to overcome all that.Did they test your pelvic floor before the surgery? If you can't relax the anus to pass stools easily when you want to that can be a problem even if the colon is removed.Some probiotics like the ones in Activia yogurt do seem to speed things up in people with constipation and a normal colon, so you might see if that works for you. Unfortunately they don't do a lot of studies on people in your situation with dietary supplements so that also makes predicting what will happen more difficult.


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## Noah (Sep 24, 2007)

the problem I see, is that maybe colonic bacteria in a small intestine is not a good idea, which means almost all strict anaerobic bacteria. I think this may mean even bifidobacteria. I think SIBO, in many cases it is just normal colonic bacteria living in the SI, including good colonic flora. I think strict carb-eating anaerobes are the really gassy producing bacteria, even bifido. Maybe any vits/mins the colonic bacteria produce may be an issue. Anything thats normal for the SI may be ueful. Like acidophilus (which is aerobic and not gassy). But another similar problem I have seen is people with a shortened SI being prone to L+ lactic acidosis, because acidophilus is living too high up in their SI and being absorbed in great amounts. I'm not sure if the same scenario is possible with no colon. You can buy a probiotic that doesn't produce the L+ lactic acid. Sporogenes ? Or maybe try that friendly yeast (can't recall name) That's my uneducated guess to give ideas (haven't rechecked L+ etc, so may be L-). I'm not sure you want any colonic bacteria at all (I'm guessing not)


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