# The Pros & Cons of acidophilus & peppermint



## 13570 (Dec 8, 2005)

I just wanted to give people a heads up that I've had some pleasant and unpleasant experiences lately on my path down alternative treatments for IBS-D. I've experienced great success taking acidophilus but the first time I took it I took 2 pills (the container said 1-2 was appropriate) and was doubled over in lower GI pain for about 12 hours. I cut down to 1/2 pill in the a.m. for a month and have now added another 1/2 pill at night. It has greatly helped me since. So my advice there is to start slowly b/c it may be too much for sensitive systems to handle. Then I added some enteric peppermint oil capsules recently to try to reduce the uncomfortable spasm sensations of that I feel in my lower gut frequently. I had a violent skin reaction when I drank alcohol after taking the peppermint pills. I did some research and found that there's an uncommon allergy to this type of pill which I guess I have. I assume it was pronounced when I drank because alcohol is a vasodilator and tends to send more blood to the skin (hence the rosy cheeks after a few glasses of wine). Anyways, I didn't mean to get this detailed but the bottom line is start off slow, keep good track of any changes in your body, and stop and do some research/check with a doctor if you notice anything odd.


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