# 'Truthfully..Anyone had dissappearance of D with Probiotics



## starwoman

Can anyone on the forum say truthfully that taking Probiotics (particular brand has stopped their chronic diarrhea)?I would so much like to know the real truth.........as by trying out these different supplments taqkes aq lot of money, and sometimes does not a acrqp of good, and not only are we so sick but conintually lack funds.Cheers,Starwoman


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## wearyone

Hi Starwoman - Yes, Align definitely stopped D for me but I still have a ways to go. I started taking it at the end of July so I am two months into it. However, as I have said in another post, my stools are still too soft and too frequent (3-4 a day). But this change is nothing short of a miracle after having severe IBS-D for 35 years. I also started on a low dose of Citrucel July 1st and have slowly worked up, so that has helped too. But in an effort to improve where I am at, I am going to add Florastor to the mix as so many have said that helped them. So I would try it for a month as you should notice some change by then. Good Luck! Wearyone


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## starwoman

Hi WearyOne,Thanks for your reply, I have tried Florastor, omx, many others but not Cuturell or aligne as yet, but to no avail so far, so I am interested to know more about how you go, also does anyone have any positive experience by taking Lglutamine?Cheers,starwoman


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## clack013

probiotics have lessened my feeling of urgency for sure. They have also seemed to reduce bowel movements, and make them more formed and normal. I have been taking culturelle.


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## starwoman

Thanks so much Clack for replying to my question.................Yoiu have given me some hope, now which one do I try next Culterelle or Symbion, and how can I get them in Australia.I was very excited when I read about all the wonderful things Florastor could do for diarrhea, but unfortuneately, that was a let down to me too.Maybe Jeffrey Roberts is more an authority on the right Probiotics for us to try, so that we dont keep wasting our hard earned money............I must have wasted at least $50.000.00 so far..........Cheers,Carmen


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## clack013

yeah unfortunately a lot of it is trial and error and it is expensive. I can't really tell you which one to take because they work differently for everyone, I can just tell you that they are useful. They may not cure everything but they should help you feel better and make it more manageable. I am thinking about trying something other than culturelle at some point and am not sure which one I will try. Just stay to credible brands and strains.


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## miranda

hi,unfortunately probiotics have not cured me. i'm currently taking florastor and calcium twice a day. for the most part i am ok but there are situations where no supplements can stop my D. for example when i have a poor nights sleep and have to get up early like today! i've suffered through 3 movements already before finally caving and taking an immodium.i've tried an udo's choice probiotic, florastor, ibs advantage.M


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## Gret

You may want to incorporate fiber with the probiotics. Florastor and Align work well for me.


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## Bradw4040

Probiotics have DEFINATELY made a huge difference for me. The problem is that each one works for a time...usually a few months and then the effect begins to wear off. I've found I have to switch between them to control my IBS-D. The one that worked best is Natures Secret Ultimate Probiotic 4 Billion. Worked for about 5 months. Align only worked for about two months, and not as well. I'm on VSL3 now and it's worked for about 3 months and counting. It works better than Align, helps with gas, but doesn't work as well as the Natures Secret. All this costs money but it's definately worth it to stave-off the D. You just have to pick one of the one's you hear about on this site and give it a try.Good luck!!!


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## code9

starwoman said:


> Can anyone on the forum say truthfully that taking Probiotics (particular brand has stopped their chronic diarrhea)?...Starwoman


Not even close. I've tried a ton of stuff (a lot of money) seen a quack nutritionalist, and talked to lots of people selling herbs, oils, bacteria... nothing ever came close to stopping D. Some of it helps, I -THINK-. Right now I'm trying Culturelle, but it would never do anything on its own. It seems to help a little bit, on a scale of 0-10, I think I'd give it a 1. Which is a lot higher than I'd give most.


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## 16963

yes they help, for sure. But it hasn't "cured" me or made my D disappear. Just made it a little better and easier to deal with.


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## Guest

Hi Starwomen,I am amazed that the number of multi-level marketers that have been targeting this site and claiming they were "cured" of IBS-D with their enhanced probiotics, are not replying to your post. I've been warned about leaving your email address in penpals, etc., but it's too late... 17 messages already from them. I'm disgusted with these people and their scams!!! I could rant longer, lol.Your question now... I've been taking Lactobacillus Acidophilus for about 3 months but, stopped on Nov. 1st by my doctor. Noticed no change with my "D". My disability health consultant said that I was throwing my money away buying probiotics at a supermarket i.e. Jamieson products (2 billion active cells). She suggested a health food store but, the 25-35 billion active cell probiotics found in their cooler are very expensive... too rich for me.The only help I got for my "D" was from a controlled narcotic prescribed 5 weeks ago, and again, was told to stop taking any supplements. Made me a little constipated thus, a win/win situation if you have "D".Waiting too hear a bit more about the product "Align". Great topic!


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## Kathleen M.

You mentioned Crohn's in the title?My take is something like IBS will be more easily treated by probiotics than any of the inflammatory bowel diseases including microscopic colitis.Probiotics may effect stool consistency to some degree based on how they interact with the body or by changeing gas volume.If you are having a lot of inflammation and ulceration and all that which you see in crohns I think you are asking too much of the bacteria to overcome what the immune system is doing to cause diarrhea.Now some people continue to have some diarrhea even when in remission and for them I'd expect about the level of benefit you see IBSers (some do really well some get a bit of benefit and some do not).It doesn't help that sometimes the same person gets different results with different brands to try to pick the best one to try.Even if we had really good head to head clinical trials of all the brands and we had testing to show you were getting what you paid for there would be some people that do well on them and those that do not.K.


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## starwoman

Thanks for yur reply, but I find that very dissappointing, beCAUSE MOST HEALTH PRACTITONERS RECOMMEND THE USE OF probitocis to heal crohns however I am dicovering that there may be an underlying condition to the illness, such as high uric acid in the blood as I have just experienced gout in my wrist from ingesting a large supply of tomatoes, and capsicums............or bad circulation?Food for thought? lolCheers,Carmenstarwoman


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## Kathleen M.

I'm not sure how much real evidence there would be for probiotics healing crohn's.They probably wouldn't hurt.Some times of more natural treatment type people tend to greatly overplay how much probiotics can do for anyone. Well pretty much any alternative treatment and pretty much every disease. They like to generalize from small uncontrolled studies to make it sound like it is the miracle everyone is looking for.This study looks hopeful...Then again they only did it in 10 people, so it is hard to generalizehttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?D...Pubmed_RVDocSumhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?D...Pubmed_RVDocSum is a recent review and it says that overall from what research we do have probiotics seem better for UC rather than Crohns.If I tried anything for the crohn's it would probably be the VSL#3 because if anything was going to have a big effect on something as severe as and IBD that would be the one. It is pretty expensive, but you get a lot of organisms not just the 1-2 billion in most preparations.It also doesn't sound like any of the studies show probiotics instead of regular medical treatment is what works. Sounds like a something to add to the mix, not something to do instead of standard treatment.K.


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## starwoman

Dear Kathleen.I have finally answered my own question..I had used many Probiotics without any success, so I ws most skeptical to try the one that Talissa recomended, however as it was dispatched quite close to me, I obtained the Pro-Bio IF and couldnt believe it when it worked straight away, within a few hours........So I do know that some Probiotics do definetly work for this illness.Cheers,Carmen


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## northstar71

starwoman said:


> Dear Kathleen.I have finally answered my own question..I had used many Probiotics without any success, so I ws most skeptical to try the one that Talissa recomended, however as it was dispatched quite close to me, I obtained the Pro-Bio IF and couldnt believe it when it worked straight away, within a few hours........So I do know that some Probiotics do definetly work for this illness.Cheers,Carmen


That is great!I am still somewhat skeptical on Probiotics for myself. I have tried several types in the past two years (Renew for Life, Natures Choice, and now Udo's Choice),all of which do not seem to have helped at all.I am glad it is working for some - my symptoms seem to wax and wane with no pattern or cause that I have determined.


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## Mistral

I have IBS-alternating C/D. I've used two probiotics - Nutrition Now Pro-Biotics Acidophilus, and Sedona Labs iFlora. Both were successful after about a week at completely controlling D, but left me still struggling with C. IFlora was successful at controlling C for about a week, but then the severe C returned again.Look for a probiotic that is multi-strain and includes Bifidus strains. In my reading, I think it was the bifidus strains that are the most effective at controlling D.


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## code9

I've taken a lot of probiotics, I've never had one stop D. But if your D is mild enough to begin with, it might be a possibility. But, for me, it wouldn't stop it by a long shot.I took culturelle for quite a while, but didn't notice much help, so I stopped it for about a month. Now I'm going back to and try Pro-Bio Gold, since it seems to contain LGG as well, and some other stuff. I'll see if there appears to be any improvement. But no, I don't expect it to stop D. It takes a lot to do that. =)


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## starwoman

Thanks for your reply WearyOne,I have fouond that he Kirkmans only worked on me for a tiny little while.I have just been able to find the same ingredients as are in align ( cannot get it in australia) which are Life Force by Natrem, so only been on it 6 days and already am a little better.cheers,Starwoman


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## starwoman

Well to contradict my last post in this line of messages, the kirkmans product only worked for a about 2 weeks, I am not trying the product my Natrem called Life Force been on it for l week, and I seem a little better.Cheers,Starwoman


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## starwoman

In my experience I agree with you, the Probiotics containing Bifidus are the ones that do work for controlling the diarrhea.Cheers,starwoman


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## IanRamsay

hi I dont suffer from chrons, but i did suffer from IBS A for almost all my adult life. yes, probiotics where my life saver, but it took along time to find my majic bullet.cheersIan


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## karoe

You can enhance the effects of probiotics by avoiding chlorinated water. Chlorine kills bacteria. If you are washing down your expensive probiotics with tap water, you're killing them off. Use spring water or triple filtered reverse osmosis water is good (39 cents a gallon at the health food store). Beware of bottled drinks of any kind as they will no doubt contain tap water. What you have to do is restrict yourself to safe water and herbal teas made from that water. You have to bring water with you when you go out or to work.I'm experimenting with eating foods rich in resistant starch, to create a "substrate" in which the good bacteria can grow, per the following excerpt from a monograph by Leo Galland, MD :In addition to directly reintroducing the bacteria, the reinoculate step may also involve indirectly bolstering the healthy microflora with prebiotics, which selectively promote beneficial synergistic flora without silmultaneously supporting pathogenic bacterial growth. When prebiotics are included in the diet, increased levels of fecal fermentation and intraluminal concentrations of SCFAs [short chain fatty acids], such as proprionate, acetate, and butyrate, are produced from fermentation of the fibers by the colonic microflora. SCFAs are thought to supply up to 70% of the energy used by colonic epithelial cells; therefore, prebiotics support improved intestinal integrity and promote intestinal cell regeneration. Prebiotics include fructans [jerusalem artichokes, chicory root, belgian endive are rich sources, supplements are made out of the chicory root], inulin [asparagus, artichoke, onion, banana, chicory root] and fructooligo- saccharides [jicama, jerusalem artichoke], arabinogalactans [radishes, leek seeds, reiki, mushroom. Food sources are said to provide minimum amounts. Supplements are made of the wood of the larch tree. Should we really be eating that?] and some soy fibers. The incorporation of soluble fiber [pectin as in apples, oatmeal (not instant) numerous supplements exist for this ] another important nutrient substrate for probiotics, may also help the reinoculation process."You see, a probitic is not a magic bullet, it's more like a seed. You have to prepare the soil and care for the plant........hope that is a good analogy.


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## overitnow

karoe said:


> You can enhance the effects of probiotics by avoiding chlorinated water. Chlorine kills bacteria. If you are washing down your expensive probiotics with tap water, you're killing them off.


And of course, I do. Arrrrrrrrrrrrgh! (Maybe that is why they haven't seemed to have made that much of a difference.)Thanks for the tip.Mark


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## IanRamsay

for the love of god. chlorine in the seriously diluted form of tap water wont kill gram positive bacteria. in fact not alot will except other bacteriaand stomach acid (to some degree). you can wash it down with a 1954 chateau la feait or a glass of petrol and they will still do their job. Karoe, where are you getting your information from?CheersIan


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## starwoman

Hi Northstar,Sorry to mislead everyone, but Kirkmans didnt work long enough for me, only about 2 weeks.I am now trying Align and it has made a lot of difference in l week, will keep taking it, as all the research on the Bacterium Infantis seems to add up to help me with my DCheers,Starwoman


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## starwoman

Hi Ian,So glad that you have had positive relief, from you IBS, can you tell us the Probiotic that has helped you?Starwoman


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## IanRamsay

hiits a bit complicated because i grew and spliced the strain together myself, but the long and short of it is members of the bifidus family of gram positive bacteria. i very strongly believe that most cases of ibs are caused either by too many of just one type of bacteria in teh gut or too little, or the complete absence of one type of bacteria. as i said, the hard part is finding the strain that will work for you, but i am working on a test to show that at the moment. but its going to be a long road i think!cheersIan


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## karoe

Ian:I am not a scientist, and it sounds like you are, therefore I ask your pardon. However, I read a great deal, including scientific journal articles, and try to piece things together using a common sense approach. I don't base anything I do (or recommend to others) on one or two opinions; after you read a lot about a health/nutrition subjects it seems to me the smart folks are all saying the same thing. So, common sense says it can't possibly be good to 1) expect my intestinal flora to improve if I'm watering it with chemicals and 2) my overall health, which supports the gastro area, is not ehanced by drinking tap water. This extends to all manner of beverages except water, because most have something nutritionally undesirable about them (juice=sugar; alcohol=toxins and empty carbohydrate; coffee and tea=caffeine, tannins; soda=you know how bad this is... etc). I say, I'm sick, why complicate things? My diet changes have produced amazing health benefits. They are too pronounced to be anything else but diet. Therefore, I continue to feed my body the best food and water I can get my hands on to enhance the healing process.I am so glad you are on this thread. Would you care to expound a little more on your research, your cure and gram positive bacteria? If you're cured, why are you on the board? That's nice of you!I grew my own yogurt, does that count? Worked, for a while, too.







Karoe


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## IanRamsay

hi KaroeYes, growing yogurt does count, infact, in a nut shell that is the basics of manufacturing your own probiotic strains of bacteria. from there you can culture every strain of gram positive bacteria and put your own strain groups together to test for treatment. i was ill for almost 20 years with IBS A, Chronic Gerd, and chronic gastritis. although it took me 12 years to come up with a cure based around a single specific pro biotic strain (It took me that long to isolate the strain that was lacking in my digestive system (as there are over 900 known strains and families/groups and god knows how many more that we dont know anything or enough about.)i am not 100% cured, about 90% but it is a constant prolonged 90% that allows me to now eat almost anything that want with out having to worry about the after effects. the remaining 10% is down to the GERD and gastritis which i am treating with a different probiotic, but i am teh only guinie pig for my strains at the moment so it is too soon to tell if they will work for them as well, but so far there is an improvement in teh upper GI disturbance. Ill keep my fingers crossed.Basically this is my theory that i have put together over the last 12 years having reviewed more than 5000 white papers, trial results and and diagnostics tests etc. MOST (some 85%) of all IBS cases are casued by bacteria. either too much, to little or absolutely none of a certain strain. When a doctor tells you that you have IBS, it is simply because they have tested you for everything and cant find anything wrong. so you have IBS. that dosent mean that there isnt a real physical problem there causing it. its not financially feasable to test for all teh strains of bacteria in teh gut. so they dont, or if they do they will only test for the "Common ones". so again they will say that its not bacteria related, so you have IBS. Logically bacteria of one type or another is all that is left after everything else has been tested for. (with teh exception of IBS that is caused by teh brain gut connection. but that is a different thread).The real problem that people suffering IBS will face is finding which strain of bacteria that they are lacking or have too much of. Brands like align and digestive advantage only include a handfull of common bacteria strains which is why teh success rate is so hit and miss. for a perfectly healthy person, they do teh job just fine. but for someone with IBS, well, they may not work quite as well. growing your own cultures takes time and money and it could take you 10 years to find your majic bullet. I am now trying to devise a test that is simple and cheap that everyone can have access to that will identify their bacteria map and point out what is what. sadly based on my preliminary results, its goping to be a few years yet at least. as is my "Flavenotics" probiotic and flavenoid cocktail. (Which will be not for profit, and free if i get my way! for everyone with IBS) its just very difficult to keep focused with all the dead ends, set backs and red tape, which, unfortunately is totally necessary.keep the faith brother.Ian


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## starwoman

For the attention of Ian RamseyCongratulations Ian, on your assertiveness, patience, and knowledge, You are trying to do something positive about this debilitaing illness. I have been diaganosed with Crohns disease since 1969, I think I was the first person in australia, to be diagnosed with it, and it took them over 4 years to do that, and I almost had to die, first, then before that to be told to enter a phsychiatric hospital, as I was supposed to be doing it to myself. This horrid illness has ruined my life, and I have not been able to lead a quality life as I have been too







worried about leaving the house, for most of my adult life, I am now finding some relief whilst useing a Probiotic with the Bacterium Infantis Probiotic.I am most interested to learn from your research and productivity.Kind regards,Starwoman


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## starwoman

Hi Karoe,Thankyou for shareing your ideas...I would be most interested to find out tips about your diet, does it have anything to do with food combineing?Cheers,Starwoman


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## karoe

Ian, thanks for the note. A lot of work for you! Yes, well we all know that IBS is a "garbage can" diagnosis. The have to call it something. I would rather they just said "I don't know what is wrong with you" but they don't.Okay, Ian. My plan was to systematically try various probiotics to see to see if I could improve how I feel. Yes, with 400 or 900 species/types of bacteria running around in our guts, it's hard to pinpoint one or two, however! Our bodies must have some adaptive mechanism (it does for so many other things), so it doesn't seem like we have to be exact to solve the problem. Can you run down a list of probiotics that it seems reasonable to try, and also talk about probiotics from food. (cultured vegetables etc.) Quick anecdote: when tested for bacteria in my gut by the Great Smokies labs, they said I had no E coli. whatsoever. I thought that was bizarre. I found out that a source of e coli could be unpasteurized milk. I researched my source carefully and tried it. When I tried 2 capsules of natren's medadophiis (I think) with the milk, the next day I felt extremely good. Each day of the week was better. One day I felt so euphoric, I felt like I could FLY, practically. This is what it feels like to be rid of chronic pain! This ebbed over the next week. I continue to do it and feel somewhat better overall if I don't make any eating mistakes. So, what do you think of this? It sure makes me interested in continuing with the probiotics. It is confusing for the uninitiated.I hope you can share some info.K


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## IanRamsay

hi karoethanks. (i have a soft spot for Canadians. (a mountie save my life up by grate slave a very long time ago). from my research the first family of probiotics to try are the bifidus infantis family. they seem to have the greatest effect on IBS. i think this is because the bifidus family is the first group of bacteria to get hammered when we have a gut infection or take anti biotics. (again, i cant prove this 100%, but i will!) let me know when you have tried them.as far as food goes, that really is a personal thing down to trial and error. i could go on for pages on this subject. basically the short and curlies are this. nothing you buy in a store is guaranteed organic or enriched with probiotics because of environmental factors between harvest/package and consumption. that includes contamination of one or several of many surface bacteria and toxins. on top of that one thing to remember is if you find mixing vegetables for the fiber and FOS for the gram positive bacteria works for you, it may not work for the next person. it sure as hell diddnt work for me. i couldent tollerate any sort of pre biotic untill my guts where back to normal.it is also worth remembering that all probiotics should only be taken for 4 to 10/12 weeks at a time. in a way they should be used like anti biotics, so the body cant get over tollerant of them.cheersian


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## karoe

Hi, Ian thanks for your response and the tip. I have been experimenting with Culturelle and altho it does have a pronounced effect, it's not really the effect I wanted....constipation and pain. I was thinking again of going back to infantis, Natren has a good product, and combining it this time with the raw milk at night and the vegetable substrate/resistant starch program. Note: I do not take any FOS -- or any manufactured stuff. My thought is to eat a diet mimicing that of our hunter gatherer ancestors (or hell, just our grandparents! they didn't have all these problems) which means gradually trending toward more vegetables. All vegetables are not created equal, I have found. I am going to post an inquiry about another probiotic that was favorably reviewed by a member of this board...Symbion. It has an unusual mix of bacteria. We lost a lot of good information on the board with that crash, didn't we?


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## karoe

Hello, StarW:Sorry for the delay in responding.......I started making changes in my diet in '02, after food sensitivity testing. It's been a long evolution. I am shooting for a diet that is like that of our hunter-gatherer ancestors, that is meat and vegetables. So, I eat high quality poultry, grass fed beef, salmon (no other fish and NO farmed fish), my only carbs right now are brown rice and wild rice with the occasional sweet potatoe; no allergic foods like oranges, chick peas etc. Only triple filtered water or herbal tea, no other beverages. I make all my food from scratch. Oils are virgin coconut, nut oils and olive oil. I take pharmaceutical grade fish oil religiously. My current interest is in eating foods that contain resistant starch like jerusalemn artichokes, belgian endive and onions......I make a gratin out of that with eggs. This starch is food for good intestinal bacteria. I 'm sure I've left something out here. This diet has not cured my IBS but at least I can work! And I am super healthy otherwise.I noticed that you mentioned the "D" word a lot, and Chron's .... have you tried L-glutamine? That stuff works great. I tend to C so I can't take much of it. Good Chrons' info can be found at Jinipatelthompson.com --- more of a natural approach. I've read her books, and I used her product AbsorbPlus to do the Elemental Diet last spring.karoe


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## IanRamsay

KaroeAAAAHhhhhhhhh the paleolithic diet! (Cavemans diet) most excellent. trust me it really really works. cheersIan.p.s. yep we did loose alot of good stuf when it crashed.


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## IanRamsay

Star womanHow is the life force going? has ther ebeen any improvement in your symptoms, or is it same old same old? to give it a good shot if you dont feel improvement in 7 days you should take it daily for 4 weeks to see if any difference is made.cheersIan


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## starwoman

Hello Ian,I am so much better, after only 3 days, it had made a good deal of difference, the bad stinging ammonia burning had stopped, and have started to put on weight and not running to the loo so often.I couldnt get Align in Australia anywhere, however after much research discovered that Natrem (the one that Jini Patell promotes) has the same bacteria called Bifiobacterium Infantis in it that Align, does.......so have been on Life Start now for 2 weeks, it is called here in australia Life Start by Natrem, and I have now found out that there is a Life Start 2 which will be even better for my condition.Keep up the good work Ian,.Cheers,Starwoman


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## karoe

I've taken Life Start II. I didn't have a great result from it, but it did keep the pain at bay. I will try it again, however, because I'm using other stuff that seems to support the probiotics....as I have posted, I eat foods that have resistant starch (doing okay with that!), added pectin with an apple each day, small amounts of oatmeal every other day, and I wash down the evening probiotic with a glass of raw milk, which I believe has helpful bacteria of its own to offer (and it's probably designed for baby cows, but it seems to help me.) Overall I feel more comfortable and my body's function has become more predictable. I would like to retry the Natren Life Start II.I am also investigating hormone imbalance as a possible cause of my daily fatigue. All the best.


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## karoe

Paleo Eating --I think it's really helped me stay the course all these years...at least I am able to work and I am in otherwise tip top health. I have gotten so many health benefits from eating this way....reversed asthma, periodontal disease, got my blood sugar under control, good cholesterol is at 78, triglycerides at 56; blood pressure at 90/47 and the list goes on.It seems to be the way we were supposed to eat. Hey, did you ever think of eating insects? I'm glad we don't have to do that. Reminds me, I have to order some fresh beef liver from the organic source. How about your results with the Paleo Eating Plan? It's also GREAT for weight loss; a friend did it under my advice and she did very well -- appreciated eating nuts and olives while losing weight.


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## starwoman

Hi Karoe,I can only speak from my own experience with Natrem, and so far it has helped me a lot, but then it has only been 2 weeks so far. (Life Start 2)I hope that you can get the same good results with Life Start 2 when you retry it again.Good Luck,Starwoman


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## PCD

Ian,I've been catching up on the chat and noticed your remark that one shouldn't take any probiotic for more than 10 1/2 weeks. I've been taking Digestive Advantage to treat IBS-D for about 6 months (2x daily) and it's been working great. I occasionally have a relatively minor D urge but without pain... and the "urge" is very controllable. I no longer fear car trips, long meetings or eating outside of my home. I essence, I can lead a normal life while on the DA. Am I supposed to stop taking probiotics altogether, switch brands or what? If I'm supposed to stop, for how long? Please give me whatever guidance you can. Thanks!ps- I have GERD as well. I'm on Protonix but that doesn't do the trick. Any probiotic recommendations?


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## IanRamsay

Hi You have slightly miss understood what i have written. while it is a good idea to take a pro biuotic suppliment for about 2 or 3 months at a time, and then give it a rest so teh body can adjust and have a go at regulating teh bacteral balance its self, the length of time that you should take a probiotic is a totally individual matter. An initial course should only be for 4 or 6 weeks, then a break and see what happens. sometimes only a 4 week dose is needed every 4 or 5 months. If you are getting on well with your probiotic suppliment and are seeing and feeling ACTUAL improvement, DONT ROCK THE BOAT! i have spoken to patients that have been on probiotics for years and are doing fine. on teh other hand some patients can only tollerate 4 or 5 weeks at a time and then teh body takes over. But teh initial period of treatment should only be 4 to 6 weeks or so to kick start teh repopulation and give the body a chance to start self regulating again. after that its up to you.As i have said, if you are getting on well with it, dont stop. you only need to stop when you feel that they are not working any more. or you have a return of symptoms whilst taking teh probiotics. Then you should give them a break for 4 to 8 weeks, or untill symptoms return, which may not happen at all, or at least not for some time.As far as gerd goes, that is still a bit of a new area in probiotic reaserch. i am playing witha couple, but it is far too early to tell if they are working or not yet. ill keep you posted. Bio flavenoids can work wonders for gerd though. Get hold of a chap on here called Mark (overitnow) for some advice and direction on that, he knows what he is talking about.cheersIan


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## PCD

Ian,Thanks for clearing that up. As I mentioned, I've been using Digestive Advantage for several months and it's been controlling the pain and urgency but I still have frequent D. That being said, it's the first probiotic that I've tried so I think I'm going to experiment with Align for 60 days.Thanks for your advice!


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