Probiotics, anyone use them?

Hey guys,

For a long time in my adult life I have been battling gas, bloating, diharea, intestinal discomfort, etc. It seems no matter what I eat (most everything I eat is probably bad for me) I get gas. I am sick of it! I have done some reading on probiotics, and maybe this along with changing my diet will help me, but I really don't know much about this stuff. I can say that when I had my vasectomy several years ago I had to take some anti-biotics, and man did it make things way worse, so maybe this gut bacteria is causing issues. I had way more pain from my intestines than the snip-snip on the old boys.

My doctor mentioned I am most likely lactose intolerant, and to cut down on dairy, and or take some lactaid if eating dairy. I have done these things, but it still doesn't totally help. I struggle with my regularity as well. Maybe I should give some of these probiotics a try?

Anyone on here ever try this stuff? If so what brand can you reccomend? Any particular place to buy it?

Any help on this is appreciated.

Chris

Has the doctor checked everything out from both ends and done blood work as well? I'd definitely have that done before turning to fancy yogurt and Kiefer for assistance. That being said back when I could consume sugar I was known to drink good belly from time to time, not for the probiotics, but because the green flavor is quite tasty.

Yogurt has Lactobacillus and that's usually a part of the probiotics pills. Has your doctor ruled out other GI tract issues like Crohn's Disease?

After watching documentaries like 'Forks Over Knives' and 'Fed Up', I'd try to cut back on proteins and added sugars.

I've been having some GI issues for about a month that the doc is now thinking is an ulcer - which I think may be a result of over a year on a statin trying to get my good cholesterol UP. Before he realized I was actually having a real issue he recommended I try a course of probiotics. I'm about 4 weeks into what is supposed to be an 8 week course right now. I've been taking the Kroger knock-off version of Align.

I can't tell any difference at all.

Of course, until they put me on the statins I've always been regular as a clock and never had stomach issues/reflux/heartburn...so my internal biome may have been fine to begin with and the probiotics weren't a necessity.

OTOH, they haven't caused any problems either...I'll probably finish the course FWIW.

My wife tied the yogurt version and it made her lower GI issues worse. Take that for what you will.

Yep. http://www.advocare.com/products/well/W3812.aspx

If you want to try it, I can get it at a discount.

Check with the doctor first, it'll take an expert to sort through all the snake-oil BS being labelled "probiotics" anyway.

GameboyRMH wrote: Check with the doctor first, it'll take an expert to sort through all the snake-oil BS being labelled "probiotics" anyway.

(My wife is a Dietitian, in her graduate studies they took on the probiotic yogurts)

The yogurts labeled as having probiotics actually had less than average compared to "normal" yogurts. The yogurt with the most probiotics, or the most beneficial probiotics from a dietary standpoint? Great Value. Yep. The cheapest Wal-Mart house brand.

First, get the doctor to check you out...whether that's lab tests, blood work or any combination thereof. Second, you mentioned changing your diet. Don't know what it is now, but very good chance that's a major contributor. Probiotics can help, but they are more of a support to other changes you'd make...whether it's dietary or medication. And I agree with just going with Wal-Mart or CVS brand.

I've got all kinds of serious digestive issues, and diet is far and away the best way to control it.

Second the Dr. suggestions, but beware, I know of a few important life-changing diet changes people have made from left field which solved everything for them. Once guy I know has to have a form of bean with every meal. Some of those alternative-type docs are great, some are quacks.

That said, Keifer is yummy and isn't that expensive just to try for a week to see if it helps.

ultraclyde wrote: I've been having some GI issues for about a month that the doc is now thinking is an ulcer - which I think may be a result of over a year on a statin trying to get my good cholesterol UP. Before he realized I was actually having a real issue he recommended I try a course of probiotics. I'm about 4 weeks into what is supposed to be an 8 week course right now. I've been taking the Kroger knock-off version of Align. I can't tell any difference at all. Of course, until they put me on the statins I've always been regular as a clock and never had stomach issues/reflux/heartburn...so my internal biome may have been fine to begin with and the probiotics weren't a necessity. OTOH, they haven't caused any problems either...I'll probably finish the course FWIW. My wife tied the yogurt version and it made her lower GI issues worse. Take that for what you will.

I'm amazed your Dr hasn't mentioned that your "good" cholesterol doesn't change much with statins much … LDL sure … HDL is as much hereditary as anything else … diet and drugs can help, but will do more for you overall and your ratio than for the HDL itself … or so my Doc's tell me … my HDL is still a bit lower than they'd like, but the amt. of drugs they'd have to give to gain another 3 or 4 points isn't (according to them) worth the risks

Another vote for talking to the doc.

I take a couple, chosen based on having strains specifically mentioned as having some degree of effectiveness by the Mayo Clinic. I think they help a little; it's not as though I started taking them and a week later was all "Hey, my guts are impeccable!"

After talking to my doc, I still don't have a perfect answer. My doc at the time I was last really concerned about it was a really nice, pragmatic guy, but he was busy, and tended to address some of my fine-tuning-of-my-life concerns with a sort of "You're the healthiest person I'll see today. You're 40. Deal with it."

I do also associate a really horrible couple of years where I couldn't drink coffee with having had to take antibiotics. I hate that western medicine seems to be so resistant to studying gut flora (since those are the folks who principles of understanding I trust most, even if I don't always trust the entities involved), but there seems to be a fair amount of evidence that the organisms in your gut have some kind of effect, and antibiotics tend to kill that sort of thing, and I went from having a cast iron stomach to, well, not having one. I don't want to jump to conclusions, but in lieu of studies, it seems sane, and the biggest gamble seems to be the cost of the probiotics. And I like yogurt.

What Tuna says about keifer is true. I also particularly dig Nancy's yogurt if you can get it where you are (it's local to me in Oregon), and Tillamook Greek farmstyle. Tastiest healthcare experiment ever.

I find that amateur biotics perform almost as well as probiotics and don't require the exorbitant salaries.

In reply to Mazdax605:

Definitely talk to the doctor first!

I've had similar problems for years, finally went & saw a doc a couple years ago, got scoped out(no big deal TQBH) and determined I have a mix of IBS and lactose-intolerance. I've tried several probiotics, none worked for me and they're berkeleying expensive! I've found that greatly increasing my fiber intake(I don't eat any fruits, and few vegetables) through supplements/grains/etc., limiting my cheese intake, and identifying a few triggers(blue slushies for some reason?) has helped me immensely.

When I finally talked to the doc, her response was "Well you've had these problems for years, so it must not be cancer or you'd have been dead a long time ago."

Seriously, call and get checked out.

wbjones wrote:

ultraclyde wrote: I've been having some GI issues for about a month that the doc is now thinking is an ulcer - which I think may be a result of over a year on a statin trying to get my good cholesterol UP. Before he realized I was actually having a real issue he recommended I try a course of probiotics. I'm about 4 weeks into what is supposed to be an 8 week course right now. I've been taking the Kroger knock-off version of Align. I can't tell any difference at all. Of course, until they put me on the statins I've always been regular as a clock and never had stomach issues/reflux/heartburn...so my internal biome may have been fine to begin with and the probiotics weren't a necessity. OTOH, they haven't caused any problems either...I'll probably finish the course FWIW. My wife tied the yogurt version and it made her lower GI issues worse. Take that for what you will.

I'm amazed your Dr hasn't mentioned that your "good" cholesterol doesn't change much with statins much … LDL sure … HDL is as much hereditary as anything else … diet and drugs can help, but will do more for you overall and your ratio than for the HDL itself … or so my Doc's tell me … my HDL is still a bit lower than they'd like, but the amt. of drugs they'd have to give to gain another 3 or 4 points isn't (according to them) worth the risks

Hmm. Mine has gone up almost 10 points with little change in diet. My triglycerides were also HIGH (500) when I started and are now down to mid 100s. Combined cholesterol is 100. All this while being an avid cyclist (100+ miles / week in season) and eating a low fat / mostly vegetarian diet at the time of the tests. Doc shrugs and says my numbers should be way different but it's just genetics....

I'm not convinced that they really understand the whole cholesterol issue...But that's a thread jack topic.

If no milk/dairy try Kombucha. That stuff helps to sort me out after a night of too much beer.

I've had slight issues ever since I had a bad case of food poisoning several years ago. If I stick to a pretty healthy balanced diet I'm good to go.

A blood test showed I had Celiac Disease after similar problems.

That means gluten free for the rest of my life.

Not so bad once you get used to it.

I am really overweight and I'm sure that doesn't help, but I am active as well. I play hockey anywhere between 1-3 times a week, and during the winter volleyball once a week as well. I'm 40 years old, and going on 41 in a couple of months. I try to eat healthy, but I know I don't. I used to be able to eat anything, and not have any gastrointestinal problems. Now it seems no matter what it is I eat I get nasty gas. Just yesterday I hit up the local health food grocery store on Martha's Vineyard to graze the salad bar (trying to eat healthy), and man the whole ferry trip home it was chemical warfare in my van. Also a little later on at hockey practice with my son I was ripping it up with some of the smelliest gas ever, and that is in a cold ass hockey rink. I suspect the salad did it, but what the heck should I eat? If I got a sandwich, or sub, it may have or likely would have been worse. What gives? If I don't eat anything at all I get gas. I just don't want to get gas like this anymore. It's worse at night when I lay down in bed. My poor wife.

Mazdax605 wrote: I am really overweight and I'm sure that doesn't help, Just yesterday I hit up the local health food grocery store on Martha's Vineyard to graze the salad bar (trying to eat healthy), and man the whole ferry trip home it was chemical warfare in my van.

Sounds like it could be Diverticulosis . I have a mild case and every time I have a salad I get gas. A colonoscopy will either confirm or eliminate that possibility quickly.

In reply to Hal:

Interesting. I know 40 is young for that, although I was "diagnosed" with that at 21. I went to the walk-in with persistent GI trouble(several months). LNP determined "Probably diverticulitis, but we would need an MRI(?) to properly diagnose it. So here is an rx for a new $140/month acid reflux med."

I have little faith in a GPs diagnoses of gut problems. For years I complained about issues only to be told I wasn't as young as I used to be. After a couple of episodes within a couple of weeks, I went back and pretty much chewed him out. He sent me in for a barium enema (lower GI). Worst thing I have ever been through, but it did show me I was NOT gay. It did indicate I had Crohn's Disease. After that I started seeing a gastro, who don't seem to be a lot better than the GP, just cost more. He did put me on a medication that worked amazingly for me as far as gut problems. Still weak and get tired easily. BTW I was not diagnosed until I was 46. I had been having problems since I was at least 14.

My advice to the OP is to cut out lactose immediately and see if that helps. Then get the Doc to check you for Celiac Disease.

http://www.amazon.com/Udos-Choice-Super-Probiotic-Capsules/dp/B0010EEWU4/

If you need to get things moving, this stuff is like colon dynamite. Just saying.

That align stuff dosen't have enough CFU's in it to do anything.

Try this: eat gluten free for a month.

ultraclyde wrote:

wbjones wrote:

ultraclyde wrote: I've been having some GI issues for about a month that the doc is now thinking is an ulcer - which I think may be a result of over a year on a statin trying to get my good cholesterol UP. Before he realized I was actually having a real issue he recommended I try a course of probiotics. I'm about 4 weeks into what is supposed to be an 8 week course right now. I've been taking the Kroger knock-off version of Align. I can't tell any difference at all. Of course, until they put me on the statins I've always been regular as a clock and never had stomach issues/reflux/heartburn...so my internal biome may have been fine to begin with and the probiotics weren't a necessity. OTOH, they haven't caused any problems either...I'll probably finish the course FWIW. My wife tied the yogurt version and it made her lower GI issues worse. Take that for what you will.

I'm amazed your Dr hasn't mentioned that your "good" cholesterol doesn't change much with statins much … LDL sure … HDL is as much hereditary as anything else … diet and drugs can help, but will do more for you overall and your ratio than for the HDL itself … or so my Doc's tell me … my HDL is still a bit lower than they'd like, but the amt. of drugs they'd have to give to gain another 3 or 4 points isn't (according to them) worth the risks

Hmm. Mine has gone up almost 10 points with little change in diet. My triglycerides were also HIGH (500) when I started and are now down to mid 100s. Combined cholesterol is 100. All this while being an avid cyclist (100+ miles / week in season) and eating a low fat / mostly vegetarian diet at the time of the tests. Doc shrugs and says my numbers should be way different but it's just genetics.... I'm not convinced that they really understand the whole cholesterol issue...But that's a thread jack topic.

I was a long distance runner (35mi per week) and had triglycerides in the upper 300's and cholesterol total mid 300's …

statins brought the cholesterol down to upper 90's-low 100's … HDL has gotten as high as 38 - 39 .. he said he would like to see it at 41+ but that wasn't going to happen without a huge change in meds and maybe diet …over all he's quite happy with the total and the ratio

that's when he told me that LDL's were fairly easy to control (bring down) with statins, but that HDL not so much … more heredity than anything else …

Dr. Hess might jump in here and comment

Yeah, definitely get a doc to dig deeper before jumping to any conclusions...

That said, I am mildly lactose intolerant (IOW I can eat some cheeses and and yoghurts without being in running distances of the throne, others I can't) and using good probiotics has improved matters somewhat, especially the on the getting gas after accidental exposure to milk products front.

petegossett wrote: I've had similar problems for years, finally went & saw a doc a couple years ago, got scoped out(no big deal TQBH) and determined I have a mix of IBS and lactose-intolerance.

Oddly enough, when I stopped eating yogurt as a snack, I developed a low grade of lactoce intolerance. I stopped eating dairy for a while and was fine.

So, um, eat yogurt!