Probiotics question(s)?

[TheVike]

Started today with Activia low fat yogurt! Has L. Bulgaricus & S. Thermophilus, and Bifidobacterium. I was wondering whther or not to alternate or take this with the drink so highly advertised on TV! The DanActive drink has the same bacteria WITH L. Casei Immunitas! Should I alternate one for the other each day. OR take both each day? Is there such a thing as having too much of this? I know there are some or another thread about Probiotics but not with these specific questions? I am desperate to feel and get BACK to normal if at all possible so esswentially as I have said before have not been feeling well at all and recently back to normal yet? I have been eating alot of fibers raisins prunes apples and bananas and they "seem" to be helping but not really sure. My stomach continues to make low awful noises and it always feeels bloated and distended but last Doc exam Monday said he felt or it felt normal? Help anyone?
TY kindly

[Nancy1]

As with any diet issue and cdiff, it is very individual. Do you have any lactose intolerance? If not, I'd try both and see how you feel. I don't have lactose intolerance, so I drank kefir and ate yogurt with active cultures every day during cdiff. I still do this even now. For the bloating, have you tried Gas-X? That helped me a lot with pain due to gas. For me, too much fiber resulted in too many bathroom runs, in addition to gas. Good luck.

[TheVike]

Connie,
I just don t want to do too much you know too quick! I did the yogurt today and i ll do the drink tomorrow am.. I hqave read that Prevacid Nexium and Pepcid, Prilosic these all DO NOT hekp cediff issues from what articles and the forum said I have been prescribed and on these for about ten years (daily heartbrun Prevacid/nexium) decided to go off of them Pepcid before I ate etc... all did the job and I have been on Prilosic otc for a couple years daily. I wenty xold turkey off these based on what i read in normalizing my stomach and for two days no heartburn unti tis am after i had some diluted OJ for breakfast and the yogurt! Boy oh boy not good but or so i poopped a Prilosic and gone. My question is IS this going to stop the good bacteria from helping working and getting to myintestines? I am going to do these for what they say 14 days...ritating one every other so I ll be on them about a month unless I cant handle it my stomach what do ya thinK? Thank you kindly

[Christina]

I eat 1 Activia and also drink 1 DanActive everyday. I've been doing it since my first IVIG last August and haven't stopped. I am also lactose intolerant and they don't bother me. I have had issues with other probiotics that have caused me diarrhea and cramps but I am fine taking these two.
I also have been on a PPI since January and as far as C-diff, it has not caused me any issues. I was warned however about their controversy and weighed out the risks w/ my Dr. before going on it. We also made sure to wait until I was 12 weeks off of treatment before starting it.

[Fiona]

Hi Vike,
Have you tried BioK+? It has a very high dose of active probiotics - it comes in both lactose and soy versions. I add half of the bottle to plain (and sugar free) yogurt or kefir in the morning and in the half in the evening (maximum 1 bottle a day (they are quite small by the way). I have been using this for three weeks, and while my system still tests as active for cdiff, it has caused an astonishing abatement or complete stop of symptoms, including the weird stomach gurgling. My doctor still wants me to take vancomycin, but even she is impressed with how helpful it has been, and I will take this again after the vanco, to restore the good bacteria/flora. Only drawback is that it must be kept cold - I even wrap it up in the car when bringing it back from the grocery store. You can improve the flavour of the yogurt by adding some crushed fresh or frozen fruit, and sweeten it with a little Stevia (non-carbohydrate natural sweetener). I noticed that when I bought yogurt that was fat-free but not sweetener-free (including Danone Activia) my stomach gurgling and headaches increased, so you might want to consider going with yogurt that has no flavouring or sugar or sweetener if that is what you have been using. The cdiff just loves sugar, it feeds the bacteria, and even if you are just over the cdiff, it should be added back to your diet sparingly, to give your traumatized system a rest. The BioK+ I use (I use the fruit flavoured lactose version) has a little cane sugar, but very little, so the high probiotics must offset the minimal sweetening. Oddly enough, I found that keeping the diet fibre levels up while doing this is important (it doesn't seem like it should be, but there you are) so you might want to add some fibre to your yogurt (I add psyllium husks) and more to your diet. Benefiber or Metamucil, or just adding some raw veggies a few times a day, because the commercial fibre is sometimes too much to handle - your system could be binding up a bit, which also causes gas. Also, you may want to consider avoiding mixing citrus when eating yogurt - it may well be causing a gas reaction, it would with me, so perhaps keep eatings the two foods separate by a couple hours. You should ask your doctor whether Prilosic is aggravating the cdiff - antacids are not recommended when your cdiff is active, it was the first thing my doctor asked me if I was taking when I was diagnosed. There are some recommendations for what foods are easier to handle when you have this - definitely look around on this site, it is a wealth of helpful information. Worry just seems to be an inevitable part of this wretched disease, don't let it get you down - you will get better.

[TheVike]

feel like i am gettingbetter no doubt... I drank the Active D drink tis am 1st thing went down well hasn t bothered me...no Prilosic tis am also! so far so good. Three BMs productive first thing for I have over the last two days
small slice of apple w skin
one banan
two prunes
small handful of raisins on top of one decent meal a day regualr crappy diet you know...
I am drinking basically water, diluted cranapple or apple juice and have cut down on the tea and soda from ALOT to trying to stay this route...Seems to be working also nausea is dissipating slowly but surely over the last week seems like a rollercoaster! I will be getting my colonix toxinout supp mon..and Doc said no but I think i am going to drink the tea at night paranil i think....this is supposed to get rid of parasites! I will stay off the cleansing and the toxinout as he advises.... I am getting plenty of fiber i e theqabove!

[JohnB]

I have a question about a probiotic. I was taking FloraQ among a few others and I recently ran out of the FloraQ. Now two days later I'm having acute C. Diff symptoms again like cramping and night sweats and D. Anyone had this result from stopping a probiotic? I'm going to pick up more FloraQ tomorrow and get back on it ASAP, but I really can't believe what a difference one less probiotic can make. I guess that one was really helping me.

But I'm really kind of worried about how long I have to take the probiotics for. I don't mind if I have to take 1 every day for the rest of my life but currently I'm on 5 different kinds, and I'd hate to have to keep taking these for months and months. I was feeling better so I thought stopping one of them wouldn't be a problem, but apparently it was. How long after you were feeling "normal" did you all start to taper off the probiotics?

[Nancy1]

I started tapering off of the 4 probiotics I was taking (Culturelle, Florastor, acidophilus, and Primadophilus reuteri) about 6 months post-cdiff. I did this slowly and didn't have any problems. FYI, since I have ongoing problems with sensitive innards, my doc recommended VSL#3, and I may take that the rest of my life.

[JohnB]

Thanks, Nancy. Six months! That's a long time. I just got myself into panic mode tonight over this situation. I thought it might be safe to taper down the probiotics already but I guess not.

[TheVike]

I have been taking Pro B s now for almost two years and I have decided to never stop for the can t HURT and only help most like ly a benefit and good part to your diet substitute to other fooods for example in which aren t good for your diet and health regardless, right?

[JohnB]

Yes, I know what you're saying but (1) they are expensive, and (2) if I have acute C. Diff symptoms when I try to taper them down doesn't that mean they are just covering up the infection and that the infection still needs to be treated with antibiotics?

[anlockwood]

I don't know that probiotics can mask c diff symptoms, I kind of doubt that. It can however be empowering your body to fight of the c diff spores that maybe trying to take hold. Also it could be IBS issues. There are 3 recommendations for IBS. One is fiber, two is antispasm meds, and three is a probiotic. I have found that if I stop my probiotic my IBS symptoms can get way worse. It also might have been something you ate. I am so sorry your system seems to be up and down with this, I can't imagine what that is putting you through mentally.
Amanda

[JohnB]

Well I got really nervous and decided to start the Vanco prescription I got. I hope that wasn't a mistake. I'm seeing a new GI doc tomorrow morning. He's probably going to tell me it was a bad idea to start the Vanco with a negative test result. Is it OK to stop it after 1 pill or am I in for the long haul now?

[falco22]

John in my situation I was on vanco only 1 & 1/2 days and my infectious doc told me to stop because my d came back but it was not bad he wanted me off of everything. give it a week. So I did. Just do what your Doc tells you but in my case I was on Vanco 1 & 1/2 days and never went back that was last April.