VSL3

Treatments, possible treatments, unsubstantiated/unproven treatments. Consult your doctor first.
Guest

Postby Guest » Fri Apr 26, 2002 2:00 pm

I just posted information about a new probiotic VSL3 in the FAQ section. <BR><BR>[Guest Posted by: 'Bobbie']

Guest

Postby Guest » Sat May 18, 2002 9:50 am

I wanted to bring this one to the top of the postings in "Treatments", as it appears to show great promise: <BR> <BR>The following was submitted by Kelly (Kyle'smom) who knows a lot about probiotics. Her son Kyle suffered persistent CD. You can find more information at <!-- BBCode auto-link start --><a href="http://www.VSL3.Com." target="_blank">www.VSL3.Com.</a><!-- BBCode auto-link end --> <BR> <BR>"For anyone who is considering trying a probiotic approach, I can only speak very highly of VSL3--just from the basis of what it has done for Kyle (at least so far). It's got several advantages over some other probiotics: <BR> <BR>1. It has been and still is in clinical trials for treatment of a variety of different GI illnesses (at MAJOR US medical centers, ie. Mayo, Case WEstern, Johns Hopkins, etc.)and has already been shown to be both safe and effective. That's important!! Products that aren't FDA regulated, really don't have any accountability and don't have to meet any standards (ie. so what the product says it contains may not really be the case). But, this product has already been proven safe and effective. <BR>2. The company ships it on ice packs and in a cooler chest (so even if its sitting in a hot warehouse or deleivery truck, the product is kept cool), unlike some of the other probiotics that recommend you keep them refrigerated, yet don't ship them on ice... <BR>3. It contains a HUGE number of live bacteria - 450 billion per packet. In clinical trials for other GI illnesses, 1 to 4 packets per day have been used safely - so thats up to 1.8 trillion live bugs (did I do the math right?)... <BR>4. The bacteria are from 8 different strains, not only one strain... <BR> <BR>From what I've been hearing from the physician C diff "experts" the MORE bugs and the MORE different strains of bugs, the better....Some of the strains of bugs in VSL3 secrete butyric acids and lactic acids as byproducts. It is thought that these acids may suppress the growth and proliferation of some Clostridial species. <BR> <BR>Also, I don't know for certain if this makes a difference, but it can't hurt: I recommend taking probiotics on an empty stomach--that is, one hour before meals or 2-3 hours after meals. The reason is that many bacteria are destroyed by stomach acid. You don't want to spend all that money purchasing a probiotic only to have it killed in the stomach, before it reaches your colon. Stomach acid is secreted in response to food, so there is less acid present in the stomach when it is empty. <BR> <BR>I know that everyone's C diff responds differently, but I really think VSL is worth a shot. If I could afford to, I'd buy each and everyone of you a 90 day course of the stuff. That's how strongly I believe in it at this point... <BR> <BR>VSL is comprised of 4 strains of Lactobaccili, 3 strains of Bifidobacterium, and 1 strain of Streptococus. <BR> <BR>Thanks, Kelly <BR> <BR>PS There is a chance that patients might be able to get free samples of VSL3 from their doctors in the future. We'll let you know about this later. There are also several other promising new probitiocs that are being developed. " <BR><BR>[Guest Posted by: 'Lauren']

Guest

Postby Guest » Thu May 23, 2002 9:08 am

From everything I had read, I was so sure VSL3 would cure me. I ordered 40 packets. When it arrived, I jumped up and down with joy for now I knew I would finally be cured! WRONG! I went off Vanco completely and toook the highest dosage recommended (4 packets daily). Each day, my stools were loose and on the seventh day, I came down with severe relapse. Am now back on Vanco. <BR><BR>[Guest Posted by: 'Jennifer']

Guest

Postby Guest » Thu May 23, 2002 3:07 pm

Jennifer, <BR> <BR>If you are still feeling brave enough to try it again and have any VSL3 left (and your doctor approves), you might want to try overlapping vanco (dosed at whatever dose works for you THREE times daily for 10 days) and VSL3 before completely stopping the vanco. This approach will weaken the C. diff bugs as much as possible. <BR> <BR>Although some VSL3 will be killed by vanco, overlapping will help to re-populate your gut with some "good guys" before stopping the vanco...Remember, according to Questcor, it takes approximately 3 weeks before VSL3 populates the gut of an adult. <BR> <BR>I am so sorry!<BR><BR>[Guest Posted by: 'kyles mom
']

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Postby administrator » Fri May 24, 2002 12:18 pm

Hello, <BR> <BR>I read this post and I have to remind everyone of some things. <BR> <BR>1. there is NO cure for c. diff. <BR>2. there is NO ONE product that you can just take and get better. <BR>3. you can't just stop cold turkey from what your doctor tells you to do and get better. <BR> <BR>One cannot make a generalized statement about VSL3 "Not Effective". We have no proof. In studies that I have read in the past with acidophilus and s. boulardii, a small percentage of people did not get better. However, there were a majority, that over time, "showed improvement". Unfortunately, all the studies I have read were too narrow and we need larger, longer studies to prove once and for all. <BR> <BR>As the administrator, I must change topics/posts occasionally so that we don't have statments which are entirely conclusive without significant broad scale proof or studies. Therefore, I feel that it is appropriate to move the posts of this discussion into the appropriate category of Treatments: VSL3. That is where all conversation about the product should go. <BR> <BR>Vancomycin works perfectly in a week in about 90% of the patients. The other 10% relapse. Those 10% don't say that Vanco is "not effective" on this board. That would be unfair - because 90% of the population gets better with it's usage. <BR> <BR>If you read the case histories, you will see that most of the people who got better were using a combination of supplements (like VSL3, Culturelle, Florastor - whatever), changed their diets, and stayed on whatever drug their doctor prescribed. <BR> <BR>Please don't go cold turkey without specific doc's orders. It takes time to get over c. diff. If everyone got over it quickly - this site wouldn't be here. Also, there were not a lot of people posting how "great" VSL3 was. Only a few. To give VSL3 a little credit - they are involved in clinical studies right now for other ailments. We are trying to convince them to do a c. difficile study. They are trying hard. <BR> <BR>My wife took probiotics for about 6 months, while on and off Vanco! But she was carefully watched by a GI and an ND the whole time. She also changed her eating habits permanently. See Lori's case history. <BR> <BR>Give things time, stick with your doctor, be conservative, CHANGE your lifestyle for a healthier one and you will get better faster. There is no magic pill. Period. <BR> <BR>Take care

Guest

Postby Guest » Sat May 25, 2002 1:46 pm

To Kyle's Mom: <BR> <BR>Thanks so much for your very kind and informative response. <BR> <BR>I was trying to keep my post as short as possible and unfortunately, left out some of the details.I want to clarify my post so that other posters will not be hesitant to try VSL3. <BR> <BR>As you are probably aware, there are no instructions included with the packets, (other than to take between 1 and 4 packets per day.) <BR> <BR>My G.I. doctor would not advise me how much to take because he didn't know anything about VSL3. <BR>I then talked to my family doctor and she felt I should stop taking the Vanco because it might kill the VSL3. We have decided that perhaps the reason the VSL3 was "not effective" for me was because when the shipments arrived, the ice had melted and the packets were very warm. I have talked to Questcor about this and they replied they would check into it. It is very hot here on the East Coast and I would imagine temperature in the back of a FED EX truck would be well over 100 degrees. <BR> <BR>Your input has been invaluable and I would not want anyone else not to try VSL3 because of my post. <BR> <BR>Thanks again for the info. <BR><BR>[Guest Posted by: 'Jennifer']

Guest

Postby Guest » Wed Jun 05, 2002 2:02 pm

Hello all: <BR> <BR>For those of you that might be interested <BR>I called Questcor today at 1-866-438-8753 and found out what the 8 strains of bacteria are in VSL#3: <BR> <BR>4 strains of Lactobacillus: <BR>L.Casei <BR>L.Plantarum <BR>L.Acidophilus <BR>L.Bulgaricus <BR> <BR>3 strains of Bifidus: <BR>B.Longum <BR>B.Breves <BR>B.Infantis <BR> <BR>1 strain Streptacoccus <BR>Streptacoccus Salivarias <BR> <BR>I've been taking 1/2 to 1 packet per day now for 3 weeks and have noticed slight improvement in my main symptoms ...stools more solid, fever decreased slightly and neck pain has diminished. Still too soon to know for sure whether or not VSL#3 is really helping or if it's a combination of things. I'm still not sure if I even have C.diff...I may have an auto-immune disorder such as Reiter's or Behcet's disease. <BR> <BR>In the first week of taking VSL#3 my stools became looser than usual and after doing some research I have learned that this can happen when starting probiotics...has something to do with the intestines Ph changing to a more acidic state. The information on the website states that maximum benefits can be expected within 2-3 weeks. If you're interested in learning more about VSL#3 or if you want to order it just double click the link below: <BR> <!-- BBCode auto-link start --><a href="http://www.questcor.com" target="_blank">http://www.questcor.com</a><!-- BBCode auto-link end --> <BR><BR>[Guest Posted by: 'Francesca']


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