Do Probiotics And Enzymes Help You For The Most Part?

[sweeeeet]

After suffering for close to 20 years of IBS, bloating, distension, cramps, acid reflux, brain fog, headaches, teary eyes, numb cheeks, fatigue after eating, joint pain, muscle pain, all that typical stuff I was fed up. I completely eliminated dairy - (milk, ice cream, etc) almost completely eliminated wheat and gluten for a few months now and have been eating simple foods like fresh fruits (blueberries, strawberries) and white meat and seafood like shrimp) I've seen a remarkable improvement in my symptoms! I used to "go into a coma" after having macaroni and cheese, get excrutiating stomach cramps after eating ice cream or would have a two inch difference in my waistline depending on whether I was bloated or not from eating a bowl of Cheerios. I feel so much better! Not 100 percent but so much better that I had to brag.

But also I take Primal Defense Ultra probiotic 3 times a day with lots of water, and Primal Defense Ω-Zyme before I eat a meal, and I was wondering if these maybe were the answer........more so than just eliminating dairy gluten and wheat.........

Do you take probiotics and enzymes in addition to eliminating your trigger foods and do you think they've really helped too?

What else, in addition, can I do to maintain things with my symptoms.

[cassP]

good for u!!! i havent been able to give up the dairy yet

in my personal opinion- i've noticed more positive change from actually eliminating wheat & gluten from my diet than the probiotics or enzymes.. i think they most definitely help- but i think the biggest change comes from the diet.

[shayre]

Hey, I know that you feel my malnourished pain! My GI doc told me yesterday to add probiotics...IN ADDITION to cutting out the offensive foods. He said that a damaged gut allows bad bacteria to build up and be greater than the good bacteria, and could potentially cause a gut infection. So... I'm on 2 antibiotics for 2 weeks, along with 2 probiotics. I've read that other people on here say that the probiotics really help them, but that you need to find a good one. I don't know what they are though, and I'd like to know that for myself. I don't plan on staying on the ones that were given to me.

[Wolicki]

I am a little more than a year gluten free. If I go more than 2 days without my pro-b's, I bloat up like a balloon. I am fairly certain I am on them for life. I actually take HCL before meals, and enzymes after. That has improved my digestion drastically.

HTH

[Sweetfudge]

I have been gluten-free for 4 years, and dairy free mostly for 2. I have gone through phases where I feel better, and then don't. But I definitely notice a difference taking probiotics.

I was recommended Align by my GI. It's a probiotic specifically for people with IBS-like symptoms - gas, bloating, cramps, etc. Lately I was wondering if it was working, so I stopped taking it for a couple weeks. Boy, did I notice a difference! Definitely helping!

I would look into Align, see if it sounds like it would help you. It has a minute amount of dairy in it, but that really hasn't bothered me.

[sweeeeet]

thanks for the replies. Align was recommended to me from the pharmacist at CVS. I tried it, and was ten times worse with the cramps after taking it for two days. The cramps were so horrible I couldn't stand up straight without doubling over. But then again, there are people who say it worked for them fine. I don't know why it didn't work for me. So anyways I went to the vitamin shoppe, the guys there have been so helpful, answering a ton of questions. I've really noticed a difference, especially in my distended "Santa Claus" stomach. Its deflated and stayed that way, lol

[Sweetfudge]

thanks for the replies. Align was recommended to me from the pharmacist at CVS. I tried it, and was ten times worse with the cramps after taking it for two days. The cramps were so horrible I couldn't stand up straight without doubling over. But then again, there are people who say it worked for them fine. I don't know why it didn't work for me. So anyways I went to the vitamin shoppe, the guys there have been so helpful, answering a ton of questions. I've really noticed a difference, especially in my distended "Santa Claus" stomach. Its deflated and stayed that way, lol

When I started taking Align, my GI warned me it can cause some bloating/flare up of symptoms, which I noticed for probably the first week. Definitely nothing as bad as what you experienced. That's horrible. I hope you find something that works for you.

[mushroom]

When I started taking Align, my GI warned me it can cause some bloating/flare up of symptoms, which I noticed for probably the first week. Definitely nothing as bad as what you experienced. That's horrible. I hope you find something that works for you.

I have just had recommended to me by a nutritionist, and have started taking VSL#3, which can be ordered from Sigma-Tau Pharmaceuticals. It is a sprinkle that comes in a small packet and contains lactic acid bacteria (450 billion of them) and cornstarch. She thinks my gut is still leaking and wants me to take it for at least 90 days (along with other stuff she has prescribed). It is pretty expensive and has to be fed-exed because it must be kept refrigerated, but you do get a price break with ordering two boxes. She asserts it is without doubt the best probiotic on the market - used for people with Crohn's and ulcerative colitis, as well as an ileal pouch. Don't know if your budget will stretch that far but check it out.

[sweeeeet]

question............... if I take too much probiotics will it be bad for me? I mean, I have been eating gluten free, wheat free, lactose free, egg free, casein free for the past two weeks, and taking probiotics before every meal, and I was feeling better for a short while, but this week my stomach still feels pretty yucky and the diarrhea and stomach upset is still there, it feels like like a relapse. Could it be I am putting something into my body that I don't need and that's why the diarrhea? Or maybe I need to take it for a few months?

[sweeeeet]

Oh and also..............I asked my gp if she ever heard of Nystatin, and she said Kind of, but you don't need Nystatin. Stay away from that.

Anybody here ever take Nystatin? What was that like

[burdee]

After suffering for close to 20 years of IBS, bloating, distension, cramps, acid reflux, brain fog, headaches, teary eyes, numb cheeks, fatigue after eating, joint pain, muscle pain, all that typical stuff I was fed up. I completely eliminated dairy - (milk, ice cream, etc) almost completely eliminated wheat and gluten for a few months now and have been eating simple foods like fresh fruits (blueberries, strawberries) and white meat and seafood like shrimp) I've seen a remarkable improvement in my symptoms! I used to "go into a coma" after having macaroni and cheese, get excrutiating stomach cramps after eating ice cream or would have a two inch difference in my waistline depending on whether I was bloated or not from eating a bowl of Cheerios. I feel so much better! Not 100 percent but so much better that I had to brag.

But also I take Primal Defense Ultra probiotic 3 times a day with lots of water, and Primal Defense Ω-Zyme before I eat a meal, and I was wondering if these maybe were the answer........more so than just eliminating dairy gluten and wheat.........

Do you take probiotics and enzymes in addition to eliminating your trigger foods and do you think they've really helped too?

What else, in addition, can I do to maintain things with my symptoms.

I suggest abstaining from your diagnosed allergies/intolerances AND taking probiotics to restore gut health. Probiotics alone will not prevent or ease painful allergy/intolerance reactions to gluten or anything else. However many people with gluten intolerance or other food sensitivities also have depleted beneficial gut bacteria which can cause symptoms like constipation, diarrhea and intestinal cramping pain, even when they abstain from problem foods. If you've ever taken antibiotics, you definitely need probiotics.

However, if you're truly deficient, just eating yogurt or taking a low dose probiotic won't help much. You need a pretty high dose probiotic (20-50 billion live cells per capsule) to improve your intestinal health (the higher the better). However, you don't need FOS (fructooligosaccharides) to feed those probiotics. So you don't have to endure FOS side effects (bloating, gas and pain) by taking probiotics with FOS. Also if you need to increase your beneficial gut bacteria, take probiotics on an empty stomach like before breakfast or bedtime. Taking probiotics with a meal can decrease their potency, because stomach acid can destroy some live cells.

Finally, if you need other digestive supplments and digestive enzymes don't help, you may need to test your stomach acid production. Many people have low, rather than high stomach acid. Low stomach acid can cause reflux, indigestion, susceptibility to intestinal infections (bacteria, parasites and fungus). However, don't take HCl supplements without getting tested.

[burdee]

Oh and also..............I asked my gp if she ever heard of Nystatin, and she said Kind of, but you don't need Nystatin. Stay away from that.

Anybody here ever take Nystatin? What was that like

After stool tests diagnosed candida, I took Nystatin for 3 months to eliminate that fungus. Rather than try to follow very restrictive candida diets, because I already have 7 diagnosed food intolerance/allergies, I chose Nystatin, which was one of the recommended treatments for my specific strain of candida (indicated by my stool test results).

For the first 3 days on Nystatin I experienced dizziness and nausea. After my body adjusted to that drug, I didn't feel any side effects until after I finished the treatment. Then I went through another 2-3 days of nausea perhaps from Nystatin withdrawal. However, I could easily tolerate the dizziness and/or nausea by drinking ginger tea. Nevertheless, I'd also recommend taking high dose probiotics while taking Nystatin. Even though that's an antiFUNGAL (rather than antibacterial) drug, it still upsets the microfloral intestinal balance, which makes you vulnerable to new bad gut bugs, if you don't add good bacteria from probiotics while you take Nystatin.

[sweeeeet]

I really am quite surprised that my doctor didn't recommend Nystatin, (and specifally said "You don't want to take that") I've seen a lot of people on here and on this other board I go to, mention they have taken it. I'm going to have to specifally go to a gastro specilaist I guess. I mean, a doctor who treats me for a sinus infection and a sore back is not the doctor I really need to see for chronic stomach problems.

[burdee]

I really am quite surprised that my doctor didn't recommend Nystatin, (and specifally said "You don't want to take that") I've seen a lot of people on here and on this other board I go to, mention they have taken it. I'm going to have to specifally go to a gastro specilaist I guess. I mean, a doctor who treats me for a sinus infection and a sore back is not the doctor I really need to see for chronic stomach problems.

I didn't read anything saying that you had been diagnosed with candida by stool test. (Did I miss that??) If your doc doesn't really know whether you have candida or doesn't do stool tests for candida, I'm not surprised that she would discourage you from taking Nystatin. Any antifungal (antibacterial or antiparasitic) drug will deplete your intestine's good bacteria and leave you vulnerable to new infections. Also without a diagnostic stool test, you won't know whether your specific strain of candida is sensitive to (can be killed by) nystatin. So you could take Nystatin, destroy your good bacteria and still have candida or some other bacterial infection.