Symbion Probiotics?

[CGally81]

Okay, I definitely am gluten and casein intolerant, but strange symptoms have been showing up lately that don't occur ___ amount of time after eating food, but instead, show up whenever. I'm wondering if I have a problem with candida overgrowth. My idiot doctor and his rude wife (who is the receptionist) blew me off ("candida is a fungus. It can't do this stuff. Don't believe what you read on the internet"), and I want to handle this problem myself.

Has anyone tried Symbion Probiotics? I heard that it might be good, and helps a lot of people feel better within days or weeks, supposedly. I can't swallow pills though... is there a way to break it into powder and just have that instead?

Any advice?

[burdee]

Okay, I definitely am gluten and casein intolerant, but strange symptoms have been showing up lately that don't occur ___ amount of time after eating food, but instead, show up whenever. I'm wondering if I have a problem with candida overgrowth. My idiot doctor and his rude wife (who is the receptionist) blew me off ("candida is a fungus. It can't do this stuff. Don't believe what you read on the internet"), and I want to handle this problem myself.

Has anyone tried Symbion Probiotics? I heard that it might be good, and helps a lot of people feel better within days or weeks, supposedly. I can't swallow pills though... is there a way to break it into powder and just have that instead?

Any advice?

I take a Custom Probiotic (50 billion live cells per capsule) which is also available as a powder which you can mix with water and consume. Probiotics are helpful to restore intestinal health, esp. after taking antibiotics. However probiotics alone may not eliminate whatever 'bug' causes your symptoms.

Some naturopathic docs offer stool tests which can diagnose whether you have a fungus like candida or pathogenic bacteria like H. Pylori or C-Diff or even parasites like cryptosporidia or guiardia. Those tests can not only diagnose the specific 'gut bug' which causes your symptoms, but also tell you and your doc which drug or botanical (herbal) supplement can eradicate your specific 'bug'. That's better than using a general purpose antifungal drug or anticandida diet, because your specific strain of candida or bacteria may not be sensitive to (killed off by) the general purpose treatment. Unfortunately those tests don't suggest specific treatments for parasites. However, my naturopath worked with parasites in South America and just happened to have a recommended drug book for specific parasites.

[Lexi]

I just started taking Symbion this week. I have Celiac Disease and Candida. I also have a history of chronic back-pain. However, my back pain has been very mild for the last 6 months. When I started taking the Symbion, my back pain got really bad again, and I am having spasms up and down my spine constantly. I don't get it. I read so many GREAT things about it. I am also on Diflucan, but I was feeling fine until I started the Symbion. And, I'm constipated. What gives???

[burdee]

I just started taking Symbion this week. I have Celiac Disease and Candida. I also have a history of chronic back-pain. However, my back pain has been very mild for the last 6 months. When I started taking the Symbion, my back pain got really bad again, and I am having spasms up and down my spine constantly. I don't get it. I read so many GREAT things about it. I am also on Diflucan, but I was feeling fine until I started the Symbion. And, I'm constipated. What gives???

Did you check the Symbion website before you bought that? I read the ingredients of that 'probiotic' on their website which said:

Ingredients: Bacillus coagulans (200 million CFU*), Bacillus subtilis (100 million CFU), Enterococcus faecium (100 million CFU). Fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS). Other ingredients: None.

Those ingredients DID NOT include Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacteria Bifidum, which are Gram-positive lactic acid-producing bacteria that constitute a major part of the normal intestinal microflora in animals and humans. Those friendly bacteria play a key role in enhancing resistance to colonization by exogenous, potentially pathogenic organisms. Probiotic bacteria are generally, though not exclusively, lactic acid bacteria and include Lactobacillus acidophilus, L. casei, L. bulgaricus, L. plantarum, L. salivarius, L. rhamnosus, L. reuteri, Bifidobacterium bifidum, B. longum, B. infantis and S. thermophilus.

However the Symbion ingredients DID include FOS (fructooligosaccharides) which cause bloating, gas and intestinal pain for many people. You don't need FOS to 'feed' the good bacteria in probiotics, if you eat any dietary fiber.

Above all the amounts of 'good bacteria' in Symbion are too low to do much good. Good probiotics range from 12-50 BILLION per capsule. The '100 or 200 million CFU' of each of those 3 different strains of bacteria are equivalent to 0.1 or 0.2 billion CFU. That's very low, even for effective bacterial strains like Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium bifidum.

If you feel worse after starting the Symbion, the FOS may be causing your symptoms. If you're also on Difulcan, that drug can be killing off the very low amounts of bacteria contained in the Symbion. So all you get from Symbion is bloating and gas from the FOS.

[CGally81]

I'm not taking any probiotics. The lack of info I could find on Symbion, and the fact that they only sell it directly, both sent up red flags for me. Thanks for the info.

Any other things that might help? What probiotics are good for helping with candida, or...

Well, my current problems are sometimes random headaches (going away at the moment), sometimes random fatigue, random reduced concentration (before it later returns), and being more hungry than I should be every day. I also reacted pretty badly to fish oil when I tried taking it about 2 months ago in the hopes that it would have health benefits. And my hunger spiked really high when I stopped taking it. I also would get odd random warmth in the forehead and at the back of the neck at times, and sometimes have reduced balance.

So what might be the cause of this nonsense, and what might help? I got an EEG (awaiting results), and am about to get an MRI, but considering that nothing's been found in the past, I doubt stuff will be found in those. What can I get checked out for? My idiot doctor doesn't believe in candida overgrowth causing the symptoms that people who've had it say it causes, so I doubt I'll get a referral from him for a doctor who does know about it, but I'll change doctors eventually (a lot of people drop him because of his nasty receptionist, who is his wife!).

Anyway, what types of things could be causing these kinds of symptoms? And what type of doctor would I go for to get checked out? I want actual answers, and I refuse to take "it's all in your head" as an answer.

[burdee]

Any other things that might help? What probiotics are good for helping with candida, or...

Well, my current problems are sometimes random headaches (going away at the moment), sometimes random fatigue, random reduced concentration (before it later returns), and being more hungry than I should be every day. I also reacted pretty badly to fish oil when I tried taking it about 2 months ago in the hopes that it would have health benefits. And my hunger spiked really high when I stopped taking it. I also would get odd random warmth in the forehead and at the back of the neck at times, and sometimes have reduced balance.

So what might be the cause of this nonsense, and what might help? I got an EEG (awaiting results), and am about to get an MRI, but considering that nothing's been found in the past, I doubt stuff will be found in those. What can I get checked out for? My idiot doctor doesn't believe in candida overgrowth causing the symptoms that people who've had it say it causes, so I doubt I'll get a referral from him for a doctor who does know about it, but I'll change doctors eventually (a lot of people drop him because of his nasty receptionist, who is his wife!).

Anyway, what types of things could be causing these kinds of symptoms? And what type of doctor would I go for to get checked out? I want actual answers, and I refuse to take "it's all in your head" as an answer.

I couldn't tell from your signature whether you've been diagnosed with gluten intolerance or dairy allergy. What tests have you taken for gluten and/or dairy? If you don't want to do blood tests, Enterolab stool tests can indicate gluten antibodies and casein antibodies consistent with gluten and/or dairy intolerance. I know many people on this board who were lucky enough to get correctly diagnosed by blood test and/or endoscopy don't believe Enterolab tests are valuable. However, for people who don't want to eat gluten just to have a doctor tell them what they already know, Enterolab tests provide a diagnosis.

I had candida and my obvious symptoms were gastrointestinal. I didn't have the symptoms you currently suspect are candida related. I was diagnosed by Metametrix (DNA microbial) stool test and eliminated candida with Nystatin. I've had 3 subsequent tests which were negative for candida. I did NOT do any special anticandida diet.

I suggest you find a naturopathic doc who actually does stool and/or blood tests to diagnose the causes of your symptoms. Don't settle for a doc who wants to try something to see how you respond, unless that something is a gluten free diet. Meanwhile, get some basic blood tests, like CBCs, liver function tests, thyroid function tests, a complete metabolic panel, lipoprotein tests, etc.

[cat3883]

Okay, I definitely am gluten and casein intolerant, but strange symptoms have been showing up lately that don't occur ___ amount of time after eating food, but instead, show up whenever. I'm wondering if I have a problem with candida overgrowth. My idiot doctor and his rude wife (who is the receptionist) blew me off ("candida is a fungus. It can't do this stuff. Don't believe what you read on the internet"), and I want to handle this problem myself.

Has anyone tried Symbion Probiotics? I heard that it might be good, and helps a lot of people feel better within days or weeks, supposedly. I can't swallow pills though... is there a way to break it into powder and just have that instead?

Any advice?

[CGally81]

I am wondering if these symptoms are part of leaky gut. I never did really fix it. I would take L-glutamine if I'd consumed gluten or casein, and it stopped the symptoms, and I took it on some other occasions, but I really should be taking it every day. I now am, and have been for nearly 2 weeks. I'm definitely going to keep it up forever.

[cat3883]

I had an appointment with my GI last week and we discussed the need for probiotics. He is having me try Floristor. It is supposed to be really good for Candida. Not all pharmacies have it. I found mine at Walgreens. It is a little pricey. Its around $40 for 25 days. BUT if it takes care of my problems it is worth every penny. I have been on it for about a week and my stomach problems seem to be settling down.

[honey6868]

On 9/13/2010 at 0:27 AM, burdee said:

 

I take a Custom Probiotic (50 billion live cells per capsule) which is also available as a powder which you can mix with water and consume. Probiotics are helpful to restore intestinal health, esp. after taking antibiotics. However probiotics alone may not eliminate whatever 'bug' causes your symptoms.

 

Some naturopathic docs offer stool tests which can diagnose whether you have a fungus like candida or pathogenic bacteria like H. Pylori or C-Diff or even parasites like cryptosporidia or guiardia. Those tests can not only diagnose the specific 'gut bug' which causes your symptoms, but also tell you and your doc which drug or botanical (herbal) supplement can eradicate your specific 'bug'. That's better than using a general purpose antifungal drug or anticandida diet, because your specific strain of candida or bacteria may not be sensitive to (killed off by) the general purpose treatment. Unfortunately those tests don't suggest specific treatments for parasites. However, my naturopath worked with parasites in South America and just happened to have a recommended drug book for specific parasites.

 

On 9/13/2010 at 11:54 PM, CGally81 said:

Okay, I definitely am gluten and casein intolerant, but strange symptoms have been showing up lately that don't occur ___ amount of time after eating food, but instead, show up whenever. I'm wondering if I have a problem with candida overgrowth. My idiot doctor and his rude wife (who is the receptionist) blew me off ("candida is a fungus. It can't do this stuff. Don't believe what you read on the internet"), and I want to handle this problem myself.

 

Has anyone tried Symbion Probiotics? I heard that it might be good, and helps a lot of people feel better within days or weeks, supposedly. I can't swallow pills though... is there a way to break it into powder and just have that instead?

 

Any advice?

Yes  I have advice. Symbion is a good probiotic. Ive been using it for 4 years now. I have had candida for a long time and symbion has been helping me get rid of it. It does work!,Take this advice from someone who has had systemic candida for years. Systemic candida is life threatening. I really promote symbion