Probiotics question

[CathyA]

Last October I had diverticulitis and was treated with Flagyl and Cipro. I actually handled it very well, considering whenever I was on antibiotics before, I always felt horrible. This time I didn't feel anything..........but then I developed a bad oral thrush, so I was on Fluconazole for 3 weeks. I felt great after all this and my bowels (in spite of my long-time IBS-D) was normal for a change. Then I had to have a follow-up colonoscopy a month later to be sure what they saw on the ct scan was indeed diverticulitis and not a malignancy. It went without any problems. He removed 4 small benign polyps......everything else looked good.

But ever since then, my bowels have been totally different...........and not in a good way. I routinely eat yogurt every day and started taking Align probiotic. My question is......There is only one type of bacteria in Align. I know the bowel has tons of different types of needed bacteria. Would it make sense to use several different types of probiotics, in hopes of getting the ones that are apparently under-populated? I was thinking of buying Culturelle too. Do you think it's that important to buy ones that need to be refrigerated?

I started doing a search on bowel problems after colonoscopies, and it's amazing how many people DO have problems afterwards. Yet my docs have never told me to use probiotics afterwards.
I did take a prescription probiotic a long time ago. Would that be even better??

I realize that the antibiotics could have injured my gut, but things were going so well up until the colonoscopy.

Funny thing........my memory isn't always so good and while I was googling bowel problems after colonoscopy, I found a post made by me on the IBS forum about the problems I was having after my last one 10 years ago!

I just wish the medical community would realize how important our guts are to our overall health and quit trying to ruin them........
I haven't gone back to see the GI doc yet. I just couldn't take him saying things like "Well, that's unusual" or "No, probiotics wouldn't help", etc., etc. So I'm trying to figure this out on my own.

Anyhow.......suggestions on the mix of probiotics?
Thanks.

[rodeosweetheart]

I just take something called Renew Life Ultimate Flora.

But if you are having this problem, have you considered drinking raw milk? I am sure you could get it where you live.

[CathyA]

Thanks rodeo. I'm thinking of fermented veggies too.

[JaneV2.0]

Time and a wide variety of prebiotic (green bananas, resistant starches) and probiotic (fermented foods and beverages) might do the trick. I know I'm repeating myself, but an elimination diet could pinpoint the source of your problem. I suspect wheat.

https://www.prebiotin.com/foods-containing-prebiotics/

[pony mom]

When I transitioned to my Wheat Belly diet, I used Renew Life Ultimate Flora a few weeks into it, when I started having the same issues I was trying to resolve. It cleared them up and I haven't needed them since.

Maybe you could try the better quality ones for a short time, then supplement your diet with the above mentioned foods, you might be OK. I would think that your body adapts and doesn't need to use them long term.

[kally]

if you are into it I might suggest you look up Dr. Michael Klaper. He has a video about the whole digestion system and has some interesting things to say. Funny, I just watched it yesterday. Finding out more about what is actually going on helped me with my health issues a lot. (I don't have this particular health issue)

[JaneV2.0]

I took Cipro about twenty years ago, and I think it wiped out every bacterium in my microbiome. :help:rrrrr It took a long time to feel normal. I haven't taken many antibiotics in my adulthood, and now I'm more wary of them than ever.

[lessisbest]

I include LOTS of pre- and probiotics in our diet as an everyday dietary must-have. Especially hi-maize resistant starch, banana flour, homemade milk kefir, homemade water kefir, homemade fermented foods, and we also take Perfect Biotics (which has 15 strains). After a coarse of antibiotics I would have gone on a GAPS diet for a short period of time to rebuild the gut flora. Yogurt is actually very low in "good" bacteria - most brands only have 2 strains, while Stonyfield Farm has six live active cultures.

"Yogurt contains transient beneficial bacteria that keep the digestive system clean and provide food for the friendly bacteria that reside there. But kefir can actually colonize the intestinal tract, a feat that yogurt has not substantiated. [In addition], Kefir contains several major strains of friendly bacteria not commonly found in yogurt (e.g. Lactobacillus Caucasus, Leuconostoc, Acetobacter species, Streptococcus species, Saccharomyces kefir and Torula kefir).”(3)" (source: http://probiotic.org/Kefir.htm) You really need to make your own kefir with real kefir grains and skip the commercial brands, which have little in common with kefir you make yourself (both dairy kefir and water kefir).

[Cypress]

I remember during the colonoscopy being awakened as the tube or whatever is in there was hurting me. It was very painful and I tried to move away from it. It's a vague but bad memory. Who is to say you don't have scar tissue in there, or the way your intestine is in the body, might be difficult to maneuver in there. Who is to say the doc didn't poke up against a wall and do some damage!

I routinely have a colon cleanse. It's called Hydrotherapy and warm water is introduced into the large intestine and all kinds of icky matter comes flowing back out. The practitioner recommends taking a probiotic for a month afterwards. The yogurt and kefir feed the good bacteria, but it helps to plant good bacteria. The cleanse flushes out bad bacteria not the good. In the event it flushes out good and bad bacteria, taking the probiotics will replant.