Does probiotic help with your crohn's

[crohns4ever]

I have a question for everyone with Crohns, do you take a probiotic? Do you have good results after taking, what brand do you take. Im thinking about taking probiotic but with so many brands out on the market I don't know which one is good or not..

 

[Sophabulous]

I've recently done some research on this and I've just started taking this:

https://www.healthspan.co.uk/products/super20-pro

I went for it as I've ordered from this company before and found them good, and this one has the highest amount of bacteria in their range to get me started. I took the plunge after a bad rosacea flare up and I just thought it can't make things any worse so let's give it a whirl!

I also read you should change the probiotic you take every couple of months to keep re-introducing new bacteria and keeping an even balance of everything. Otherwise I guess your gut gets used to the same thing and can become unbalanced again. I think there must be bad bacteria which will resist certain good ones, if you keep switching around eventually you'll have an even balance of good & bad across the spectrum.

Who knows....

 

[ronroush7]

I take vsl 3. It is by prescription.

 

[my little penguin]

Vsl#3 prescription strength was studied to be effective in ulcerative colitis and c-diff/pouchitis

No studies to date have proven any probiotic is effective in Crohns

That said Ds takes prescription strength vsl#3 per his GI
And has seen improvement with it

 

[crohns4ever]

Awsome thanks a lot you guy's are great!!!

 

[dchad57]

I have a question for everyone with Crohns, do you take a probiotic? Do you have good results after taking, what brand do you take. Im thinking about taking probiotic but with so many brands out on the market I don't know which one is good or not..

I take Probiotics and they work wonders, It can be very confusing there are so many different kinds. I get mine from Solaray, 24 strains and 30 billion parts. Wherever you get them make sure they are "live" which means you have to store in the refrigerated. I don't and wouldn't recommend you buy what is sitting on the shelves at stores you don't know how long they have been there and are full of preservatives. EVERY company jumped on the probiotic train when they became popular. I have also found if you find a good supplier on line they are less expensive then stores. Talk to your Dr. if he believes in them, He may recommend a supplier.

 

[crohns4ever]

Dchad57,
Hey thanks for your reply and great information. I was looking at all of the different brands out on the market. Man they are tons of them on the shelves at my local pharmacy. But before I really jumped in I just wanted to see if other crohnies had a positive experience with a probiotic.
Your friend crohn's4ever....

 

[my little penguin]

The difference between store brands is they have 10 -30 billon which sounds like a lot compared to yogurt.

One packet of prescription strength vsl#3 has 900 billon .
One packet of otc vsl#3 is 450 billon.
And the capsules otc of vsl are 112.5 billon

So a very significant difference
Not are strains in the probiotics are created equal.
We use vsl#3 since the newer version produced in Italy does not have any milk or lactose in it
Which is very important for ds

Most have lactose (milk) as their base

 

[crohns4ever]

my little penguin,
Thanks for the information, it really cleared up a lot of confusion that I had so I couldn't make a decision about witch one to take..

 

[Sophabulous]

Did either of you guys have any issues getting a doctor to prescribe them? I'm just wondering as there is no evidence to suggest they help?

 

[my little penguin]

No issues here
GI liked that there were studies on vsl#3 and they worked for UC
Even those Ds has Crohns
He has a lot of rectal issues
This fixes those when combined with meds
Ds is also on daily abx for gastroparesis
So it helps with that as well

 

[ronroush7]

No issues here either.

 

[Bufford]

Probiotics do help. I buy mine from the store shelf of busy stores. Busy stores turn over inventories fast enough to ensure freshness. I wouldn't buy from a quiet store, nor would I pay large sums of money to what appears to be very overpriced specialty stores. Again their products might not move very fast.

A good probiotic will quieten the gut, reduce gas and cramps and firm up stool. Doing this will reduce the stress and burden of digestion and promote longer more stable remissions. If you are on treatments consider upping the dose, particularly when on a round of antibiotics.

 

[tots]

I have never been able to get over the stomach ache to stay on it long enough.

Lauren