Just got email from LLMD's office saying my recent CDSA with Genova showed I need to increase probiotics even more.....hope to get a detailed copy of results in the mail.
This is annoying me.....as I already spend an absolute fortune on probiotics and take so many -Theralac, Ultra Flora and a mixture of others like Udo's, NSI 15-35 etc, and eat tonnes of live yoghurt and have a good diet!! ......
So was wondering if maybe I need something more potent for a while to recolonize - have others had good experience with VSL#3??
If so, at what dose? I know it's REALLY expensive, but want to get this sorted.
Or any other suggestions?
Thanks in advance! Posted by sixgoofykids (Member # 11141) on :
I took one packet per day, plus Theralac and Ultra Flora.
If I stopped the VSL#3 my diarrhea would come right back. I took it for several months .... finally could start taking it only every other day .... now don't take it at all.
Posted by METALLlC BLUE (Member # 6628) on :
Elain, how did you feel about the NSI product of Probiotic?
Posted by CD57 (Member # 11749) on :
I take VSL#3 and love it. Have not had candida problems (knock on wood). I take it before bed with saccaromyces boulardi.
Posted by asus (Member # 13881) on :
I took Metagenics probiotics results for months with no results. I then decided to suck it up and get 3 months of VSL3. I worked up to taking 9 per day and then I backed down to 1 per day. I don't have GI symptoms anymore unless I eat something I am allergic to. I'd say its worth it. VSL3 have 450billion per pill. Those suckers are getting through no matter what! :-)
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
I have never been able to get away with eating yogurt. Too much sugar. Read the labels and see if this may be your problem.
Are you taking the probiotics 2 hrs away from abx??
Posted by ElaineC (Member # 9857) on :
Thanks for those replies - am going to order VSL#3 now.
Sixgoofykids - I actually never get diarrhea, but is good to know VSL#3 is powerful enough to stop it.
Metallic Blue - I'm not at all impressed with the NSI probiotics....gave them a trial run for a few months and obviously not good. Maybe it's the FOS that doesn't agree with me.
asus - glad you had such good results with it....but I'd have to win the lotto to afford 9 a day!!!! I'll give 1-2 daily a go!!
Lymetoo - yes am extremely careful about spacing the abx and probiotics.....and the bio live natural yoghurt I use has no sugar, and is the best tested brand........
So I guess the VSL#3 is worth a shot for a few months, in addition to the Theralac and Ultra Flora which I already use, and hopefully the next CDSA will show the benefits of it!!
Posted by WildCondor (Member # 434) on :
VSL #3 is really good. Theralac in my experience is not the best, and can make you sick and nauseated.
Posted by oxygenbabe (Member # 5831) on :
I take one capsule of VSL#3 a day and its better than most of the other expensive custom probiotics imo. I also sometimes use natren bifidus mixed in powder form with Vitamin C in water.
Theralac I did NOT like.
Posted by catalysT (Member # 10786) on :
I have not tried VSL#3, although it looks good! It is super-duper high potency (CFU bacterial count). It also is very expensive.
I have had good luck with specific strains, such as: lactobacillus gg, and l. reuteri. You can get either on iherb, they are reasonably priced and I'd say worth trying.
IMO it's probably a good idea to try a lot of different strains, in both experimenting to see what works well for you, and for taking multiple strains on a regular basis to replenish.
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
Elaine... Don't mean to pick on you. But since I've never seen a sugar-free yogurt, I went searching.
I think they are just not listing the sugar content. If you look at the carb content, it makes you wonder where the carbs are coming from.
I found this after a lot of searching.
Rachel's Greek Style Natural Bio-Live Yogurt Organic 450g �1.49 Rachel's Organic Greek Style Natural Set Bio-Live Yogurt is made with milk from cows that graze on organic pastures rich in clover and contains the cultures Lactobacillus bulgaricus & Streptococcus thermophilus as well as the health giving bio-live Lactobacillus acidophilus & Bifidobacterium, which may promote general digestive well-being. Perfect in sweet and savoury dishes and a great ingredient for smoothies.
Nutritional Information
Typical values per 100g: Energy 485kj/116kcal. Protein 3.7g, Carbohydrate 5.0g, of which sugars 5.0g, Fat 9.0g, of which saturates 5.8g, Fibre 0.0g, Sodium 0.04g.
I saw some with 22g of carbs, so it must contain sugar. They are not counting it as sugar since there's no ADDED sugar.
Big difference when our bodies can't handle the sugar.
Posted by Cold Feet (Member # 9882) on :
Elaine, sorry to ask, but the CDSA with Genova is new for me. Is that a diagnosis -- or does that contribute to a diagnosis?
BTW: Since you are familiar with Theralac, have you considered their Enzalase for GI cleansing? I find it to be potent in terms of eliciting a healing response.
Posted by Aniek (Member # 5374) on :
Perhaps there is no space for the probiotics to take root? Do you take any antifungals?
Also, maybe you need to take a break form antibiotics in order to replenish the flora.
Posted by Rianna (Member # 11038) on :
my advice would be to add in a rectal Colon Reflorastation Therapy.
Colon Reflorastation is the introduction of healthy intestinal bacteria supplement into the rectum.
When this bacteria is injested by mouth, it is destroyed by our digestive juices. Only 2-5% ever make the 22 foot journey from the stomach to the colon. wheras a rectal relorastation will colonise the large intestine within 1 hour with 100% retained.
The home kits are great and I personally use one per week in addition to oral pro-biotics. you can order these here www.myrealhealth.com
Rianna
Posted by ElaineC (Member # 9857) on :
Thanks again to all for those very helpful replies and suggestions - very much appreciated!
The VSL#3 is ordered and already on the way......but I am also very interested in the Colon Reflorastation Therapy - someone else PM'ed me yesterday about this, sent me link to V. Bowmann's article in recent PHA - so I guess we'll be hearing alot more about this from now on. The science behind it makes alot of sense. So am glad you also mentioned it Rianna, and that you have had good experience with it. Will PM you with a few more questions!
Cold Feet - the CDSA is a Comprehensive Digestive Stool Analysis with Genova lab (formerly Great Smokies lab). There are other labs that offer this also. Basically there are a number of different stool tests available -checking for aerobic/anaerobic bacteria, yeast cultures, parasites etc. Here is the website with all the info: www.genovadiagnostics.com. Am not familiar with the Enzalase you mentioned - will look it up.
Lymetoo - you are perfectly correct - sorry I should have beem more specific and said the yoghurt I use has no ADDED sugar only naturally occurring sugar! I had this very same debate with Dr.B (when was still my LLMD before his retirement)......He was always stressing the importance of taking yoghurt, kefir etc in addition to supplementing probiotics, and I asked him what about the sugar in these and he said these are naturally occurring, and to pick a brand with the lowest carbohydrate content if I was that concerned!!! So the brand I use has 6g Carbohydrates, but I vary this alot with a Soya probiotic yoghurt which has only 2.1g Carb,so much lower. I have also often taken breaks from the yoghurt and experimented that way, but feel better when use it. Dr.B just said lots of things have natural sugars that we can't avoid.... or indeed lots of things we need have added sugars..like Nystatin (which is why I try to get the powder), Diflucan, abx , Mepron etc, but of course are still beneficial to us.....
Aniek - yes, I take Nystatin and occasionally if feel yeast is a big prob, Diflucan......Can't take a break from abx at the mo as treating babs and last thing I need is resistant babs on top of everything else...but did cut back for a week a few weeks ago and totally OD'd on probiotics then...But Rianna's point is good -
"When this bacteria is injested by mouth, it is destroyed by our digestive juices. Only 2-5% ever make the 22 foot journey from the stomach to the colon. wheras a rectal relorastation will colonise the large intestine within 1 hour with 100% retained."
So, maybe that is why my efforts so far have not been productive!
Posted by Cold Feet (Member # 9882) on :
Elaine, thanks for the info -- I knew about the stool tests but not the specific on that company -- I'll check it out.
You may already know this about Theralac, but they place a huge emphasis on the delivery technology -- the protective coating is said to be better than all the other brands -- and it delivers its full payload well into the small intestine. Its action is like a "paint roller," working its way into the large intestine.
Thx for your insights, I hope you get better.
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
Elaine... That's the lowest sugar content I've seen except for the low carb kind which contains Splenda [not good].
I would be interested in getting this, but right now I'm off dairy.
BTW, Nystatin in pill form contains no sugar.
And I'm also a fan of Theralac. Great stuff.
Another product you may want to check out is NuFerm's Whole Food Probiotics ...
Thanks for the tip!
Posted by METALLlC BLUE (Member # 6628) on :
Where is the best place again to buy the VSL #3 and the best price? I began taking it last night. My girlfriend is letting me use hers but I want to buy some.
Posted by ElaineC (Member # 9857) on :
I know you can get it at www.vsl3.com ......not sure if that is the cheapest place though.
Am sure there must be pharmacies that stock it???.....Maybe someone else will respond with alternative cheaper sources.
Posted by METALLlC BLUE (Member # 6628) on :
I'm in Italy right now, and their local pharmacy carries it. It's 15 Euro for a 10 pack. That's around 25 USD or so. It's cheaper here than in the states, but I really don't feel like shipping it home with me from here. The savings aren't "that" good.
Posted by lymie_in_md (Member # 14197) on :
One way of getting vsl#3 is through insurance coverage. The following is note from vsl3 website under frequently asked questions:
***** start Will insurance cover VSL#3�?
Some insurance companies will cover medical food products like VSL#3� when medically justified. VSL#3� Pharmaceuticals Inc. offers free support to your patients who are pursuing reimbursement through our Reimbursement Support Hotline at 800-490-3262.
****** end
If anyone has signs of IBS or worse there is justification for insurance coverage based on the clinical evidence surrounding the product. VSL#3 is unique from other probiotics because of the clinical testing is accepted in the medical community. No so for any other probiotic.
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
Cold Feet, Thanks!!!
How about .vroom, vroom!!?? Posted by METALLlC BLUE (Member # 6628) on :
I figured away to use the VSL #3 cheaply for those of us with weak bank accounts.
Purchase the capsules from VSL and they give you 60. You're supposed to use two caps to get 225 billion live bacteria. If you use one per day, you'll get 112.5, which is exceedingly good compared to most probiotics.
If you do that, a box of capsules costs 45 dollars per month on average. So that'll make your bottle go 2 months for 22.5 dollars. Even better is, if you buy the VSL off the VSL website, they have a deal which saves you 5-10 percent if you buy more than one container. Buy 2, and the price drops to 42 dollars per container. So 84 dollars total, will give you 4 months supply with 112.5 bacteria per day for 21 dollars per month
If you feel like doing a more comprehensive routine, you could add another capsule per day, and do it every other day, and it would still be cheap. You'd be back to 22 dollars per month or so.
I think my Math is right. But anyway, you'd have the best probiotics at a really great price and it would have more live bacteria per single dose than any other probiotics on the market for that price.
Posted by heiwalove (Member # 6467) on :
for those who use VSL#3 capsules, how many do you take per day?
i'm having a lot of GI/intestinal/loose stool problems, and i'm hoping maybe this probiotic will help.
thanks in advance.
Posted by heiwalove (Member # 6467) on :
for those who use VSL#3 capsules, how many do you take per day?
i'm having a lot of GI/intestinal/loose stool problems, and i'm hoping maybe this probiotic will help.
thanks in advance.
Posted by heiwalove (Member # 6467) on :
up for help Posted by lymie_in_md (Member # 14197) on :
Heather you might want to try some activated charcoal as well. Could be toxins are also at play.
Posted by heiwalove (Member # 6467) on :
i haven't tried charcoal yet but i'm taking lots of chlorella/MSM/apple pectin/etc.
i'll pick up some charcoal next time i go to whole foods.
i'm assuming i have to take it a couple/few hours away from herbs & supplements & food?
Posted by METALLlC BLUE (Member # 6628) on :
H, that's correct. You can also pick some up from vitacost real cheap. NSI has some for like 5 bucks for 4 months worth. JFYI.
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
![[Razz]](tongue.gif)
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)