probiotics

[laure]

Since we will undoubtably be on abx for a while, does anyone else take probiotics in a capsule form? dd 9 will take any size pill, but she would never drink the stuff, I don't think. Right now she is taking 2 culturelles a day, but that is only 20,000 cfu. From the posts I see here she likely needs a lot more. She is 90 pounds (thanks in part to prednisone) and is having reflux and some slight blood in stool after 3 months of abx.

[amyjoy]

I think that having her use Florastor, or some concentrated form of s. boulardii, is really important, since by nature the antibiotics will wipe out most antibiotics she takes. Boulardii can usually hang on and keep some form of lactofermentation going on in the gut. Metagenics also makes a good probiotic blend with boulardii and l rhamnosus you can get on line and use after the florastor, called Proboulardi and is super concentrated, many billions more than you can get in the health food store. There are probably a lot of options, totally ok to use the capsules instead of the powder if she won't take the powder. good luck with it.

[mom love]

I am impressed that your dd 9 swallows pills. My dd 8 will not even try yet. Did she just take to it naturally or did you practice with something first? We use culturelle for kids (for us it is the powder) and florastor which can be bought in drug store shelves now and behind the counter at pharmacies in larger quantities. It is my understanding that florastor helps keep yeast at bay. We also use Theralac, which for us is a powder but does come in capsules. I believe some popular ones on this forum are theralac, custom probiotics and kirkman. There is another probiotic thread going on now and previous ones if you search it.

[laure]

Thanks! Going to Walgreen's to get some Florastor now... she has older siblings she has watched take pills, and she just hated the liquid motrin or tylenol. she was 6 when she agreed to just go to the pills so she didn't have to drink that stuff. Can't say I blame her! It is awfully helpful when it comes to those giant horse pills of Augmentin, and she is actually proud that she can swallow them when Mom struggles with that size...Thank God for small blessings!

[monarchcat]

My son is 9 and has been taking pills for awhile as well. He does complain when they are large (he HATED taking the augmentin XR) but will do it if he has to. I have him take a saccharomyces boulardii (the same "good yeast" that is in Florastor, but less expensive) and a 30 billion cfu probiotic blend from Healthy Origins. I give the Sach B in the morning with his abx, and then a sach b and the probiotic at night. I've tried many different types/brands, etc and have whittled it down to these because I think they work well and they are a lot less expensive than some other options. For awhile I had him taking about 250 billion cfu/day from Custom Probiotics, but frankly, it's hard to maintain as it's costly. If he ever shows gut trouble, I would probably switch back to that. Here are the links if you are interested:

 

Jarrow Saccaromyces Boulardii

 

Healthy Origins 30 billion CFU

 

 

 

 

[laure]

Thank you Monarchcat for those links! Definitely need to save $ where we can! I am learning learning learning on this forum - could be a full-time job!

[nicklemama]

I'm mixing Florastor Kids powder into applesauce. My DS6 eagerly takes it.

[laure]

I think that having her use Florastor, or some concentrated form of s. boulardii, is really important, since by nature the antibiotics will wipe out most antibiotics she takes. Boulardii can usually hang on and keep some form of lactofermentation going on in the gut. Metagenics also makes a good probiotic blend with boulardii and l rhamnosus you can get on line and use after the florastor, called Proboulardi and is super concentrated, many billions more than you can get in the health food store. There are probably a lot of options, totally ok to use the capsules instead of the powder if she won't take the powder. good luck with it.

[laure]

Amyjoy,

Thanks for the good feedback...we have started 1 florastor at night, and 2 culturelles at mid-day. Do you think that is enough for a 90 pounder?

She takes 250 zith AM and PM. Should I be giving that all at once so the culturelles have longer to work, or will that be too hard on her sensitive stomach?

Also, you said to move on to Proboulardi after the florastor - did you mean to stop the florastor at some point, or just add the probolulardi to the florastor? Isn't the proboulardi only available to medical professionals?

Sorry for all of the questions, just really struggling to figure all of this out.

Happy Thanksgiving!