Probiotic Recommendations?

[thenmama]

xx

Edited March 27, 2013 by thenmama

[LNN]

If you subscribe to Latitudes quarterly newsletter, there's an article about the different strains of probiotics and what each strain is best known for.

 

We use Theralac, which provides 30 bill CCFUs of a mix of strains. My kids, who are on multiple abx, haven't had any gut issues or carb/sugar cravings since switching. It also comes with the benefit of only having to take one pill to get a mix of stuff. With lyme treatment, the number of pills can be overwhelming, so getting a big bang in one pill is a big plus.

 

Also, my daughter used to suffer from repeated yeast infections. So our doctor recommended that she do two weeks daily of TruFlora and now takes it twice weekly (instead of the Theralac) as a preventative. We went on vacation last week and I didn't take the TruFlora - just did 7 days of Theralac with her. When we got home, she started complaining of itchiness. Gave TruFlora and it resolved.

 

Your question comes up periodically on the forum and there's wide variety of what people take and how much. Seems once someone settles on a product, they become loyal to it. It may be a matter of trying different things, or weighing features - is taking just one pill important? Is refrigeration/shelf life an issue? Personally, I think getting variety of strains into the gut is important, which is why we no longer use Culturelle. But I'm not sure there's one right or wrong answer.

[MomWithOCDSon]

We tend to mix it up a bit, since DS is on long-term abx. No sign of gut or yeast issues since we've been doing the following:

 

Renew Life Ultimate Flora Critical Care (50 billion units per gelcap); great mix of flora (bifo, lacto, sach b., etc.) - 2x daily with meals

 

Jarrow Sach Boulardii (5 billion per gelcap) - 1x daily at bedtime

 

Culturelle - 1x daily at bedtime

 

None of these contain s. therm, though, as I understand it, many cheeses do, and our DS is not dairy-free and adores cheese, though he eats less and less of it all the time.

 

As for yogurt and kefir, the thing to be aware of is that the flora there is almost entirely acidolpholus, which abx will readily kill off. So not only do you need to space it out generously from abx dosage, but even then, you may lose some of the better impacts. Meanwhile, lactobillus, bifo and sach b. are more resilient to abx, and we've been dosing them simultaneously without trouble.

[butterflymom]

=

Edited October 5, 2015 by tampicc

[nicklemama]

DS takes Florastor which is Saccromyces boullardi. He takes the recommended dose of one capsule 2x a day. It was recommended by Dr T. After nearly 9 months on abx, we've seen no signs of gut issues (knock on wood).