Probiotic recommendation, please.

[1tiredmama]

I've been using Culturelle for both ds and dd. Dd12 has issues with taste, and at times with eating. She is complaining, and becoming increasingly anxious about the Culturelle because she claims it has a taste, gets stuck in her throat, and makes her briefly nauseous. I think taste is the biggest issue here. I need to switch probiotics.

 

I'm looking for one that preferably does not need refrigeration.

 

She has myco and is taking Augmentin and Zith, if that matters.

 

Thank you!

[popcorn]

We use HMF powder by seroyal. It does need refrigeration, but my kids love it. The taste is pretty nice (I take it too!) --it tastes a little bit like milk powder with sugar in it. They look forward to it every night.

[tpotter]

I would also recommend Sacchromyces Boullardi. It can be taken WITH abx, which is a huge plus (we use both sacchromyces (Jarrow brand that we buy at Vitamin Shoppe) and switch around for the 2nd probiotic.) Jarrow brand sacchromyces does not need to be kept refrigerated, but does need to be kept at a stable temp (around 72 degrees F.)

[MomWithOCDSon]

So your DD is taking pills or capsules? I believe Culturelle also comes in a powder form that you can mix into drinks.

 

You might try switching to a gelcap form of probiotic since the gel cap seems to keep taste from being a major issue in the few seconds between popping it into your mouth and swallowing.

 

Like tpotter, we use the Jarrow sach. b. daily (gelcap), and another one is a mixed probiotic blend by RenewLife (available on-line, at Whole Foods and Vitamin Shoppe) that also comes in gelcap form. I have seen it in stores both refrigerated and not, and we've tried it both refrigerated and not, with no noticable change in efficacy either way. Like most probiotics, though, I think stable, room temperature at the warmest is desirable.

[kos_mom]

DD doesn't like the test of prednisone so I split with a pill splitter and insert into empty gel caps I bought at Whole Foods. This works great and perhaps could be done with probiotics that have a bad taste but which you find effective.

[philamom]

When my daughter is doing well she has no problems with capsules and/or powder packets. We use both Florastor and Culturelle. When she's not doing well we have problems with swallowing. It's a swallowing and taste distortion. I then mix "Culturelle/ Florastor for kids" packets into applesauce and top with cinnamon. That seems to help some.

 

Culturelle now sells a chewable, but if she's having problem with taste I'm not sure how it would help.

[Hopeny]

I empty the culturelle capsules into a cup with milk and DD drinks it no problem, I also do ocassionally with Florastor and even though that has a yeasty smell she does not seem to notice it - even though she catches me if I try to sneak dye free motrin into the milk, she always can tell with that somehow. DD loves the Culturelle kids powder but it only has 1BN cells and our LLMD wants 20BN 2x/day (we only do 1x/day, have found impossible to time with the abx)and she hated the Florastor kids powder.

[philamom]

Hopeny- a bit more expensive but my fav is Klaire Thera-biotic detoxification support. 50+ billion cfu per capsule (lact. rhamnosus, lact. casei, bifid. bifidum). It must be refrigerated.

[1tiredmama]

Wow! Thanks for all the recommendations! I can definitely work with some of these ideas. Am I NOT supposed to be giving a probiotic at the same time as the abx??? Because I have been doing just that.

[MomWithOCDSon]

Wow! Thanks for all the recommendations! I can definitely work with some of these ideas. Am I NOT supposed to be giving a probiotic at the same time as the abx??? Because I have been doing just that.

 

Some probiotic strains (like sach b. and lactobillus g.) are more impervious to antibiotics and can be given simultaneously. But others . . . including the most commonly found one in yogurt, kefir, "pearls," etc. -- acidolpholus -- is readily killed off by most abx. So, just as a rule of thumb and to be on the safe side, it's best to space out a couple of hours from the abx. just to make sure you're getting the full benefit of the flora.

 

The exception to that is sach b. because it's actually a beneficial form of yeast, so while antifungals can kill it, abx cannot. So simultaneous dosing is okay.