Rebuilding gut bacteria

[gardenmom5]

What are your best ways?

I did two different antibiotics (at the same time), then a bigger gun iv antibiotic.  I'm supposed to be going home today ( I assume with oral form)  - so what do I have dh pick up,  besides Greek yogurt?

[Harriet Vane]

The one that my rheumatologist recommended as being backed up with exceptional research is Align.

Acidophilus is an old standby. You get more in a pill than you do in a cup of yoghurt.

If you had c diff, then you must ingest s boullardii. Take it at a different time than you do the others.

Other good sources of probiotics are sauerkraut, kimchi, and kombucha. If you do sauerkraut, get the kind that lists only water and salt as the ingredients, NOT vinegar. (The water/salt still tastes vinegary because of the fermentation--it is that fermentation that makes the lovely probiotics. The kind with vinegar is kind of fake--it has the taste but not the fermentation.) Your other option is to search out lactofermented raw sauerkraut--that is by far the best.

Beware of kombucha. It is a stimulant, both because it is most often fermented in tea, but also because the fermentation process does produce a stimulant component. I had a terrible, anxiety-wracked night after drinking a bottle of kombucha.

[Ottakee]

Florastor

[Carol in Cal.]

CranRx is great for preventing yeast infections in that circumstance.

Beyond that I just get a probiotic that says it's for intestinal bacteria and it has worked for me.

[DesertBlossom]

If you have a health food store nearby by, they will have a large selection of good quality probiotics in a refrigerated section. I wouldn't bother with probiotics at the grocery store. Or even mail order because a lot of them should be refrigerated.

Edited January 23, 2020 by DesertBlossom

[DesertBlossom]

https://www.thenourishinggourmet.com/2010/08/lacto-fermented-dilly-carrot-sticks.html

These are so yummy! For the whey I used the clear liquid that separates from plain yogurt. If I am making several batches of these carrots (because my kids all love them too) and don't have enough whey, I just used

a tablespoon of the yogurt. It makes the brine a bit murky, but it still works. When I make these my kids spend every day after asked over and over if they are ready yet.😄

Edited January 23, 2020 by DesertBlossom

[Pawz4me]

I've taken various probiotics over the years. The only one that I could tell made any difference at all is Florastor. I'm a huge fan.

[MercyA]

My daughter and I notice a huge difference in our mood if we run out of RenewLife Ultimate Flora. Highly recommended.

[IfIOnly]

S. Boulardii - found in kombucha - Florastor, Jarrow, Now and many other brands

L. Plantarum - found in sauerkraut and other fermented vegetables - Culturelle, Jarrow, other brands

 

Neither of these needed refrigeration. Both survive stomach acid unlike most probiotics. Both actually colonize the gut, while almost all other probiotics are transient and just pass through 

I take Now S. Boulardii and Jarrow L. Plantarum and hav seen a huge difference in my health since starting. Don't get sick, mood improvement. Most of the cells that make up your immune system (70 percent) and most  of your serotonin (estimated 90 percent) is produced in your gut. 

I've also recommended them to others who have had pretty significant help with gut and other issues, including pretty bad acne clearing.

[BeachGal]

I'd eat a small amount of foods high in inulin -- Jerusalem artichokes, raw asparagus, jicama, etc. -- and a wide variety of veggies and fruit as well as my own fermented foods. Other food I'd eat: ghee, resistant starch, my own bone broth. After a week or so, I'd do a short fast, maybe two days long or so. Then I'd resume the diet keep doing that.

I would avoid sugar, processed foods, especially glue-y meats like lunch meat, as much as possible because they often contain very questionable additives that might not even be listed on labels. I'd avoid wheat for awhile, anything with soy oil.

We used to take Visbiome after antibiotics but now I'm not so sure that's a good idea. Hard to say what is the best thing to do. Maybe try different things and see how you react.

One thing I would consider if I have to take antibiotics in the future is to see if I can also take DAV132 which is an adsorbant activated charcoal made by da Volterra in France. It's looking promising but is not quite available yet to my knowledge.

https://davolterra.com/dav132/

[IfIOnly]

Oh! And s. Boulardii/Florastor can be taken with antibiotics. It's a beneficial yeast rather than bacteria, so it will survive the antibiotic treatment. Knowing what I know now about how much gut health or lack thereof affects us, I wouldn't take antibiotics without it!

[aaplank]

I would recommend taking a Florastor capsule along with every antibiotic pill you take. 

[mmasc]

Is florastor normally carried in a grocery store type of place (walmart, hyvee, etc)? I’d like to start this ASAP and don’t want to wait for amazon. 
 

@gardenmom5 hope you’re on the mend now!

[Terabith]

I’d missed where you wound up hospitalized.  I hope you’re feeling much better!

[gardenmom5]

they're sending me home with a probiotic.   I don't know what.  Still waiting on the pharmacy to send up the scripts. Probably won't pull my hep lock until then either. 

A very long time elderly friend is in the room next door.  Visited with them for a bit.

Until yesterday I had droplet protocols/iso in place,  so today is the first time I have actually been out of my room. My dr had me walk to check my o2 levels before sending me home.

[BlsdMama]

5 hours ago, gardenmom5 said:

What are your best ways?

I did two different antibiotics (at the same time), then a bigger gun iv antibiotic.  I'm supposed to be going home today ( I assume with oral form)  - so what do I have dh pick up,  besides Greek yogurt?

Kombucha, kimchi, raw sauerkraut. 
Fast at least 12 hours from supper to first meal. Garden of life - their mega (can’t remember the exact one but you can tell by price) is excellent. I was on three iv antibiotics, one of them ceftriaxon for weeks. I thank it for preventing long term issues. 
Heavily limit sugar and give it tons of greens - 6 to 9 cups each day. 

[BlsdMama]

1 hour ago, aaplank said:

I would recommend taking a Florastor capsule along with every antibiotic pill you take. 

Ideally you’d never take probiotics with antibiotics. Take the antibiotic and time it for 3-4 hours before bedtime. Then take the probiotic and let it be in the gut overnight. Antibiotics kill the critters in probiotics too. 

[IfIOnly]

49 minutes ago, mmasc said:

Is florastor normally carried in a grocery store type of place (walmart, hyvee, etc)? I’d like to start this ASAP and don’t want to wait for amazon. 
 

@gardenmom5 hope you’re on the mend now!

Check out Now brand for future use. It's much, much less expensive. 2 a day month's supply is$10. I take 3 a day.

 

https://www.amazon.com/NOW-Saccharomyces-Boulardii-Veg-Capsules/dp/B0053W995W/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?keywords=now+s+boulardii&qid=1579819573&sprefix=now+s+boul&sr=8-3

Edited January 23, 2020 by IfIOnly

[gardenmom5]

They're sending me with the same probiotic.   STILL waiting on the pharmacy,  and my nurse has called them again. 

[aaplank]

8 hours ago, BlsdMama said:

Ideally you’d never take probiotics with antibiotics. Take the antibiotic and time it for 3-4 hours before bedtime. Then take the probiotic and let it be in the gut overnight. Antibiotics kill the critters in probiotics too. 

I agree with you, however Florastor is different and can be taken with antibiotics. If you go to their website it explains that Florastor is a type of yeast that is not killed off by antibiotics. 

 

 

[gardenmom5]

2 hours ago, aaplank said:

I agree with you, however Florastor is different and can be taken with antibiotics. If you go to their website it explains that Florastor is a type of yeast that is not killed off by antibiotics. 

 

 

they gave me the same probiotic that is in florastor to take along with my antibiotic. (which I have for another 10 days - after three days of 4x per day IVs)  each pill/capsule are twice a day - but to take them at different times.  

 

[KungFuPanda]

A friend of mine actually went to England for some sort of stool transplant procedure that we don't do here.  That's probably more extreme than you're willing to go.  😂

[BeachGal]

2 minutes ago, KungFuPanda said:

A friend of mine actually went to England for some sort of stool transplant procedure that we don't do here.  That's probably more extreme than you're willing to go.  😂

 

Was it for c diff? 

They've been doing fecal microbiota transplants (FMTs) in the US for awhile now. What happened is that recently, a year or so ago, two people who got FMTs developed antibiotic-resistant infections and one of them died. I'm wondering if fewer places are now offering them now because they're worried about lawsuits. FMTs work great, especially for c diff, if the donation is screened very, very well. Open Biome is probably one of the best places to use and IIRC, the two who were infected did not get theirs from Open Biome. Just in case gardenmom wants to go that way. 😉

https://www.wired.com/story/the-death-of-a-patient-and-the-future-of-fecal-transplants/