4 ms·

My father ended up on months-long rounds of antibiotics and started taking probiotics as a result. He also said it helped some similar digestive problems he's h

by tghw 11y ago

My father ended up on months-long rounds of antibiotics and started taking probiotics as a result. He also said it helped some similar digestive problems he's had for years.

Jack000 11y ago
Is there a difference between prescription probiotics vs say probiotic yogurt or over the counter supplements? I've also had digestive problems for years that may have been the result of antibiotics.
- omarqureshi 11y ago
  In the UK at least, doctors may advise you to take probiotics but do not write you up a prescription for it as it is considered experimental. I'be personally used acidophilus lactobacillus after an oral yeast infection which I got after taking preventative antibiotics (took pretty much everything - azithromycin, flucloxacillin and ciprofloxacin) for a severe bout of reactive arthritis and it seemed to make a difference. However I was still very messed up for at least 6 months.
  - Natsu 11y ago
    That's the same thing they did here. I asked for a brand that other patients had reported success with and ended up with capsules containing 15B cells of Lactobacillus GG.
- Cheyana 11y ago
  Honestly, I don't think probiotic yogurt really contains as much of the bacteria as you would need to affect your system. I bought two 4-packs of that stuff and ate them over the course of a week as a replacement for the over the counter stuff, just to see if it would help. No effect whatsoever. Went back to the over the counter stuff (Udo's Choice, which is expensive, refrigerated stuff from Whole Foods) and I was right again. Though I have to say, probiotic with 102 billion cells might be pushing it for most. Flora-wise, I felt like I had a whole rainforest coming out of my ass, but it wasn't really a bad experience. It fixed my burning diarrhea after my run of antibiotics.
  - unclebucknasty 11y ago
    >*probiotic with 102 billion cells..." That's the thing that gets me with probiotics/packaging: they list these counts that can vary widely and are sometimes seemingly astronomical. It kind of implies that if some is good, then more is better. I've thought that there is certainly some level at which it's not good for you. Logically, if a certain dosage is produced, then you assume it to have some therapeutic effect. So, adding an order of magnitude to a therapeutic dosage of something wouldn't seem universally harmless.
    - undersuit 11y ago
      They list these numbers on yeast packets for brewing too. Much better that your yeast spends as much time as possible fermenting instead of growing and budding. With an initial count and an idea of the age of the batch you can decide if you're going to start the yeast in a small start batch(to prop up their numbers) or just plop the contents in. What I'm trying to get at is a low dosage might mean the little critters take a while to reach a good population, while a high dosage might be what's needed to discourage growth and encourage their reactions.

by tghw 11y ago

My father ended up on months-long rounds of antibiotics and started taking probiotics as a result. He also said it helped some similar digestive problems he's had for years.

Jack000 11y ago

Is there a difference between prescription probiotics vs say probiotic yogurt or over the counter supplements? I've also had digestive problems for years that may have been the result of antibiotics.

omarqureshi 11y ago
In the UK at least, doctors may advise you to take probiotics but do not write you up a prescription for it as it is considered experimental. I'be personally used acidophilus lactobacillus after an oral yeast infection which I got after taking preventative antibiotics (took pretty much everything - azithromycin, flucloxacillin and ciprofloxacin) for a severe bout of reactive arthritis and it seemed to make a difference. However I was still very messed up for at least 6 months.
- Natsu 11y ago
  That's the same thing they did here. I asked for a brand that other patients had reported success with and ended up with capsules containing 15B cells of Lactobacillus GG.
Cheyana 11y ago
Honestly, I don't think probiotic yogurt really contains as much of the bacteria as you would need to affect your system. I bought two 4-packs of that stuff and ate them over the course of a week as a replacement for the over the counter stuff, just to see if it would help. No effect whatsoever. Went back to the over the counter stuff (Udo's Choice, which is expensive, refrigerated stuff from Whole Foods) and I was right again. Though I have to say, probiotic with 102 billion cells might be pushing it for most. Flora-wise, I felt like I had a whole rainforest coming out of my ass, but it wasn't really a bad experience. It fixed my burning diarrhea after my run of antibiotics.
- unclebucknasty 11y ago
  >*probiotic with 102 billion cells..." That's the thing that gets me with probiotics/packaging: they list these counts that can vary widely and are sometimes seemingly astronomical. It kind of implies that if some is good, then more is better. I've thought that there is certainly some level at which it's not good for you. Logically, if a certain dosage is produced, then you assume it to have some therapeutic effect. So, adding an order of magnitude to a therapeutic dosage of something wouldn't seem universally harmless.
  - undersuit 11y ago
    They list these numbers on yeast packets for brewing too. Much better that your yeast spends as much time as possible fermenting instead of growing and budding. With an initial count and an idea of the age of the batch you can decide if you're going to start the yeast in a small start batch(to prop up their numbers) or just plop the contents in. What I'm trying to get at is a low dosage might mean the little critters take a while to reach a good population, while a high dosage might be what's needed to discourage growth and encourage their reactions.