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Can someone recommend a particular brand of probiotic. I understand if we are on AP therapy we should be taking a probiotic containing 15-30 billion CFUs. Any recommendations would be appreciated.
Hi Fredam,
There are plenty of brands from which to choose, but I've personally found PB8 veg caps to work really well. I take 8 every day, 2 hours after my antibiotics, and buy in bulk from Vitacost.com very reasonably.
Peace, Maz
Fredam wrote: Can someone recommend a particular brand of probiotic. I understand if we are on AP therapy we should be taking a probiotic containing 15-30 billion CFUs. Any recommendations would be appreciated.
Fedam, most of us by the time we have been diagnosed with a chronic illness have very deranged good gastrointestinal flora… overrun by a lot of bad organisms. Not only do we need to add good flora back into this system, but many of us are pre-disposed to yeast/fungal overgrowth and, if we have this as well, it needs to be known about and treated with a good antifungal. There are said to be good OTC antifungals and a few RX antifungals — and there are many probiotics.
I've recently read that fungus information has not been taught to doctors in med school. This may be the reason that for years, the problem of yeast overgrowth, etc., seems to have been virtually ignored. Having had my ear tuned to this dialogue for a number of years, I remember reading that it was children's doctors (pediatricians) that first took the lead in making sure their young patients, after taking antibiotics, were given probiotics to take immediately, in order to replace the good flora that were killed along with the bad organisms.
It may be a good investment to use Dr. Ohira's (sp?) 12-plus, thought to be one of the best/most effective probiotics available. My personal history, about 1993-94, was that overgrowth had become such a “silent huge problem with terrible chronic fatigue syndrome” that with Dr. Crook's counseling, I found a local physician that monitored my taking Diflucan daily for about 4 months. Every day, after beginning this antifungal, chronic symptoms and problems began gradually resolving. Dr. Crook and the local physician said that I would be the one who knew when it had done its job and when I should stop. I did.
Thankfully, being on a strict yeast-control diet, taking Dr. Crook's recommended supplements, and the addition of the Diflucan, began turning things around. For those of us most susceptible to these type problems, attention to all of the above seems to be necessary on an ongoing basis. There are others, the research said, that seem never to have big problems with this. (Dr. Crook sent me abstracts — which I still have — of the research showing results of these controlled studies.) I truly believe that being on RX meds for two years at the beginning of chronic illness, and not being told about probiotics — or knowing about them myself — set my body up (or broke it down) to develop the beginning of the problems I still must deal with today. This is not to scare anyone, but just to encourage a healthy respect for the size of this problem.
This is a long answer to your question, plus info about other avenues. However, most of us are in this situation for the long haul, and we need to glean as much information from a whole spectrum of treatments and patients, and decide where we fall in all of this. Fungal/yeast overgrowth (for most of us, it seems) is much more serious than the simple TV ads that tell us to just pop a pill and it's all gone. Wish it were that simple.
I hope this question does not sound ridiculous but what exactly is a fungal/yeast overgrowth? How do you know if you have one? Do you have symptoms? I know it is recommended that we take probiotics, although Dr. S did not recommend them to me.
Maz – Do you take all 8 of your probiotics at the same time each day or do you space them out? Do you or can you take them with any other supplements? I'm still working on spacing my meds and supplements correctly!
Thank you!
Lori
Dr. S was my first AP physician. And while I did very well on AP after about the first four months, I always believed (in my own case) that it was not only because of the AP and the assistance it gave me, zapping the overgrowth of mycoplasma organisms, and allowing my body to return to more normal function. I also believe my good progress was enhanced because of what I had learned before I began AP.
Though I have the greatest admiration for Dr. S as a humanitarian and an AP physician, I also believe I would have “bitten the dust” long before the time I first saw him, if I hadn't learned about Dr. Wm Crook's books, especially “Chronic Fatigue and The Yeast Connection.” (There was much more I had to learn even after Dr. Crook's books, and after Dr. S's AP with IVs and pulsing Minocin. In my own case, there was a lot my body had to teach me about its recovering.
It's an education I could not have imagined when all of this began…. for all my life I had tremendous stamina and energy… until it all started to crumble and couldn't rebuild without those things I learned. Thankfully, even with these additional years, I find my body is still willing to cooperate… when I learn more about what it needs and what it definitely does not need, and cooperate.
Good luck to you!
A Friend
WOW, that was a lot to absorb. I'm glad Lori asked the question about fungal/overgrowth because I didn't know anything about it either. Thank you for taking the time to explain it all and also the recommendation for the probiotic.
Fredam
[user=212]Time_of_my_Life[/user] wrote:
Maz – Do you take all 8 of your probiotics at the same time each day or do you space them out? Do you or can you take them with any other supplements? I'm still working on spacing my meds and supplements correctly!
Hi Lori,
Well, I must admit I'm a bit lazy and take all 8 at once! I could probably space them out to even the distribution, so to speak, but just know I'd probably forget. It's just easier to remember them at the same time each day. 😉 I also take the PB8 along with my other supplements… serrapeptase and nattokinase (both proteolytic enzymes to help reduce inflammation)….and milk thistle (a good liver detoxer). All of these can be be taken on an empty stomach. So, I'm popping about 18 caps all in one go.
I also take Vit C with Rosehips (1000mg to help avert hyperpigmentation from mino), but usually take it right after eating my evening meal, as it's one of those that can be a bit hard on the stomach.
The most challenging part about supplements for me is remembering to take them. Often, there are too many to fit into the little daily pill boxes they sell in pharmacies. So, if this becomes a problem, you can always count out the supps for the week and put them into little baggies and just put one bag on the counter every day to remind yourself you still need to take them….or they can be easily popped into your pocket book, if you're running about during the day.
It's a whole new learning thing when you first start with this stuff, but eventually it all becomes pretty routine. You'll be an old pro (meant in the nicest way!) in no time.
Peace, Maz
[user=227]Fredam[/user] wrote:
Thank you so much for your reply.
Hi Fredam,
So kind of you to post your thanks. 🙂
A Friend truly has encyclopedic wisdom to share with regard to systemic candida, detoxing, diet, supplements, etc. – all learned from hard-earned first hand experience – and I've learned so much from her. It's worth following her posts to glean more as you go. The information may sound complicated at first, but after a while it all becomes more and more familiar over time, when the information is repeated for newcomers arriving and asking similar questions.
Wishing you all the very best.
Peace, Maz
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