Yet Another Probiotic Thread...Corn Free Suggestions Needed!

[Shelsi]

So I've been on HMF Forte and dd seems ok with it but it is KILLING me. I'm ok at first but on the 3rd day of taking it I start getting the most horrible gas pain and cramps ever and then eventually everytime I eat something it just runs straight through me and makes me totally miserable. I don't know why it's doing this to me. I don't even have any allergies or anything but something in there is bothering me. I'm gonna keep dd on it since she seems ok so far on it.

So I need another corn free suggestion. I can't spend a million dollars on it. $50 is about my limit and even that is a pretty big stretch right now.

Are there any cheaper options for me? Someone said on this forum they make coconut milk yogurt, is that something I could make and eat and would that be enough of a probiotic for me?

I know by definition I must have a leaky gut since dd reacts to foods in my breast milk but is it totally necessary for me to have the probiotic if she's taking one? The only issues I've ever had is being somewhat gassy and the digestive enzymes seem to have solved that issue.

Any thoughts? suggestions? sage advice?

[Astromom]

And here I was, coming in here to rec hmf forte.

hmm, could it be the FOS in it? I have no idea if that would cause your symptoms. They carry the FOS-free ones.

nak, sorry..

[Shelsi]

Originally Posted by Astromom

And here I was, coming in here to rec hmf forte.

hmm, could it be the FOS in it? I have no idea if that would cause your symptoms. They carry the FOS-free ones.

nak, sorry..

Honestly I don't know anything about FOS...was is it exactly? I've heard ppl talk about it on this forum and I should have paid a little closer attention I guess!

[Chinese Pistache]

DDS Plus acidophilus and bifidus by UAS Labs is corn-free, cheap, and it really worked for my dd. It contains FOS, so if that's a problem for you, it may not work. Also, it doesn't have a huge number of bac strains, as you can see. It did the trick for us for a year, though, before we found a few other brands (like Kirkmans).http://www.vitacost.com/UAS-Labs-DDS...us-Bifidus-Fos

[changingseasons]

Originally Posted by Shelsi

Honestly I don't know anything about FOS...was is it exactly? I've heard ppl talk about it on this forum and I should have paid a little closer attention I guess!

I think FOS is a prebiotic that help the probiotic colonize in the gut. It can cause gas, cramping, etc. when you first start it until your body gets used to it.

[Shelsi]

Originally Posted by changingseasons

I think FOS is a prebiotic that help the probiotic colonize in the gut. It can cause gas, cramping, etc. when you first start it until your body gets used to it.

Hmm, so maybe I should stick with it and try to power through it? Any idea on how long it takes your body to get used to it? It was keeping me awake at night which is not cool considering how little sleep I get. Not to mention I feel like I can't leave the house because I don't know when I'm gonna need to run to the bathroom

[nalo]

Originally Posted by Shelsi

Hmm, so maybe I should stick with it and try to power through it? Any idea on how long it takes your body to get used to it? It was keeping me awake at night which is not cool considering how little sleep I get. Not to mention I feel like I can't leave the house because I don't know when I'm gonna need to run to the bathroom

When you said you were okay at first and then by day 3 things were bad what does that mean? Are you starting and stopping with it? The first thing I would try is to take it as you're supposed to for a full week and see if things improve. The adjustment to FOS should not take longer than that. If things are still really bad after a solid week of being on it I would just switch to a non-FOS probiotic. You could try HMF neuro capsules which I know have no FOS (the powder does, though, so pay attention). Perhaps there is a Forte preparation without FOS too? I haven't looked in a while at that site but check any differences between powder and capsule form.

[changingseasons]

Originally Posted by Shelsi

Hmm, so maybe I should stick with it and try to power through it? Any idea on how long it takes your body to get used to it? It was keeping me awake at night which is not cool considering how little sleep I get. Not to mention I feel like I can't leave the house because I don't know when I'm gonna need to run to the bathroom

I don't know... it sounds like what was happening to me a few weeks back, and I finally narrowed it down to my enzymes. I think my body was sensitized (after taking them for a month) and became allergic to something in them.
I haven't taken that brand... are there any other ingredients that you might be sensitive to? I would think the FOS would bother you right away, not after taking it for 3 days.

[JaneS]

I had to take DS off the HLC Intensive... serious eczema flare even though it's FOS and everything else free. I'm majorly bummed! It's grown on agar I think. Do you know what else is in it?

We like Natren dairy free trio. Garbanzo beans and potato are medium. Sunflower seed oil in the Healthy Trinity capsules but not the Healthy Start individual capsules or powders.

[Astromom]

to finish my thought from last night -- I think the one called "HMF Capsules" is similar to the HMF Forte, but without the FOS. I don't think the probiotic strength is the same though, but it's similar.

[mtn.mama]

Right. We can't do FOS either. The HNF Capsules are plain probiotics and seem to be working well for us.

[Shelsi]

Originally Posted by DoulaMary

When you said you were okay at first and then by day 3 things were bad what does that mean? Are you starting and stopping with it? The first thing I would try is to take it as you're supposed to for a full week and see if things improve. The adjustment to FOS should not take longer than that. If things are still really bad after a solid week of being on it I would just switch to a non-FOS probiotic. You could try HMF neuro capsules which I know have no FOS (the powder does, though, so pay attention). Perhaps there is a Forte preparation without FOS too? I haven't looked in a while at that site but check any differences between powder and capsule form.

Yeah I started and stopped them and then started again. I realized the first time around after about 3 days that maybe that's why I was in so much pain and had all the sudden diarrhea. So I stopped taking them and I got better. Then I waited 2 weeks and just started them again, this time at half the dosage, and I'm not in as much pain but I'm still stuck with diarrhea that started after about 2.5 days of taking them.

Originally Posted by changingseasons

I don't know... it sounds like what was happening to me a few weeks back, and I finally narrowed it down to my enzymes. I think my body was sensitized (after taking them for a month) and became allergic to something in them.
I haven't taken that brand... are there any other ingredients that you might be sensitive to? I would think the FOS would bother you right away, not after taking it for 3 days.

It's definitely not the enzymes. I have been taking the enzymes throughout my little probiotic trial. Plus I tried each new supplement separately to make sure dd didn't react to any (which she hasn't! yay!). I haven't found myself to be sensitive to anything. I was interested months ago when I went on the TED for dd if I would discover I was sensitive to something I never knew about, but nope, nothing.

I think I'm just going to keep giving these ones to dd since she seems just fine on them and at the moment I'm just going to have to hold off for a bit until we have more money and then get me some new ones.

[changingseasons]

OMG- I'm just coming back to say that it was not my enzymes causing me those problems, it WAS the probiotics!!!

I ran out of my Solgar probiotics, so I started taking the ones I got from Bastyr, before I got really sick.... And lo and behold- today is day 3, the the diarrhea has started.

Mine are Pharmax HLC High Potency Caps, and they do have FOS. But I'm really confused now- why would symptoms not start until the 3rd day??? And for some WAY TMI- my poo has the little black flecks in it, like DD's did a while back... someone mentioned that was yeast die off. So is that a good thing? The doc that gave me these said to take 2, twice a day. I'm taking one, once a day. I guess I could cut it back more... but should I have to? Why would the probiotic cause these symptoms?

And Shelsi- seriously, don't keep taking them. If you are having the same issues that I was, it will just get worse and worse and worse. I seriously though I was going to have to go to the hospital for dehydration/malnutrition, because everything I ate went straight through, totally undigested.

[changingseasons]

I just found a really old thread in H&H about this issue... maybe someone there will have some ideas.

[Shelsi]

Originally Posted by changingseasons

OMG- I'm just coming back to say that it was not my enzymes causing me those problems, it WAS the probiotics!!!

I ran out of my Solgar probiotics, so I started taking the ones I got from Bastyr, before I got really sick.... And lo and behold- today is day 3, the the diarrhea has started.

Mine are Pharmax HLC High Potency Caps, and they do have FOS. But I'm really confused now- why would symptoms not start until the 3rd day??? And for some WAY TMI- my poo has the little black flecks in it, like DD's did a while back... someone mentioned that was yeast die off. So is that a good thing? The doc that gave me these said to take 2, twice a day. I'm taking one, once a day. I guess I could cut it back more... but should I have to? Why would the probiotic cause these symptoms?

And Shelsi- seriously, don't keep taking them. If you are having the same issues that I was, it will just get worse and worse and worse. I seriously though I was going to have to go to the hospital for dehydration/malnutrition, because everything I ate went straight through, totally undigested.

I'm glad you figured it out! Yeah I stopped taking the probiotics, I just couldn't do it. Last night was 2 days since I had been off them and STILL everything went straight through me. It was miserable. And TMI but it was acid and it burned so bad I was almost crying. Yesterday was dd's first birthday and I was sitting on the toliet thinking "wow, this hurts a heck of a lot worse than labor did." Last night I had a hard time sleeping because my butt hurt so bad. Ugh.

Oddly enough dd seems totally fine on these probiotics. So weird since she's the one with all the issues. This is a first for me.

Regarding the black specks...I had that the first 2-3 months of being on the TED. I have no idea what they are but I think we're probably examining our own poo way too much : I even found myself taking a good look at my dog's poo the other day and that's when I realized I have taken this too far haha.

Ok off to read the thread you just linked.

[Shelsi]

So do your probiotics have FOS in them?

I'm thinking of trying some without FOS but honestly I'm scared. The food seems to be staying in me today but I still feel miserable from last night's fiasco. I don't want to go through this again. I'm also thinking of just not doing any probiotics for me. I've never taken them before and I've never really had any problems. I've been on antibiotics very rarely and they don't seem to affect me negatively, I don't have any yeast issues, no tummy issues, etc.

[changingseasons]

Yeah, these have FOS. And sounds like we had the exact same thing- food going straight through, acidic, burning butt... No wonder DD was so cranky before we started figuring this out! That's exactly what her poos were like. And I too am spending way too much time examining poo these days.

Yeah, I wonder if it's just the FOS... I never had problems with the Solgar ones I was taking. But everything I've read just says it might cause gas pains and stuff- nothing like what we're going through.

Ugh. I hope this stuff gets out of my system fast! This is my last week of class, and then I have my first law school final next week. Can't make it through that feeling all crappy!

[Shelsi]

Originally Posted by changingseasons

Yeah, these have FOS. And sounds like we had the exact same thing- food going straight through, acidic, burning butt... No wonder DD was so cranky before we started figuring this out! That's exactly what her poos were like. And I too am spending way too much time examining poo these days.

Yeah, I wonder if it's just the FOS... I never had problems with the Solgar ones I was taking. But everything I've read just says it might cause gas pains and stuff- nothing like what we're going through.

Ugh. I hope this stuff gets out of my system fast! This is my last week of class, and then I have my first law school final next week. Can't make it through that feeling all crappy!

Well I got up late (yay to dh for letting me sleep in!) and ate at around 11:30. It's 1:10 right now and so far so good although my stomach feels terrible but it's not crampy or anything, I think it's just from being so messed up last night. I took my last probiotic on Friday. So I think it takes about 3 days to get back to "normal."

[changingseasons]

Oh man... I just got out the bottle to count how many were left, so I could estimate how long I took it the first time. I think it was less than a week. And I had diarrhea for over 2 weeks straight last time!! Maybe since I've only taken it 3 days this time, it will get out of me faster...

I just took some psyllium husks... hoping that will help. I know it seems the opposite of what I want to do right now, but in Digestive Wellness she mentions that psyllium can also help with diarrhea, because it helps the poo solidify. Here's hoping. :