Hi,
I've decided to trial a few things on a 'longer' term basis for try and help with my Ibs.
I am on day 31 of VSL 3 probiotic. 1 sachet a day (on a morning) mixed into an activia yoghurt.
So... Up until 3 days ago I hadn't really noticed any improvement. I've not changed my diet in any way and eating at usual times and usual quantities of food. 3 days ago (and as I write this) my ibs seems to have calmed down. I've been passing solid stools and for the first time in years I'm actually passing a stool and not having to rush back to the toilet for a second attempt lol. I have also passed a few stools recently and the 'not finished' feeling has gone.
Not saying that this VSL is curing me or whatever as there have been times previously I've had no symptoms of ibs for a short period of time usually before an ibs attack.
Just thought ppl maybe interested. I will keep this post updated. Plan to stay on the VSL for a few months before I can judge 100% whether it helps my symptoms or not.
:-)
I keep saying that with some of the cases of ibs it is down to getting the gut flora right.
I was reading a fascinating article online which illustrated (literally) some of the trillions of bacteria in our body. There are, apparently, 500 different species, many of which live in the gut. I take probiotics every day as well although I know from the research that most of these don't actually colonise the gut but do perform a useful function on their way though. They have to be replenished all the time for that reason. Considering that most probiotic capsules, powders etc only contain at best half a dozen bacterial species, it is a wonder that they make much difference at all! Certainly the probiotic yoghurts are less use than the pills so 'they' say. I wonder, if our gut is colonised with innapropriate bugs, whether or not it would also be helpful to limit their main food source i.e. sugar? Another point is that, at with least the pills I take, you are instructed to take them with a snack or meal. Logically this seems counterintuitive to me since food stimulates the production of hydrochloric acid which 'melts' the gelatin capsule coating and will probably also kill the poor bacteria into the bargain! Better to have these pills on an empty stomach perhaps. Having said all this, I still cling on to the thought taking probiotics is 'something is better than nothing' :-)
The reason some people get candida and cancer and such is because their gut is over populated with the wrong things and under with the right and then those who eat a lot of refined foods, processed foods, sugar (even fruit counts as sugar) are reproducing the bad more and more. Make your own yoghurt, it is very easy, most of the yoghurt in the shop is rubbish and they have added the biotics to it when the yoghurt is dead and it can do no good. You should also make sure you have PREBIOTICS often and certainly just before taking the yoghurt of probiotic for it to feed off of it and multiply. Honey oats and onion are the easiest ones for me. I agree with you that something is better than nothing. But will be looking into fermenting my own foods. Because they are supposed to contain far more biotics and are supposedly easy and quite fun to do. The ones you get in the shop are heat treated so useless. Same with smoothies in the shop. Most are heat treated so they are useless and just a tasty sugar.
Interesting.... please tell me more about prebiotics; I've not heard of them. Also, I've never made yogurt but I prefer my own smoothies. I do believe in the negative influence of badly balanced gut flora wholeheartedly but have very little idea on what one can do to help. If ingested probiotics don't colonise, how does one ever get back to a balanced gut? Five years ago I went through four and a half months of chemo for breast cancer... that is enough to wipe out just about every decent bug you ever had; you are very immunocompromised through most of this. I am not sure I have been that healthy anyway since contracting giardia when travelling in India during 2002; I had re-infection for eight months and had a spell in hospital in Jaipur because of dehydration. All in all it doesn't surprise me that I am in a mess!
I can see your point about why you are "in a mess" but that would make me try even harder to climb out of it. Eat mostly vegetables. No refined or processed foods. NO SUGAR WHATSOEVER. Preferably no carbohydrates and little protein. It is ever so easy to make yoghurt. You can look it up online. Smoothies are lovely but if they are made in a heat treating liquidiser they are not doing you any good.
This is why some people spend extra on the cold press filter system where it retains the goodness. I believe thiat the idea that we need vegetables and fruit to get vitamins and minerals is over rated anyway. A cauliflower now contains only a tiny amoutn of what it would have contained 5 0 years ago. You would have to eat about 30 cauliflowers now to get the same vitamins and minerals that you would get from thirty before. I take two high strength multi vit/mineral tablets every day and it makes a big difference. Take a lot of prebiotics whenever you are going to have some LIVE yoghurt of probiotics. Honey (proper honey, not heat treated) onion or oatgs willdo it. It is something for the biotics to work on so that they grow and flourish.
Thank you very much for all that information; I'm new to IBS and keen to figure a way of dealing with it. I will look into things and use your info to work out an appropriate diet, although no carbohydrates and no proteins doesn't leave me much; I avoid fats as much as I can because I have familial hypercholesterolaemia, genetically high levels of cholesterol, which can only be controlled with drugs.
I find the contradictory advice that abounds concerning fruit and vegetables utterly confusing... eat more, eat less etc. Equally, eat plenty of fibre, soluble if you have constipation, insoluble if you have diarrhoea... what if you get both?
Excuse me... I'm not complaining :-)
I am, or was, before I retired, a research scientist. I think (probably too much) analytically; I expect to be able to use science and logic to somehow work out what this whole miserable thing is about and then make myself better. All I know is that I didn't have this four months ago and I can't believe that I now have to live with it for the rest of my life!
Like yo uI like to just analyse and work things out and then control things. Knowledge is power usually isnt it?! And it can be with this too.
Hi Ned, please keep me updated on your progress with VSL3. I am curious to know if you still find it has improved your symptoms. Thx
Hello.
Yes of course.
Well put it this way... I've been having normal stools for about 5 days now.
I was unsure whether it was the VSL or not as my girlfriend came to stay so my diet and meal time changed. This week however I'm back to my normal 'usual' diet and although ever soo slightly constipated (because I think I need to up the fibre intake), I haven't had diahrrea and whenever I've been to the toilet the feeling of 'unfinished' has gone. I actually feel empty. My stupid anxiety associated with ibs-d has also suddenly reduced. Was out and about last night... No problems or worries. I think I've been in VSL for just over 1 month. It's costing me quite a bit lol... Buy something good seems to be happening!
Just need to keep on it for longer and see what happens.
:-)
Just another update.
Started doing 12hr night shifts for work. Was dreading this as my stomach and ibs has always played up probably due to the changes when I eat and what I eat.
Anyway I'm writing this feeling somewhat tired but fine. Just passed a normal healthy stool. Had no issues overnight at work, all was ok. Most of the symptoms I was expecting have gone.
I also felt more awake and alert throughout the night which is also unusual for me. I'm kind of thinking whatever ibs is, the ibs-d is only 1 of the many symptoms. I used to feel tired all the time and my sleep was affected. This also seems to have subsided.
Still early days but I certainly feel better
Hi Ned, have you still noticed an improvement in your symptoms due to the VSL3? Thx
Even if Ned finds these help a lot this is different for everyone. Your gut flora is totally different to everyone else's. What helps one won't help another .
I realise that! But at the same time I have tried many many different types of treatment, still with no real solution and so at this stage I am taking all options into consideration in the hope that something will work!
Yes I understand. It is just that people are sometimes too quick to rush and and copy someone when they are two different people. I have had so many people "telling me" to do this and that . because it helped them or someone they know - and it's always something expensive. Would have to sell my business and house to pay for it all.
Ned do you use prebiotics as well as probiotics?
What is a prebiotic? Never heard of that.
All I've been doing is taking 1 sachet of VSL daily on a morning web I wake up. I mix the VSL with an activia yoghurt.
Quick update as I'm here now...
Ran out of VSL last week as I started 12 hour nightshift working. So... I thought id see if not taking VSL instantly reverts my IBS back to IBS-D. I concluded that the VSL has helped a lot. Changing my diet going onto nightshift obviously messes up anyone's system that isn't used to it... But I was expecting really bad diahrrea and to feel rough... That's what happened last time I did night shift. This time however I was ok. Not brilliant, my stomach felt a bit strange and 1 morning decided to eat a full English breakfast before bed... I won't be doing that again, but generally I did feel better. That feeling if going to the toilet and not being finished seems to have gone. I've since finished nights, had a BBQ and some alcohol last night. Had a poo before I went to bed and thought... Oh no... The ibs has returned, but today I've been ok. Slightly bloated.
Without over analysing this too much... The VSL is helping and fixing / healing my guts... It's just a slow process. The 2 thins that have massively helped sort out my IBS was significantly lowering my sugar intake and taking this VSL.
To anyone reading this who suffers IBS D... All I can say is when you decide to trial something new in a way to fix ibs, do one thing at a time and do it for long enough. For example I tried VSL for the first time earlier in the year, kept taking it for 2 weeks, didn't notice a difference so stopped. I've since started taking it again, probably for 4-5 weeks in a daily basis and the improvements in my ibs seems unbelievable.
I made the mistakes of starting gluten free diets, only drinking water, taking VSL etc etc all at once then got fustrated when I actually felt worse!
Anyway... I'm still sceptical about this VSL. I want to keep taking it for a minimum of 6 months with no other changes in my lifestyle or diet so I can make a good judgement.
:-)
Hi Ned. A PREbiotic is some food that helps the biotic to multiply and flourish, themore it flourishes the more it takes over and gets rid of the bad and the more it helps you.
If you have a good prebiotic and a low dose of biotic that helps more than a large dose of biotic without the pre.
You can google prebiotics but the three I tend to stick to are onion, oats and honey. Just have some so that the biotic can feed on it/them and flourish and you get more from it. Mixing it into yoghurt simplymakes it easier to eat, it doesnt help it to flourish. Live yoghurt is the only one that helps. A lot of yoghurt is dead even though they have added a tiny bit of a so called biotic that is dead so they can put it on the label. Then it might taste nice and fill you up but has no benefit otherwise. I like muesli so I have some muesli and then yoghurt and make my own yoghurt.
I don't take activia yoghurt because I think it will help lol. I only use it to mix the VSL in as it tastes awful mixed with water.