VSL#3 is something your body has to "get used to". You may want to start at a half dose for a week and then build up. I was told that when the good bacteria start to build up in your body, they do produce gas. Eventually your body acclimates to that.

You mention using it as a maintenance therapy. Did you have pouchitis in the past? Were you on antibiotics? Because sometimes after stopping the antibiotics, pouchitis can return and if starting the VSL coincides with stopping your antibiotics/maybe pouchitis, then maybe that is actually the culprit?

I hope you feel better!
~Tammy

quote:

Because sometimes after stopping the antibiotics, pouchitis can return and if starting the VSL coincides with stopping your antibiotics/maybe pouchitis, then maybe that is actually the culprit?

This is a good point and the only way to know for sure is to stop the VSL cold, and take nothing. If the symptoms continue, then it is probably pouchitis.

I've experimented with different ways of going back on VSL after antibiotics. I took VSL for over a year and was pouchitis free. I stopped the VSL, to see what would happen. Well what happened is the pouchitis came back within 2 weeks. Went back on antibiotics, finished the 2 weeks on antibiotics, started VSL and was having bad gas etc above what I would typically expect. I then tried the following which worked great for me. I completed another 14 day course of antibiotics, cipro 500 x2 a day. Then I continued another 7 days with 500mg of cipro in the morning and one VSL DS sachet at night. At the conclusion of the 7 days I stopped the morning cipro and have been taking just VSL twice a day and am back to normal...for now at least. I found it was less of a shock to the system this way.