VSL 3

I would not use any probiotics with a jpouch. They are meant for the large intestine, and can cause SIBO in the pouch. Dr Shen states as such as well and recommends Green Tea or green tea extract pills that can be bought on Amazon for maintainance

@Pouchomarx posted:

I would not use any probiotics with a jpouch. They are meant for the large intestine, and can cause SIBO in the pouch. Dr Shen states as such as well and recommends Green Tea or green tea extract pills that can be bought on Amazon for maintainance

Is it OK to just drink matcha daily instead of taking the pills?  I do that.  Do the pills have caffeine?  I'm interested in how the green tea works for maintenance.  Can you please tell me more?

I used to get VSL#3 on prescription for free. I found it actually did very little aside from give me cramps, wind, and not much else. I tried to use it for ages, but only just threw out boxes which expired in 2016 from my fridge.

Recently had some seriously ill health, cuffitis, blood, lord knows what else, out of nowhere, and out of desperation purchased some VSL#3 for £50GBP.

Only two packets in, I had serious levels of pain, and cramping like Ive never ever experienced, stopped the VSL and things calmed down.

It might work for some, and not for others of course, we are all different, but for me its not worth the money at all.

In the UK it was taken off prescription due to lack of clinical data proving it did anything.

Maybe I never gave it enough of a go in terms of consistent time, but the fact that I was "impressed" enough to have boxes from likely 8 years ago still sitting around probably tells the story tbh.

I do love the taste of it though, that sort of milky, flavour...mmm!

@Sara Marie posted:

Is it OK to just drink matcha daily instead of taking the pills?  I do that.  Do the pills have caffeine?  I'm interested in how the green tea works for maintenance.  Can you please tell me more?

I dont know specifically but Dr Shen has written many medical research reports on this..

@Pouchomarx posted:

I dont know specifically but Dr Shen has written many medical research reports on this..

Hi, and thank you for this!  I have googled and have found one study with a very small group that had a high success rate, which really isn't enough data to be conclusive.  I wonder if these results would be replicated in a larger group?  That was the only study I saw.  I didn't see the mechanism explained in the study.  Thought since you take it you might know.  I'm interested in trying it...but I wonder how it might affect my system overall, not just the pouch.  I never take antibiotics because I think they're too strong, but I wonder if I should do something that would have a similar effect.  My spleen is tired and this might help.

Which "Now" brand product is it?  There is one called "EGCg green tea extract 400 mg" and one called "Green Tea Extract 400 mg".

I do not take any probiotics as they dont work in the pouch, they are meant for the large intestine which we obviously dont have,, Dr Shen has done alot of studies on this stating as such. He recomends the EGCg green tea extract

@Pouchomarx posted:

I do not take any probiotics as they dont work in the pouch, they are meant for the large intestine which we obviously dont have,, Dr Shen has done alot of studies on this stating as such. He recomends the EGCg green tea extract

What is your experience with EGCg green tea extract?  Do you take it on a regular basis?  This is so interesting.  I will purchase some of the EGCg kind, try it out, and report back. 

I, as well as many others take VSL3 or Visbiome, basically the same thing. I believe that there is benefit from it, I went from having pouchitis regularly to much less frequently. I also added CBD oil and I have not had a flare since then. I'm curious about the green tea deal. I do think some of my gas is possibly from the Visbiome.

Good luck

Also if I am feeling off I take an extra Visbiome  dose at lunch (I take it regularly in the morning) and I am usually feeling much better by the afternoon.

@Pouchomarx posted:

I do not take any probiotics as they dont work in the pouch, they are meant for the large intestine which we obviously dont have,, Dr Shen has done alot of studies on this stating as such. He recomends the EGCg green tea extract

Saying that probiotics don't work in the pouch is misleading and could impact someone's decision to try those out.  Why would they only work in the large intestine? Plenty of people with the pouch take probiotics, and there have been many studies showing benefits.  They work for me and have for many years as well as others.  If you have specific studies from Dr. Shen that you can show, please do.  I can come back with many studies showing that probiotics can help with preventing the recurrence of pouchitis. 

The fact is that probiotics have been useful for many of us and saying that they don't work or are only meant for the large intestine is misleading.  That is your opinion, not a fact.

If someone wants info on probiotics and the pouch, then a simple search for probiotics on this site will bring up many posts.

@PouchLogic posted:

Also if I am feeling off I take an extra Visbiome  dose at lunch (I take it regularly in the morning) and I am usually feeling much better by the afternoon.

I have also felt that VSL#3 helped with symptoms-I don't take it regularly but when I'm feeling off, I take a couple with a meal for a few days.  I also take other probiotics and eat probiotic foods.  I try to mix it up with the strains, since that's supposed to be good for the microbiome. 

@Pouchomarx posted:

I do not take any probiotics as they dont work in the pouch, they are meant for the large intestine which we obviously dont have,, Dr Shen has done alot of studies on this stating as such. He recomends the EGCg green tea extract

Hello Poucho,

Can you share your experience with EGCg?  How much do you take per day and how does it affect you?  Does it solve all pouch woes?  Did you have ulcerative colitis before you had a pouch, or something else?  What else do you do for the health of your pouch besides taking EGCg?

Thanks!

Sara

https://www.j-pouch.org/topic/...2#704176715187945402

Dr Shen's paper says VSL#3 may help:   https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3093723/ 

I think all of us are different. I agree the size of the study is too small, and there are other studies that suggest it may not help. Seems more helpful in preventing pouchitis than in solving it.  I find his papers well worth reading

@douglitke posted:

https://www.j-pouch.org/topic/...2#704176715187945402

Dr Shen's paper says VSL#3 may help:   https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3093723/

I think all of us are different. I agree the size of the study is too small, and there are other studies that suggest it may not help. Seems more helpful in preventing pouchitis than in solving it.  I find his papers well worth reading

Thanks for sharing that paper.  Prevention of pouchitis-I'm all in!  ♥ 

Most of the studies of VSL #3 use fairly substantial doses. My best guess is that a couple of capsules of the stuff probably won’t help much, and it seems clear that it doesn’t help everyone. I take a very high dose, and I’m reasonably sure it helps me, but thank goodness I forced my insurance company to cover it.

@Sara Marie posted:

Hello Poucho,

Can you share your experience with EGCg?  How much do you take per day and how does it affect you?  Does it solve all pouch woes?  Did you have ulcerative colitis before you had a pouch, or something else?  What else do you do for the health of your pouch besides taking EGCg?

Thanks!

Sara

i dont take it, as i only get pouchitis maybe once a year

@DJJ2019 posted:

Saying that probiotics don't work in the pouch is misleading and could impact someone's decision to try those out.  Why would they only work in the large intestine? Plenty of people with the pouch take probiotics, and there have been many studies showing benefits.  They work for me and have for many years as well as others.  If you have specific studies from Dr. Shen that you can show, please do.  I can come back with many studies showing that probiotics can help with preventing the recurrence of pouchitis.

The fact is that probiotics have been useful for many of us and saying that they don't work or are only meant for the large intestine is misleading.  That is your opinion, not a fact.

If someone wants info on probiotics and the pouch, then a simple search for probiotics on this site will bring up many posts.

believe what you want, I am going to side with Dr Shen who has done the greatest amount of research on jpouches in the world. Not to mention he is the only GI in the world that has pioneered several scope procedures of the pouch to try to avoid surgery and fix many complex issues of the pouch. needle knife therapy and banding procedure for floppy pouch and prolapses just to name 2

@Pouchomarx posted:

i dont take it, as i only get pouchitis maybe once a year

Do you think that if you did take it you'd never get pouchitis?  I don't know if I've ever gotten what people call pouchitis, but I know I have inflammation and it's systemic and definitely there is low level inflammation in the pouch often.  I'm curious about your habits anyway, being a patient of Dr. Shen.  I wonder if you have picked up any other tips from him?