notsotough,

I don't have a colon either and have had my J-Pouch since January, 1994. Its a shame no doctor ever told me about Probioctics and many in the health field do not endore it either. I only discovered it in August of last year from the site.

Why did you dislike tasting it? If you took that with water like I did in the beginning, yes the taste is disgusting. So on this site, someone told me take it with milk (I take it with Rice Milk since I cannot have dairy) and it tastes fine. In fact, you barely even taste the powder.

Yes, the powder is more potent and has much more live bacterial of probioctics then the pill formula.

Rocket

I take one Culturelle capsule in the morning and one small bottle of DanActive in the evenings. This works for me. Fat free yogurt is good for us folks as well.

I'm not aware of any problem with the VSL capsules other than the number needed at the higher doses. On my current VSL #3 dose I'd have to take 32 of the capsules daily for an equivalent dose to 4 DS packets. Metamucil capsules are a different story. Some here have had success with them, but the contents really need to mix well with the stool, and that didn't work for me. I know you didn't ask about Metamucil...

Hi you guys,
I have just begun taking probiotics because my pouch has gone crazy after an antibiotic treatment for another infection.
I have bought Udo's choice, but can anyone tell me the difference between the two?
Thank you.

notsotough,

I've had a J-Pouch since 1999. I had my first and only total blockage last month. After a complete study, it's been determined that inflammation caused a narrowing which in turn caused the blockage. A possible cause is multiple pouchitis infections close together where the infection traveled past the pouch into the intestine. My GI doctor will now be cycling different antibiotics for me, & just today I saw the surgeon who has recommended VSL#3 capsules. I don't think he would have me take this if it wasn't good for someone without a colon. His feeling is this is the best probiotic on the market. Even though it's costly, I'll give it a try because anything to keep me out of the hospital and out of surgery is a good thing!

My insurance covers 2 VSL #3 DS per day. My husband mixes it in 6 oz of gatorade and presents it in a martini glass. We call it the Blue Lagoon and pretend I am drinking on a sunny, warm beach.
It is too soon to know if it is working but at least it makes us smile.

But do you know what the difference between the two products are? And also, if you know how long to expect that it will take before you can feel an effect?

Udo's seems to have a few different probiotics. In general, the bacterial probiotics may have different strains and different quantities. They seem to take a couple of weeks to work for most people. If you've very interested in comparing two brands, you'll get the most information by trying one for a couple of months, and then switching to the other. I like VSL #3 DS in part because it's included in my prescription drug coverage, and is better studied than most for folks with J-pouches.

Thank you Scott. I am just curious because I just bought Udo's and are keeping my fingers crossed that it will work soon. My pouch got very, very upset after I was on antibiotics. Now the doctors want to give me another type of antibiotics to make it calm down, but I have chosen to try probiotics and see if it works instead.
I have only taken it for a few days but think that things are feeling a it better now. So I keep my fingers crossed.

Probiotics alone seemed to keep me in good shape for a couple of years. More recently I've needed to stay on Cipro. You can continue probiotics while on antibiotics, and many would say it's a good idea to do so.

One of the challenges we face is that our symptoms can change with no connection to what we've put in our mouths, but it's always tempting to look for a simple cause.

Well, I'm allways looking for a cause, because if I could only find it, I would know how to respond.
We have a good healtcare system here in Denmark, but there are some serious lacks in the medical tradition... like trying to look really hard for the cause, instead of just treating the sympthoms. When I called the hospital, I was told that they would prescribe some antibiotics. Then I googled, found out about probiotics and called them up again, asking their oppionion about it. 'Great idea' and 'sure, you just go ahead with that', was the answer. But they never suggested it themselves. So if I had not googled a bit, I would just be on antibiotics right now. It newer stops to chock me, how much on the beat you have to be as a patient. I am just happy, that I am capable to be on the beat this time.

Probiotics are gaining some traction in the medical community, but it's a slow transition. The research is kind of spotty, and the theoretical basis for them is still very primitive. The array of bugs that constitute a healthy microbiome surely numbers in the thousands, and we eat one or two or six species. The acid in the stomach likely kills nearly all of them, and the few surviving bacteria seem to help some of us, while they give others gas.

All that being said, I take VSL #3 and I think it helps me. Good luck!

Thank you again for your comment, Scott.
It seems to have helped me too these days, though I am a bit worried, since my pouch, which usually sounds like a thunderstorm and feels like I have an alien inside, has suddenly become very, very silence. But it still works, so maeby this is just a positive sideeffect of the bacteria... I hope.
Have a great Sunday.

LoveLife,
VSL#3 is one of two probiotics that I found research confirming its efficacy in putting ulcerative colitis in remission
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pm...3033537/?tool=pubmed. Originally I found a much better article that used a sample of 2,000 people studied over a three year period. It may have been a German study which is why I am having trouble finding it again. I was told it takes at least three weeks for the healthiest bacterial balance to be achieved.
If you are taking antibiotics, my colorectal surgeon said to wait four hours after the antibiotic before taking the probiotic. I have not found any literature supporting this, but I do it anyway.
I hope it works for you.