Probiotic yogurt

[dodo1]

As I have been on steroids for 3years my Doctor said I should go on tablets for my stomach as a preventative measure, I have tried 3 different lots and they all made me ill - pains in my stomach, sick and diarrhoea - I am better without them. I seem to remember someone having the same problem who had started taking probiotic yogurt and she had had no problems with her stomach at all. Can anyone help - have I got the right yogurt and if so can you give me the name on the yogurt. Do you have it first thing in the morning?

[PMRpro Ambassador]

Sometimes I really do wonder...

This is a bit shutting the stable door after the proverbial horse has bolted! If you have been fine for 3 years why has he suddenly decided you need a PPI?Which are renowned for upsetting stomachs.

Ranitidine (Zantac) has fewer side effects but the yoghurt answer is fine for many of us. A good organic yog, preferably plain so it has no added sugar and add your own flavouring if you can't face it plain. If you don't really like yoghurt try Greek-style - not sour at all and a bit like cream.

[dodo1 in reply to PMRpro]

Hi PMRpro I don't know why he decided that I should take tablets for my stomach - I had gone for something else and he just came up with it and by the way Ranitidine was the last of the three but it still had the same affect as the others.

I don't like to sound clueless but what is Greek-style?

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to dodo1]

Hi dodo,

My late husband who had stomach problems always had Greek yogurt. As PMRPro said it tastes creamier than usual. Think what we get in UK is made from a mixture of goats and cows milk. May be wrong, I'm not a yogurt aficionado. But I'm sure someone will put you right. I always got Total brand for him, but most supermarkets do their own. I usually go for Yeo Valley Greek style yogurt. You can get full fat (better for calcium intake) or reduced fat varieties in both. Hope this helps.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to dodo1]

Greek yoghurt is made slightly differently - only that type of yoghurt made in Greece can be called Greek yoghurt, the brand sold as Total is but all the others are called Greek-style. Most companies make it, an organic one is probably best.

Look in the yoghurt section of the chiller aisle in the supermarket - and as DL says, go for one with fat in it, not the 0% stuff.

[paddyfields in reply to PMRpro]

Despite having a sensitive tum, I have never had any stomach problems related to prednisone, or indeed other tablets I take so its fair to assume that's its down to the pro-biotic yoghurt I have every day for breakfast.

[Celtic PMRGCAuk volunteer]

dodo, that sounds like me with stomach pain and diarrhoea from the PPIs - both Omeprazole and Lansoprazole were stopped almost as soon as they were started. At the time I couldn't believe that medication prescribed to protect my stomach could, in fact, do just the opposite. I had eaten a certain amount of yoghurt for years but I upped it to a small pot with my breakfast each morning before taking the steroids, adding it to my muesli or porridge, and never had another problem with my stomach throughout 5.5 years on steroids. I have Yeo Valley organic natural 0% fat. The only sugar it contains is that naturally occurring from the milk.

[Chihuahua1 in reply to Celtic]

I wasn't able to take lansoprazole because of pain and omeprazole didn't help with my already compromised gut to start. I was put on esomeprazole and it worked a treat. After a few months they took me off it because it was "too expensive" and put back on to omeprazole. After an initial flare again and playing with the dose I was eventually settled onto it at a dose of 40mg instead of the usual 20mg and I'm fine now. It might be worth saying that I also have a hiatus hernia, so needed to be settled on something. They would have put me back on the esomeprazole had the others not worked but we got there

[tina-shelley]

Hello dodo, I unfortunately have to take omeprazole, as I have a sore in my stomach and my GP was very concerned about the sore and preds. But luckily for me I have not suffered any side effects. However, I also eat yogurt and drink alpro almond milk, the unsweetened one, when I take my morning medication which includes my preds.

Probiotic yogurts are not all they are claimed to be. Firstly they contain a lot of sugar which is the active ingredient that keeps the bacteria active. Plus, the level of bacteria in each of the yogurt pots is very low in relation to how many are required to really have an impact on the workings and well being of your gut. You are better off buying an organic yogurt instead and if you really want to improve your guts welfare purchase the bacteria in tablet form and take daily. regards, christina

[PMRandRA]

Hello Dodo. It is a bit of a nuisance when a medicine doesn't agree, especially when you have to face the Doc with the same problem again and again and he ends up looking at you sideways. Never mind, where there's a will there's a way and it's not as if we want to remain ill forever, if only they knew!

Anyway, I was put onto Lansoprazole which was dreadful then replaced with Omeprazole, which does the trick. I have found that taking it last thing at night is best for me and that covers the whole day following, although it isn't a fussy drug and can be taken whenever you feel like it, with or without food. It did loosen me up at first, but that has resolved now as my body got used to it and I would prefer being very regular than have an ulcer.

I also have a 50ml tub of Yeo Valley full fat (because fat doesn't make fat, carbs do) Organic yoghurt a day and a thingy of Yakult too for the probiotics. I used to loathe the plain yoghurt but in the same way as one gets used to tea without sugar, I got used to it and now it's OK. I have mine for evening pudding and the Yakult with breakfast.

If you just fiddle around with times and recipes, you'll soon find your preferred way. Sadly at first, it's rather like living on the moon!

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to PMRandRA]

It always makes me laugh at the fuss about full fat dairy products - full fat milk is less than 5% fat. If any other food was 5% fat it would be classified as low fat!

Not that I care - full fat tastes better and fills you up for longer without any added sugar or any of the other things they put into it to make it taste "better" or make the consistency more acceptable rather than runny (anyone else remember yogs 50 years ago?).

And as PMRandRA says - fat ain't the culprit, carbs are. Cutting carbs helps avoid the risk of diabetes and weight gain and will bring a raised cholesterol back to within normal range far better than any other option (unless you have familial hypercholesterolaemia but that is another story).

[PMRandRA in reply to PMRpro]

Too true PMRpro! All of those low fat products are chock full of sugar and guar gum and xanthum gum, totally unnatural and headed straight for the hips. My motto is "if it's man made, chuck it away" We can't beat nature, so why try.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to PMRandRA]

Twins separated at birth!!!!! Did a lecture about soap and other "skincare products" on another forum this afternoon!!!!

[PMRandRA in reply to PMRpro]

Lol PMRpro, some call me barmy, ho hum. There was an article in the news about sun cream and I thought to myself why can't they see that the incidences of skin cancer has risen with the slap it on culture of skin cream? So what causes it? Hmmm.

Sorry for butting in on this thread dodo1. You mention 3 tablets which messed you up, were they three of the same type? Or three different applications with differing results? Hopefully the yoghurt will be enough, but should you get any tummy pains or even tweaks, which could also be pains in the back between the scapulae, please go straight to your GP. Good luck.

[dodo1 in reply to PMRandRA]

Hi, PMRpro, The three tablets were Lansoprazole,

Omeprazole and Ranitidine. Where is the scapulae? I already suffer from acute back pain caused by wear and tear they say but it has gone a lot worse just recently and seems to be coming round the front just past the hip bone

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to dodo1]

Scapula = shoulder blade

Try Bowen therapy for your back pain - others will sing its praises too.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to PMRandRA]

Apparently it has been noted that suncream can be implicated in skin cancers. Plus people put not enough on and then go out in the sun for hours anyway. I don't use it except very occasionally when I know I must be out in sun - I wear shirts and a hat and rarely get even pink never mind red. By early May I am very brown - which is supposed to be about factor 12. I know brown is already a sign of some damage but you can't avoid some sun when you live in Italy. And the wrinkles I have are due to massive weight loss after pred...

[dodo1]

Thank you all very much for your replies re my query Probiotic yogurt, they have been very helpful, I am not taking any more tablets for so called preventative reasons.my stomach was fine until then, the side effects on those three tablets were really nasty.

[linda49 in reply to dodo1]

Hi Dodo

Like you I've had severe reactions to the PPI drugs, Lanzoprazole and Oneprazole as you may have read in my post titled "confined to barracks". It's a week now since I stopped taking them and I feel I have almost returned to normal. I am having probiotic yogurt at breakfast with my preds. My appetite has returned. I have also realised today that my ankles and legs are much les swollen than previously. Could this also be a side effect of PPI's? I was considering having some Bowen therapy to ease the swollen legs but think I will wait a couple of weeks and see how things pan out.

Linda

[dodo1 in reply to linda49]

Hi Linda49,

I cannot get over the fact that these tablets are supposed to help your stomach - some help!!!! - I don't know whether one of the side effects of the PPI's are swollen ankles but all I know is that when I stop taking the PPI's my feet and ankles were less swollen - I could not get into my walking boots to take the dog out and now I can get in them again.

Dodo1

[Moonmaiden1]

Anybody heard about Kefir? Wonderful live culture that you grow in milk or water and, is extremely beneficial in building up our immune systems. It is well documented the positive outcomes for many individuals that have taken Kefir.

Please check it out.

[PMRandRA in reply to Moonmaiden1]

Will do, thanks Moonmaiden,