Alflorex

[Gardener]

I have been taking the new probiotic Alflorex for a month now, but it seems to have made me worse. My bloating and feeling of terrible gas build up in my stomach as well as my abdomen has definitely been worse, accompanied by more pain and spasm and some explosive toilet times! I took one capsule a day for two weeks (terrible tummy rumbles at first, even woke me up) then spoke to the Clinician from Alflorex and she told me to cut down to one every third day, but think I will have to give up as not feeling any better. It's so depressing when we are led to believe something could well bring about a big improvement (I've been here many times before) and yet again - no help. Has anyone else tried Alflorex and what effect has it had please?

[Hidden]

Have you tried going lactose and/or gluten free or gone on FODMAPS ? Just because some people get some benefit from one thing doesn't mean it will help you. IBS is so complex you have to try lots of different things to find out what is actually affecting you in the first place.

[rob356]

Hi Gardener. I had a similar experience. I have ibs-d , but feel the infantis strain made me worse, felt like a backward step as I was managing pretty well before taking alflorex for a month. Maybe alflorex better for ibs-c?

I now take a probiotic containing acidophilus and bifidobacterium lactic, alongside low FODMAP diet, this works better for me.

Good luck with finding what works for you.

[Schembri1 in reply to rob356]

Could you tell me the name of your probiotics please

[rob356 in reply to Schembri1]

Bioglan biotic balance ultimate flora

[Linedanceing in reply to rob356]

Where do you get biotic balance ultimate flora? Pharmacy? Health store?

[Crossedwires]

I gave these a go, but sadly they made no difference to me at all. I think it really does depend on your own optimum gut flora mix and if this product isn't it then it won't help. We're all looking for that elusive thing that will help us and sometimes it takes a while to find it.

[Gardener]

Thank you all for replies. Yes sashapet I have done many diets including Fodmaps with no success. I tend to suffer more with IBS-C and very slow stomach emptying. Alflorex seemed to increase the gas and pressure throughout my digestive system, so making the symptoms worse. I have suffered for many years and could write a book of my experiences on the road for a cure or at least relief. For so many years no one knew about IBS, just 'all nerves' or psycological. As I'm sure many could testify, having to deal with others misunderstanding, unsympathetic attitudes and therefore judgements is a very heavy burden to add to a very debilitating condition.Sorry rant over, thanks for your empathy.

Ros

[Chasrdean in reply to Gardener]

Google or research Iliocecal valve disfunction you will, be amazed

[Synbad in reply to Gardener]

I also want to rant as I have only confided in 1 person about my ibs and I am sure she thinks I am a wimp, I even had to move country as I lived very near my 2 sons & too embarrassed to tell them, I have now become very isolated, wished I had had the courage to tell my sons but I do feel that unless you suffer this disease, you can't really know just how much it does affect your life. All you doctors, scientists, please find a cure for us, so very many of us are living miserable lives. There, that is my rant over, for today anyway!

[bburzycki]

Pro-biotics are like buying shoes or in my case camera bags, you never have enough and there are all different kinds and types...

I highly suggest trying many and since none of the are actually tested by federal testing labs.. who knows what we really are getting in most cases.

I have tried 5 I think:

VSL3 - Worked well only one strain

Florastor - works well only one strain but sometimes makes me feel a bit nauseous

JIGSAW PROBIOTICS - Seems to work well with no side effects...

Perfect Biotics - On order to try it

Prescript-Assist Probiotic - Going to try this soon - this one is interesting as it seems to use stuff others do not:

But with a description like this:

Prescript-Assist® (P-A) is a next-generation combination of 29 probiotic microflora "Soil-Based-Organisms (SBOs)" uniquely combined with a humic/fulvic acid prebiotic that enhances SBO proliferation.

I think I am going to be eating capsules full of garden dirt.

[richv in reply to bburzycki]

Maybe you have found a cure with "garden dirt" At least it is free.!

[Gardener]

Thank you for the info. If I were you I would be careful with the pre-biotic, I have always found this acts rather like fibre and makes the problems worse.

[Hidden in reply to Gardener]

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[bigbunbun3 in reply to Hidden]

Hi Bananadave, I have read these lasts few posts on Alflorex with interest as I have also been taking it for a month with no improvement ( I have IBS-C ).

I have not heard of the two products you mentioned, I will look into them. Are they helpful for IBS-D or C or both?

[Hidden in reply to bigbunbun3]

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[bigbunbun3 in reply to Hidden]

Hi Bananadave thank you for your reply. I have tried so many different supplements and therapies over the years, ( like most people on this forum ), just to keep trying to find a product that helps. I must admit the low FODMAP diet is the best thing to keep to, but I do tend break it as I love food!

I have done the elimination phase of the diet, ( which I kept to ), now waiting to see my dietitian in a couple of weeks for the reintroduction stage.

I am pleased that you have found some thing that works for you.

[ARLEN in reply to bigbunbun3]

I think perhaps it works with IBS-D and not C It seems to me that it is the people with this seem to get bad effects

[bigbunbun3]

Alflorex

[Hidden]

I have been taking Alflorex for about four months and have found that it has considerably helped with the discomfort I was suffering. My IBS is almost entirely caused by stress and anxiety and is not caused by what I eat or drink and has varied in the past between IBS-C and IBS-D. On the advice of Dr. Read I take one sachet a day of Questran/Colestyramine before my main meal and that, combined with one capsule of Alflorex in the morning, means that IBS seldom gives me problems.

I have also found that a book called "Making Friends with Anxiety" by Sarah Rayner is a great aid in helping to deal with anxiety.

[Gardener]

Thank you for your reply, so pleased you have found relief. I have had to stop the Alflorex as it was creating more wind and considerably increasing the pressure, pain and bloating. IBS is such a 'Chicken and egg' situation, the condition causes anxiety and of course that in itself can make it worse. Thank you for your suggestions.

[Rubyron]

Hi all -- new to this group. Have had IBS-c for much of my life, complicated by side effects from long-term medication (antidepressants) and anxiety, which goes into overdrive when the IBS gets worse, so a very vicious cycle is started. I have been taking Alflorex for a couple of weeks, and am about to give up -- it seems to be causing nausea, and for the past couple of days I've had heartburn. I also have GERD and a hiatus hernia, just to make life interesting, so I have to take esomeprazole to control that. Usually the esomeprazole works fine, but over the past few days I have felt pretty rough. The only other thing that's changed is how I'm controlling my constipation -- years ago, my GP put me on a nightly dose of senna. A year ago, he recommended halving the senna and adding docusate sodium, then moving on to just docusate sodium, which I have finally done. Two doc sod capsules a night, no senna -- seems to be working well. I can't imagine the nausea and heartburn are being caused by the doc sod, so I'm inclined to attribute it to the Alflorex. I used to take Optibac (the "Everyday" formula) but read that Alflorex was better for IBS, so I tried it. I'm going back to the Optibac.

[Gardener]

I was interested to read your post, but sorry to hear of your difficulties.As you know I gave up on Alflorex but did speak to the lady representative in Ireland about it. She agreed it can cause the symptoms to worsen initially and suggested taking just a tiny dose and then gradually increasing. I have used this approach with other things and for us 'very sensitive' people it is often helpful. Wish I had done that with the Alflorex. Re the omeprazol, my doc has recently tried me on that and it made me feel sick! So am now trying Rinitidene. I also have a hiatus hernia and terrible bloating throughout my digestive system with IBS C. This is such an awful condition to try and live with isn't it, but it does help to share ideas with other sufferers, sometimes I think they give better advice than the doctors.Hope you soon improve. Ros

[ARLEN]

I've just started taking this new probiotic I had high expectations but didn't expect to get really bad stomach cramps and had to keep running to loo about 7 times in 2 hrs This was after 8 days of taking Alflorex I suffer with IBS-C and always have to take a laxative because I don't go loo for weeks and get very uncomfortable otherwise I felt really ill after this episode and phoned the helpline They said it was normal and I should persevere for the 4 week initial period as it was my gut clearing out I decided to take 1 tablet every other day Yesterday I was fine but today terrible cramping again Don't feel I can carry on another couple of weeks like this which is a shame as Alflorex is not cheap Very disappointed that it had this effect on me as I had high expectation of feeling a lot better

[CLARE2265 in reply to ARLEN]

My daughter is taking Alflorex and she suffers from IBS C. We’re two weeks into the 4 week course and I’ve decided to give it every other day. The build up of gas and horrendous bloating is actually making it more difficult for her to have a decent BM. She takes Movicol and sodium picosulphate which work pretty well together. I can only attribute the increase in bloating and gas to the sudden increase in constipation symptoms. I’ll see if cutting the Alflorex down helps at all. Otherwise she’s well,in herself. We’ve tried quite a few probiotic supplements with mixed results. Hope you feel better soon.

[ARLEN]

Thanks for your good wishes I gave up on the Alflorex because of all the side effects I persevered till month was up as I’d paid a lot for it but I will never buy again Just trying to be careful with what I eat and take laxido and syrup of figs when I haven’t been for a week ! Hope your daughter is well All the bedt

[CLARE2265]

You too Arlen, IBS sucks doesn't it. Probiotics aren't always the answer for some people and they cost an arm and a leg. You're right though about diet, we've pin pointed certain culprits that make her bloated more than others. Here's hoping the medical profession will take us seriously one day. Take care.

[lizzylizz]

I a on my second month of Alflrorex and have to say I feel wonderful, not only has it helped my Ibs but I seem to have lots of energy but that's the snag because I can't get to sleep at night where I never had any problem before. Im wondering if anyone else has had this problem.

[Sarahkel93]

Having the same problem, my stomach and Ibs had become very manageable but two weeks into taking alflorax I noticed I had constant pains in my lower abdomen that I hadn't had in atleast a year, heart burn in the evenings and reflux at night. So disappointed especially because of the price of them! Not only that I noticed my anxiery was back with a bang, apparently this can be a side effect too.

[butterflies1]

Yes I have had exactly the same experience after taking Alflorex for two weeks, I was hoping to try it for the whole month, but my stomach is so extended it is really uncomfortable. Marian

[richv]

I noticed that new probiotics that some of Health Unlocked Subscribers try are very expensive. Alflorex on Amazon I think is $69 for 30 days. That is expensive. At least, people seem to be honest in their positive and negative responses. I hope!

I have IBS C with constant bloat and gas. I have tried Align, Digestive Advantage, Culturelle and a few others . I find some benefit from Miralax and Phazyme for gas and bloat. So so at this point. Still looking for the magic bullet.