Probiotic characteristics of Bacillus coagulans and associated implications for human health and diseases: sciencedirect.com/science/a...
Randomized clinical trial: the effect of probiotic Bacillus coagulans Unique IS2 vs. placebo on the symptoms management of irritable bowel syndrome in adults nature.com/articles/s41598-...
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Meleber
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There is some controversy over Bacillus type strains since they are near indestructible and if they become pathogenic or try to take over your system if you become immune compromised (for example you end up in hospital from a car accident), antibiotics can't treat it like it can other more generic strains. Please see this article:
The chances of the worst happening may be very low, so whether you want to take this probiotic depends on your approach to risk.
If you want to protect your system whilst on antibiotics, you can take Saccharomyces Boulardii, which is a beneficial yeast. Since it doesn't contain bacteria it won't be impacted by the antibiotics. There are numerous studies on it guarding against antibiotic associated diarrhea.
Thanks. Maybe S. boulardii is a better and safer option for me to try. I don't suffer from diarrhea while taking the antibiotic . I still have problems with constipation, (trapped) gas and bloating / feeling of fullness
"Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) symptoms also improve with S. boulardii administration. It is a condition frequently characterized by abdominal bloating, abdominal pain, and disturbed intestinal transit. These symptoms were shown to be alleviated in 50% of patients upon S. boulardii use [99]." That would be nice if I could become one of the 50% benefitting patients
Because I want to switch to another probiotic, Bacillus Coagulans MTCC 5856, Lactospore®, instead of Alflorex and of course want to know it's effect on my health and IBS related symptoms I decided to stop taking St John's Wort (I only did take it for a week).
I almost wanted to quit because of the adverse effects but since I have read that a Jarisch Herxheimer reaction can be a positive sign, that the probiotic is working for me, I'll continue taking this probiotic. For now I will lower the dosage for some weeks.
I lowered the dosage to 0.9 billion CFUs last week and will increase it this week to 1.2 billion for a week. Standard dosage could be 2 billion CFUs daily according to some research (ibs (dysbiosis?) and depression).
increased the dosage to 1,2 billion. now pain, bloating, increasing brain fogginess, nausea, feeling not well in general and not a proper bowel movement. can be the probiotic but also something i ate one or two days ago 🤔
I think it must be the probiotic so will skip the dosage today and will lower it. Probably need to stay on a lower dosage a bit longer or maybe the lower dosage is just enough for me. "Start low and go slow" is what I did read years ago but sometimes tend to forget 😕
Gets a little bit better every day since I stopped taking 1.2 billion CFUs lactospore. Less brain fogginess, feeling less sick. My gut feeling 😉 is that I took too much, was overdosing this particular probiotic although I read on the bottle that I could take 2 billion CFUs daily.🤔 I still have the feeling that this probiotic could be beneficial for me so will continue taking it but in a much lower dosage than mentioned on the label. Based on last week I think 0.9 billion is the maximum for my body.
Will skip the probiotic today as well and will start again tomorrow with one capsule containing 300 million CFUs bacillus coagulans (Lactospore®) . This capsule also has a prebiotic added.
Did start taking bacillus coagulans again Saturday evening, before bedtime. Now in a much lower dosage, just 300 million cfus. Now it's wait and see/feel what's happening with my body/symptoms.
Also will have my second colonoscopy this Friday because I had a some blood in my feces. My first colonoscopy was two years ago so I know what to expect 😉
Had my second colonoscopy yesterday. At first sight everything looks fine except the brownish colour, pigmentation, of my colon. This is most likely the result of the chronic use of rhamnus purshiana (cascara sagrada) as laxative. ema.europa.eu/documents/her...
Now waiting on the result of the biopsy.
Results came back from the laboratory. The only conclusion is pseudomelanosis coli as a result from the constant use of cascara sagrada. No waiting for a response from my new gastroenterologist whether I can continue using cascara or have to change (back) to bisacodyl / magnesiumhydroxide as laxatives.
Increased the dosage with one capsule=300 million cfus bacillus coagulans. Now taking 2 capsules, one in the morning and one in the evening, on an empty stomach. I will try this dosage for a month and can if necessary increases it to 3 capsules a day, 900 million cfus. 1,2 billion CFUs, 4 capsules is too much for my body. At this dosage I noticed adverse effects like increased brain fogginess and feeling more sick in general.
Lhermitte's sign? "Lhermitte's sign is popularly described as a shock-like sensation" I remember this when I gradually stopped taking venlafaxine, an antidepressant. Since five or six years I'm taking it again because I couldn't function at all without. Now it seems related to the probiotic and yeast I'm taking. Seems to have a relation with serotonine. In my case this could mean that the intestine is starting to work better and as a consequence is producing more serotonine. If this is the case, it's a good sign. Fingers crossed.
Addendum: if serotonine production in my intestine is really increasing to a 'normal' level I have to be very careful with amount of venlafaxine I'm taking. It could lead to the so called serotonine syndrome, an excess of serotonine. As a consequence of a better working gut it might be possible to gradually taper of the medication.
Another addendum Must mention that I did add saccharomyces boulardii to my regime. What I feel / notice now could also be an effect because of the combination of b. coagulans and s. boulardii. I will continue taking this combination till the beginning of November. Than I might try to leave b. coagulans out of the regime, continue with only taking s. boulardii for 4 to 6 wakes to see how things develop.
I did tell myself to start low and go slow. But am not listening and added one extra 300 million cfu bacillus coagulans to my regime yesterday evening. Why? Because I remember that 900 million CFU feeled for me as the proper dosage. 600 million feels as to little and I know from experience 1.2 billion is too much for my body. Now really have to stick to it for a month. So current regime is 900 million bacillus coagulans and as from the 9th of October also 250mg saccharomyces boulardii. I did stop taking berberine since a week.
Did change my laxative. I am now using sodium picosulphate 2.5 mg for my constipation issues, twice daily to keep it flowing. My gut tells me that it's better than bisacodyl 5 mg, not so harsh / 'aggressive'. Because I couldn't order it online in the Netherlands, they don't sell it since 2 years, I did order it in Belgium (online pharmacy).
Did add s. boulardii on the 9th of October but have to stop now. I'm more constipated again, getting sicker, and it might be that it's a result, effect of s. boulardii. It's better to take it when suffering from diarrhea I think and not having constipation predominant IBS like me. Okay, I did try it but didn't work for me.
I keep taking bacillus coagulans (Lactospore®) and the sodium picosulphate 2,5 mg or cascara sagrada, if my gastroenterologist doesn't object.
Must add I also started using berberine again. So almost back to what I already did, only the low dosage bacillus coagulans is 'new'. Some weeks to go and than I will 'evaluate' if the addition of the probiotic was somewhat helpful.
After some further reading I will add a different probiotic to my regime in a low dosage to start with. I've read some research articles on the probiotic L. reuteri and this probiotic could also be beneficial for my health symptoms including IBS C. Amongst others it's found in breast milk and I haven't been breastfed and had several courses of penicillin before my third birthday (and early life stress and some 'bad' genes). Can have led to a disbalance of my mycrobiome. The problem is that there are several strains available and probiotic functions are strain dependent. So I guess it will be a lucky shot but I think it's worth trying. It's difficult to find a single probiotic in a low dosage.
I will not add L. reuteri as probiotic but intend to change to reuteri, so actually stop taking b. coagulans probiotic because my quality of life isn't improving noticeably till now.
As from today I stopped taking bacillus coagulans (Lactospore) because I feel it isn't beneficial for me. I will continue with the probiotic l. reuteri, a new trial I take a low dosage because of my compromised gut. Will start a new topic on my experiences with this probiotic soon. healthunlocked.com/theibsne...
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Best probiotic? 
Has anyone tried kefir before? 
