Can probiotics ease diarrhoea and daily loose stools?

[rustydog]

I have tried so, so many things over the years to help my IBS.

I am low fodmap, dairy free and am very careful with my food and drink intake, listen to gut directed hypnotherapy, exercise, I drink mint tea, have peppermint capsules, Imodium, mebeverine, alverine etc.

But not much helps.

The daily urgency as soon as I get up and subsequent loose/mushy stools every morning is wearing thin. It has been getting worse over the last few years and endless tests haven’t found a cause. I hate it, it makes my mornings fraught and angst ridden (which isn’t great for the bowels, I know!).

The one thing I haven’t ever tried is pro-biotics (mainly for fear they’ll make the diarrhoea worse!).

But I was talking to a friend who’s dog had loose stools for ages, she said probiotics sorted him out in a short space of time.

I know we aren’t dogs lol, but has anyone had any sucess with probiotics? And if so which ones would anyone recommend? There are so many to choose from.

[Liz1234ty]

Hi Rustydog, probiotics are the only thing that has consistently helped me. Not a cure, but I am much improved and no more loose stools or urgency. My advice, based upon experience would be:

1. start really slowly and cautiously, so if in liquid form start with a tablespoon a day and no where near the full dose as that will reduce the initial side effects. With tablets try them every other day and not daily until your body adapts to them.

2. try the probiotic for as long as the manufacturers say it should take to work - sometimes this can be 4-6 weeks but most of the ones I have tried were for 12 weeks. Then if no improvements after that time try another strain/product. I tried about 3 different kinds with mild side effects and no improvement before taking Symprove which has improved my symptoms by about 50-70% but took about 8 weeks before I saw any improvement at all. I also take a small dose of Chuckling Goat kefir but nowhere near the full dose.

3. Look at the ingredients list and avoid ones that contain any sugar or sucrose etc. Try and keep it pure.

4. Look to see if there are any clinical trials that back up the product. That normally means trying a more expensive probiotic but at least you have some reassurance about quality and efficacy.

I hope that helps...Good luck

[rustydog in reply to Liz1234ty]

That you very much, I will start doing my research.

[grumpyold]

Alflorex chewable banana and strawberry tablets from Precision Biotics worked for me. I get them from Amazon. They are about £25 to £28 for 30 tablets.

[rustydog in reply to grumpyold]

Thank you, I will have a look at those

[Coachmanbythesea]

Hi Rustydog, I’ll add my support for probiotics. I have Diverticulosis and my symptoms include loose stools and/or diarrhoea, enormous amounts of gas and bloating. When first diagnosed via endoscopy my doc suggested Fybogel to decrease stool looseness and to basically research all I could and find out what worked for me. Accidentally I found that live yogurt calmed my gut down and got rid of the pain caused by trapped wind. Also my stools are better; not perfect but a lot better than water!

I hope you find something that works for you!

[rustydog in reply to Coachmanbythesea]

That’s great, thank you.

[Angrybelly in reply to rustydog]

Diverticular disease is horrible and it acts like you have ibs at times, but in my opinion a sigmoid full of holes is never going to be doing its job correctly. Some people have more problems than others but for a few it's a never ending battle.

[greylow]

Hi rusty dog, I've found alforex an absolute game changer for me. After 22 years of I bs-d, these are the only thing that has worked for my stomach problems. I felt the benefit from them after 2 weeks, and after 12 weeks my stomach is as near normal as I could have hoped for.

[rustydog in reply to greylow]

That’s so encouraging, thank you.

[xjrs]

Alflorex probiotic was the one that helped me the most. It has been scientifically studied for IBS.

[Superzob]

In principle, yes, but I would also cut down on peppermint and ginger - they are great for the stomach, but can cause diarrhoea (you can’t win!). Like many others, I have also had some success with Alflorex, but there is “no one size fits all” for IBS (any more than there is with anything else, for that matter). You are absolutely right to try anything - after all, you never know till you’ve tried!

Hope it works out for you.

[Luisa22]

rustydog, if you find something that helps you, could you post back either here or a new thread? Because I am also scared to take probiotics in case they make me worse, even though I have heard that Alflorex is so good for IBS. So I would love to know if they helped you, and I hope they do !

I only have loose stools sometimes, if I eat too many of my favourite foods (which by the way are fruit and veg !) I get a bout of actual diarrhea for no obvious reason every so often but that can go months between. I get slight discomfort lower tummy on the left and sometimes some distension about 4 hrs after dinner, and pass completely smell-less wind a lot when I get up in the morning

[rustydog in reply to Luisa22]

I do keep putting off the probiotics as I’m scared to take them too, incase they make things worse. But I’ll try slow and little amounts at first. If it helps I will definitely post.

[Smarrco14]

mebeverine and probiotics helped me after a year of ibs. A dietician suggested trying fructose free diet as well and after a few months of sticking to the fructose free diet I began to feel better. I still don't eat anything with fructose in it.

[rustydog in reply to Smarrco14]

I avoid fructose too, really upsets me. I follow the low fodmap very strictly.

[Angrybelly]

Kefir has helped me tremendously, all others have failed.

[rustydog in reply to Angrybelly]

I have always wanted to try it but I can’t tolerate dairy.