Probiotic yoghurt nightmare: Hi I recently... - IBS Network

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Probiotic yoghurt nightmare

Lj1983 profile image
21 Replies

Hi I recently started taking live yoghurt to help with ibs symptoms. Initially tried alpro plant based with some fruit however this resulted in constant toilet visits and a realisation I may infant have a soya allergy. After this I chose an alternative supermarket live yoghurt which resulted in the same outcome therefore switched to activia live. Again...same issue of regular unannounced pain followed by urgency and diarrhea. I have no history of lactose I tolerance and wondered if anyone has had simular experience?

Bowels haven't been right since the change and 2 weeks on still having stomach pain, urgency and feeling generally crap 🙈

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Lj1983 profile image
Lj1983
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21 Replies
MMMcFart profile image
MMMcFart

I am avoiding the branded non dairy yoghurts as they usually have added thickeners, starches , emulsifiers etc .

At the moment I get a very simple soy yoghurt from the health food shop Sojade as it has no additives .

But am wondering if I have a soy allergy so intend to get bio starters and make my own . I also make my own sauerkraut .

Have constant cramps and bloating and nothing helps really though !

greylow profile image
greylow

I was eating plain kefir or plain greek yogurt for three years and suffered terrible cramping but never associated it with the yogurt/ kefir, I ran out of it one day and noticed I had no cramping or pain so I stopped taking it and I've been pain free ever since

Coachmanbythesea profile image
Coachmanbythesea

Hi, isn’t it a nightmare? A while back I had the same issues; for ages natural live yoghurt was keeping my guts nice and calm….suddenly everything changed and it made me really bad. I stopped using it and the trouble stopped. What I’ve learned so far on my journey is that our bodies are amazingly complex- and change constantly! Gradually I’ve worked out through trial and error which foods suit me and which don’t so I avoid the trigger foods.

PinkDragonfly profile image
PinkDragonfly

Yes I have exactly the same problem. Any kind of probiotics give me terrible tummy pains and diarrhoea. I’m not good with any milk product really but probiotics are the worst.

MargaritaNiko profile image
MargaritaNiko

Hi, I haven’t I’m afraid but I do find I’m good with plain kefir yoghurt with some berries and banana as it has nothing added to it. It’s really good for your gut bacteria too. Don’t quote me but I think I read somewhere that the lactose is barely there if at all in kefir because of the fermentation process. Totally only my personal experience though, can see from another comment they might not have had a good experience with it. Good luck. x

BabsyWabsy profile image
BabsyWabsy in reply toMargaritaNiko

You are correct. The process of fermentation in yogurt uses up the lactose and turns it into lactic acid, hence the tangy flavour.

Snowcat18 profile image
Snowcat18

hi. You might be like me. I thought I had lactose intolerance so only used lactose free products but the GI issues carried on - bloating, wind, bouts of diarrhoea etc. Until a doctor suggested it might be the actual milk proteins causing the trouble, so I stopped all dairy and all the symptoms cleared up! I steer clear of it all now, although I can occasionally have a small amount of hard cheese like cheddar, as a treat!

BabsyWabsy profile image
BabsyWabsy in reply toSnowcat18

Have you come across A1 and A2 beta casein? This is a milk protein. Some people struggle with A1, which is the most common, but are OK with A2 which is naturally present in the milk of Jersey and Guernsey cows. However, as you can tolerate a small amount of cheese, it might be the whey proteins (lactalbumin and lactoglobulin) that are the problem. Would your doctor be up for doing some allergy testing? Lactose is an intolerance, allergies are generally related to proteins. Good luck, I hope you can solve the mystery.

Snowcat18 profile image
Snowcat18 in reply toBabsyWabsy

Yes I had heard of A1 and A2 but I’d forgotten all about it! Thanks for the reminder. No chance of allergy testing I’m afraid - I’ve already asked, unless it’s potentially life threatening … I’m happy to go without as I’m already vegetarian so guess I’m now vegan lol! No problem with that but thank you for taking the time to reply 🙂

SanVeron profile image
SanVeron

Hi I read your post with great interest. I can't eat yogurt of any kind. Even the raved about kefir. I have IBS D. Recently I went for a walk along the beach with my daughter and our dogs. We'd stopped off at Costa on the way for a take out I had a latte. Literally an hour later walking down the beach I needed to go. The obvious happened which left me so upset and terribly anxious. I now believe I'm lactose intolerant. I've read lactase which our body uses to digest lactose depletes as we get older so it becomes more difficult to digest.

MatthewU profile image
MatthewU

Try cutting out milk and wheat products altogether and see how you feel after a week or so.

Superzob profile image
Superzob

I read that fermented foods of all kinds can be a problem for IBS sufferers, and there is no way of telling until you try them. I’ve avoided them for years, but mainly because I didn’t like them, though I have had some success with small amounts of yoghurt which I tried as part of the Zoe programme. Of course, it was that programme amongst others which has promoted the benefits of fermented foods but, as Zoe admitted to me, these “benefits” don’t necessarily work with a gut dysfunction like IBS. Sadly, it’s all a bit hit and miss, and those of us with IBS might just have to accept that what’s good for people with “normal” bowel function doesn’t necessarily work for us.

Luisa22 profile image
Luisa22 in reply toSuperzob

I never feel great the next day if I even eat sourdough bread! It's not the gluten. I'm fine with ordinary ciabatta bread (with few ingredients.) But my body doesn't like sourdough.

I can eat honey too, but bought a high quality organic "medicinal" honey to put on a wound. The knife I was using got some honey stuck to it so licked it off, and it tasted great. But the next day my tum wasn't so good. I tried it twice and got the same result.. Not sure if that has natural probiotics or not though.

SanVeron profile image
SanVeron in reply toLuisa22

Hi i can't eat sour dough either. I read supermarket stuff us the worst because the fermentation process isn't long enough to ferment out all the baddies. It should be minimum 18 hours. Some supermarkets only ferment for 12 hours leaving the process to continue fermenting ..in our guts. I guess it saves time and money. If course unless it's advertised on the packaging we have no way of knowing. Best avoid altogether

Luisa22 profile image
Luisa22 in reply toSanVeron

What you said is really interesting. I didn't know that. Thanks. Well, I haven't even tried to eat any sourdough for a year or two. If something goes very badly with me and isn't essential, that's it, I walk away from it. I can't even be bothered trying. I'm happy with Italian ciabatta.

Designlover07 profile image
Designlover07

I also can absolutely not tolerate yogurt or any probiotic supplements, even though doctors tend to tell you you take probiotics for all of your intestinal problems. I have never got a clear diagnosis on what is causing all of my quite severe bowel symptoms so I won't conclude that it is simply IBS, since that has become the catch all diagnosis for all intestinal problems that doctors cannot find a clear diagnosis for. From researching a bit and from discussions with my naturopath, I have learned that probiotics can indeed create hellish side effects for people with SIBO. I believe in many cases, it is important to eliminate any bad bacteria in the bowel before before repopulating with good bacteria (probiotics); I have also read that perhaps soil based probiotics may not have the same side effects on the gut as lactobacillus species of bacteria. Since IBS symptoms and SIBO symptoms are very similar and also can overlap, I suspect that I have SIBO and have ordered the test to find out. Also, I have seen that there is a test for IBS online as well, but will have to look into the validity of the results of that test.

Dudders123 profile image
Dudders123 in reply toDesignlover07

Seems any pro/pre/post biotic affair really makes my symptoms much worse. Called a cease fire with all of them - seems the popular thing but maybe the current fad is causing the IBS epidemic - it’s a thought !!! Maybe just avoid anything that gets so much hype - let’s go back to basic cooking and war time rations - sick to the back teeth of trying and failing ☹️X My problem is constipation, I’ve swallowed it, drunk it and shoved a lot of things in - I just don’t work, guess I’m faulty X

Cathie09 profile image
Cathie09

You have to be careful with live yogurt , it’s loaded with good bacteria and when we take it , it’s like a war zone in our stomach , because we all have bad bacteria and now the good bacteria is fighting to kill off the bad , this can cause gas , cramps, diarrhea, nausea etc , try taking less than the recommended amount, so not so much fighting in your system, as time goes on you will have killed off some of the bad stuff , and you can try taking a bit more, you can kinda figure out after a week or so what amount is good for you , so maybe add more or go less , hope this helps, let us know.

Shopnow1 profile image
Shopnow1

Very interested to see this as had similar experience. I have slow transit bowel with severe constipation and IBS and the last two years have been the worst in my life. Anyway in a attempt to help my symptoms tried a prebiotic which caused horrendous cramps so gave these up and replaced with greek yoghurt . At first I was delighted because my constipation improved but very quickly went the other way with nausea and generally feeling yukky . I actually felt that bad went to my GP and had some blood test that highlighted I had candida so at first put the symptoms down to that but after getting to the point where I actually couldnt stand even the smell of yoghurt stopped eating it and after several weeks my stomach went back to normal.

Ive never had a problem with any type of yoghurt before and to be honest the very thought of any type makes me heave now, Ive never had a problem with dairy products before although in later life dislike full milk and cream as sets off my IBS . I guess our bodies change for reasons I dont really understand !

Hope you feel better soon,

Spaceboy_60 profile image
Spaceboy_60

Very sensitive stomach here don't seem to be able to tolerate much including probiotics even small amounts is kind of annoying

Funkyfaerie profile image
Funkyfaerie

Hi, I had exactly the same symptoms as you after trying 2 different live yoghurt. Quid bad tummy pain, wind, burping, nausea and very frequent trips to the loo. My daughter thought it might be lactose intolerance, but like you I gave no problem with anything else.I think I have Di much bad bacteria in my guts, that when I introduce the live (good) bacteria, there is literally a fight in my guts. It was do bad I said never again, but I'm sure if maybe I perhaps gad half a teaspoon a day, maybe I could alter that, but I'm nervous!

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