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I don't take one, and am IBS-A
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S.
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1. no I don't take a probiotic right now, but I have in the past, and stopped mostly because it was getting to be so expensive. However, my SFS has a probiotic blend in it, but it is probably not as powerful as the refrigerated one that I took before. To not be too confusing I am going to answer the questions by first answering the question regarding the SFS/probiotic blend that I take and then putting a / mark and answering the question regarding the probiotic that I no longer take.
2. I am a D. But I am very stable now, i only get sick if I truly cheat on the diet, and sometimes not even then, if I take digestive enzymes and stay calm.
3. Fiber Smart is the brand name of the SFS/probiotic blend. / Natren was the brand of the refrigerated Probiotic.
4. 2 a day / 1 a day
5. With a meal, one before lunch and one before dinner / Right away when i woke up, and wait about 30 mins. before eating breakfast
6. Fibersmart probably does bloat me a little, but it is hard to say because I bloat up after I eat anything or eat too much / the refrigerated probiotic did not cause gas or bloating to any significant amount that I remember
7. The Fibersmart makes my BM's very regular, one every morning on time, however if I don't drink enough water I feel a little constipated but it eventually comes out / the refrigerated probiotic made by BM's less firm and almost a feeling like it was trying to get "everything" out and clean everything out, not a bad feeling, just not what i would say is a normal BM.
8. I buy and bought both products at the Better Health Market.
Augie,
I was very bad IBS-D before I started the IBS diet. I mean seriously bad, 5 or 6 times in the morning and sometimes after lunch, I could not eat in the mornings at all, and lunch was sometimes very hard to eat also, I felt awful all the time and was taking like 3 Immodiums AD just to make it through the day. I wouldn't go anywhere unless I had to, or I would starve myself so that I could go somewhere and not worry about anything wanting to come out. It was awful. I lost a lot of weight and my hair was falling out, I looked really sick and people kept asking me if I was alright or anorexic.
Today I am great. Oh, I still feel bad sometimes when I am stressed out, but overall I am very stable, I eat breakfast, lunch, dinner, and 3 snacks a day, and have a regular BM every morning. I feel the main things for the amazing turn around is the IBS diet and the addition of the SFS/probiotic.
Keep on asking questions, don't feel like you are pestering us. If you need help, we are here. Who else could you ask? Probably no one, so keep on asking your questions, and you don't have to apologize for pestering us.
angela
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Yes, I take Culturelle and it seems to help a bit (I'm ibs-A). I haven't noticed any change in gas, i.e. more or less, but I 've noticed that I am able to eat things that used to bother me (within limits). I like them because they are convenient (come in individually sealed foil blister packs). You don't have to keep them in the 'fridge although I do anyway. I take one a day at dinner. I get mine at Walgreens. Culturelle is lactobacillus GG.
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I am taking a Probiotic.
I am C
The brand I take is Florify
I take one a day (but I'm thinking of upping it)
I usually take it after lunch
My gas and bloating have decresed since I sarted taking it, but I started taking it around the same time that I started Heather's Diet. So I'm not sure What I can contribute to which. I can definately tell you that my it relaxes my stomach a bit.
Yes
I order my probiotics from Melaluca (I'm a member) but check out your local Health food store and discuss brands with the sales person. I'm thinking of taking a seconf fose, and if I do it will definately be a different brand as Florify is ghastly expensive. I've been discussing the properties of the different probiotics with one of the sales ladies at Wild Oats.
Good luck with your research.
Chany
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Hi Augie.
I take one tsp of Eagle Cyto-bifidus every morning (it contains about a dozen different accidopholus and one bifidus strain of bacteria). This probiotic needs to be kept cold. I get it from my naturopath.
My naturopath prescribed this probiotic for my BM and, except for my recent episode when I was eating gluten and shouldn't have been, I have had very regular bowel motions (upon going GF again I have super duper BMs again, rayy) 
So I think probiotics along with a diet change has helped me tremendously. I also take sero mag magnesium for BMs (I posted this info to you a couple of weeks ago).
I have been suffering really bad gas and bloating ever since starting SFS but upon stopping the other day I now have a washboard tummy again - hoooooorraaaayyyyyy!! So no, this probiotic does not make me bloated. I also think I may one of the small few who can have very regular BMs without an SFS.
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~ Live life, don't let life live you ~
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Never heard of Sero Mag magnesium or the name of your probiotic so maybe they are just Australian Brands! Did you figure out how many mg of magnesium you are taking? I'm taking 350mg straight mag (no calcium) but still very C. Also my probiotic and SFS aren't helping in the C department either.
That's weird that you are doing better without the Acacia and still having BMs. I'm just glad you are feeling better. I don't know if I should order the Acacia or not. There have been such mixed results. But I suppos if I don't try it I'll never know. I'm afraid if I go off an SFS altogether, I'll never go, even less than I already am.
Thanks for your input. I'm still trying to stay GF even though I that isn't helping the C either. But those blood tests scared me into thinking maybe I better stick with the GF diet. 
Besides the Probiotic, Magnesium and the GF diet, what other changes have you made to become so much better? Do you take an antidepressant? You can email me with the info as this post is on a totally different topic. Thanks
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~ Beth
Constipation, pain prodominent,cramps, spasms and bloat!
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Hi Augie!
#129390 - 12/09/04 10:34 PM
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Taylahmai
Reged: 11/03/04
Posts: 257
Loc: Western Australia
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Hi Augie, sorry to hear you're still not doing too well. I'm not sure whether my brands of supplements are Australian only... will see what I can find out. As for how much magnesium I take, each tablet is 250 mg and I take 4 a day. So, wow, that means I take 1000 mg a day (not sure how much of that is readily absorded tho...).
As for the acacia, I went a couple of months with really good BMs using simply probiotics, magnesium and a strict diet (GF, no red meat, no sugar, no dairy, no alcohol, no caffeine). I fell off the rails recently hence finding this wonderful message board and trying the IBS diet. If I can get back to the stage I was at - good BMs using just the supplements I was on - I will be really happy. If not I will try the SFS again and be much more careful this time with the dose (I think I upped the dose too quickly, hence the terrible bloating).
Anyhow will email you with the rest of the details you asked about. I really hope you find what helps you soon! Its such a terrible life when you're plagued by IBS symptoms.
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~ Live life, don't let life live you ~
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Taylahmai
#129453 - 12/10/04 07:30 AM
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Augie
Reged: 10/27/04
Posts: 5807
Loc: Illinois
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Thanks for the info! Yes email me. We need to talk. So you're doing GF strictly and no sugar? Wow! When are you going to try acacia again? 1000 mg magnesium sounds like a lot. Are you sure that's safe. Magnesium interferes with absorption of calcium, so you might want to check this out with a doctor.
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~ Beth
Constipation, pain prodominent,cramps, spasms and bloat!
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1. Do you take a probiotic or not
Yep, I've been taking one for quite a while now (even before my IBS diagnosis about a year ago - always helped with what I thought was just lactose intollerance), though due to being extremely busy I kind of let myself slide with not remembering to take it... back on it now though.
2. Are you a C, D, or A
I'm IBS-D
3. What brand you take
I was taking the Jamieson Acidophilus, but that was a getting a little expensive. Now I buy the giant bulk bottle of Life Brand Acidophilus. Both are "super-strain", which means that there's millions of different kinds of bacteria in it - basically because not all bacteria will work for everyone, but with the super-strain there are so many that chances are at least one will work for you.
Both kinds that I have bought you need to keep in the refrigerator. This is a good rule of thumb - if it doesn't say on the bottle "keep refridgerated" then it's no good. Put it back on the shelf. If it doesn't need to be refridgerated then the manufacturer is basically telling you that there is NO ACTIVE BACTERIA in it! And then it's useless. Another good rule (as I mentioned above) is to always buy the "super strain" kind.
4. How many you take a day
3/day.
5. When do you take them (with the meal, after the meal, on an empty stomach like maybe 1/2 hour before eating)
It says on the bottle to take 1 before each meal for a total of 3 a day, but I just take all three right before eating my breakfast in the morning. So on an empty stomach, but then directly with a meal. I've read that you should take it with a meal so that it can get into your intestines more directly, i.e. because it goes down with the food, but before so it doesn't just get all washed out. I take it all at once because I never remember to take it during the day, and the old brand I was taking said to take up to three all at once. This way I get all that I need and always remember to take it.
6. Do you experience gas or bloating from them or do you think it has helped with gas or bloating
I've never experienced any problems from taking them. I have with some other vitamins but never with probiotics.
7. Are they helpful with having BM's
Hard to say, for both BMs and gas/bloating. From my experience with probiotics, they're like a long-term investment. I was lucky enough to have a few very stable months a while ago and I think the probiotics had a lot do with that. For me they help all my symptoms, but not immediately. You need to build up that good bacteria in your intestine first. So its hard to say how much they helped on their own as I was doing lots of stuff that was making me feel better - but I felt great for so long, so they must have had something to do with it.
8. Where can you buy the product
Either at my health food store (Jamieson, also available at drug stores though) or Shopper's Drug Mart (Life Brand).
Thanks, this survey was a great idea!
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Retrograde
#129763 - 12/11/04 03:42 PM
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Augie
Reged: 10/27/04
Posts: 5807
Loc: Illinois
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Thanks for all the info. The names of the stores you got them at don't sound familar. Maybe they are only in Canada? I wonder if I could get these in USA. I take one that was not in the refrigerated section. The person at the HFS said it was fine.
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~ Beth
Constipation, pain prodominent,cramps, spasms and bloat!
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