Could Stopping Align Do This?
#358893 - 05/25/10 02:35 PM
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Hello all. It's been awhile. Can't say I'm all that much improved overall, but things have been steady over the past months.
I recently (like 6-7 days ago) stopped taking daily Align as I was unconvinced it was doing anything and it's really expensive. I've been spotty with it (missing a day here and there) for about a month or two and had seen no attributable ill effect so figured it was worth a try.
I follow the EFI diet pretty strictly (no red meat/dairy/high fat/excessive IF - though I really love tea and have been drinking both green and black varieties for months with no ill effect), and take a daily low dose of a Tricyclic. My daily symptoms range from moderate pain/hypersensitivity to mild/moderate C. Before the medication I was more into the D spectrum, so even tho C sucks, it is an improvement over that. I am a 29 year old male.
So lately (beginning 3-4 days after I stopped the Align) I have been really bloated and, well, lets say airy, with an increased sharp pains and overall discomfort. Diet remains the same. Could going off Align really cause this severe of a turnaround. Has anyone noticed this in their own usage?
Thanks!
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The clinical trails report "For all symptoms, with the exception of bowel movement frequency and consistency, those [IBS individuals] randomized to B infantis 35624 [Align] experienced a greater reduction in symptom scores; composite and individual scores for abdominal pain/discomfort, bloating/distention, and bowel movement difficulty were significantly lower than for placebo for those randomized to B infantis 35624 for most weeks of the treatment phase".
This probiotic is also known to have anti-inflammatory effects which can reduce pain. In the conclusion the first reference below reports "B infantis 35624 [Align] alleviates symptoms in IBS; this symptomatic response was associated with normalization of the ratio of an anti-inflammatory to a proinflammatory cytokine, suggesting an immune-modulating role for this organism, in this disorder."
It is quite possible that if you have been taking Align for some time and then stop that could experience an increase in the symptoms you described. An interesting thing to do might be to start taking it again and keep note of when and for how long the symptoms diminish. If you do please tell us what you experience.
Good luck 
Reference
O'Mahony, L. et al. Lactobacillus and bifidobacterium in irritable bowel syndrome: Symptom responses and relationship to cytokine profiles . Gastroenterology 128, 541-551 (2005)
Whorwell, P. J. et al. Efficacy of an Encapsulated Probiotic Bifidobacterium infantis 35624 in Women with Irritable Bowel Syndrome. The American Journal of Gastroenterology 101, 1581-1590 (2006)
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I doubt it's going off the Align. I went off it after about 6 months and felt no difference, and saved myself a heck of alot of money.
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For what it's worth, I was on align for about a year and felt pretty decent. I stopped taking it after a really bad attack that landed me in the hospital. After being off it for about 2-3 months, I was HORRIBLE. I started back on it and my symptoms did resolve. Was it the time that helped or the align? I'm guessing BOTH.
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Thanks to all three of you for responding.
Never one to take too many chances, I went back on it and will be monitoring the aftereffects.
Honestly, despite the promotional website saying otherwise, I was leaning toward the idea that Align contributes to C, at least in my system, so I was looking forward to going off of it as a potential benefit. It seems however like the main benefits it provides are gas and pain/discomfort reduction, perhaps due to the effects documented in Syl's study on inflammation.
I'll let you know if anything changes. I feel better today, but I also am not eating, so it could be due to that.
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Going back on the Align has caused the bloating/gassiness to subside. Still getting the pain and overall discomfort, but that's pretty much been a standard element of the past 15 months and looks like that will never go away.
Still, for what it's worth, correlation isn't causation, but I'm sticking with the Align.
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