Chit Chat

probiotics?

So I've been taking penicillin for a dental abscess (that's another venting post I could write but I will spare you the drama for now) and now I'm starting to feel totally out-of-sorts with belly aches, bloating, etc. This is the first time in my entire life I've taken an antibiotic (hard to believe, but true!) so I have no prior experience. Have any of you taken probiotics when on an antibiotic and has it helped with these symptoms? I'm already eating yogurt (it's my standard breakfast choice anyway). My wedding is in 4 weeks. The tooth should be fixed by then thanks to my wonderful dentist, but I really want to do what I can to restore equilibrium to my digestive system as quickly as possible!

Re: probiotics?

  • I didn't for myself but I can tell you that it worked wonders for DD when she has been on antibiotics.
  • labrolabro member
    First Anniversary First Answer First Comment 5 Love Its

    My H does. It isn't successful 100% of the time. He still has days he feels like he is bloated, has tummy aches, etc. He's also on a long-term antibiotic for an eye condition and it sucks. However, being on probiotics has helped him overall versus not being on them at all.



  • You can't take probiotics while you are on antibiotics.  You need to wait until a few weeks after you cease taking the antibiotics to take them. 

    I take a probiotic daily.  It helped me stop getting chronic UTI's. 


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  • Antibiotics are known for causing tummy issues. I've used them before and they were good. 

    Another alternative suggestion would be apple cider vinegar. That stuff is a miracle for my stomach. You can just dilute it with water. 
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  • levioosa said:

    You can't take probiotics while you are on antibiotics.  You need to wait until a few weeks after you cease taking the antibiotics to take them. 

    I take a probiotic daily.  It helped me stop getting chronic UTI's. 

    Does it really? I get those and my doctor just gives me something to take after having sex. He never suggested probiotics.
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  • I was on several strong antibiotics for over a year once, due to a severe surgery infection.  I got yeast infections like crazy from it... like my doc actually gave me a 30-pill script of Diflucan so I had them available when needed. Then my doc also suggested to start eating lots of yogurt or taking probiotics. It helped tremendously.  When eating yogurt, avoid the flavored/fruity ones, as they are filled with sugar, with counteracts the good bacteria and can actually make the problem worse. Get a good plain yogurt and add your own fruit or honey if desired. And as far as probiotics, there are definitely good ones and not so good ones.  I've heard than many of them out there are not as effective as they claim to be.  Recently I've heard that refrigerated probiotics (using live organisms) are more effective than the non-refrigerated supplements (which use freeze dried organisms), but I don't know how true that really is... but, it makes sense to me.  

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  • I had to take antibiotics for a sinus infection. Weeks after I stopped taking them, my stomach got so so so so so fucked up. I mean I have a sensitive stomach anyway but this was way beyond normal for me, and it went on for about 4 days. It was awful.

    I finally called my doctor cuz I realized it wasn't normal. He said it was most likely from the antibiotics (it's really common for the type I was taking to cause stomach issues weeks after the fact) so he recommended plain yogurt and probiotics.

    I took the probiotics and they put me right back to normal. Don't know what I would have done without them.
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  • larrygaga said:

    levioosa said:

    You can't take probiotics while you are on antibiotics.  You need to wait until a few weeks after you cease taking the antibiotics to take them. 

    I take a probiotic daily.  It helped me stop getting chronic UTI's. 

    Does it really? I get those and my doctor just gives me something to take after having sex. He never suggested probiotics.
    It has helped me so so much.  I've been getting UTI's since I was months old.  They were the reason I was on super heavy duty antibiotics from 7 months-7 years old, which really fucked my system over.  I was okay except for the occasional one as a teenager, but as soon as I started having sex, boom, one every month.  Some of them lasted for months and turned into full blown kidney infections.  I've tried everything.  Probiotics are the only thing which has stopped them.  I was on prophylactics for awhile, but they really only slowed them down.  I also don't like being on a daily antibiotic.

    The probiotics do a much better job, although they aren't super cheap.  I'll bite the bullet and buy them.  They've also helped with the yeast infections I used to get every month.  My doctor recommended THESE when the ones she originally gave me weren't working very well, and the difference has been significant.  I also take D-mannose.  The combo has worked really well for me.


    image
  • I was on several strong antibiotics for over a year once, due to a severe surgery infection.  I got yeast infections like crazy from it... like my doc actually gave me a 30-pill script of Diflucan so I had them available when needed. Then my doc also suggested to start eating lots of yogurt or taking probiotics. It helped tremendously.  When eating yogurt, avoid the flavored/fruity ones, as they are filled with sugar, with counteracts the good bacteria and can actually make the problem worse. Get a good plain yogurt and add your own fruit or honey if desired. And as far as probiotics, there are definitely good ones and not so good ones.  I've heard than many of them out there are not as effective as they claim to be.  Recently I've heard that refrigerated probiotics (using live organisms) are more effective than the non-refrigerated supplements (which use freeze dried organisms), but I don't know how true that really is... but, it makes sense to me.  

    Yes, the refrigerated ones are much better.  There is only one brand that I know of that has an effective amount CFU's and is not refrigerated.  The amount of CFU's in the probiotic is also very important.  Don't even bother buying ones that contain less than 18-20 billion CFU's.  The one I take is 25 billion CFU's, and it is awesome. 


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  • I had really bad stomach bloating and pain after my appendectomy in college. A grad student I worked for at the time suggested probiotics and after a few days on them I felt much better! I don't take them any more, but they worked for sure. I think they just helped balance me out again. 

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  • Thanks ladies - this is super-helpful! I'll try them out. I'll see if I can find the refrigerated ones. But I'm feeling much more hopeful that this is something that can be righted before my wedding... I don't want to provide TMI but all I'll say is that my bodily functions right now would NOT make for a pleasant evening in a pretty white dress.

    @levioosa good point that it's probably not helpful to take the probiotic while still on the antibiotic... that makes sense to me. But I should be done with the course in another 3 days so I'll start then.
  • levioosa said:

    larrygaga said:

    levioosa said:

    You can't take probiotics while you are on antibiotics.  You need to wait until a few weeks after you cease taking the antibiotics to take them. 

    I take a probiotic daily.  It helped me stop getting chronic UTI's. 

    Does it really? I get those and my doctor just gives me something to take after having sex. He never suggested probiotics.
    It has helped me so so much.  I've been getting UTI's since I was months old.  They were the reason I was on super heavy duty antibiotics from 7 months-7 years old, which really fucked my system over.  I was okay except for the occasional one as a teenager, but as soon as I started having sex, boom, one every month.  Some of them lasted for months and turned into full blown kidney infections.  I've tried everything.  Probiotics are the only thing which has stopped them.  I was on prophylactics for awhile, but they really only slowed them down.  I also don't like being on a daily antibiotic.

    The probiotics do a much better job, although they aren't super cheap.  I'll bite the bullet and buy them.  They've also helped with the yeast infections I used to get every month.  My doctor recommended THESE when the ones she originally gave me weren't working very well, and the difference has been significant.  I also take D-mannose.  The combo has worked really well for me.
    Omg thank you so much for mentioning this. Purchasing these ASAP.
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