My Probiotic Experience Worked to my Benefit

Probiotics are dietary supplements of live microorganisms thought to be healthy for the host organism.

I have been suffering with horrible intestinal and stomach problems since April this year. I am a size 8 right now and have had episodes where my stomach would blow up to a size 11. There has been ripping, acid sloshing, nausea, and terrible terrible pain.

I have slept propped up on pillows for 5 months and in no way could sleep on my belly. Sleeping on my belly would cause pain and palpitations. I could feel my heart beating in my stomach and my poo took on forms that I never thought possible.

Tums helped a bit at relieving the gas and heart burn but after a few months they actually seemed to not help much. My doctor offered an over the counter medication but I refused to take it because the side effects bothered the heart. I have had enough heart trouble for one year.

Then somewhere along the line I heard about Probiotics healing the intestines. I also have to say that I joined a yoga class at the same time that focused on intestinal healing. After a month and a half I have my life back to an extent. I have to say the healing process was neat. I could feel a difference starting in my belly and then working through my intestines.

I invested in Probiotic drinks and yogurt. I started eating a yogurt a day and drank an 8oz glass of the smoothie before meals. Of course I have pulled all trigger foods out of my diet. This is a bummer but I can at least have a glass of wine again. If you look at posts from over summer you will see that I was upset about not being able to drink wine anymore.

Was it the yoga or Probiotics? Was it both? Either way I’m sticking to what I am doing. I am down to only one Probiotic a day and can now sleep on my belly a few nights a week. I am also exercising more too as I have more energy because I’m finally sleeping all night.

Apparently, Probiotics can help with colds too. I have been letting the kids have an 8oz glass of the smoothie every few days. We have all been sick once so far this year and all got over it very quickly. This is a huge turnaround from last year. It’s really exciting to post about something positive for a change in my world of illness.

I didn’t stick to just one brand; I would rotate different types of yogurt and always have the smoothie in the fridge. I have never taken the pill because I don’t like pills, I like food. This process takes a lot of patience and persistence. I can remember a few times having to increase to three times a day to rid my stomach and intestines of the burning pain. Remember listen to your body.

There are some warnings for people and you can go here to read about it http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Probiotic. My doctor totally knew that I was not taking her pills and doing my own thing. If you have any kind of immune trouble or severe tummy issues talk to your doctor first.

In fact open dialog with your doctor anyway. I dont think Probiotics are FDA approved but its the same with vitamins. Doctors are at least up to date on the warnings for these things.

Here are some arguments against Probiotics just so you can view the other side. http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/24/can-yogurt-really-boost-your-he.... http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/23/AR200903...

Found picture at http://www.probiotics.com/html/ProbioticProducts/PicturesofProbiotics.htm

10/15/09

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