Suez, I hope you are doing better now. That must have been scary! I am not familiar with either of those medications or treatments. Fortunately, prednisone works for me when I have a flare up. Keep us posted.

Hi @suez,

I'm tagging @alina151 @concernedmtnmom @liliane @janovr as they have discussed VSL#3; you may wish to view their posts in these discussions:
– https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/relentless-bile-reflux-pain/
– https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/small-intestine-bacteria-overgrowth/

My daughter took VSL#3 to help her recover from bad C. difficile infections. WE found it to be effective, but first you need to kill the bad bacteria that's making you miserable.

The low-down on probiotics: First, many need to be refrigerated (shelf-stable ones that don't need refrigeration might not be that viable or effective; VSL#3 is stored in the fridge at drug stores like Walgreens). She also took a probiotic yeast, S. boullardii, which didn't need to be refrigerated.

Second, you need to measure probiotics in the billions, and to make a difference in your microbiome, based on my research and experience, you need at least 100 billion taken daily to make a difference.

Third, the microbiome is a new frontier in medicine (NPR has lots of interesting podcasts on the latest research) and each of us carry trillions of microbes in our guts. So it's a numbers game and a combination game. There are numerous/countless strains in each of us (I'm not a biologist, so I'm generalizing here) and they work in balance and harmony or, if they are not in balance, cause damage and toxicity. Basic rule is that probiotic supplements that contain multiple strains may offer better results.

Fourth, it is hard to find a doctor who is well-versed in all this, and nutritional consultants might be better advisers. There are new studies and findings every week, so keep up the research if this seems like a reasonable pursuit. Good luck and never give up!

Thanks! I'm a little better.