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Probiotics for MAC, MAI, MABS: Do you take them daily?
I knew that good Probiotics are needed if you take antibiotics. And most of us with MAC, MAI or MABS etc take the Big 3 or other antibiotics for a long, long time.
But I didn't realise how important Probiotics could be for preventing virus infections in us, like the Flu virus, viral Pneumonia....or even the Covid19 virus.
Research (https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/325651#Antibiotics-leave-mice-vulnerable-to-the-flu) has shown that:
..."80% of [those] with healthy gut bacteria survived the infection"..... But "of [those] who had previously received the antibiotic mix, only one-third [33%] survive" and recover from the viral infection....
That reduces the risks of viral infection by less than half !
The scientists doing this study also found 2 more important things:
* "gut bacteria drive interferon signaling, 'telling' the lung cells to react to the virus, stopping it from replicating, and making survival and recovery more likely"
* if the gut bacteria destroyed by antibiotics are replaced with good Probiotics, "this brought interferon signaling back to normal and reestablished [viral] resistance in the lungs"....
So all of us with NTMs who are on the Big 3 or other antibiotics should probably be taking good Probiotics every day. And probably continue this even after any negative sputum tests.
Have any of you been taking good Probiotics every day ? Even after any clear sputum tests ?
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Hmm...I knew it was important to use probiotics while taking the Big 3 (it helped modulate the awful gut issues I had with those drugs). I know that whenever I am prescribed antibiotics I should add probiotics. And I have usually remembered to start my probiotic regimen for a while whenever I have gut issues.
But this is a new idea for me, so I did what I always do and started looking for scholarly articles on the subject. The reason I looked further is that Medical News Today is essentially a "sound byte" - a quick, short reference to a new or emerging medical topic, meant to pique your interest. The articles are short on details - about both the study and the conclusions, so more reading is necessary.
Here is one highly technical article I found, summarizing the findings of dozens of trials in mice, children and adults: https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/10/1/130/pdf
What I learned - Several studies showed increased defensive cells after trials with highly specific probiotic strains. A few reported decreased incidence of a specific virus (eg Influenza A) in a treated population, again with specific strains. Some were inconclusive. Few of the probiotic strains are included in significant quantities in commonly available probiotic blends.
My takeway - Probiotics may increase our ability to mount an immune defense against viruses, but figuring out which one to take, how much and for how long, still needs more study. I will continue to take probiotics that contribute to gut health when I need them, but wait for more guidance as far the contribution to immune health.
Does anyone else use probiotics daily?
Sue
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Hug
2 ReactionsYes, I take VSL#3, 2capsules daily. I find that it does help my stomach and IBS along with pantoprozole, Pepcid and bentyl. With the big 3 plus Clofazimine I could barely eat. With this regime my gut is much better. Appetite poor but far less pain.
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1 ReactionThank you for this information. I have been on Azithromycin, Rifampin and Clofazimine for 7 months and take a Probiotic ( Activia smoothie 190 ml ) daily. I am getting a “tan” from the Clofazime. My Respirologist has warned me about possible nausea as the Clofazime accumulates in my gut. To lessen this nausea and fatigue I am trying to follow the anti nausea recommendations ( on the Web for cancer patients), but do weaken and then “pay” for that. I do use Pepcid almost daily as well.
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1 ReactionI am about to have surgery on Sept 22. I have been advised to stop all meds and supplements up to 7 days prior to surgery. Should probiotics be taken prior to and continued up to surgery?
Well, we're not doctors here on Connect, and can't give you medical advice.
Since the doctor has said "all meds and supplements" my interpretation would be stop everything. You could call the surgeon's office for further guidance.
Sue
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1 ReactionAt risk of repeating myself, I eat a bit of my own Kimchi ferment most every day with at least some confidence that it delivers a sufficient load probiotic.
WNK, I think Sue nailed it. “ stop all meds and supplements”
is pretty straightforward; difficult to misinterpret. Don
New to Mayo Clinic Connect, I find it frustrating when posts are sprinkled with numerous acronyms, which I can not interpret! It makes me not want to use this resource because I hardly understand what people are talking about.
Lei, I’m not part of the officialdom, but my not-so-humble thought is that there is no over-arching virtue in knowing the “shop talk” and I urge liberal use of “can you explain” or in a pinch, “what the hell does that mean?” Don
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3 ReactionsMy sincere apologies, kei - please feel free to remind us that not everyone is familiar with our abbreviations! I will try to do better, but any time you don't understand, just ask - that's how we all learned the jargon.