To Annieb
#326094 - 03/05/08 08:36 AM
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I just posted this b/c someone else had a question on it:
It's a probiotic. It's called Digestive Advantage IBS and I bought it at Wal-Mart for about $8. I've been taking it for about 2 weeks now and have noticed a huge difference in my symptoms. I haven't had an attack since I've been taking it but I've been pretty stable lately anyways, as long as I don't cheat. But I can say that my stomach hasn't once felt "iffy" since starting it. Before I started this I could always feel gas bubbling in my belly but this seems to have cleared it up! I have noticed that it hasn't done anything for bloating but I can live with bloating! Like I said, I've continued taking my Acacia, Peppermint Caps, and have stuck to the diet. You can check their website out at www.digestiveadvantage.com. They will send you a free sample and a $2 coupon. I will continue taking it! Let me know if you try it out, it's worth a shot! Good luck
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Re: To Annieb
#326098 - 03/05/08 09:24 AM
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Erilyn
Reged: 11/14/07
Posts: 743
Loc: Beautiful British Columbia, Canada
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I wonder if they sell this in Canada. I was even at Wal-Mart last night... 
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IBS-A since age 12, and fructose sensitive; with the exception of my pregnancy, have been following Heather's diet since Nov. 19, 2007.
Taking 12g of Acacia per day. Relatively stable since March 2008!
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Did you check out their website? It might say on there if it's sold in Canada, or maybe you could order it????
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Thanks for your input on this probiotic. I was also looking at a few more..(Sustenex or Culturelle). They all seem to be pretty expensive too. Do you use the Digestive Advantage for Irritable Bowel specifically? Anyone else out there had any successes with that one or any others I mentioned. I also just started, about 3 1/2 weeks ago a very lo dose (10 mg) of prescription drug Elavil. It seems to be helping me a little so will try it a while more. I see my doctor again in May. Anyone have any bad effects from any probiotics?
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I wanted to give you an update. The first 2 weeks with the DA were awesome, no D no gas..... but last week I had 2 attacks out of the blue. I have not strayed from Heather's diet since starting the DA. The only thing I can attribute the attacks to is stress b/c I've been under my fair share lately, so starting last Friday I upped the DA to two pills a day (ok per the back of the box). We'll see how it goes. I do have Udo's Choice on order from our Whole Foods Co-op I think I'm going to give that a try when I finish out this box.....
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It is interesting to hear the reports about DA. A number of people have reported success for a few days to a couple of weeks. However, I don't recall anyone claiming to have had long term success. If there are people who have had long term success with DA it would be nice to hear from them.
Ganeden Biotech, the developers of DA, have an interesting probiotic delivery technology. It embeds the probiotic - Bacillus coagulans - in an organic material that can be stored at room temperature. And it will survive stomach acids and bile resulting in more probiotic reaching the colon where it can grow.
Unfortunately there is no publicly reported clinical evidence to show that Bacillus coagulans is beneficial for IBS. And the strenght of the probiotic in CFU s (colony forming units), an accepted standard unit of measurement, is not given. I called the company and the only information they would give me was the number of mg each capsule contains. They could not give me the CFUs. By the way, the only difference between DA for IBS and Sustenex is that Sustenex contains about 25% Bacillus coagulans by weight.
An IBS suffer has no idea if Bacillus coagulans has any beneficial affects or how much DA to take to get the strenght of probiotic required to produce beneficial effects. That is why DA is so cheap.
On the other hand VSL#3 and Align have under gone clinical trials on IBS suffers. The results are reported in the research literature. While there are no guarantees that you will benefit from either of these probiotics at least there is some evidence to supporting their use as a management tool for IBS. It costs a lot of money to do the clinical research. That is why they are expensive.
I want to know that I am not spending money for an antibiotic to kill a virus, metaphorically speaking, which won't work. There are 500+ species of bacteria living in the colon. It will take some time to figure out bacteria are useful probiotics of IBS. I might have to wait a bit longer 
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STABLE: ♂, IBS-D 50+ years - Science of IBS
The FODMAP Approach to Managing IBS Symptoms
Evidence-based Dietary Management of Functional GI Symptoms: The FODMAP Approach
FODMAP Chart & Cheatsheet
The Role of Food & Dietary Intervention in IBS
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