Friday, July 1, 2016

Non-scientific Experiences with Probiotics

The number of us taking daily probiotics is growing, as we become more and more aware of the importance of a healthy personal micro-bionome. Though, I'm sure, none of us know if the, over the counter supplements, actually work well. Perhaps this increase is due to reading of recent research reports or both doctor and pharmacist recommendations to take probiotics during and after a prescribed bout of antibiotics. All of those reasons are how I first started taking them. And then I didn't stop.

Until this spring, that is:  I kept forgetting to buy more and then {boom} I was out. Approximately four days later I began to feel sad. Not something I'm accustomed to, though I've had my moments. Sure enough, once I began to take them again the sadness lifted. Perhaps it was a coincidence, but I'm not volunteering to give it another try.

A month ago, I decided to try another brand of probiotic with roughly the same strands. It was highly rated on the website where I buy my supplements. I began to replace the old ones gradually. Half a dose of old and half a dose of new each day, being careful to read the dosage on the new package. Over the following week, I noticed my face began to feel puffy in the morning and throughout the afternoon. I know this isn't a good sign. It means something in your system is unable to do its job, for several reasons.

I looked up (because I always start with what I've recently changed) "probiotics and puffy face". And knew I was onto something when Google told me I wasn't the first person to do that particular search. I immediately stopped taking the new probiotics and the puffiness was gone. One of the articles I read said that the puffiness might be an allergic response. Perhaps one of the inert ingredients?

I'm more curious about probiotics than I was in the beginning. The information out there for the layman is sparse, which makes sense as the research is so new. But now I want to know:  have any of you had any interesting experiences while taking probiotics?

2 comments:

AMY said...

K, I'm curious about your longer-term report on your probiotic experience, a few months further down the road?

KandN said...

Hey Amy!
After the allergic reaction to the one particular brand, I went back to what I was originally taking. After the bout with feeling sad, I don't ever want to stop taking them. Now that I type that, I feel like I ought to do more research.