Can probiotics be bad for some J-Pouchers?

Some people have bad reactions to probiotics, but mostly it is just excess gas. More likely is the likelihood that you have antibiotic dependent pouchitis and the symptoms creep back after a few days off of it.

One way to know for sure is to not take the VSL#3 after the antibiotics and see if there is a difference. 

As for myself, as much as I wanted probiotics to be helpful, I have seen little to no effect for me.

Jan

I am on another course of antibiotics right now and will not take any probiotics afterward to see if that makes a difference. I will report back in a week to let you know if it worked.

If it turns out you need to stay on antibiotics to feel well, you might benefit from probiotics at the same time (some do, some don't, I do). A higher probiotic dose tends to be needed to have adequate survival of the probiotic bacteria from the antibiotic "assault."

If you have chronic refractory pouchitis and try to go off antibiotics and "cold turkey" onto VSL#3 DS or other probiotics, it could be harmful to your health, and you should only do this under a doctor's supervision.  I personally experienced a severe deterioration in my symptoms to the point where hospitalization was almost necessary, within 7 days.  I have not found VSL DS#3 to be helpful in any way, although others have had success with it.  For me it's just a hugely expensive placebo.  I am on Remicade now, which is more likely to be effective as a treatment than probiotics alone.  My hope is that if a remission can be achieved with Remicade, I can then introduce probiotics and prolong the remission.

It has been my experience that taking high doses of VSL #3 right after a course of antibiotics has had severely negative effects for me. The last time I went off an antibiotic, I tried to follow the general consensus that I needed to "replenish" the good bacteria that was killed off. I figured taking high doses of VSL #3 would be the fastest way to do this. This ended up making me so sick that I needed to get back on the antibiotic. I was off of the antibiotic for about a week and doing fine and the day I took the VSL #3 I began immediately experiencing pouchitis so severe I almost went to the hospital.

Dr. Shen's opinion on probiotics seems to be rather indifferent; basically take one if you think it helps or eat yogurt. He is definitely not an advocate for VSL #3. I know everyone is different so maybe it helps some people, but I am staying away from it, and all probiotics in general. I have not found a benefit from them at all. I will still eat yogurt and eat foods that are good for gut health.

In my case 1 bag of vsl3 in the morning and before I go to bed seem to worsen my symptoms. But when I split one bag and take half in the morning and half in the evening it seems to be working fine. I don't use it on a regular basis, only when I feel a mild flare up. Then it helps me put it down with suspositories and some enzymes. If I have a big one only antibiotisc help.