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Non-refrigerated probiotic recommendations

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 7/16/2015 7:38 AM (GMT -5)
Hi guys,
I'm experiencing a sudden flare including rectal bleeding, diarrhea, urgency, the whole shebang. I am desperately trying to get it under control as I am five weeks out from going on a European holiday. I've purchased a tonne of VSL#3 which will arrive shortly, however I'm cognizant of the fact that they need to be refrigerated, and so I will just take them up until we leave. However is there a non-refrigerated probiotic that someone has had good experience with that I can take while away to supplement?
Posted 7/16/2015 8:11 AM (GMT -5)
What meds are you on
Because probiotics alone will probably not get you out of a flare
Posted 7/16/2015 8:15 AM (GMT -5)
Another thing you have to consider is that VSL has 112.5 billion CFU's in each capsule, or 450 billion CFU's in each satchet. You're not going to find that in any other probiotic, refrigerated or not. And, all probiotics are not created equal. A different brand could make you worse.
Posted 7/16/2015 8:27 AM (GMT -5)
I take VSL#3DS as well as two probiotics that technically do not need to be refrigerated: Culturelle and a specific strain of reuteri:
/www.google.com/search?q=Lactobacillus+Reuteri+%28NCIMB+30242%29&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8
www.lef.org/Vitamins-Supplements/item01821/FlorAssist-Heart-Health-Probiotic

Even though they supposedly can remain in room temperature I keep them refrigerated anyway. You don't know how long they have remained on the store shelves without refrigeration so they probably lost some potency. I find that taking 3 capsules per day more effective than the recommended one capsule per day. Align is another probiotic that doesn't require refrigeration.

According to Consumerlab.com:
"# Align claimed to contain 1 billion live bacteria when manufactured “and an effective level until as least the “best by” date. ConsumerLab.com testing revealed that only 530 million bacteria were viable. However, a clinical study of the bacteria (Bifidobacterium infantis 35624) in Align showed that it could reduce symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) at a dose of just 100 million. ConsumerLab.com found that the product exceeded this amount, so the product’s claim to provide an effective dose is correct. Whether or not a higher dose might offer greater efficacy is not known.

"# Culturelle claimed to provide 10 billion cells in a daily capsule through the “best used by” date; ConsumerLab.com found only 5.8 billion viable cells. It is not clear whether this is a sufficient dose. Most clinical studies with Lactobacillus GG have used 10 to 20 billion viable cells per day. A dosing study (Saxelin 1991) using the bacteria in Culturelle (Lactobacillus GG) found that a daily dose of 1.5 billion cells was not able to colonize the gut, but a dose of 15 billion was. The amount found falls between these two dosages."
Posted 7/16/2015 7:32 PM (GMT -5)
I'm on full dose mezavant and Pentasa 1g suppositories morning and night. If that fails I will try Rifaximin, however I'm on warfarin for another condition which makes my life difficult as I have to go in for INRs every couple of days when adding medications which you don't feel like when sick. I have also cut out all food at the moment other than fish and chicken which tends to work.
I know that I won't get a non-refrigerator VSL alternative, but just don't want to go cold turkey with nothing. Was hoping there may be one out there that UCers had found helpful/agreeable for their UC that I could try.
Posted 7/16/2015 9:29 PM (GMT -5)
I take both Align and Culturelle and feel they help me but probiotics affect everyone differently.

I started Align first, per my GI's recommendation, and Culturelle after seeing a lot of positive posts about it here.

My advice would be to try a less expensive probiotic first and see if it helps. If it does, you've saved some money.

Culturelle is less than half the price of Align but I'm in a solid remission and don't want to change anything.
Posted 7/17/2015 12:02 AM (GMT -5)
Wonderful, thank you, I will order and try the culturelle.
Posted 7/17/2015 7:02 AM (GMT -5)
I used to take Probio. I got mine online at enzymedica.com. Probio lasts 3 months just on the shelf but 6 months in the fridge. I had to stop because even tho I loved it, it became too costly for me continue.
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