Probiotics: A Patient's Experience
Kevin wrote into the blog recently to share his experience with probiotics in UC:
"Just wanted to mention something that really has worked for me. I have pancolitis (entire colon affected). I seem to flare up every two years and need a round of steroids to get back in remission. This last time, I flared again when I had tapered down off the prednisone a bit. For me, what finally got me off the steroids was a probiotic (live bacteria and other helpful "bugs") called Primal defense. I have been almost as colitis free as before I was diagnosed. Primal defense is soil organisms, similar to what you would ingest if you ate fresh vegetables out of a garden. Apparently they crowd out the unhealthy bugs that tend to accumulate in the guts of IBD sufferers. I can't guarantee it will work for anyone else, but it sure did the trick for me. Of course, check with your GI Doc before trying anything. Most will say stuff like "well, at least it won't harm you."
As discussed in a prior blog, probiotics have been studied for use in UC and Crohn's disease. Thus far, probiotics have only shown definitive benefit for treatment of pouchitis. Results from studies evaluating the utility of probiotics for UC and Crohn's have shown equivocal results. That being said, certainly there are some individuals such as Kevin who have noted improvement which they attribute to the probiotic. For the most part, probiotics are felt to be safe and the majority of physicians are not opposed to patients using them. As not all formulations are the same, however, it is wise discuss probiotics with one's physician before selecting one to take.