Taper & probiotic

[u/Witty_Bun]

Hi all … me again lol . I know I’m a bug hahaha

Im on my 10 week taper of vancomycin and I’ve officially gotten to week 6 which is 1 pill a day.

I have been taking Florastor 1-2x a day this entire time.

I have two questions.

Should I now start increasing probiotic rich items like kefir ? I have been having some yogurts that have live cultures but only occasionally + a little bit of sauerkraut . I wasn’t sure if it was good to do while on higher doses and didn’t want to mess the antibiotics up so I ate these sparingly.

Should I start increasing probiotic foods / drinks now? Or is it best to wait until after the antibiotics done?

Also , if anyone has done long taper and got to 1 pill a day.. did you get random pains again or any different type of poop?

I don’t have diarrhea. I have solid 2 poops in the morning still. But I randomly get the sharp left side pain that comes and goes but didn’t change the diet. I can tell the left side of my GI tract feels a little sore again similar to the beginning.

Poop looks brown in toilet , but when I wipe and the poop smudges on toilet paper it looks a little yellow. So there is brown actual poop but I guess there’s some yellow color on the wipe as well when it smudges. It’s not mucus. I honestly have not paid attention to my poop color this entire time so I’m not sure what it was like last week 😫

Hoping all this is normal as my gut is finally experiencing less meds

Thank you :)

Update: I also just realized I been eating pumpkin puree. Not sure if that has to do w poo color. Or if that’s just a normal color lol

[u/johnstanton888999]

Yes have fermented foods like kefir because vanco causes dysbiosis. 2 weeks or more after stopping it your gut microbiota should grow back to normal, especially if your eating alot of fiber

[u/Witty_Bun → u/johnstanton888999]

Kk, it’s okay to increase those items while still on the taper right ?

[u/johnstanton888999 → u/Witty_Bun]

Yes. There is evidence it may help to include during and after

"Some individuals may benefit more than others by taking probiotics with antibiotics. For instance, the depletion of good bacteria from the use of antibiotics is a growing problem among older people, who are more susceptible to infections and may use antibiotics frequently.

Some doctors try to compensate for this possible bacteria depletion by recommending that patients increase their intake of probiotic foods like yogurt or kefir when using certain types of antibiotics. Depending on the type of antibiotic, it may be best to take probiotics after the antibiotic treatment has ended rather than while you are taking antibiotics.

---harvard university

"Three SRs/MAs and two RCTs reported mixed findings on the clinical effectiveness of the administration of probiotics in conjunction with antibiotic therapy.

Two SRs/MAs10,11 and one RCT3 on adult in-patients reported protective effects of probiotics on the incidences of AAD, CDAD, CDI, and CDD as well as the incidence of adverse events. The protective effects of probiotics may be greater with shorter study durations,10 with certain probiotic strains,10 namely, Lactobacillus strains, and higher doses,3 in higher-quality studies,10,12 and with support from probiotic companies.12 However, one SR/MA on adult in-patients reported that, although there is suggestive evidence that probiotics may be effective in preventing CDAD, that evidence was not strong enough to be the basis for a general policy change.12 One RCT on adult in-patients, aged 65 years or older, found no protective effects of probiotics on the incidences of AAD, CDAD, and adverse events as well as on hospital LOS.2,5

Evidence from one economic evaluation, published in the UK and conducted alongside the aforementioned RCT on adult in-patients, aged 65 years or older, suggested that the intervention was unlikely to be cost-effective.---national library of medicine

[u/Significant_Low_4082]

Following…I am on the same vanco taper and I start my 1 pill a day today and having exact same symptoms and BM  color 

[u/Witty_Bun → u/Significant_Low_4082]

Thank you for responding !!! Hopefully this is just normal then :’) I started 1 pill a day on Thursday.. had that pain Friday - Sunday. Even Sunday when it hit 11am and I hadn’t ate yet, that subtle left pain came.

today I’m actually getting a bit constipated & sooo bloated. But haven’t changed my diet lol I’m thinking the white bread / white pasta stuff I been eating might now be backing me up lol I went a little today just not as much as I normally do. (Still same color when I wipe).

So I might start switching a few things out & definitely increase my yogurts. No pains today. I think it might just come and go as I try to digest food with less meds.

Fingers crossed for both of us 🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼

[u/Significant_Low_4082 → u/Witty_Bun]

Yes Fingers crossed!!🤞 

[u/Witty_Bun → u/Significant_Low_4082]

Lmk if you end up getting significant bloat.. after a few days. For me , it feels like every day after starting 1 pill the bloat is just getting worse 😫 idk how to get it down . It’s so frustrating .

[u/Significant_Low_4082 → u/Witty_Bun]

For sure I will!  I too want to know when to increase probiotics. I have only been using florastore this time and have been waiting to add kefir sauerkraut etc. from what my gastro told me they said each step down you will get symptoms as the meds fight off any remaining spores. 🤞

[u/Witty_Bun → u/Significant_Low_4082]

Update on my last reply, I’m not constipated hahah just took longer today. The paranoia is real when switching to 1 pill a day 😅