Is Culturelle or stress and viruses easing my LC??

[Zizzle]

I starting taking GF/DF Culturelle (the children's pouches) 5 days ago, and I can't believe the results I'm seeing (of course this post will probably jinx me and I'll be in full flare tomorrow...). Having taken it in the past, I never got this much relief so fast, so I'm not sure if it's the Culturelle or something else. Some of you may recall I had a violent reaction to a muti-strain probiotic a couple of months ago. That led me to believe my MC is tied to my gut flora much more than I suspected, and I think my immune system is attacking some of my beneficial flora. So I tried Culturelle again, to see if my system would attack it too.

Instead, I didn't have to use the bathroom for almost 3 days!! By day three I was gassy and wishing the D would return (I'd eaten tons of beans, broccoli, etc. and was probably experiencing what normal people do when it has time to sit in their colon). Instead I had a mushy, non-urgent, non-explosive semi-norman, and have had them once a day for 2 days!! Everything is calm on the digestive front, eerily calm. So much so, that I've begun testing more fruit and fiber in my diet (grapes, clementines, apples, lightly steamed brocolli, nuts, etc), and I'm still not reacting!! My only restaurant meal was Vietnamese Pho soup (maybe less cross-contamination has something to do with it?).

I want to believe it's the Culturelle, but the skeptic in me thinks this is related to the cold virus that is spreading through my household. Both kids and now my husband are sick with runny noses and coughs. Me? Nothing at all. I feel great, and I've even had a stressful few weeks at work, had 2 nearly all-nighters in one week, and I still feel fine.

Polly and I think we are in the overactive immune system club, and this to me is proof. I think my body turned my immune system's attention away from my gut to fight this cold virus. As long as it has something to fight, it can't fight itself, a less worthy foe. Can this be?

Or is it the Culturelle? Was my system desperately craving an infusion of some helpful probiotics? Could it be that simple?

[Kari]

Hi Zizzle,

Well, I have also been feeling better LC wise lately, and have attributed it to time passing with GF/DF/etc. diet. We seem to be on the same time schedule with our healing, so could it possibly be that simple for both of us???

On the other hand, now you have me worried that I'm feeling better because my immune system is busy fighting a gum infection, which I developed after having deep root cleaning done as a preventive measure. I was very much on the fence on whether to have that procedure done, and wish I had listened to my instinct not to do it :(.

As far as Culturelle, I have no idea, since every time I tried a probiotic, I got in trouble.

Love,
Kari

[Zizzle]

Kari,
As we apprach winter, I'm wondering whether less sunlight exposure may have something to do with my diminishing symptoms. Many autoimmune diseases respond poorly to sunlight (i.e. Lupus), and I've been developing gradual photosensitivity over the years (where I once tanned, I now start with a splotchy burn and mucin deposition). Could sunlight exposure (even with all its Vit D benefits) actually make things worse by ramping up our immune response? Hmmm...

[sarkin]

Interesting, Z - that does not seem to be true for me. I definitely do better with moderate sun exposure. I noticed a slight uptick in nose-running some weeks back, and am thinking I may not have upped my vitamin D enough.

I hope your simmering AI concerns take the winter off *and* don't return with the sun. Outdoors is a wonderful place (big, too!).

[Lesley]

I have Culturelle capsules. I haven't noticed any changes.

It's been 4 days since I had a D attack, and am now firmly mired in C, but the GERD is pretty bad. I am at the end of my rope. Don't know what to do to move the C. I am drinking a lot of baking soda and water.