Last time I took probiotics I broke out and blamed it on the probiotics.
But I've been taking them again for the past week, because I was prescribed antibiotics. They haven't broken me out at all. Either I was wrong last time, or something in me changed to accept them, or they died and I'm just swallowing useless capsules.
Rentedname, how much Cfus a day did you start with? I just started power dophilus yesturday and have been taking half capsules (approx. 2 billion cfu). I hear that people that get severe reactions are the people that are having a stronger die off reaction due to dosage and tolerance varied from person to person. I think that if you started with even less then what you have started with you might kick up the die just slower then before. I used to not believe in die off either but I'm starting to see more people going for the risk and many of them are coming back saying that they have defeated acne after the (battle). People usually get scared when they get a reaction and don't give the probiotics more then a couple of weeks, but what If a couple of weeks of the beneficial bacteria isn't enough to irradicate the imbalance. You might need to keep it up longer then most people. I'll try ramping up little by little and let you know how my experience goes so you can get a bit of encouragement 
I was really wrong about all of this with my initial theories. It's been since October that I've been trying this and so far the severe cystic acne has remained constant. Probiotics did nothing to heal this--if anything I'm pretty sure they made it worse. I don't know if they did anything to heal my gut. I'm now slowly removing probiotic foods/supplements from my diet to see if it helps at all.
I just wanted to post this here because I'd hate for people to suffer long and hard like I did and have it not get any better. My body never "adjusted" to anything.
I'm also a person who breaks out from probiotics but I think I've found out why. Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth. If you have this going on adding probiotics is only going to make the situation worse. You may have gut problems but you have to deal with this first. I actually gave myself small intestinal bacterial overgrowth from consuming way too much probiotics and having low stomach acid. Definitely something to look into. I've been having great success by taking natural antibiotics like olive leaf, apple cider vinegar, oil of oregano, coconut oil etc. and staying away from all sugar, all fruit and low gi. No more probiotics or probiotic yogurt. If I eat something with sugar or starch my face flares up again.
I'm also a person who breaks out from probiotics but I think I've found out why. Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth. If you have this going on adding probiotics is only going to make the situation worse. You may have gut problems but you have to deal with this first. I actually gave myself small intestinal bacterial overgrowth from consuming way too much probiotics and having low stomach acid. Definitely something to look into. I've been having great success by taking natural antibiotics like olive leaf, apple cider vinegar, oil of oregano, coconut oil etc. and staying away from all sugar, all fruit and low gi. No more probiotics or probiotic yogurt. If I eat something with sugar or starch my face flares up again.
How did you know that you have this? I suspect I may have done the same thing to myself because I also suffer from a lot of nausea and other stomach problems that I didn't have before. 
Ugh! I thought probiotics were supposed to protect you from this!
I never felt that probiotics helped me very much. I have some of the symptoms of SIBO and also candida overgrowth as well as sinusitis. When I was on probiotics I had a very short period where I thought it was doing good, but then a really long period of feeling very ill. I felt ill enough that I eventually stopped.
In contrast, when I am on herbal antiFUNGALS (such as Pau D'Arco, peppermint oil, oregano oil--they also have some antibacterial effects), I have a short period of bad (gas, bloating) followed by a long period of feeling good.
I recently started taking double enteric coated peppermint oil again (Heather's Tummy Tamers) because I've had a sort of malaise going on. I had 3 days of awful awful gas but since then have felt much better, my digestion has improved, and my airway feels clearer. I may have a SIBO/Candida/Sinusitis issue but currently I don't really have the finances or motivation to go get tested. But I do know that I feel better on antifungals, so go figure.
How long do you take the oregano oil for?
Personally...I think the longest I took oregano oil was a couple of months. The Candida diet website seems to recommend it for as long as necessary.
A lot of people use the pure oil, but personally I would go for the enteric coated capsules from NOW (only brand I could find that makes enteric oregano capsules) because with the enteric coating it will actually make it to the small intestine.
I had some mild initial breakout probably because I went on such a high dose directly, but it all cleared up nicely. Glad I didn't freak out and quit it, because now my digestion is so much better than before - I can basically eat anything and experience very little bloating. I still feel gassy and bloated in the evenings but at least I don't have to think about my stomach during the lectures or run to the toilet right after eating meal. I'm still avoiding dairy, but I have been eating some gluten products and definitely more sugar and sweets than usual but despite that my stomach is calm now...Not to mention that my skin has improved significantly as well!!
On 2/23/2013 at 11:24 AM, dejaclairevoyant said:On 2/22/2013 at 2:33 PM, alexisc said:I'm also a person who breaks out from probiotics but I think I've found out why. Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth. If you have this going on adding probiotics is only going to make the situation worse. You may have gut problems but you have to deal with this first. I actually gave myself small intestinal bacterial overgrowth from consuming way too much probiotics and having low stomach acid. Definitely something to look into. I've been having great success by taking natural antibiotics like olive leaf, apple cider vinegar, oil of oregano, coconut oil etc. and staying away from all sugar, all fruit and low gi. No more probiotics or probiotic yogurt. If I eat something with sugar or starch my face flares up again.
How did you know that you have this? I suspect I may have done the same thing to myself because I also suffer from a lot of nausea and other stomach problems that I didn't have before. Ugh! I thought probiotics were supposed to protect you from this!
I'm just making an educated guess.. there is a medical test for it though, it is a hydrogen breath test much like getting tested for lactose intolerance. I would cut all sugars even natural sugars and start on antibacterial/antifungals and see how you do. It's making a huge difference for me!
This article on probiotics is really interesting: http://www.healingnaturallybybee.com/articles/probiotic1.php
To Green Gables: You probably do well on antifungals because they are also antibacterials.. so they clear out all of the fungus but also kill the bad bacteria. Glad to hear they help someone else as well.
On 2/25/2013 at 3:11 AM, alexisc said:On 2/23/2013 at 11:24 AM, dejaclairevoyant said:On 2/22/2013 at 2:33 PM, alexisc said:I'm also a person who breaks out from probiotics but I think I've found out why. Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth. If you have this going on adding probiotics is only going to make the situation worse. You may have gut problems but you have to deal with this first. I actually gave myself small intestinal bacterial overgrowth from consuming way too much probiotics and having low stomach acid. Definitely something to look into. I've been having great success by taking natural antibiotics like olive leaf, apple cider vinegar, oil of oregano, coconut oil etc. and staying away from all sugar, all fruit and low gi. No more probiotics or probiotic yogurt. If I eat something with sugar or starch my face flares up again.
How did you know that you have this? I suspect I may have done the same thing to myself because I also suffer from a lot of nausea and other stomach problems that I didn't have before. Ugh! I thought probiotics were supposed to protect you from this!
I'm just making an educated guess.. there is a medical test for it though, it is a hydrogen breath test much like getting tested for lactose intolerance. I would cut all sugars even natural sugars and start on antibacterial/antifungals and see how you do. It's making a huge difference for me!
This article on probiotics is really interesting: http://www.healingnaturallybybee.com/articles/probiotic1.php
To Green Gables: You probably do well on antifungals because they are also antibacterials.. so they clear out all of the fungus but also kill the bad bacteria. Glad to hear they help someone else as well.
Already tried it. It just led to me worsening my eating disorder and no improvement in acne. I still try not to eat massive amounts of sugar but I'm not going to avoid entire food groups when there is no change to my face.
On 2/25/2013 at 9:44 AM, dejaclairevoyant said:On 2/25/2013 at 3:11 AM, alexisc said:On 2/23/2013 at 11:24 AM, dejaclairevoyant said:On 2/22/2013 at 2:33 PM, alexisc said:I'm also a person who breaks out from probiotics but I think I've found out why. Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth. If you have this going on adding probiotics is only going to make the situation worse. You may have gut problems but you have to deal with this first. I actually gave myself small intestinal bacterial overgrowth from consuming way too much probiotics and having low stomach acid. Definitely something to look into. I've been having great success by taking natural antibiotics like olive leaf, apple cider vinegar, oil of oregano, coconut oil etc. and staying away from all sugar, all fruit and low gi. No more probiotics or probiotic yogurt. If I eat something with sugar or starch my face flares up again.
How did you know that you have this? I suspect I may have done the same thing to myself because I also suffer from a lot of nausea and other stomach problems that I didn't have before. Ugh! I thought probiotics were supposed to protect you from this!
I'm just making an educated guess.. there is a medical test for it though, it is a hydrogen breath test much like getting tested for lactose intolerance. I would cut all sugars even natural sugars and start on antibacterial/antifungals and see how you do. It's making a huge difference for me!
This article on probiotics is really interesting: http://www.healingnaturallybybee.com/articles/probiotic1.php
To Green Gables: You probably do well on antifungals because they are also antibacterials.. so they clear out all of the fungus but also kill the bad bacteria. Glad to hear they help someone else as well.
Already tried it. It just led to me worsening my eating disorder and no improvement in acne. I still try not to eat massive amounts of sugar but I'm not going to avoid entire food groups when there is no change to my face.
Totally understandable, sorry to hear it didn't make a difference for you. I was doing some reading last night and it seems that some natural antibiotics/antifungals only target bad bacteria and yeast and leave good bacteria alone. This would be great if I didn't cause SIBO myself rom probiotics, but all of the bacteria in my small intestine are good bacteria that aren't supposed to be there.
So things that don't touch good bacteria are: oil of oregano and grapefruit seed extract
Things that eradicate 50% of good bacteria are: peppermint oil
Things that kill all bacteria: garlic, caprylic acid, digestive enzymes, goldenseal.
I'm just taking this information from another forum, someone did a test on these with a culture of yogurt and documented the results. It's interesting though because oil of oregano hasn't been touching my problem and only peppermint oil a little... so I'm going to be eating a lot of garlic in the next few weeks as well as taking caprylic acid thats enteric coated to reach the small intestine. I'll let you all know how it goes!
i take probiotics from Puritan Pride and helped me ... i use to break out alot .. now like 1 or 2 bumps every 2 weeks... the most effective thing i did was cut down my refined carbs and sugars.. examples, rice , bread, pasta, only eat them once a week , helped me out big time
Interesting I also broke out from probiotic supplements, haven't tried them again in about a year and a half now, they gave me really bad breakouts. Interesting though for sure, I dont know how much I even trust the whole probiotic movement, kind of skeptic about it. I agree with Alexis I think the best thing to do is to have natural antibiotics to kill the bad bacteria which Im really sure most people with skin problems have..
I just started drinking baking soda with water after reading a lot about it and its amazing effects on keeping the body alkaline, make it impossible for bad bacteria overgrowth. Been washing my face with it too, Ive been having some red rashes around my nose and mouth that I think is peorial dermatitis and a lot of people have success with baking soda/lemon mix. Some do a mask but I find that too irritating and stripping of the acid mantle, so I just use about a teaspoon of baking soda then squirt in a half a lemon with water and wash my face with it, really like it my skin feels great.
Also for people who are talking about having gas, try taking away foods that ferment in the stomach, especially onions, been reading a lot over at the rosacea forum lately and a lot of them find big relief in redness/bloating and gas when removing onions. Could be a fructose thing as well which always seems to give me problems i keep my fructose really low.
I've been breaking out a bit from probiotics in the past. Now, I went on antibiotics about six weeks ago and started two fairly strong probiotics at the same time to protect my gut bacteria. I quit the antibiotics a week ago and have been continuing with the probiotics - and now I'm really breaking out. It's worse than before I started the antibiotics, so I'm wondering if it could be the probiotics doing this. Luckily the breakouts are superficial and aren't likely to scar (scarring from occasional breakouts was the reason I wanted to go on antibiotics to give myself a break), but I'd still like to stop them.
Is there any way to heal gut bacteria without using strong probiotics? I feel like I owe it to myself to continue with them as I've probably caused some damage with the antibiotics. Maybe I should cut it down to just one brand of probiotics a day and see if that helps.
Natural probiotics sound very interesting, although I wouldn't necessarily want to have yoghurt since I'm still trying to avoid too much dairy. What else is there, sauerkraut?
Oh, and as an aside. When I got the probiotics, the pharmacists continually told me there is no difference between a coated and a chewable product in terms of the effects. Which I found really astounding, since stomach acid should kill most of the bacteria in the non-coated chewable pills. I think it's very important to get probiotics in a coated capsule form that will protect the bacteria until they reach the intestines, but apparently you have to be well-informed yourself and not rely on what the pharmacists tell you.
Well dont automatically assume you did damage to your gut from a month of antibiotics. Damage most likely take place after years of antibiotics. To answer your question about healing the gut without probiotics, well thats what many of us hope a good diet does over time. Its still baffling to me though, like people on here who I know have been eating healthy strictly for literally years.. their gut must be healed and in great shape, which would mean their continued skin problems aren't gut related at all but adrenal and thyroid issues most likely.
Well dont automatically assume you did damage to your gut from a month of antibiotics. Damage most likely take place after years of antibiotics. To answer your question about healing the gut without probiotics, well thats what many of us hope a good diet does over time. Its still baffling to me though, like people on here who I know have been eating healthy strictly for literally years.. their gut must be healed and in great shape, which would mean their continued skin problems aren't gut related at all but adrenal and thyroid issues most likely.
You really don't think several weeks of antibiotics would harm the intestines? Usually antibiotics are prescribed for just a few days - except for acne - so I'm just very nervous about having taking them.
I've been eating relatively strictly for years too, although I've been very liberal with my carbohydrate amounts ever since low-carbing (I assume) caused me to have thyroid and adrenal issues a few years ago. Now I'm starting to wonder if I'm having too many carbs though, especially since my fasting glucose and glucose tolerance aren't the most ideal. Even though my diet has improved my skin and my digestion, it still hasn't cured my acne completely (far from it), so I assume there is still something 'wrong'. I haven't been eating that much bone broth or fermented foods though, so I don't know about my gut lining. I've now started making broth, and will possibly look into fermented foods like sauerkraut. And I'll also try to exercise / do IF to improve insulin sensitivity, in case that's an issue.
I started reading Healing Naturally by Bee website and the article about how probiotics are bad, but I have to say I find their articles very unscientific which turns me off. Maybe they are correct, but I wish they'd come up with a more scientifically convincing article. Anyway, I'll try to look into it more before actually forming an opinion. I already seem to be following most of their dietary advice anyway, except having more carbohydrates and starch/sugar than they recommend.
I dediced to stop the probiotics for a while, until this current breakout has healed. Then I may start taking them again, but I'm not sure yet.
this is all very interesting. I too feel that I break out from probiotics but I know my body needs them. Ive been taking a 50billion count by Renew labs every day for quite some time and it has not helped in the least. I also recently went thru stool testing which determined the permeability of my stomach. I have leaky gut and I also showed no growth of some of the beneficial bacteria our bodies need. I specifically showed no growth of the Lactobacillus species. Also found was under the additional bacteria section I had something called Providencia Alcalifaciens. These was amazing to me as I have been taking the probiotic for months, so why didnt it show any strains? I was told to bump it up even more but Im scared to break out again. I also have intolerance to soy so miso and I believe kimichi are out. Ive never tried kefir so I'm not sure about this. How do you make water kefir, where do you buy kefir and can it bought in a store like Whole Foods already made?
this is all very interesting. I too feel that I break out from probiotics but I know my body needs them. Ive been taking a 50billion count by Renew labs every day for quite some time and it has not helped in the least. I also recently went thru stool testing which determined the permeability of my stomach. I have leaky gut and I also showed no growth of some of the beneficial bacteria our bodies need. I specifically showed no growth of the Lactobacillus species. Also found was under the additional bacteria section I had something called Providencia Alcalifaciens. These was amazing to me as I have been taking the probiotic for months, so why didnt it show any strains? I was told to bump it up even more but Im scared to break out again. I also have intolerance to soy so miso and I believe kimichi are out. Ive never tried kefir so I'm not sure about this. How do you make water kefir, where do you buy kefir and can it bought in a store like Whole Foods already made?
Kimchi shouldn't have soy. And you can make your own to control what's in it.
this is all very interesting. I too feel that I break out from probiotics but I know my body needs them. Ive been taking a 50billion count by Renew labs every day for quite some time and it has not helped in the least. I also recently went thru stool testing which determined the permeability of my stomach. I have leaky gut and I also showed no growth of some of the beneficial bacteria our bodies need. I specifically showed no growth of the Lactobacillus species. Also found was under the additional bacteria section I had something called Providencia Alcalifaciens. These was amazing to me as I have been taking the probiotic for months, so why didnt it show any strains? I was told to bump it up even more but Im scared to break out again. I also have intolerance to soy so miso and I believe kimichi are out. Ive never tried kefir so I'm not sure about this. How do you make water kefir, where do you buy kefir and can it bought in a store like Whole Foods already made?
It is surprising that after months of probiotics, it wouldn't show up in your test. How do you take the probiotic, if I may ask? I've heard that you are supposed to take it on an empty stomach and not eat for a couple hours afterwards. Which is rather difficult - I usually keep mine by my bed and take it some time during the night or early morning if I happen to wake up before getting up. Not sure if it makes a difference, but perhaps it's worth a try.
I started my probiotics again just so I could finish the bottle (that stuff was expensive). So far, I'm having some breakouts, but none that seems to compare to what happens when I drink water kefir. At this point, I'm thinking it's the intense amount of sugar and yeast in the kefir, but time will tell. I just can't bear to throw the bottle I have away. It cost way too much. So hopefully it will do something good for my body despite everything and I'm not just giving myself SIBO!
The reason I suspect the kefir being the problem is that when I first began taking it, I couldn't shit for days. That doesn't seem like a normal or healthy effect if you were truly drinking something good for your body. Yet when I added these pills on top of the kefir, I could use the restroom again. That makes me think that the pills alone could possibly do me good.
I've long since given up on any possibility of this clearing the skin, but I'm hoping for a continued boost in immunity. We'll see.
I started on probiotics about 2 weeks ago. 90 bil cultures (or whatever you call it), from the health store so I hope it's good quality stuff. Last week I had a mind-blowing breakout. My entire neck itched and was covered in rash-like small pimples. A few got inflamed because I couldn't leave them alone. Miserable! But I didn't stop the probiotics and now (knock wood) I think I am clearing up. I wonder if this was a "detox" and am praying that now I will start to see benefits!!