Since the gall bladder surgery, I've had digestive woes. Actually, way before that, even. I won't go into gory details -- I'm sure you all have a good imagination and can do the math.
I've seen the commercials for Activia yogurt on TV. You know the ones, with Jamie Lee Curtis? Thought it was just a bunch of advertising bull, to be honest. But, I happened to be in the grocery store after a particularly bad day of digestive torture, and I saw the little (and I mean LITTLE) carton on the shelf in the dairy aisle. I figured, what the hell, right? Can't hurt more than I'm hurting already.
So, I picked up a package of four. The blurb on the carton said to try it for fourteen days, and if you saw no improvement they'd give you your money back. Since I was sick of feeling like I'd swallowed a box cutter every time I ate something no matter how innocuous, I proceeded with caution.
It has made a huge difference.
It contains live cultures of bifidus regularis, and while I have no clue what that is, my tummy problems have been drastically reduced. Four ounces of tasty yogurt. I'm amazed and ever so grateful, believe me, and I'll be eating this stuff for the rest of my life.
Who knew? Jamie Lee Curtis and yogurt. Life sure is funny.
I also have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) issues. In my case, it's very painful bloating and gas after eating pretty much anything.
I tried several things, including the yogurt with the cultures. In my particular case, I found an over the counter probiotic (used to describe healthy digestive track bacteria in pill form or added to foods) that I take every morning, with my vitamins and other meds. It's called Gas Defense Formula (made by Ganeden). It runs about $7-11 for a 30 day supply. For me, this works very well. I ocassionally take a second pill if it flares up.I tried several others that you can get OTC and have had the best long term success with this one.
I didn't always remember to buy the yogurt (or to eat it) but I take other meds every day. So this is a "no additional hassle" solution for me.
BTW ... If you are having a very severe attack that isn't responding to yogurt or additional probiotics, you can also try eating cooked white rice with a big glass of water or a mug of mint tea (mint also soothes cramping in the intestines). The rice is mostly water soluble fiber. It turns to a firm jelly in your intestines. This gives the cramping intestine something to "gnaw on" that doesn't contain any of the usual triggers for IBS attacks. It will usually settle the out of control cramps that cause the IBS pain, gas and bloating.
That a great tip, Krystal, and thanks. I knew that about mint tea, but I didn't know that about rice. Thank you so much for stopping by and sharing.
Uhhhh, I think I've been telling you about yogurt for awhile. As someone with Crohn's I've known the advantages of yogurt for 20+ years. You don't even have to spend the high dollar price for Activa. Regular yogurt will do.