Probiotics - Do you or don't you?

I take a probiotic every morning with breakfast because I've read all the good things about them.  However, I just don't know if it's making a difference, or if I'm taking the right one, or if I'm even taking it right at all...

Do you take a probiotic?  What kind do you take?  When do you take it?

Why?

 I was taking them for awhile myself.  I too didn't notice much difference so I discontinued them.  Besides that, I take enough pills to put a horse down.  My biggest problem is gaining wait.  I currently weigh 110 and I think I'd feel better (I feel so tired and drug down all the time) between 127 and 135.  So, now I'm hoping to get to a point where I can afford to put a plan together with the nutritionist to get me up there.  

I was put on them when I was hospitalized last summer for diverticulitis and have taken them every since. I buy the ones from our local Meijers--I thinks it's Natures Bounty when they go on sale 2 for whatever.

I do. 

I take a digestive enzyme daily.  And when I buy them, I take a wonderful little dark chocolate pro-
biotic I found at Walmart.  They are called Healthy delights and besides having all the great biotics for your innerds, they taste great and provide a 10 calorie dessert, sortov.  I'm all for enjoying things that not only make us feel better, function better, but serve as dessert too!  When I buy them I take one after every meal.

http://probioticbites.com/

Also, here's news of a 2009 study that says probiotic-taking gastric bypass patients lose more weight long term than non-probiotic takers.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090713114512.ht m

I take PB8 at lunch time. I really think it keeps things moving and I stay regular even without the extra fiber or Miralax. Which is nice, because I was tiring of the daily Miralax

I've been taking one with my morning vitamins every day for the past 5 months or so.  I don't know if it's making a difference for me or not.  I had been having horrible IBS-like digestive issues and they are now gone, but that may be a function of the dietary changes I made at the same time.

Anyway, I've taken both Culturelle and Sustenex and I've not noticed any difference between the two.  I only have another week's worth of pills left and I'm probably going to stop taking them for a while to see if there's a difference.  If my digestive problems come back, I'll be buying more for sure.

Hey, good topic. I've been wondering about probiotics.
We have a local yogurt company, Nancy's Yogurt, that for more than 30 years has made fabulous yogurt with live cultures, like acidopholous. Is that what probiotics are?

I pretty much stopped losing at 8 months post op. I began them around month 5. I had read that study that said post rny patients lost about 10% more weight taking them. I think another poster put the link to the study up.

I took the Bariatric Advantage...2 bottles worth of those and one bottle of the Puritan's Pride which I believe was the one used in the study.

Unfortunately, I didnt notice a single difference.

I have been taking Puritan's Pride b/c it was the one named in a study that said post-WLS patients lose more weight when taking this probiotic.  It's been...2 months maybe?  I was mid-stall when I started them.  I guess I won't really know if they're speeding things up until I stop taking them.  I still have a full bottle and a half bottle.  I figure they can't hurt me so why not.

Gina :~)

 Thanks everyone!  I'm most interested in anyone that's had any resolution in gas, bloating, or other IBS type symptoms. I have a lot of those still, so it's either not helping much or I'm not taking the right kind or at the right time. It seems most people don't see much difference either.