Approximately 80% of our immune health is dependent upon the health of our gut. The human gut contains tens of trillions of bacteria and at least one thousand different species. Stress, diet, and disease can all disrupt this balance in your gut and so probiotics are often turned to for help. If you have taken high doses of antibiotics for Lyme disease you might be interested to hear more about what Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotics® have done for my post Lyme gut.
Disclaimer: I received this product for free from Moms Meet (momsmeet.com) to use and post my honest opinions. Compensation for this post was provided and this page may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure.
In my post, Lyme Disease, Antibiotics and a Miserable Gut, I shared how I spent over four and a half years taking high doses of antibiotic combinations in order to treat chronic Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases. As you can imagine, this heavy antibiotic use destroyed my gut and left me miserable.
Once I got off antibiotics I spent many years working on repairing and healing my gut. I kept a very strict diet, rotated probiotics, and used many different supplements and herbs to treat symptoms of gas, bloating, diarrhea and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
I’m super sensitive to supplements, especially probiotics and I’ve found that I don’t tolerate fermented drinks like kefir or kombucha.
When I was asked to review Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotics® by Mom’s Meet International I had mixed feelings because of my sensitivities. Lately, though, my gut hasn’t been happy and I had actually stopped taking probiotics altogether. Part of me was curious about Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotics® and I wondered if they would work for me. My daughter still hasn’t recovered her gut health either. I figured if I didn’t do well on them I would let her take them and write my review about her experience.
How I Took Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotics®
When I got the antibiotics in the mail I was delighted to see that they sent me enough for both me and my daughter to take. I read the directions and decided rather than taking 1 capsule twice a day I would begin with one capsule once a day. Like I said, I’m super sensitive and I knew that it would be wise to start slow. Apparently one a day was too much for me because by the end of day 5 I was so horribly constipated I was miserable.
Before bed, I took a dose of Young Living ComforTone and by the next morning, I felt like I could at least function. For three days following I continued to take ComforTone and took a break from the probiotics to try to get back to where I was before taking them.
Once I felt like I could, I took one probiotic every three days and a ComforTone capsule at bedtime for a week. I proceeded to take one probiotic every other day and discontinued taking ComforTone. On week four I began taking one capsule every day and have been doing so since.
[bctt tweet=”After so many years of suffering from Lyme disease, you learn to pay very careful attention to every symptom and every reaction that takes place in your body. #lymedisease #healing #probiotics” username=”aboundinginhope”]
Listening to Your Body
Each day and each week, I paid attention to and listened carefully to my body. If I felt like I didn’t need the probiotic, I didn’t take it and if I felt like I needed it, I took it.
After so many years of suffering from Lyme disease, you learn to pay very careful attention to every symptom and every reaction that takes place in your body. You learn what is good for you and what will create problems.
About Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotics®
Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotics® are one of the only probiotics that contain prebiotics, probiotics, and postbiotics. Postbiotics are the natural result of fermentation and many other probiotic companies take those out of their products. These compounds created by the bacteria protect and renew our bodies so they are beneficial to keep.
Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotics® are always live and active and are made over a 3-year fermentation period. Dr. Ohhira’s uses a wide variety of plant materials proven to support probiotic growth and to develop a wide variety of postbiotics. These capsules deliver a wide variety of postbiotic metabolites which support your native bacteria. Read this from their website:
Since its origin over 30 years ago, Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotics® has prided itself on purity and the pristine process that creates this perfect whole food supplement. Our nourishing prebiotic culture medium is comprised of EXCLUSIVELY pure spring water, fruits, wild vegetables, mushrooms, and seaweed.
This carefully balanced and perfectly blended composition goes through a three-year fermentation process based on ancient Japanese traditions. Fermentation maximizes the natural health-promoting properties of each ingredient. The final result is an organic, living fusion that merges and encourages the evolution of your own exclusive internal bacteria. This, in turn, supports a healthy immune system and digestion of crucial micronutrients that your body needs to thrive and flourish.*
Benefits
- Balance and support your personal unique bacterial fingerprint*
- Relieve occasional gas and heartburn*
- Maintain healthy intestinal pH and digestive function*
- Support the absorption of nutrients from food and other supplements*
- Support a healthy immune system response*
- Convenient blister-packed capsules are stable at room temperature
- Live and viable bacteria – NEVER freeze-dried
Personal Observations
My initial reaction to Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotics® wasn’t pleasant but as with any new probiotic, there will be a transition period. If you do not experience an initial die-off or any sort of transition you might consider if there are actually live bacteria available in the product you’re taking.
Whenever you begin to take probiotics you may experience die-off or herxing from the bad bacteria as the good bacteria begin to populate in your gut. I knew that my initial symptoms were definitely a result of a die-off reaction. I felt tired, had some mild brain fog and I even had some swelling in my joints which is a symptom I rarely get anymore.
As the weeks progressed I began to notice that my bowels were beginning to be normal and the pain I was having went away.
My Diet
Since getting Lyme disease I have tried to follow a diet that is primarily whole foods, free of processed food, gluten, dairy, sugar, and junk. Sometimes I will have something that isn’t the best for me. I’m not going to say I “cheat” because I usually choose whether having that treat is worth the consequences before I have it.
Occasionally, like when eating out, I may not realize there’s an ingredient in my food that might cause adverse reactions. Dairy is really the worst for me, causing stomach cramping and inflammation. During my 90-day trial, I had a little bit of ice cream and later realized that I didn’t have my usual reaction.
Now, I’m not advocating eating anything that could cause negative reactions for you and I’m definitely not going to incorporate inflammatory foods back into my diet. However, it would be nice if these probiotics healed my gut and that if I “accidentally” ate something I shouldn’t have I wouldn’t be doubled over in pain.
My daughter doesn’t care for me to describe her symptoms or her experience but she did ask that I buy another box. [smiles]
Tips for Taking Probiotics
Drink plenty of water. Always read the directions carefully for when and how to take them. Never take probiotics at the same time you’re taking antibiotics, it’s best to space them out by 2 hours on either side of dosing. If you’re concerned about side effects, talk to your doctor.
Final Thoughts
If you’re struggling with digestive problems, if you have intestinal pain or are suffering from the consequences of long-term antibiotic use like I was, you might want to give Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotics® a try. They are priced between .67¢ and .99¢ per capsule, which I think is comparable to other brands. If you’ve had Lyme disease for any length of time you know that you get what you pay for.
If you’re new to this chronic Lyme disease club here’s some advice, at some point you will most definitely end up with two or three different types of probiotics in your fridge that just aren’t working. It always saves money in the long-run to skip those cheaper versions and go with quality.
[bctt tweet=”If you’re new to this chronic Lyme disease club, it saves money to buy quality supplements the first time. #supplements #lymedisease #probiotics #drohhirasprobiotics #blogreview #aboundinginhopewithlyme” username=”aboundinginhope”]
While so much of our health depends on our gut health, I say put your money where your gut is! Your gut health is a critical component to healing from chronic tick-borne diseases. Many physicians will begin with gut health before treating anything else and rightly so!
Where to Find Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotics®
If you’re interested in Dr. Ohhira’s products, you can visit their website Essential Formula’s or purchase from Amazon.com/essentialformulas. Take a look around their site and check out their other products, they also have skin care products.
Beauty Bar and Other Products
I’ve been also using the Essential Formulas Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotic Kampuku Beauty Bar they included in my trial pack and it is very helpful if you have sensitive skin. I would imagine it would be helpful for acne and fungal infections of the skin since it has a probiotic in it.
Have you used Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotics®? I’d love to know what your experience has been.
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