Renew Life Extra Care Digestive Probiotic Capsules, 50 Billion CFU Guaranteed, Daily Supplement Supports Immune, Digestive, Respiratory Health(1), L. Rhamnosus GG, Dairy, Soy and Gluten-Free, 30 Count

A relative recommended these to me after they basically fixed some major gastrointestinal issues (literally docs were talking about needing surgery, then they try these and boom they've been functioning fine for 6 or 8 months provided they take them daily).If you've thought you might benefit from probiotics before but haven't noticed much difference I recommend giving these a try with the 50 bil dose. Most probiotics out there do not contain enough punch to really help the guts that need it the most. These do.I had a little sticker shock the first time I pulled them up, then I thought about the fact that if the doc gave us an rx for something that was an effective treatment we'd end up paying this much (or more!) for the prescription anyway. Plus this way we're not contributing to the rising costs of health care :D And forget about the co-pay to see the doc, possibly another co-pay for a specialist, the hours away from work to get to these appointments... sure our first choice would be to have no need of them but these things look like a better and better deal all the time!Another reason I like having these around is on the (rare) occasion we need antibiotics. Antibiotics are like micro-flora napalm, they don't distinguish between harmful and helpful. One of the reasons people so often get secondary infections on antibiotics is because the antibiotics are not primarily augmenting the body's immune system they are primarily trying to replace it so when the antibiotics run out you are (until your system recovers) without much "infection defense" of any kind. However, since the majority of the immune system is in the digestive tract (where we are very vulnerable to most infections entering as food-borne illness) taking probiotics is a great way to sustain / augment / replenish your immune system in addition to general digestive health. In other words, probiotics are supposed to supplement your immune system's digestive duties so it can concentrate on other infections, knock out potential infections IN the digestive track (for instance e. coli from a chicken contamination that wants to give you the runs), and quickly replenish your system if you have an infection that requires prescription antibiotics. I can vouch from my own experience that probiotics have helped me recover within an hour or two after eating something that was making others who ate with me sick for the next 12-18 hours (and while I take no pleasure in a friend's illness, I must admit it is gratifying at some level to be in better shape after being written off a hogwash naturopathy, and it makes a great time to mention some extra vitamin D for us Michigan office workers isn't a bad idea either...)Update 9 or so months later: My wife is still taking these. Every time she stops because "it's been fine for a while now" lo and behold problems start back up. It's still a lot cheaper than going to the doc and paying for prescriptions, plus it's much more convenient to not have to be mindful of exact restroom locations and distances after any imperfect meal

I could definitely see a difference in these compared to the ones I was taking. These are very powerful and hit my stomach pretty hard (the other ones didn't). I remembered seeing other people in the "one-star" section saying that they had the same problem with these so rather than rating them a single star and throwing them away (as those people did) I decided to do some research about it first. I found many things on the subject so here are just a few.Unless your symptoms are drastic and affecting you dramatically, don’t stop taking the probiotics – this period should pass. Simply downgrade your dose to every other day or cut in half. It will usually not last more than 3-7 days. Instead of taking on an empty stomach (which some say when probiotics are most effective), for the time being, start taking with food. You can change to taking on an empty stomach after your body has adjusted.*Be sure to know the quality of your probiotic. All supplements are not created equal! Check for fillers or ingredients that might not jive with your system.89 CommentsS*** S*** on February 5, 2014 at 10:51 pm"Can you tell me a handful of trustworthy brands? I’m always worried that the vitamins, supplements, and probiotics I get for myself and my kids aren't all they claim to be."M*** M*** on February 5, 2014 at 11:34 pmSure! We love MegaFoods, Dr. Ohirra, Metagenics, Jarrow and Renew Life, but there are more!K***Posted 30 November 2009 - 03:52 PMAround November 19th I started taking a probiotic called *****. Within a couple days I was feeling so sick that I had to miss an entire week of classes. I stopped taking the probiotic around the middle of last week and now I am finally feeling better after a variety of strange symptoms ranging from odd aches and pains to coldness, to chest pains and a lack of appetite. My theory is that my immune system rejected the bacteria and gave me small stomach flu. My brother thinks that the bacteria could have impacted the wrong part of my stomach, making me ill.I***Posted 03 December 2009 - 07:14 AMThe Herxheimer Reaction is a short-term (from days to a few weeks) detoxification reaction in the body. As the body detoxifies, it is not uncommon to experience flu-like symptoms including a headache, joint and muscle pain, body aches, sore throat, general malaise, sweating, chills, nausea or other symptoms.This is a normal — and even healthy — reaction that indicates that parasites, fungus, viruses, bacteria or other pathogens are being effectively killed off. The biggest problem with the Herxheimer reaction is that people stop taking the supplement or medication that is causing the reaction, and thus discontinue the very treatment that is helping to make them better. Although the experience may not make you feel particularly good, the Herxheimer Reaction is actually a sign that healing is taking place.What Is The Herxheimer Reaction?The Herxheimer Reaction is an immune system reaction to the toxins (endotoxins) that are released when large amounts of pathogens are being killed off, and the body does not eliminate the toxins quickly enough. Simply stated, it is a reaction that occurs when the body is detoxifying and the released toxins either exacerbate the symptoms being treated or create their own symptoms. The important thing to note is that worsening symptoms do not indicate failure of the treatment in question; in fact, usually just the opposite. I***My closing argument on Probiotics that make you sick:I was a germaphobe (until two weeks ago) so bad that I would wash my whole body (the top of my head to the bottom of my feet) in the shower with anti-bacterial soap in hopes of killing germs. I showered that way for many years. I somewhat recently was on antibiotics for two weeks as well and fell so ill that I began to research health like a crazy person because I was in frightening condition. A blessing in disguise I guess. So, why are these making me so ill? Because they're working. BIG TIME. I took them with food today and still started feeling very bad so I went to sleep for a few hours and made it through okay. I'll do what's necessary to get them working properly in my body. The main takeaway from all this is if you're taking ANY Probiotic and it's making you sick, not only is it working VERY WELL but how close are you to being as bad off as I am (with no good bacteria in my body at all I or close to it at least)Tough it out guysRob