Probiotics for me and ds

[susanmt]

I am on long term antibiotics for my kidney problems, and they have made a HUGE difference, I haven't had a single infrction on them. I take one cephalexing once a day, 1/3 of the short term dose.
They do affect my bowels a bit, and I have been eating a lot of live yoghurt and feeding it to ds as well (I am still bf him) as his bowels seem to be affected too. I am a bit fed up with the constant loose movements (antibiotics always have this effect on me) and wanted to try some of the probiotic things which are available from healthfood shops but (1) don't really knwo what to try and (2) dont really know if I can use them while I am breastfeeding.
Does anyone know? Useless conventional medicine trained dh doesn't know, thinks I am havering on about nothing, but I KNOW how I feel.

I don't really know much about the positive effects of pro-biotics, but I just thought I'd mention that dd gets mild bowel problems every time she gets them (via pro-biotic formula). It's highly annoting as the great majority of formulas here are pro-biotic. But anyway, is it possible it's the yoghurt and not the antibiotics that are affecting your ds?

Its not the yoghurt as he always ate a lot of natural live yoghurt before the antibiotics, and it was when I strted on the cephalexin that he stared to get bad nappies. Thanks for the thought anyway.

susanmt, I am b/feeding and take bio yoghurt & acidophillous good bacteria tablets with no ill effects, took them throughout pregnancy and figured they would be OK to take whilst feeding. HTH.

Susanmt, whenever ds had antibiotics (never again after I followed Robinw's tip about toothpaste with xylitol in) as a babe, I took acidophilus during and for a fortnight after, expressly so that he would get the benefit via b/f. It did seem to settle his tummy, so it worked for us. This was my health visitor's advice, so as far as I know they are perfectly safe for you to take during b/f. You can even get lactose-free ones if you shop around, I believe.
I think that the variety available in the UK for which most research confirms their usefulness is Lactobacillus Shirotei, the one found in Yakult. Personally I prefer Actimel, which has the less proven Lactobacillus Casei Immunitass - but that's just a question of taste. I switched to these because I don't have easy access to a health food shop which stocks a good range of Lactobacillus capsules. Once you find what you need, you will need to keep them in the fridge.

Thanks everyone, thats brilliant advice, and I will have a look in the health food shop or, failing that, safeway, next week.
I really don't like taking the antibiotics and passing them on to ds, but as I was starting to damage my kidneys due to the infections, plus being laid up a couple of times a month when one hit, I felt I didn't have a lot of choice - and since I have been on them I havent had any infections at all. I am due another scan at the end of the month to find out if I have any kidney stones left - once they are all gone I can come off the antibiotics a couple of weeks later. I will have to drop a sample into the surgery every week for about 3 months I think (worse than being pregnant, but at least I am used to peeing in a wee bottle!) but if it stops permanent kidney damage then I am not complaining. I also reckoned carrying on bf ds was, on balance, better for him than going onto formula, even given the low dose antibiotic he has been getting.

thats a tiny bottle, I mean, although 'wee' bottle does cover all contingencies I suppose!

Yes, you can take them while breastfeeding. They are good for you and good for babies's gut flora too. There have been studies on it.

The dairy free pro-biotic drink is called Actisun and is made by Sojasun. It comes in packs of 6 x 62ml and the RRP is £1.99. A good health food shop should be able to supply it for you.

Actually a Finnish study showed that giving probiotics to women in late pregnancy and for a month after birth, halved the rate of excema in vulnerable children (ie those with a family history of excema). That has to be worth trying for anyone. British hospitals are now trying to replicate these results.