Probiotic Problem/Quest – Jarodophilus?

[Anonymous]

So we were given the go ahead to start probiotics for Marisa to see if
they help normalize her gut and ease the constipation. Gave her 1/4 tsp
Baby Jarodophilus in first bottle today. Seemed gassy and got out an
extra pebble or two but nothing much and didn’t expect immediate
results.

This evening, Marisa had a 1/2 hour crying/screaming episode. DH could
not get her to calm down (they were in car waiting for me at a doctor
appt) and she was crying like we’ve never heard and couldn’t catch her
breath. Even once I came out and we started to drive home and she was
calming down she would keep having almost twitches where she would
sound out of breath an unable to stop whimpering for a second. It was
worse than I’ve ever see – or at least longer lasting and stronger.

Finally, 5 minutes from home she dozed off and totally calmed down. She
woke up (was only half asleep anyway) and I brought her upstairs
(apartment) while DH parked, etc. Was like nothing ever happened – she
was smiling and playing and all and then ate dinner bottle with no
problem, went to bed, etc.

Now it’s so hard to know what caused it. Didn’t seem like reflux and
her pepcid dosage was JUST increased. She is teething for sure, was
extremely overtired (much less naps due to running around) and she did fall off bed yesterday evening – but had no bump
and was acting totally normal rest of day and slept normally/well last
night.

So, have NO idea if the probiotics contributed to tonight’s episode. But want to play things safe. Couple of questions:

1. Does anyone know if Baby Jarodophilus is definitely milk free? It
says dairy free on side and says vegetarian but doesn’t list
ingredients so I can’t be sure.

2. Could 1/4 tsp just be too much for her body to get used to at once?
Should we try 1/8 tsp for one week first and then increase?

3. If it was a reaction in part to the probiotics is it strange that
she was fine all day before and after this? This didn’t happen until
5:30pm and she had the Jarodophilus at 7:30/7:45 am.

4. Should we be more concerned that this was related to her fall? She
fell off bed about 2 feet 5 inches up onto heavily carpeted/padded
floor. She cried heavily when happened but calmed down very quickly.
Doctor said to keep eye on her and look for goose egg bump, lots of
throwing up, not acting like self, etc – none of which happened.

Thx as always.

knb182006-2-20 23:36:18

[Anonymous]

Karen, I don’t really know what to say about the acidophilus, but I wanted to ask you a question, if you don’t mind. I was considering starting this for Hailey, but I was wondering if it is truly taste and odor free before buying a jar. I know that otherwise she won’t take it. I’d be surprised if that acidophilus was causing all the screaming, but I don’t really know.

How is she today- hopefully feeling fine.

[Anonymous]

Hi Karen,

I don’t have a lot of experience in this area as we only did a probiotic (Therbotic Complete) for a short time, but children can go through what is known as “die off”. This is when the body has yeast (sort of like a yeast infection, but in the gut) and the probiotic is putting the good bacteria back in the body. This good bacteria fights the yeast, and it can really be bothersome. In some ways, she may be out of sorts, but it may be because she really needs it and it is working. We saw a Dr. (Dr. O’Hara) in Wilton, CT. (I think you are in NY so not so far away) who this is her specialty. She does not take insurance, and is VERY expensive, so I am not sure it is something you want to explore or not, but she believes that yeast is the cause of alot of the gut issues and reflux included.

Let me know if you want her information. She deals with a lot of autistic children (Dylan is not autistic, but was displaying tendencies, from all of his issues) but don’t let that scare you. She treats a lot of children without autism. She also studied under Sid Baker. Not sure if you’ve heard of him or not, but I think he is in NY as well.

Not sure if that was the issue or not, but it was the first thing that came to mind.

Ann Marie

[Anonymous]

Hi Lori. She seems OK today. A little sleep deprived since she had a
rough night from being so overtired but seems to feel OK so far. Still
constipated but did get out a lot of gas this morning. It definitely is
odor free. As for taste, I didn’t taste it myself but Marisa certainly
didn’t seem to notice the taste one bit.

Ann Marie – thanks for your post. Yes, in NYC so that is not far.
Perhaps we will give her a call if we continue to have gut issues –
since that really seems to be Marisa’s main problem (with the reflux
secondary). I have heard of the whole die-off theory and that does make
sense. In that case, I’d want to continue with the same dosage and give
it a chance or should I start at half-dosage do you think?

[Anonymous]

Karen – I use the exact same brand for Noah, and I took the adult version from the same manufacturer through my entire pregnancy. This particular brand is milk free. I only gave Noah 1/8 tsp for the first week just to get his body used to it. Then I upped it to the 1/4 tsp. Sometimes probiotics can cause gas and stomach cramping initially until your body gets accustomed to it. I would definitely give it a good try and it might take a week or longer to really notice any results.

Lori – I just tasted it and there is no taste at all. If your thinking of trying it, look for a brand that is made especially for babies. The types of probiotics and concentrations are different in the baby formulas. The brand I use is made by Jarrow and its called Baby’s Jarro-Dophilus. It is only sold in health food stores. It cost me about $16.00 for a bottle.

[Anonymous]

Thanks Lisa. I did use 1/4 tsp this morning (well a light 1/4 tsp) but
if she has a lot of gas and cramps again today will do 1/8 tsp for the
rest of the week before trying 1/4 tsp again.

As for cost – bottle says $16 but my organic market has ongoing sales
and it was 15% off that actually so about $13.50. Whole Foods would
likely have it too?

knb182006-2-21 9:19:26

[Anonymous]

I agree with cutting the dose until she gets used to it and slowly increasing…..

[Anonymous]

We have it here… it’s $33 dollars a jar!

[Anonymous]

Maybe it’s a bigger jar? The one I bought is 2.5 ounces (70 grams) powder.

Thanks guys – tomorrow will give only 1/8 tsp and stay with that for a few days at least to let her adjust.

[Anonymous]

I don’t know, maybe it’s bigger. I’m going to get some today so I’ll check. Thanks BTW for checking the smell and taste for me. We just waste so much money that I hate to buy it if Hailey won’t touch it.

[Anonymous]

Karen and Lori – dont forget to keep it in the fridge so it keeps its potency. Good luck!!

[Anonymous]

Yes, it’s in the fridge – thanks!

So might be starting to help (fingers and toes crossed) already. Marisa
has had a lot of gas (audible forceful farting today) and pooped twice
already. Once this morning just a small hard piece but once just now
and a bit more volume and a bit softer. Still nothing like it should
be, but…

We were supposed to start solids today (avocado) but are going to hold
off until Friday I think to give her system more time to adjust – does
that make sense?

[Anonymous]

Yeah, I think I’d hold off too. Let her belly get a chance to get used to the probiotics before introducing new foods.

Yippee for the poopy

[Anonymous]

Hurray for poop!

[Anonymous]

Double and triple hurrah! She pooped AGAIN after her most recent
bottle. And the most normal poop (without Miralax) in a LONG time. I
hope she doesn’t swing the other way and get diarrhea from this or
start pooping with every bottle but assume it’s just her system
adjusting and the bad stuff flushing out and backed up stool getting
pushed out? She seems to be able to eat much easier without all that
stool in there…

[Author]

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