Probiotics LoveThatBug

Side Effects Of Acidophilus

Have you suffered the side effects of acidophilus? A little more gas than you would like? Hmmm?

Like to share you experience here and how you handled it?

The worst that usually happens when a person starts to take Lactobacillus acidophilus is a little bloating or flatulence and it does wear off as your body becomes accustomed to those extra bacteria. Most people are not affected at all.

You can read more about L acidophilus side effects here or see what other viewers have found happened when they starting taking acidophilus supplements.

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Comments for
Side Effects Of Acidophilus

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Apr 17, 2010
 Gas Like You Wouldn't Believe!
by: Anonymous

I had gas like you wouldn't believe for the first 4-5 days. It was terrible. My wife didn't want to sleep with me. She claimed I didn't nothing but break wind all night.

I've been taking the Theralac probiotics which have acidophilus in them. Like I said, first few days were embarrassing to say the least but this settled down. Probably took about a week but now my digestive system is feeling better than it has in years.

I used to get acid reflux and that's why I started the capsules. For awhile, I thought I had made things worse but now I can see that was just a bad patch I had to go through as the old bacteria died and the new ones took over.
Apr 23, 2010
 Me Too!
by: Gina

Exactly the same result for me. Bad gas for 4-5 days. Had to keep excusing myself from the office - I work in a large shared office - so that I could let the wind out in private. Most embarrassing.

Much better now. It does settle down once your body gets used to it. I'm taking the Acidophilus Pearls made by Enzymatic.

Very helpful for yeast - haven't had a recurrence since I started taking them.

Worth persevering through the flatulence problem.
Jun 15, 2010
 No Bad Effect
by: Anonymous

All I can say is that some of you dudes must be wimps because I take acidophilus every day and never had gas or anything else.

Mind you it didn't make me feel any better either.
Aug 26, 2010
 Acidophilus side effect
by: Anonymous

OMG - round belly is not the word, it's huge by end of day and the loudest smelliest wind all day and all night. It's been 8 days since I've been taking acidophilus, should I stop?
Aug 29, 2010
 I Take Accuflora Pro-biotic Acidophilus
by: Anonymous

Taking one a day and I am a little bloated but I didn't have the acid I used to have. I am going to ask my doc to give me a test to check my bacteria.
Sep 12, 2010
 War horse farts
by: Anonymous

Since I started taking acidophilus pills the gas has been worse than Hurricane Katrina! I have been on it 5 days but I can't get rid of my gas. My daughter moved out of the house until it lets up and her dog hides under the bed each time I burst. I have high hopes of it helping my stomach problems.
Sep 28, 2010
 Dull stomach pain and cramping
by: Anonymous

I have only started the acidophilus 6 days ago and I have cramping and stomach pain but not unbearable pain. I may be feeling gassy but I've always had problems passing gas. I'm going to stick with it and see what happens I guess
Nov 02, 2010
 PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFT!
by: Anonymous

HELP ME I can't stop farting!!!! I am so going to my doctor. I hate this medicine!
Dec 14, 2010
 Flu like symptoms
by: Anonymous

I started taking the acidophilus and by the next day I started feel very ill, flu like symptoms. Anyone else have these symptoms and how long will they last?

Answered by Dawn: That is the Herx reaction and is a not uncommon response if you are low on probiotics and start taking them. Ease off on the dose slightly and wait it out. These flu like symptoms will soon go - and then you are going to feel so much better..
Jan 26, 2011
 Crampage
by: Anonymous

This is my third day taking Jarro-Dophilus EPS 5 billion organisms. I am experiencing minor cramping and gas, but I am already a gassy person. It is a minor pain in my lower abdominal area, but if it helps its worth it! The capsules are enteric-coated and I take one capsule when I wake on an empty stomach. I also take another on an empty stomach before dinner. Is this the best dosage to start off on? I also take super digestive enzymes after I eat which I am supposing is okay?! Not really sure about this supplement stuff but hoping it helps with my digestion.

Answered by Dawn: if you're still getting a bit of cramping, I'd cut it down to 1 capsule a day until the cramping goes and then step it up again.

Hopefully it has already eased. It usually doesn't last for long.
Feb 17, 2011
 Worried
by: Anonymous

I have noticed that my blood pressure goes up when I take this pill. And when I stop taking it, it goes down. Anyone else has this problem?

Dawn answered: This seems to be something individual to you and if you are concerned you should see your doctor.

This medical study http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21296446 showed no affect on blood pressure after eating yogurt containing acidophilus.

This earlier study also found no effect on blood pressure. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10745279

We are all individuals and can react differently to substances. I've never heard of this effect before and suggest you see your doctor just to check blood pressure.
Mar 10, 2011
 Quitting Jarro-Dophilus
by: Anonymous

For a period of about a month I took one to two of the Jarrow EPS capsules, which contain L. acidophilus, L. casei, and L. reuteri, among some other strains. For about a week and a half I have stopped taking them (I ran out) without having tapered the dosage or anything like that. Perhaps coincidentally, I have had some serious flatulence going on that did not occur even when I started taking the Jarro-Dophilus.

Could this be an imbalance thing, where suddenly the probiotic bacteria are lower in number and this causes the horrible gas? I'm still eating yogurt and feta cheese every day... Any estimates on the duration of this gassy period were I to never take Jarro-Dophilus again?

Dawn answered: Probably an imbalance that will sort itself out in time. But that Jarro Dophilus would have been doing you nothing but good. Why stop!!
Mar 28, 2011
 Side effects of acidolphilus?
by: Shannon

I just started acidophilus about 4 days ago. Noticed a little bloating, one night had terrible gas but not a lot since then (except the bloating). Since beginning acidophilus I have suffered with more headaches (migraines) and feelings of depression, fatigue, and not sleeping well at night mixed with strange dreams. Let's just say I am not myself! Can this be a detox reaction I'm having? I am taking a very SMALL dose of acidophilus with no other probiotic added. I deal with many food intolerances and leaky gut.

Dawn answered: Definitely sounds like a detox reaction. You're doing the right thing by just taking a small amount while your body adjusts.
Apr 12, 2011
 Cramps
by: Anonymous

Unbelievable cramping pains, feel like I need to pass wind but can't. Am sitting on the toilet every 30 mins praying for a fart. This is unbearable.

Dawn answered: Ease back on the acidophilus while your body gets used to it.
Apr 21, 2011
 Side Effects Of Probiotic Acidophilus With Pectin
by: Anonymous

Because I suffer a lot with indigestion I have decided to to try and get my body back on track so I started taking probiotic acidophilus with pectin (each capsule contains 3 Billion active cultures).

I take just one tablet a day instead of two, but now I find the indigestion has got worse, my stomach is bloated almost all the time. The worst thing I done the other day was eat baked beans OMG the wind was so bad I thought I was going to take off!

Can you please tell me if I take just one capsule every second day until my body gets use to it would this be okay (as I cannot reduce the capsule dose any other way) would this low dose still have a positive effect?? All being well I hope to increase the dose as I go along. I am desperate to get my body back on track.

Look forward to your comments.

Dawn answered: The pectin is providing a food source for the good bacteria, particularly the Bifidobacterium. This is likely part of the cause of the wind.

I'd stop the pectin until you have it sorted.
Apr 28, 2011
 Way too much gas
by: Popthebubble

I have been taking a capsule since the first of April and can't get rid of the gas. My stomach just turns and turns throughout the day. Or at least until I can get to my car. Since it's a capsule then how can I cut down on taking them? I know my co-worker is tired of hearing my stomach...but at least he doesn't have to hear me fart.

Dawn answered: Try changing brands so that you can get one with a lower dose until this eases.
May 10, 2011
 ON A LEARNING CURVE
by: scotslassie

I started the acidophilus plus capsules 4 days ago. I had a very similar experience to Shannon but did not realize it was the capsules as I have taken them before with no side effects. I felt very unwell and stopped them on the third day and it took at least 24hours to get rid of bloating. I started them again today and eureka the same symptoms and so landed on this site to have a nosey. Thank you for sharing the side effects I am now trying to quarter a capsule and hoping things will improve.
May 11, 2011
 probiotic update
by: Shannon

I am still taking a small dose of acidophilus and believe it is working fine for me. The side effects are gone...I am even thinking those were related to something else completely. I am perimenopausal so my hormones are all over the map and I also have food intolerances so who knows. I've been on the probiotic for a month or more and doing fine on it. I also add one big tablespoon of aloe vera gel at bedtime and that seems to be helping my stomach as well. My probiotic is a very small dose (only 100 million). If I take a billion or more I tend to feel sick. So I am starting small and working my way up to handling more. I also would recommend Kombucha (I work in a health food store and we sell it like crazy). I have experimented with small 1/4 cup amounts of it as well.
May 11, 2011
 Low tide
by: gasman

Wow, I have had a bit of gas but only after doubling up on the pills. Anything that smells this bad must be doing it's job. I guess it's from killing off the bad stuff that causes the stinkies. It smells like the mud down by the stream/ocean during low tide. I was told that's from the dead stuff (fish etc) in the water and mud.
May 16, 2011
 for shannon
by: scotslassie

Another good blog. I checked the label and this latest purchase has 2billion bacteria!! A lot more than my previous buy. Now on tiny amount and so far so good. Not found kombucha yet but will give it a go. Many thanks
May 23, 2011
 Gas at work is no fun
by: help

I started taking acidophilus becuz I was having a bad overgrowth of bacteria down below,which caused odor and discharge...been to the obgyn to many times everything they gave me didn't work or last, besides Metronidozole..it went away and came right back..so I did my own research and found taking acidophilus is good to balance out bacteria..BUTTT I have horrible gas all day at work and I can't let it out..I've been taking it for about 6 days now seeing some improvements in the smell and discharge hopefully this will clear this up for good...please leave any other suggestions that work...thankx:)
Jun 17, 2011
 Bloating and Gas
by: Bill

I started taking Jarro-Dophilus EPS a few days ago. At first I just noticed a small amount of extra gas but suddenly after dinner yesterday I got bad gas and bloating which is causing some mild stomach ache and pain.

I stopped taking it because I was afraid that the supplement was contaminated and put something bad in my intestines. I'm concerned that there is some bad strain of bacteria in my intestines now that won't go away.

I'm slightly comforted that most information I can find says this is a temporary problem. Do probiotics permanently recolonize the colon or can I expect all this to pass at some point?

Dawn answered: Jarro-Dophilus EPS is a very reputable brand so there is no risk of contamination. Bloating and gas is a common problem when people first start taking probiotics. It will pass.

Reduce the amount you're taking for a few days so that your body gets used to those extra helpful bacteria.
Jun 27, 2011
 Bloated stomach
by: Anonymous

I've had bloated stomach for the past few weeks. Gas problem Started taking Acidophilus 2 days ago.Would this help me to get rid of the gas or my stomach gets more bloated.Already feeling a bit sickly.Is it side effect?

Dawn answered: Ultimately it will help but start with a reduced dosage while your body gets used to it.
Sep 13, 2011
 Second day on Accuflora
by: Anonymous

It states to take two a day ... 1 billion cfu's in each tablet . As I've never taken these so noticed slight bloating& thought it was female issues and realized these pills possibly is the cause. How long should I do just one a day to get " used" to this good bacteria??
Thanks:)

Dawn answered: Most people find that within a few days they can increase the dose.
Oct 03, 2011
 Gas won't quit
by: Anonymous

I have been using a capsule form of probiotic for about 100 days. The capsule has 10 bil active cultures and claims to be 100% dairy, soy & gluten free. I am lactose, dairy intolerent.
The gas is extensive and very smelly. I thought the gas would go away after awhile, what do you suggest?

Dawn answered: 100 days does seem way too long for this to go on for. Maybe try a different brand.
Oct 11, 2011
 Blood pressure
by: Anonymous

Comment from Anonymous Feb 17. Same happened to me. I stop to take probiotic and my blood pressure gone down.

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