Clostridium And S. Boulardii

[katsen]

Tobermory thanks for the suggestion. Unfortunately, I'd have to order the Nexabiotic online (no stores around here carry it), which means that with the insane heatwaves we're all going through, sitting in the delivery truck all day might tamper with the product and make it useless... Hence why I was looking at the New Roots option as it's a probiotic that includes S. Boulardii as well and some people here on TCS seem to have used it.

I'm really looking for something that has S. Boulardii included in the mix to kill the Clostridium and prevent it from reoccurring. I read that using just an Acidophilus/Bifidus mix (like Natural Factors' Double Strength, which lots of people seem to use and looks cool) helps cats with IBDs or to help rebuild their guts after lots of antibiotics, but not for C. Perf...?

So far the only brand I found available here with S. Boulardii in the mix is New Roots. UNLESS, I just continue using the pure S. Boulardii form, but in a much lower dose? I can find more brands that only have that specific strand and have 5 billion CFUs instead of 10 billion, making the splitting up easier for me. I don't know! Then again, I just saw that New Roots has silicon dioxide, which I'd love to avoid. So complicated

Ok, so I guess to sum up, here are my options (now that I've sort of convinced myself to skip the New Roots based on the fact that it contains silicon dioxide):

1) Stick to the Renew Life pills I already have, but give the same "treatment dose" I've been giving every second day instead (with daily pumpkin)
2) Stick to the Renew Life pills, but give the tiniest amount possible twice a day - like say, a quarter of the capsule instead of half the capsule (so 2.5 billion in total)
3) Find a new brand of just S. Boulardii at a lower dose of 5 billion CFUs and give 1/4 a capsule twice a day (so 2.5 billion in total) - this just makes it easier for me to dose, but comes out to the same as option 2
4) Give a basic probiotic mix that does not contain S. Boulardii - like Natural Factors' Double Strength and hope it works for Clostridium-prone cats

Thanks in advance for trying to help! And sorry for the rambling

 

[Tobermory]

Tobermory thanks for the suggestion. Unfortunately, I'd have to order the Nexabiotic online (no stores around here carry it), which means that with the insane heatwaves we're all going through, sitting in the delivery truck all day might tamper with the product and make it useless... Hence why I was looking at the New Roots option as it's a probiotic that includes S. Boulardii as well and some people here on TCS seem to have used it.

I'm really looking for something that has S. Boulardii included in the mix to kill the Clostridium and prevent it from reoccurring. I read that using just an Acidophilus/Bifidus mix (like Natural Factors' Double Strength, which lots of people seem to use and looks cool) helps cats with IBDs or to help rebuild their guts after lots of antibiotics, but not for C. Perf...?

So far the only brand I found available here with S. Boulardii in the mix is New Roots. UNLESS, I just continue using the pure S. Boulardii form, but in a much lower dose? I can find more brands that only have that specific strand and have 5 billion CFUs instead of 10 billion, making the splitting up easier for me. I don't know! Then again, I just saw that New Roots has silicon dioxide, which I'd love to avoid. So complicated

Ok, so I guess to sum up, here are my options (now that I've sort of convinced myself to skip the New Roots based on the fact that it contains silicon dioxide):

1) Stick to the Renew Life pills I already have, but give the same "treatment dose" I've been giving every second day instead (with daily pumpkin)
2) Stick to the Renew Life pills, but give the tiniest amount possible twice a day - like say, a quarter of the capsule instead of half the capsule (so 2.5 billion in total)
3) Find a new brand of just S. Boulardii at a lower dose of 5 billion CFUs and give 1/4 a capsule twice a day (so 2.5 billion in total) - this just makes it easier for me to dose, but comes out to the same as option 2
4) Give a basic probiotic mix that does not contain S. Boulardii - like Natural Factors' Double Strength and hope it works for Clostridium-prone cats

Thanks in advance for trying to help! And sorry for the rambling

Rambling helps me process ideas, so I found it helpful!

Since the S. boulardii has been effective, I’d be reluctant to give it up.

I don’t know how much powder is in one capsule, but I wonder if something like these tiny measuring spoons would help you in dividing the powder in the capsules. The two smallest are 1/34 and 1/64 of a teaspoon.

 

[katsen]

Thanks for the link, that might work. The math is killing me though, ha. I'll have to see if I can convert all of this!

I haven't read anything anywhere that suggests that giving pure S. Boulardii long term causes any issues. I wonder if people switch over to a probiotic 'mix' to save some money in the long run or if there's any other reason behind it...

 

[Tobermory]

Thanks for the link, that might work. The math is killing me though, ha. I'll have to see if I can convert all of this!

I haven't read anything anywhere that suggests that giving pure S. Boulardii long term causes any issues. I wonder if people switch over to a probiotic 'mix' to save some money in the long run or if there's any other reason behind it...

I wouldn’t think there would be issues with it:

S boulardii is a yeast-based probiotic that does NOT colonize the gut. It is entirely gone from the system in 18 - 36 hours, thus it must be given 2x a day to work. As a yeast-based probiotic, it can be given as adjunct therapy WITH antibiotics, without worrying about timing of meds in relation to giving the probiotic. Antibiotics do not kill it.​

S boulardii prevents unhealthy bacteria from colonizing, and helps healthy bacteria colonize, so inclusion of healthy bacteria (L acidophilus and bifidobacteria) that DO colonize, at some point, is also important.​

There is a different brand in Canada that has all three types (lactobacillus, bifidobacteria, and S boulardii) : Travelers’ Probiotic by New Roots Herbal | Travelers’ Diarrhea 21 Billion (30 capsules) But again - this is not for treatment of diarrhea, it is for maintenance once the diarrhea is under control from using S boulardii.​

This excerpt is from a thread that has been previously mentioned: Saccharomyces Boulardii use for diarrhea and GI disease (incl IBD)

 

[katsen]

Cool, thanks so much. So would you say that it's best to give a tiny bit every day rather than every second day then? I just don't want to give this bacteria any chance to ever come back

I guess if dosage can go up to an insanely high number like 450 billion CFUs, he should be more than fine getting something like 2.5 billion per day then, long term. I'll just have to see whether I can manage splitting up the capsule into teeny weeny sizes. The spoons might help.

I'll look into stocking up on Nexabiotic when the summer starts to fade. I'm just still weighing the pros and cons of Nexabiotic having maltodextrin vs New Roots having silicon dioxide... To be continued...

 

[Tobermory]

Cool, thanks so much. So would you say that it's best to give a tiny bit every day rather than every second day then? I just don't want to give this bacteria any chance to ever come back

I guess if dosage can go up to an insanely high number like 450 billion CFUs, he should be more than fine getting something like 2.5 billion per day then, long term. I'll just have to see whether I can manage splitting up the capsule into teeny weeny sizes. The spoons might help.

Since it doesn’t colonize the gut and, at most, stays in the system 36 hours, I would be nervous about giving it every other day. I’ve been wracking my brain trying to come up with a teeny scoop or spoon...other than what I saw on Amazon. I wonder if a pharmacist might have an idea.

I'll look into stocking up on Nexabiotic when the summer starts to fade. I'm just still weighing the pros and cons of Nexabiotic having maltodextrin vs New Roots having silicon dioxide... To be continued...

If you can manage the teeny amount issue until it cools off, it would certainly make your life easier to give one of the probiotics that has S. boulardii with other strains—which are beneficial, too. My girls don’t have diarrhea issues (the opposite, actually, since I feed raw) but I give a probiotic daily.

 

[Furballsmom]

Oh by the way - if you aren't already, use only ceramic dishes and bowls for his food and water,

Hi again!

I would like to follow up on/clarify my comment about using ceramic, stoneware et al.

Products purchased from Walmart and elsewhere online sometimes will have a warning of "this product contains cancer causing chemicals banned in California", sometimes not.

The original paper label on the product pictured here (which was purchased in a brick 'n mortar store) stated that if any damage in the glaze occurs to discontinue use of the product.

Here are a couple of discussion threads going into more detail regarding types, styles and materials of cat dishware.

Cat Bowls
Food Dish/bowl Factors