Help and advice please! Probiotics and vitamin d questions

Submitted by Miss Diagnosed on July 8, 2015 - 4:40am
Body: 

So for the last month or so I've been feeling generally better - much less irritation internally and many days of being close to 'normal' for at least a good part of the day which is great.
One thing that I'm still struggling with is my unpredictable bowel function.
I cannot for the life of me think what is causing constant loose bowel movements (having been able to eat whatever I liked pre-pop with easy regular toilet habits) and wonder if this is just the rectocele or if I need to look at my diet. Not overliading on fiber and my processed intake is minimal. Could my daily vitamin d supplement be causing this? I'm planning to nurse until 1 at least and know that in the uk we need extra vitamin d but does anyone have any experience of this causing watery loose poo?
The only other thing I wondered about was my daily green tea (this is the only other significant change in the last six months that I can think of).

Also - anyone in the uk have a probiotic they'd recommend? I'm just having yoghurts daily but think I might need to step it up in this department.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated - the running to the loo issues are driving me crazy and Id like to be as proactive as possible!

Forum:

Surviving60

July 8, 2015 - 7:20am

Hi Miss D - In my household we drink lots of green tea and we supplement with D (between 2000 and 5000 IU daily for my various family members). I have not heard of either of these things causing bowel issues.

I also don't think rectocele causes loose stools so you will of course need to look to your diet. You are still nursing and I'm not really the best one to give food advice. But you haven't given us much to go on, with regard to your current diet (you might have done this in other posts but I'm not in a position to search right now). Gut health is critical of course, but I'm not sure what eating lots of fermented foods might do to breast milk. Dairy and gluten are the obvious things you might want to try eliminating at some point. Sensitivities to these things can change and develop over time. Ditching both of them straightened out my bowels and my bloating immediately. But.....I'm not a nursing mom. - Surviving

PS: At those times when I have taken probiotics from a bottle, I have found Renew Life to be a decent and well-recommended brand. If buying off the shelf, make sure they are well in advance of their expiration date and then store in the fridge.

Miss Diagnosed

July 8, 2015 - 1:01pm

Thank you as always surviving for your input here. I've tried eliminating sugar for a month - made zero difference but I'm yet to try ditching dairy. I'm almost gluten free but I know that with gluten intolerance 'almost' giving it up doesn't cut it.
My diet is good - oats, eggs, veggies, pulses, dairy, fruits, nuts, herbal teas and only occasional treats so I'm guessing that probably having another baby has screwed me up royally in terms of food sensitivity.... I just wonder about the vitamin d because I started it when the baby was about 4 months and this is when things got 'loose'. I've skipped days here and there accidentally but never tied the two until now... Hope it's not dairy!
Thanks for probiotic advice also! I took acidophilus once to help with thrush and a side effect I remember was altered bowel habits - morning clock switched to afternoon and things got pretty solid...

Celeae

July 8, 2015 - 3:00pm

I also get the runs with vit D tablets but lots of things have this effect on me and it isn't a reported side-effect when I have checked on-line. Its not that difficult ditching dairy - you could try first ditching lactose by getting lactose free dairy products if you feel you'll be depriving yourself!

laughLOVElive

July 9, 2015 - 6:36am

Hi!
I usually take vit D daily and it definitely does not give me loose stools. Good luck with finding the issue - I've been on eliminations diets before and find them hard so sending persistence your way!

Miss Diagnosed

July 9, 2015 - 1:42pm

Thank you for taking the time to comment. I know that the vitamin D doesn't report this as a side effect but there are online reports of people reacting badly to it with similar results...I'm going to try a week off it and then look to see what else might be wrong! It's a never ending balancing act!

Tangogirl

October 7, 2015 - 6:08pm

7/10/15: I cannot seem to find what I wrote yesterday??

Aging gracefully

October 7, 2015 - 6:14pm

Click on your name, and then click on track. You will find all your posts that way.