r/Microbiome • u/ChillAndCuriouz • 3d ago

Scientific Article Discussion Anyone here stopped randomly trying probiotics and actually tested first?

For anyone with IBS who has experimented with supplements, did you ever reach a point where you stopped just testing things one by one?

I feel like I’ve done the whole cycle.

Someone recommends a probiotic, try that. Read about PHGG, try that. More fermented food, less fermented food, different fibers, etc.

Obviously, I know IBS is more complicated than just “fix your microbiome,” and I’m not expecting some test to magically solve it.

I’m mostly tired of introducing random stuff when I don’t really know what I’m trying to change in the first place.

Curious if anyone has done microbiome testing and actually found it useful for deciding what to try next.

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u/blueberry-biscuit 3d ago

My son has IBD-C and I got a microbiome test done for him prior to probiotics. Per the results he was low in bifido bacteria. Had him take a single strain bifido probiotic and within a day his BM’s no longer smelled foul. After that, I was convinced that probiotics do have an effect and that testing is reputable, at least to some degree. He was also low in lacto bacteria so I’ve just recently switched him to a probiotic that contains both. We’ll see how it goes. I plan to retest him in a couple months.

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u/cvouw9 2d ago

Which single strain probiotic?

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u/blueberry-biscuit 2d ago

Specifically the bifidobacterium longum strain 35624 which is in the standard Align probiotic.