Probiotics and heart valves

[debster913]

With years of nursing behind me, I can only imagine these cases are extremely rare. As someone previously stated our guts are full of bacteria to begin with, the only way any of these bacteria could become a problem would be if they entered the blood stream or if there are some immune system issues. I know I am not giving up my yogurt.

That is exactly what my cardio told me when I saw him this AM for my appt. I asked him about it, and he said that taking probiotics is not bad, since our bodies need the good bacteria anyway. I can still enjoy my probiotic-laden yogurt and such.

 

[Adrienne]

Thanks Sylvia and Debi. I'm especially relieved, Debi, since you asked your cardio about it specifically!

 

[olefin]

Thanks, I'd never heard of probiotics, so I read up on it and got a little education.

Rings a bell.... I had major complications from AVR and was on antibiotics for almost 3 weeks. During that time I got acute diarrhea from taking all the antibiotics. Still had diarrhea when I went home. A local gastro dr. put me on a clear liquid diet for three days and then afterwards started back by drinking only buttermilk the first day. Diarrhea cured! I notice what I read about probiotics mention yogurt but not buttermilk.

Recently had my 2nd case of acute diarrhea but this time on a cruise ship. I went online and read up how to treat diarrhea. We started a diet of only toast, bananas, clear beef broth, clear jello and yogurt.
Cured after 3 days. The diarrhea sure messed with my INR, in a few days it jumped from 3.5 to 6.1. Great that I could test it without going to the ships medical.

 

[Lily]

Very interesting information, Adrienne. I'm glad you shared it; thanks.

 

[arjemdo06]

Probiotics are really good for us, it was a good bacteria. Probiotics are live microorganisms that are similar to beneficial microorganisms found in the human gut. Probiotics are available to consumers mainly in the form of dietary supplements and foods.

 

[drivetopless]

Awesome discussion- thanks for starting it Adrienne.


"Although infections are dependent on the aetiological agent, the degree of illness may be related to the clinical history of the patient (Husni et al., 1997; Wallet et al., 2002), namely underlying diseases or immunocompromised states. So, infections caused by micro-organisms usually regarded as non-invasive tend to be underestimated and, in some conditions, become true severe illness"

It seems that moderation is the key, and those in the category of very ill or newly surgeried, should proceed with caution. I would think that a new AVR might want to be more careful than someone 10 years down the road with stable "systems." What I know and read and experience with probiotics, the good usually outweighs the risk. Maybe it's a case of moderation needed, as usual. Have a yogurt, not several.

 

[Gail in Ca]

I'm thinking the yogurt eating didn't have anything to do with getting endocarditis. There is a particular staph that lives in the mouth, a different one in the nose, different ones that live on the skin. I assumed that only bad bacteria will cause BE. Mine was caused by a particularly nasty strain of staph that lives on the skin of 30% of the population. When I was being treated with 3 kinds of antibiotics, 2 IV, one oral, I was told to eat yogurt by my infectious disease doc. BE can really knock you down even if you are a healthy person. My question would be that if you regularly eat yogurt, will it protect you from getting BE? I would really like to know if there is something we can supplement our bodies with that would prevent it from ever happening!